Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean. It is consisting of 19 atolls made up of more than 2000 coral islands. The atolls have sandy beaches, lagoons, coconut palms along with breadfruit trees and tropical bushes. Malé Island is the capital and the largest island of the country.
Tourism, fishing and coconut products are the chief sources of the income. Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, UK and the UAE are the major trading partners of the country. By the beginning of the 1970s, tourism developed here. Unfortunately on 26th December 2004 by the tsunami, it was devastated. It was reported that only nine islands have been escaped while fifty seven islands faced serious damage to critical infrastructure, fourteen islands were totally evacuated and six islands were decimated and twenty one resort islands were forced to shut down due to serious damage. But in spite of such huge disaster, the Maldives survived with all its glory and beauty.
The proximity of southern India and Sri Lanka can be experienced in its culture and language. Dhivehi is the official and common language of the country. It is an indo- European language having similarities with Elu, the ancient Sinhalese language. English is also widely used here especially in commerce and government school. Few elements of African culture can be felt in the island culture especially in the islands like Feridhu, Maalhos and Goidhu. |
