Day Trip to Male, the Capital of the Maldives

When you head to the Maldives you stay at your island resort, which is a usually single small island.  The Maldives is a country made up of almost 1,200 island of which 200 are inhabited and about 100 of those are actually resorts!  Male is the capitol of the Maldives and is the most populous island in the country.  However, it is actually the smallest capitol city in the world.  Not that we were suffering from island fever, but we decided in addition to our Night Fishing excursion that it would be fun to take an afternoon tour of the Capitol City and see the local sites.

Maldivian Flag

Tons of Bright Colored Buildings

Tomb and cemetery

The buildings are actually made of coral, not stone!

Inside ancient Mosque 

President's House, originally built for Queen Elizabeth II

Before microphones, they would give speeches and signal
the call to prayer on top of the tower

Sultan's Park

Islamic Center housing largest Mosque

Inside the Mosque

Men's Prayer Area

They gave Nick a wrap to cover his legs - I brought a couple of long skirts for touring

Decor on the ceiling of the Mosque

Park by the docks

Fisherman bringing in their catch

Boat Docks

Inside the Veggie Market

Offerings were fresh and amazing!

Fish Market - look at the size of those FISH!

Fisherman cutting down the fish faster than I have ever seen

Fish Fillets and Scrapes

View of the boat docks

Independence Statue

View from the boat home

Male from afar...

Male was so different than being on the resort island.  The Maldives is a Muslim country and it was amazing to see the Mosques and experience the culture.  It is just so different from our own, from the clothing (see photo above with me wearing the long skirt in 85 degree weather!) to the call for prayer.  The tomb made of coral was surprising - until you looked close up you would have had no idea of the building material!  Getting a glimpse inside the fruit and fish market was impressive.  The 100 pound yellowfin tuna for sale was a fraction of the price of what we would see here.

Always fun and interesting to see a different culture!