MALE, MALDIVES –

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Monday, March 10, 2025, 6 AM, Temperature 82 Degrees, 83% Humidity, W- 9.2 mph

Male is the capital city of the Republic of the Maldives. As it is more commonly known, the Maldive Islands is an archipelago of 1200 islands and 26 atolls – 99% of the Maldives is underwater. The highest point on the island is less than 8’, and it is the country that is projected to be most affected by global warming and rising water. They are putting safeguards in place to prevent flooding. Like Singapore, they are looking to add land mass to their small island, “creating” land. It is the smallest country in Asia. The Maldives is only 115 sq. miles spread over approximately 35,000 square miles, so it’s one of the world’s most dispersed countries, but because of its limited land area, it is one of the most densely populated. 526,000 people live in the Maldives.

The Maldives were settled in 500 BCE and was a Hindu nation for 1400 years. Arab traders greatly influenced the Maldives, and the last Hindu King, Dhovemi, converted to Islam in 1152 and took the country with him. The Maldives is the smallest Muslim country in the world. While Singapore, Sri Lanka, and other countries we have visited stressed people of all religions live peacefully together in their countries, Maldives is not one of those countries – Islam is the state religion, and other religions are not recognized; no temples, Protestant or Catholic churches here. You can hear the call to prayer across the city. As in other countries in the area, the Portuguese, Dutch, and British all had a presence here at one time. The Portuguese tried to convert the population but were unsuccessful. The rest didn’t try; they developed relationships with the Sultans and maintained Islamic traditions. The Maldives was a British protectorate until 1965 when they achieved political independence, and in 1968, a new republic was inaugurated. The last British troops left on March 29, 1976, and that is considered Maldives Independence Day. A park and a large flagpole on the harbor front mark the anniversary.

Most people who come to the Maldives fly into Male and never spend a night in the city! They travel by boat to one of the many resorts for which the Maldives are known. Generally, each resort is on its individual island atoll. Most resorts emphasize their beautiful white sand beaches, clear water, and outstanding snorkeling, diving, and all types of water sports. Most of the Excursions offered by HAL were day trips to resorts or snorkeling and diving trips. Since we’re not sun or water people, we decide to walk around Male on our own.

Male is our last “tender port” of the Cruise – hooray! Life is much easier when you can just walk off the ship while in port, but after our first “challenging” tender in Ecuador, there have been no issues; it just takes longer. The Cruise Director encouraged all who were able to take a chance to walk around the city. She said it was laid out on a grid and impossible to get lost. She talked about all the scooters and motorbikes but didn’t mention how congested it was with very narrow streets and even narrower sidewalks! We saw many Muslim women in long traditional dress and head coverings riding motor scooters – which seemed like quite a cultural contrast! HAL always provides a map and emergency info for each port, so, map in hand, we headed off! We walked for blocks looking for the “New Mosque” but never found it, although we did pass another one. Sidewalks were too narrow to walk side by side, so we walked in Indian style (is that still politically correct?), with me holding onto John’s belt loop. Giving up on the Mosque, we decided to head back to the ship. On our way, we passed through a large and busy farmer’s market with all varieties of fruits and vegetables. I wanted to buy some of the small, very sweet bananas they have here, but John didn’t think that with all the ship's food, I really needed bananas (but we did see one of the ship’s officers buying some fruit). You can’t bring food off the ship, but bringing it back on board doesn’t seem to be any problem. We also passed through the fish market, which really fascinated John with all the varieties of fish. We could do a whole blog just with the pictures he took there. 20% of the population works in the fishing industry, and 70% depend on seafood for daily protein. Our Cruise Director told us a small drainage area was open to the sea where people from the fish market feed the stingrays. They were huge, almost as wide as the drainage; several silently cruised by. John stopped at a Money Exchange to get some Maldives money for our grandson (they take American money here).

We were glad to see Zuiderdam’s covered tent on the horizon as we returned to the pier. They always set up a canopy in the tender area, and the hospitality crew waits with chairs to sit on and ice-cold cloth to cool off while you wait for the tender. It was hot! John read later that it was 90 degrees, but the Heat Index felt like 98 degrees! We shouldn’t be surprised – The Maldives archipelago is 510 miles long and crosses the Equator. The Zuiderdam will cross the Equator tomorrow night at about midnight, and there’s a King Neptune Ceremony the following day recognizing us as “shellbacks” who have crossed the Equator. John first did it in the Navy on October 24, 1978, on the USS Hanock CVA-19. He’s a “Trusty Shellback” with a card to prove it—quite a ceremony involving crawling through garbage and kissing King Neptune’s belly button. We’ve included a picture of the ceremony from John’s Hancock Cruise Book. I don’t think HAL will have us do any of that!!

Back on the tender and back to the air-conditioned comfort of the Zuiderdam!

RAMADAN - We visited Male during Ramadan, the most sacred Muslim holy holiday. Muslims pray and fast from sunrise to sunset for 30 days. We were told to observe the holiday while in the city; no eating or drinking in public while in Male. The resorts were an exception to these rules. On public beaches, men and women must wear a t-shirt and be covered while swimming (resorts were exempt again). We were warned they have “Tourist Police” who will arrest tourists for inappropriate dress or actions (not just during Ramadan). The guilty party is held at the Police Station and returned to the ship at Boarding time.

Our regular (and favorite) waiter on the ship, Anggita, is Muslim. We see him every night. He amazes us almost every night with a card trick. We’re a great audience; we can never figure out how he does it! We have seen pictures of his wonderful family, including a beautiful wife and 13-year-old daughter. They both wear traditional long Muslim dress and head coverings. The two sons wear Western-style clothes. Anggi says during Ramadan, he gets up at 4:15 AM to pray and eat before sunrise. Although he could eat after sunset (currently about 6:15 PM), he doesn’t eat again until he gets off work at 9 PM. Holland America works very hard to accommodate the religious needs of its diverse staff. On the World Cruise, a priest, protestant pastor, and rabbi are on board. They conduct services and spiritual programs for the guests and support the ship’s crew. The Protestant and Catholic clergy each hold services on Sunday at 9 PM for crew members.