Portal:Maldives

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Introduction

The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean, near the southeastern boundary of the Arabian Sea. The Maldives is located southwest of India and Sri Lanka, 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 travellers 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).

Fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity, and remains the second largest sector, behind the rapidly growing tourism industry. The Maldives rates "high" on the Human Development Index, with a per capita income significantly higher than other SAARC nations. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy. (Full article...)

Selected articles -

Indian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 planes like this one were used in Cactus. (This image was taken at an unrelated location in Hawaii, United States decades after 1988.)

The 1988 Maldives coup d'état attempt was an attempt by a group of Sri Lankans and Maldivians led by businessman Abdullah Luthufee and assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organization from Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the government of the Republic of Maldives. The attempt was thwarted with Indian assistance in Operation Cactus. (Full article...)

General images

The following are images from Maldives-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An RAF Short Sunderland moored in the lagoon at Addu Atoll, during WWII (from Maldives)
Image 218th-century map by Pierre Mortier from the Netherlands, depicting with detail the islands of Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 3Isdhoo Lōmāfānu is the oldest copper-plate book to have been discovered in Maldives to date. The book was written in 1194 CE (590 AH) in the Evēla form of the Divehi akuru, during the reign of Siri Fennaadheettha Mahaa Radun (Dhinei Kalaminja). (from Maldives)
Image 4Yameen in 2014 (from History of the Maldives)
Image 5Copy of a magical drawing. Diguvando. Fuvahmulah. (from Culture of the Maldives)
Image 6Sign outside the Velana International Airport (from Maldives)
Image 7Maahefun Festival in Fuvahmulah (from Maldives)
Image 817th-century Portuguese drawing of the fortress of Maldives and the archipelago. In Antonio Bocarro's book of Fortress (1632) (from Maldives)
Image 91753 Van Keulen map of Huvadu Atoll (inaccurate) (from History of the Maldives)
Image 10Malé Friday Mosque minaret (1981) (from History of the Maldives)
Image 11Butorides striata in the Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 12Velana International Airport (from Maldives)
Image 13A demonstration (Muzhaahira) in Fua Mulaku in support of the government (1981) (from History of the Maldives)
Image 14A selection of traditional Maldivian oarblade patterns (from Culture of the Maldives)
Image 15A 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 can also be read as "at-Tabrizi" instead of "al-Barbari" (from History of the Maldives)
Image 16Isdhoo Lōmāfānu is the oldest copper plate book to have been discovered in the Maldives to date; the book was written in 1194 A.D., in the Evēla form of the Divehi akuru, during the reign of Siri Fennaadheettha Mahaa Radun (Dhinei Kalaminja) (from History of the Maldives)
Image 17Maalhosmadulu Atoll seen from space. Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll and Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll can be seen in this picture. (from Maldives)
Image 18Flag of the Sultan of Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 19Thaana script (from Maldives)
Image 201920 British map of the Maldives (from History of the Maldives)
Image 21Maldives soft coral (from Maldives)
Image 2217th SAARC summit in Addu City, Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 23Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir signs independence agreement with the British on 26 July 1965. (from Maldives)
Image 24The 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 25Protesters in Malé in August 2005 (from History of the Maldives)
Image 26The Buddhist stupa at Kuruhinna in Gan Island (Haddhunmathi Atoll), western side (from History of the Maldives)
Image 27President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih congratulates Mohamed Nasheed Speaker of the People's Majlis in May 2019 (from Maldives)
Image 28Maldives against Bangladesh at the 2021 SAFF Championship (from Maldives)
Image 29A beach of Bathala island (from Maldives)
Image 30Malé harbour (from Maldives)
Image 31Flyboarding in Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 32A boy sandboarding in Fuvahmulah, Maldives (from Culture of the Maldives)
Image 33Filitheyo island beach with tall palm trees and blue fresh lagoons (from Maldives)
Image 34Life expectancy in the Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 35Mohamed Waheed Hassan (from History of the Maldives)
Image 36Dark clouds bringing heavy rain, common in the rainy season (from Maldives)
Image 37Seaplane Terminal (from Maldives)
Image 38Masroshi. Maldivian savoury snacks (from Culture of the Maldives)
Image 39Map from the 1662 Tabula Indiae orientalis by Frederik de Wit (from History of the Maldives)
Image 401598 Bertius map of the Maldives, issued in Middelburg, Netherlands (from History of the Maldives)
Image 41Oriental sweetlips (Plectorhinchus vittatus) at Meeru Island, North Male Atoll (from Maldives)
Image 42Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives (1978–2008) (from History of the Maldives)
Image 43The wreck of the Corbin, 1865 (from History of the Maldives)
Image 44Solih in November 2023 (from History of the Maldives)
Image 45A mechanised traditional inter-island dhoni stripped of its sails (from Maldives)
Image 461742 drawing of cowry shells (from History of the Maldives)
Image 47The resort island of Landaa Giraavaru (Baa atoll) (from Maldives)
Image 481753 Van Keulen map of Ari Atoll (from History of the Maldives)
Image 49Portuguese presence in Maldives was established in 1558, by order of Constantino of Braganza, Viceroy of Portuguese India. (from Maldives)
Image 50Maldivian soldiers at a presidential address in February 2024 (from Maldives)

Selected biography

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...)

Good article -

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

The Maldives competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, from 15 September to 1 October 2000. The delegation's participation in the Sydney Olympics marked the Maldives' fourth appearance at the Summer Olympics since their debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across two sports; Naseer Ismail and Shamha Ahmed in track and field, and Hassan Mubah and Fariha Fathimath in swimming. Neither advanced past the first round in their respective events, and no Maldivian has won a medal in any events. Naseer Ismail bore the Maldives' flag during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony. (Full article...)

Did you know -

... that Ithaa in Maldives is the world's first and only underwater restaurant?
... that Fathimath Dheema Ali is the first Olympic qualifier from the Maldives?
... that the minaret adjoining the Malé Friday Mosque has a wide base like a ship's funnel and resembles a wedding cake?
... that after being shipwrecked on Malé Atoll in 1973, Tony Hussein Hinde pioneered surfing in the Maldives, which was previously unknown in the country?
... that Indo-Maldivian relations grew stronger after India responded to Maldives' request for help and thwarted a militant plot to overthrow the government in 1988?