Maldives - A piece of paradise

The island of Maldives is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka and India in the south of Asia, consisting of 1,196 islands, of which 203 are inhabited.

During a long period, the island of Maldives was one of the best kept secrets in the world, a wonderful chain of low coral islands in the Indian Ocean, a paradise for divers, watersports enthusiasts and sun lovers. All these attractions are still very evident, but in recent years the country's tourism potential has been developed in the form of a large number of resorts on the islands.

The Maldives has the most ski is in Malé Atoll (Kaafu). Some are in Vaavu, Baa and Lhaviyani. The Atoll Alifu (Ari) was declared the new Tourism Zone of the Maldives and are progressing the work to upgrade and build new resorts in this area. All resorts offer tours to fish at night, superb diving and windsurfing, and most have conditions for scuba diving, sailing in dhoni, skiing and volleyball. Some offer terms to other sports, including badminton and tennis.

The capital of Maldives is Malé, located near the airport at the southern end of North Malé Atoll. Although there is accommodation available, very few foreign visitors are in the capital, even those on business trips are usually one of the offices of the nearby islands and travel by boat to Malé. The capital has several shops selling local crafts and samples of imported products. Other attractions include the National Museum, the markets of fish and fruit, the wonderful Hukuru Mosque (or Friday) century. XVII, and the Great Mosque, with its magnificent golden minaret-shaped dome.

The local culture was transformed with a series of influences. For its geographical location was a strategic point on the route of the navigators in their crusades to the East. Both the English and the Indians have exercised power over the government of Maldives. Their religion was the first Buddhist, was converted to Islam in the early twelfth century. The Portuguese had a brief reign of the Maldives sixteenth century.

The main dishes are fish, rice and chicken, seasoned always the consequence of the Indian influence in its cuisine. The sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited. However these laws do not apply to resorts, to the delight of tourists. The Islamic religion does not allow the display of the shoulders and knees, this is one of the reasons why the resorts are on uninhabited islands, away from the local people to prevent the effects of the influence of tourists on their customs.

In the past, the Maldives were only explored by adventurers and divers, since the 70 years that tourism has come to be seen as an important source of income for the country, far from being a mass destination, the Maldives appear as one of the destinations more beautiful and exotic world.

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Tags: Destinations , Vacations , Hotels , Hotels , Maldives Island , Indian Ocean , Maldives , Paradise , Travel , Travel Maldives , Travel