Malé, Republic of Maldives

Malé is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. The location of Malé is both an asset and a threat to the island. The tropical environment makes it a popular tourist destination, but the low elevation leaves it at risk of submersion due to rising sea levels by the end of the twenty-first century.

Landscape

Malé is one of the roughly two hundred populated islands belonging to the Maldives, a string of more than 1,190 islets, or small islands, and twenty-six atolls (raised circular land masses of coral that enclose a lagoon, with sections above sea level forming islands) in the Indian Ocean. The capital itself is located on the Malé Atoll on the submerged Laccadives-Chagos Ridge. Malé lies at the midpoint of the narrow string of islands, on the equatorial belt in the Indian Ocean, four hundred miles southwest of Sri Lanka.

Malé is 2.59 square kilometers (1 square mile) in size and has an elevation of six feet above sea level. This low elevation became an environmental issue in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, as sea levels began to rise at a steady rate, largely attributed to global warming. In response, a seawall was constructed around the circumference of the island. This wall prevents flooding during high tides, but obstructs access to Malé's natural beaches.

Malé is the most populated and industrialized region of Maldives. The capital consists of five districts: four on the Malé Atoll, and one on Villingili Island. The island of Malé is crossed by two main streets: Majeedhee Magu, running east and west, and Chaandhanee Magu, running north and south. The capital contains the governmental, entertainment, and shopping districts of Maldives.

Because Malé rests on the equator, the climate is tropical. The weather is often determined by monsoons, but temperatures typically remain around 26 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) all year, with little variation. The hottest month is April, and the coldest is December, with the rainy season lasting from May to October. The best weather occurs from December through April, when rainfall is at a minimum.

People

More than one-third of the Maldivian population—estimated at 521,021 in 2023—lives on Malé. The city saw steady growth in the twenty-first century, with the population rising from 74,069 in 2000 to 103,700 in 2008, and 177,000 in 2018. Because of the extreme population density, an artificial island called Hulhumalé was created beside Malé between 1997 and 2002. The government encouraged the relocation of tens of thousands of people to the new island,which is less crowded and expensive than Malé itself.

Malé is an ethnic melting pot, but the majority of the people are of Sinhalese (Sri Lankan ethnic group) and South Indian descent. Other residents of Malé include those of Arab or African ethnicities. The official religion is Sunni Islam, and the government follows the Islamic calendar. The currency in Malé is the Maldivian rufiyaa, and the official languages are Dhivehi (or Divehi, also called Maldivian), a language derived from Sanskrit, and English.

Economy

Tourism and fishing make up the two largest industries for the Maldives, and Malé in particular. The main export products of Malé are fish and agricultural products, including bonito and tuna fish, shells, coconut, breadfruit, and hand-woven palm mats. Canned tuna fish from other islands is sold in the markets in Malé. In addition, Malé is home to one of the two major ports in the Maldives. Its size and central location make it the main area for import and export and help facilitate trade. As of 2019, the Maldives' main import partners included the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, China, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Thailand, the United States, China, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom were major export partners.

Tourism is the most lucrative industry for Malé, as it has been since the 1970s. Malé's appeal as a tourist attraction has made the Maldives among the richest countries in South Asia. For Malé in particular, tourism revenue has raised the standard of living, most notably with regard to health care and education, and has led to a population boom. However, the reliance on the industry makes the nation's economy susceptible to significant fluctuations. For example, 2015 saw a marked dip in tourism to the Maldives, contributing to a reduction in GDP growth to 1.5 percent that year, compared to 6.5 percent in 2014, according to the Asian Development Bank. Political unrest in 2018 also led several foreign countries to issue warnings about travel to the Maldives, impacting the tourist trade. The global COVID-19 pandemic caused hardship to countries that relied on tourism as the industry came to a near standstill. Though Maldives tourism was crippled in 2020, by the end of 2021 it rebounded to nearly pre-pandemic levels.

Landmarks

The Malé Fish Market and Local Market are located within a block of each other on the northern side of Malé. Together, they form the commercial hub of Malé. The Fish Market sells local produce and fish, while the Local Market sells handicrafts and agricultural products from other islands, including breadfruit, nuts, dried fish, and the famous woven palm mats.

