Maldives – General info

The Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean and consists of 1090 individual palm islands that stretch from north to south along a 900 km long atoll chain.

The islands are located about 500 km south of Sri Lanka and India.

Individual islands are surrounded by a house reef, while the outer reefs of the archipelagos form the atoll.

The highest elevation of the islands rises about 1.5 meters from the sea.

There are about 250,000 inhabitants living in the Maldives.

The common language is Dhivenhi, which comes from Hindhi and Sinhalese.

The main religion is Islam.

Tourism began in 1972 on the island of Kurumba near the main island of Male.

The time difference is +3 hours (based on CET summer time).

One of the most interesting native birds in the Seychelles is the corvid parrot, whose population is reduced to about 100 animals, as well as the thick-billed flight bird, wart fruit pigeon and the cave salangane.

The only mammals on the sexchelles are the Seychelles fruit bats and the bat species Coleura seychellensis, which belongs to the smooth-nosed freetail family.

The sea, with its almost inexhaustible wealth, not only provides for life under water, it also provides the basis of life for many millions of birds. Some islands, such as Bird Island, are a true bird paradise.

There are no enemies here, neither alligators nor snakes, no rats or cats. In addition, the Bird Islands, Bird Island or Aride are extremely difficult to reach. Therefore, birds that have long since become extinct in the world can still exist here.

The wildlife of the Seychelles has many special features to offer. First of all, there is the great abundance of fish in the Seychelles waters, which makes the islands with their still intact coral reefs good diving areas. At least snorkeling should therefore be tried by every visitor.

The small, grey, omnivorous skinks can be found again and again.

The geckos, which are usually grey or brown on Mahé, are unmissable, but almost always have a bright green colouring on La Digue. The green geckos are also called day geckos. These useful insectivores are almost always found in buildings, where they can be observed in the evening by lamplight.

Among the unloved small animals are cockroaches and mosquitoes. The former, which can actually be found everywhere in the tropics, is less common in the Seychelles. This is certainly due to the generous use of insecticides.

On the other hand, mosquitoes can be found almost everywhere in the Seychelles. However, their number is limited, as there are hardly any standing waters. In addition, the constant wind drives away the unloved ghosts. Only at dusk in swampy areas such as La Digue do you have to do something against the mosquitoes. The Anopheles mosquitoes, which are feared as malaria carriers, do not exist in the Seychelles. Malaria prophylaxis is therefore not necessary.

A bigger problem on beaches are the small sand flies. They are comparable in effect to creepy mosquitoes.

The sand of the beaches is home to countless small animals and crabs. Larger specimens are mainly found after dark or on lonely beaches.

The huge, black and yellow palm spiders sitting in their webs everywhere in the undergrowth look dangerous, but are all the more harmless in comparison.

One should beware of large centipedes, whose bite is poisonous and can cause nasty wounds. However, they are very rare.

On some islands you can find small scorpion species, but their bite is not life-threatening. All in all, it can be said that the wildlife of the Seychelles hardly poses any significant risks for visitors.

Particularly beautiful to look at are the many bird species of the Seychelles, a number of which are extremely rare. The Seychelles Shame Thrush, which only lives on Frégate, is particularly noteworthy here. The birds know no instinct to flee. Therefore, the island must be kept free of rats and cats so that the survival of the last few dozen specimens is ensured.

Not so rare, but extremely beautiful are the snow-white fairy terns, which have pitch-black eyes and blue beaks. Equally remarkable are the tropicbirds sailing in the warm updrafts on the mountain slopes. Some areas of the Seychelles are under strict supervision as bird sanctuaries. This also includes the islands of Aride, Cousin or Bird Island. They are an absolute must for those interested in ornithology.

The only native mammal species is the Seychelles fruit bat. The large animals, which resemble the smaller bats in their behaviour, can often be seen and heard at dusk. The Flying Fox looks like a small fox up close with its reddish-brown fur. The food of fruit bats consists exclusively of fruits.

The most important feature of the flora on the Maldivian islands is the great poverty of species and the resulting unstable balance.

Of the 600 plant species counted in the Maldives, only about 100 to 150 are endemic. The remaining 450 to 500 species were imported over the millennia for cultural and ornamental purposes. The most widespread are coconut palms and pandanus. Both tree species can thrive wonderfully on the islands. The banyan tree can also hold its own, because it feeds on its shallow-rooted host plants, pandanus plants or shrubs.

Of decisive importance for the creation and preservation of an island, however, are shallow grasses (pioneer plants) growing in the shore area. They first establish themselves on a sandbank. There they fortify the shore area with their dense roots. Later, they settle behind hedges and bushes and consolidate the soil.

