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 by other nations 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...)
The 2005 Maldivian civil unrest refers to the civil unrest that broke out in Malé, Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll and Addu Atoll of the Maldives on August 12, 2005, which led to events that supported the democratic reform of the country. This unrest was provoked by the arrest of Mohamed Nasheed - an open critic of the presidentMaumoon Abdul Gayoom - and the subsequent demolition of the Dhunfini tent, used by the members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for their gatherings. Supporters of MDP were quick to demonstrate. They started calling for the resignation of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, soon after Nasheed's arrest. Several arrests were made on the first night followed by the demolition of the Dhunfini tent. The demolition complicated the situation further provoking the unrest. The unrest grew violent on the third night, on August 14, 2005, due to the methods used in the attempts by the authority to stop the demonstration.
The unrest continued intermittently for three nights, from August 12 to August 14, 2005. By August 15, 2005, the uprising was controlled with the presence of heavy security around Malé. Almost a fourth of the city had to be cordoned off during the unrest. (Full article...)
Image 26Judaage 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 27Dark clouds bringing heavy rain, common in the rainy season (from Maldives)
Image 31Malé, the capital of the Maldives (from Maldives)
Image 32Each administrative atoll is marked, along with the thaana letter used to identify the atoll. Natural atolls are labelled in light blue. (from Maldives)
Image 35A 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 56The 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)
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The Maldives competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The delegation included two track and field athletes: Hassan Saaid and Afa Ismail, as well as swimmers Ibrahim Nishwan and Aminath Shajan. Both Shajan and Ismail were returning competitors from the 2012 London Olympics, with the former leading the Maldivian squad as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony. The Maldives, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal. (Full article...)
Fuvahmulah (Dhivehi: ފުވައްމުލައް) is an island (atoll) in the Maldives. It is under Maldives' administrative division of Gnaviyani (or Nyaviyani) Atoll. The island is the second southernmost administrative atoll, located to the south of Huvadhu Atoll and to the north of Seenu Atoll. It's also the third most populous island after Malé and Addu. (Full article...)