While Male
may be the capital of the Maldives a place where visitors almost
exclusively arrive into and leave from the country, it’s
interesting that many visitors do not spend a single night in Male.
This is because most visitors go directly to their resort island and
spend most of their time there.
Many
visitors still get to see Male via day trips organised by several of
the resort islands.
Male
isn’t particularly large - in fact it’s possible to walk around
the island in slightly over an hour (it’s dimensions being
approximately 2km long and 1km wide).
For its
land mass, Male is pretty densely populated with around a 70,000
strong population. There are ongoing land reclamation projects in
progress to increase the amount of space on the island.
Despite
being a small city, Male offers the kind of services you would come
to expect from any capital including books, post office, internet
access, bookshops, travel agents, a myriad of eateries and so on.
There are
a few points of interest for those who venture into Male to get a
glimpse of life in the capital.
The
Islamic centre mosque is one of the grander structures in the
city. Hukuru Miskiiy is the most ancient mosque in Male and dates
back to the 1650’s.
There is a
National Museum displaying various artifacts once owned by the
Sultans (from clothing to weapons).
You may
also enjoy visiting the Muleeaage (a structure initially built as a
palace and also used as presidential residence in the past).
Shoppers
will find quite a few places of interest in Male - for instance
Chandanee Magu and Orchid Magu have a cluster of souvenir shops
cafes.
Male
isn’t a place to go to for bars or clubs but other forms of
entertainment do exist - there are a couple of cinemas (the Star
Olympus on Majeedi Magu). There are also opportunities to
catch an outdoor concert at New Harbour.
For
sports enthusiasts there is the National Stadium where football
cricket games are regularly contested.
Male
has several hotels, guest-houses inns to suit a wide range of
budgets should you have the opportunity to spend a couple of nights.
Those
who do get to visit Male for any length of time can enjoy a wide
range of eateries serving many different types of international
cuisine. Male has several small tea shops offering (non-alcoholic)
drinks and small snacks or "short eats" (hedhikaa). Tea
shops also offer "long eats", which tend to be larger more
filling dishes.
Tea shops
in Male are on the whole cheap and chirpy affairs, serving
simple foods at low prices. There are also several higher priced
restaurants to choose from. These include cuisines such as Italian,
Thai, Indian, American Chinese. Most restaurants also have
their own in-house restaurant.
Recommended Resorts