Over the centuries, a thin layer of humus then develops, in which salt-free rainwater can accumulate. Above the waterline, a dense tree population of coconut palms, strangler figs and pines, almond trees and other plants finally develops.

The more untouched the islands remain by human hands, the more easily and densely the plants will colonize the habitat most favorable to them. This is the basic prerequisite that even strong storms and floods can hardly erode and damage the islands.

If one of the filigree chains of vegetation is disturbed, for example by deforestation, etc., even the smallest floods sponge out sand and soil between the roots on the coconut palms. This is usually the end of the palm trees, as they then fall over and are later washed away by the sea.

Due to the ever-increasing settlement of the islands with their negative effects on the ecosystem (deforestation and clearing of plant and tree growth), the destruction of the paradisiacal conditions has long since begun.

How long will paradise last?……….

…………..Will the next generation still be able to dream of white beaches under palm trees?

500-200 BC – Sinhalese seafarers discover the atolls of the Maldives. The dialect that is still spoken today is strongly reminiscent of Sinhalese. Some customs and Buddhist finds during excavations also indicate that the settlement of the Maldives took place from south to north.

150 AD – The Maldives must have been known in the Western world, as the geographer Claudius Ptolemy describes islands pointing to the Maldives as “islands west of Ceylon” in his notes. He had his knowledge from records of the Phoenicians, who advanced into the Indian Ocean with their merchant ships and probably also sailed to the Maldives.

800-900 – On the way to Asia, some presumably Phoenician ships crash into the reefs that are not mapped. The stranded then settled on the islands.

1141 – In this year, the writing of the “Tarikh” began for the first time. This “Chronicle of the Sultans”, at that time still hammered into copper strips, which were then tied together like a fan, reports on 83 sultans and sultanates, of which, however, often nothing is known and often only the name alone has been handed down.

In the 14th century, the Maldives was ruled by the first sultana Khadeeja Rehendi Kabaidhi Kilege. She ruled for a total of 35 years. Although the Maldives were devout Muslims, there were some local customs that were horrified by Arab Muslims. The women of the Maldives have never worn a face scarf and some were only dressed in a hip scarf. Marriage customs in the Maldives have always been very uncomplicated. That hasn’t changed to this day.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Portuguese reached the Indian Ocean and first occupied South India and Ceylon.

In 1558, Hassan the 9th asked the Portuguese for help against rebellious Maldivians. This was the opportunity for the Portuguese, under the leadership of Andreas Andre, to occupy Male and the other atolls. They destroyed all the mosques and built churches in their place to convert the Maldivians to the Christian faith. The Portuguese met with strong resistance.

The Dutch replaced the Portuguese in Ceylon. Since they were more interested in trade than in conquest, they maintained a loose tribute relationship with the Maldives.

In 1802, the English took Ceylon and, under the leadership of Captain Moresby, set out to map the Maldives in 1834. His notes still serve as the basis for English nautical charts today.

In 1932, the first constitution of the Maldives came into force.

From 1932 onwards, the democratisation process began in the Maldives. The then Sultan Shamsuddin III transformed the sultanate into a constitutional one.

On January 1, 1953, the first republic was founded under the presidency of Amin Didi. He has pushed through many reforms for the country. Only now did electricity come to Male, schools were built and he provided sufficient malaria prophylaxis. After only 9 months in office, he was shot dead in Male and is now buried in Kurumba Village.

1954-1968 – Sultan Mohammed Fareed came to power.

In 1965, the Maldives gained complete independence.

The Austrian Hans Hass undertook the first diving expedition to the Indian Ocean with his research vessel Xarifa, which sailed under the Austrian flag. From December 1957 to May 2, 1958, the Xarifa cruised from Gan up to the Shaviyani Atoll. The films of Hans Hass can be seen as the initial spark for today’s diving tourism.

On July 26, the Maldives became finally independent and in the same year it became a full member of the UN.

A referendum on 11 November 1968 proclaimed the “Second Republic” under the leadership of Ibrahim Nasir. After ten years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom took over the presidency. During his tenure, the current Friday Mosque and the Islamic Centre were built, and the Maldives transformed from the poorest country in the world to modest prosperity.

On February 16, 1972, the first tourists – 22 Italian divers – landed on the island of Kurumba in the North Male Atoll.

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected president for the first time on 11 November 1978 and was re-elected in office in 1983, 1988, 1994, 1998 and 2003.

1980 – Failed coup attempt by ex-president Ibrahim Nasir.

On September 3, 1988, Tamil separatists staged a coup. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has to flee the capital Malé and asks for foreign support. Indian paratroopers land in Malé and put down the rebellion.