Malé is home to the Huskuru Miskiiy (Friday Mosque), built in 1656. The walls are decorated with carved coral blocks and panels and a large cemetery of coral gravestones surrounds the mosque. The Friday Mosque was the center of Islamic worship until the construction of the Islamic Center in 1984. It is characterized by a large golden dome that dominates the skyline of Malé. The Grand Mosque, at its center, holds five thousand people; a conference hall, library, classrooms, and offices are contained within.

Muliaage (also spelled Mulee-aage) was the original palace for the president. Commissioned in the early twentieth century by Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen III, it is renowned for its iron gates and its aesthetically pleasing art. Muliaage was the president's residence from 1953, when Maldives became a republic, until 1994, when it was designated as the president's office following the construction of a new presidential palace, Theemuge, under the direction of longtime president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. After Gayoom was defeated in the 2008 presidential election, his successor, Mohamed Nasheed, returned to using Muliaage as the official presidential residence. In addition, the National Museum, which opened in 1952, is contained within the remaining section of the former Royal Palace, while the palace's former grounds have been converted to a public park known as Sultan's Park.

History

The Malé Atoll was formed thousands of years ago when underground volcanoes erupted. The coral tops of these sinking volcanoes along the Laccadives-Chagos Ridge formed the string of islands called the Maldives. These islands were first settled in the fifth century by Indian and Sri Lankan travelers. Sri Lanka then governed the island as a Buddhist nation, but in 1153, the Maldives embraced Islam, and Sunni Islam became the official religion. In 2008 the constitution of the Maldives was revised to say that non-Muslims were not allowed to be citizens.

Early attempts by the Portuguese to invade Maldives were thwarted by Sultan Ali VI, who was killed during a later attack in 1558. The grave of Sultan Ali VI now rests in Malé on the spot where he was killed, as a tribute to the recovery of the city. Portugal ruled Maldives for fifteen years, bringing Christianity to the island nation. In 1573, Mohammed Thakurufaanu expelled the Portuguese after eight years of guerilla warfare. He was sultan for twelve years and his dynasty lasted through the eighteenth century.

Maldives began to be governed and protected by Britain in 1887, though the country achieved independence from Britain on July 26, 1965. During its status as a British protectorate, Maldives was ruled by a sultan living in Malé until 1952, was briefly a republic from 1952 to 1954, was a sultanate again from 1954 until 1968, and then became a republic again. In 2007, a constitutional referendum vote resulted in the institution of a presidential system of government, rather than a parliamentary system, with direct election of the president by the people. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had held the office of president since 1978, was in favor of the presidential system, which would grant the executive branch greater power. However, in the 2008 election—the first to be held under the Maldives' new constitution, and the first in which opposing candidates were permitted to run—Gayoom lost in the second round of voting to Mohamed Nasheed.

The Maldives government based in Malé saw considerable turmoil in the 2010s. Nasheed resigned in 2012 following extended protests against his leadership, though he later characterized his removal from power as an illegal coup. The 2013 elections saw Abdulla Yameen win the presidency and subsequently consolidate power in an increasingly autocratic manner. Crackdowns on political opposition and the press led to widespread demonstrations, and in early 2018 Yameen declared a state of emergency. However, later that year he was defeated at the polls by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in a surprise upset.

The Maldives was a member of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association with the British monarch as its symbolic head, until 2016. The government left the global body after it was threatened with suspension because of its abysmal human rights record and failure to enact democratic reform. The Maldives was readmitted in 2020 after undergoing assessments and conforming to the Commonwealth's rules and standards.

Because low-lying Malé is at such a great risk for submersion, especially with rising sea levels associated with climate change, a cement seawall was built in the 1980s to encircle the island. In December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami hit the Maldives, flooding Malé. Eighty-two Maldivian citizens died, but no one on Malé was fatally wounded, thanks to the seawall. Regardless, Malé will continue to face such environmental issues, as the seawall is considered to be only a temporary solution.

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