The Maldives form a kind of atolls, the largest of them has a length of 69 km from north to south. The capital of the state – the city of Male lies on the northern island of this atoll. Despite its size (1.8 sq. km), Male is the most populous capital in the world. The capital is not too rich in sights, but there are still interesting places for tourists here. In the west of the main shopping area of the city, on Orchid Magu Street, there is the main attraction of the Maldivian capital – the Presidential Palace. This place is included in the program of any city tour. The architecture of this building very skillfully combined traditional architecture and modern notes. Since the city is small, the best way to see it is on foot, in a few hours you can see the city completely. It is best to start such an excursion from Jumhoree Maidan Square in the center of which there is a fountain playing with multi-colored lights, and nearby there is a wooden carved pier, to which boats from neighboring resorts moor in the evenings. Going further from the square to the west, you can come to the fishing harbor, where tourists can see an unusual spectacle of unloading fish caught by fishermen and not far from here is a fish market. It is worth visiting the Mule Aazh Palace, which was built before the start of the First World War by Sultan Shamsuddin III, who erected it for his son, but soon the Sultan was overthrown from the throne and his son did not have time to occupy this palace. In 1953, before the construction of the modern Presidential Palace, the Mule Aazh Palace served as its function. One of the most beautiful buildings in the Maldives is the Great Friday Mosque, which was built in 1656 during the reign of Ibrahim Iskander. Now the mosque is considered a symbol of traditional Maldivian architecture. Ari Atoll consists of 70 islands, of which only 18 are inhabited by people, and 26 islands are considered tourist. This place acted as a resort region of the Maldives not so long ago, however, remoteness from the capital has a positive effect on the influx of tourists. As part of Ari, there are so-called “diving islands” where the approach to the reefs is most convenient from the sandy beach. There are also several beautiful marine reserves here. Each island acts here as a separate attraction, for example, Angaga has the title of a beach island, since a quarter of its territory is occupied by a sandy beach, and Kudafolhudu Island is the first top-class island hotel in the Maldives, in addition, on this island there is such an attraction as a huge banyan tree that grows right on the territory of the hotel. Fadiffolhu Atoll is located 120 km north of Male. On one of the islands of this atoll (Kanuhura), there is a hotel complex created with the latest technology and design. There are more than 4 dozen excellent dive sites near Kureddhoo Island, including the famous Kureddhoo Express Pass, and the island itself has excellent opportunities for water sports.
National cuisine of the Maldives
According to Directoryaah, Maldivian cuisine is characterized by features of Indian and Arabic dishes. Rice, seafood are widespread, and a huge amount of spices and seasonings are used in cooking. Fish is used in most of the local dishes, it can be either fried and boiled fish, or dried and smoked. The main national dish is boiled tuna with rice, and all this is seasoned with a variety of sauces and spices. It is worth trying a fish and onion pie – “bajiya”, fish soup and fish pate. Of the meat, chicken is most often used, but it is used only in festive dishes. Dessert in the Maldives is represented by rice with a variety of fruits, coconut in all possible forms, fruit salads and a variety of puddings. The main drink in the archipelago is green tea, which is drunk with a lot of milk and sugar. Black tea is also common here. but the local population is not used to it. Every year, Arabic coffee is gaining the most popularity, since it is imported and is quite expensive.
