The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.
Malé is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the "King's Island", where the ancient royal dynasties ruled from its central location. The Maldives has been inhabited for over 2,500 years. Documented contact with the outside world began around 947 AD when Arab travelers began visiting the islands. In the 12th century, partly due to the importance of the Arabs and Persians as traders in the Indian Ocean, Islam reached the Maldivian Archipelago. The Maldives was soon consolidated as a sultanate, developing strong commercial and cultural ties with Asia and Africa. From the mid-16th century, the region came under the increasing influence of European colonial powers, with the Maldives becoming a British protectorate in 1887. Independence from the United Kingdom came in 1965, and a presidential republic was established in 1968 with an elected People's Majlis. The ensuing decades have seen political instability, efforts at democratic reform, and environmental challenges posed by climate change and rising sea levels. The Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
The Maldives is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy. The Maldives is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity, and remains the largest sector by far, followed by the rapidly growing tourism industry. The Maldives rates "high" on the Human Development Index, with per capita income significantly higher than other SAARC nations. The Maldives was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations from July 1982 until withdrawing from the organisation in October 2016 in protest of allegations of its human rights abuses and failing democracy. The Maldives rejoined the Commonwealth on 1 February 2020 after showing evidence of functioning democratic processes and popular support. (Full article...)
Maldivian mythology or Maldivian folklore is the body of myths, tales and anecdotes belonging to the oral tradition of Maldivians. Even though some of the Maldivian myths were already mentioned briefly by British commissioner in Ceylon HCP Bell towards the end of the 19th century, their study and publication were carried out only quite recently by Spanish writer and artist Xavier Romero-Frias, at a time when that ancestral worldview was quickly disappearing.
The Maldives lie in the warm equatorial area of the Indian Ocean surrounded by very deep waters. This nation is made up exclusively of coral atolls. There are about 1,200 small flat and sandy islands, but only about 200 of them are inhabited. (Full article...)
Image 15Judaage Aminat Didi in 1982, wearing the simple customary libaas worn by all southern Maldivian women before the modern islamification promoted by President Maumoon. First "burugaa" headscarf reached Fuvahmulah only in 1989. (from Culture of the Maldives)
Image 16The tsunami that struck Malé on 26 December 2004. Photo taken by Sofwathulla Mohamed while standing on his doorstep. His apartment was entirely washed out damaging all his belongings. (from History of the Maldives)
Image 47A plaque in Hukuru Mosque, Malé, Maldives, placed by Sultan Ibrahim Iskandhar on which Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari's name is written. His last name is also read as "at-Tabrizi" instead of "al-Barbari". (from History of the Maldives)
Image 48A baby sleeping on a swingbed. The duty of the older siblings is to keep it swinging. 1980 (from Culture of the Maldives)
Image 50Each administrative atoll is marked, along with the thaana letter used to identify the atoll. Natural atolls are labelled in light blue. (from Maldives)
Aishath Lahfa (born 21 November 1997) is a Maldivian film actress. Before pursuing a career in acting, Lahfa was an active TikTok user, which won her recognition as a performer. She made her acting debut in the web series Girlfriends (2021) and continued playing main roles in several other web series including four-part anthology crime web series Mazloom (2021–2022), family romantic dramas Rimsha (2022) and Yasna (2022). In 2023, she made her first appearance in a feature film with the horror film Kalhaki. (Full article...)
