Maldives - December 3-4, 2014
Our next port was Male (pronounced Mar-le), one
of the biggest atolls in the Malidivian chain, the most populated, and the
capital city of the Maldives. This chain
of islands is located 370 miles southwest of India. It is the smallest Asian
country in both population (~320,000) and land area, although it is the most
geographically dispersed…spread out over 370,000 sq. miles. It is earth’s lowest country with an average
elevation of 4 ft. 11 inches and has the lowest natural highest point in the
world at 7 ft. 10 inches. Deaths and
serious damage were reported in 2004 due to an Indian Ocean earthquake that
caused a tsunami that struck the Maldives, even though the tallest wave to hit
any of the atolls was only 14 feet. With rising seas, it’s future is in
question. Nevertheless they have pledged
to be carbon-neutral by 2019.
There are 1, 192 coral islands in two groups of
26 atolls. The atolls are composed of
coral and sand and lie above a subterranean ridge that is 600 miles long. They have been noted for their coral reefs
with 1100 species of fish, sea turtles, whales and dolphins. But rising sea
temperature (increasing up to 9 degrees F) associated with the El Nino of 1998 caused
extensive coral bleaching and killed 2/3 of the islands’ coral. Scientists are working hard to induce the
regrowth of the reefs.
The earliest inhabitants appear to be from Sri
Lanka and India. Buddhism was the
dominant religion of the islands until the 12th century when it was
converted to Islam.
It is a very conservative Muslim county (with
lashings for premarital sex) and in fact is the only country in the world that
claims to be 100% Muslim (Sunni) and with Islam as their official religion, the
open practice of any other religion is forbidden and subject to prosecution. A
non-Muslim may not become a citizen.
Homosexuality and nudism are illegal in the country. They don’t have a great record in the area of
human rights. The sale of alcohol was
forbidden but laws were changed to allow alcohol only in resorts. This was an economic concession as their 5
star hotels were changed to 4 stars if they didn’t allow the sale of alcohol.
Education is free K to college and there is an
85% literacy rate. They only have one
university on the islands so many students leave for higher education.
About 200 of the islands are inhabited and an
additional 180 are “hotel” islands. Tourism
and fishing are their major sources of income and employment. In the past, another essential product was
the coir (dried coconut husks) similar to what we save in Cochin. It was used for the ropes that sewed together
the planks of the dhows because it is resistant to seawater.
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| Our Submarine |
Water for the main island where we docked is
provided by desalinated ground water and electric power is via diesel
generators. They have one island
designated as a prison and another designated for garbage. One island made of garbage has already become
part of the airport complex.
Our ship docked at 3 PM and we headed out for
our first tour which was a submarine ride (first one) to a depth of just over
100 feet to view the coral reefs, devastated though they are…. We saw some interesting fish although it was
a bit like being at an aquarium…we were trapped watching the fish while they
swam around us. Chris, my snorkeling expert stated there wasn’t much unusual
but this was just a small sample. The
“snorkeling trip” that some other passengers took was a big
disappointment.
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| Kuda Bandos beach |
We remained in Male overnight and the next
morning had additional tours. Chris
headed off in a boat to Kuda Bandos (30 min ride each way), a nearby island
renown for its pure white coral sands (destination only for day-trippers), to
visit the beach and do some snorkeling; while there were many more fish and
some indication of growing coral than evident at other spots around Male, he
didn’t find it any more impressive than most snorkeling areas around the
Caribbean. Supposedly, the best snorkeling and SCUBA diving, with whale shark
enounters, occurs at some of the private resort atolls especially near the
northern and southern most atolls.
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| Fish Market |
I chose the city walking tour. The main island with the capital city of Male
is small and one can walk around it in about an hour and an half. My tour walked through the main part of the
city. We visited the fruit and vegetable
market and the fish market where we saw the executive chef from the ship buying
fresh fish for dinner.
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| Coral tombstones |
We visited the
Male Friday Mosque which is an ancient mosque constructed in 1658. It is constructed mostly of white coral
stone. No glue or cement was used in its
construction. Coconut wood was used for
beams and originally coconut leaves were used for the roof but they have been
replaced with what appeared to be corrugated metal. A 17th cemetery where the coral tombstones
for male and females are different shapes and the height of the tombstone
denotes the age of the person at death surrounds the mosque.
We walked by both the presidential offices and
presidential residence and then visited the Islamic Center, which is located
near the port dock and houses the Grand Friday Mosque that is the largest
mosque in the Maldives and one of the largest in South Asia with an occupancy
of 5000. It has a beautiful golden dome
and the interior has beautiful wooden carvings.
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| Mosque in Islamic Center |
The mosque visit was interesting where a cleric
gave us a short tour and recited from the Koran for us. We had to remove our shoes and the women on
the tour had to make sure our arms, legs and heads were covered. As our tour of the mosque concluded, a young
woman in the traditional abaya approached and offered us a stack of 9
brochures:
- Islam is not a Religion of Extremism
- Misconceptions about Islam
- Women’s rights in Islam
- 6 others….
My tour concluded with a visit to the new local
museum displaying Korans from the 1100s, hats and other clothing that Sultans in
the past had worn and various furnishings and implements made from coconut
fibers.
Chris and I both arrived back at the dock just
before lunch and headed back to the ship that was due to sail at noon.
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