Malé Island - A City In The Middle Of The Ocean

Malé is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Maldives. It is located on the island of the same name, on the Kaafu Atoll. The population is more 250,000 people. Since ancient times, the royal residence has been located here.

Image credits: fototelegraf.ru

Malé Island is only 2 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide, completely built up with buildings and roads. At the same time, Malé remains a clean and tidy city with mosques, markets, a labyrinth of small streets, many shops with souvenirs, small cafes with exotic dishes, and so on. There are no tall buildings here, and there are many more bicycles than cars. It is almost impossible to get lost in Malé, all the streets lead to three big roads. There are many hotels on the island.

Each hotel has its own pleasure boat, where you can cruise around the archipelago for several days. Some restaurants in Malé are air conditioned, while others offer a more relaxed outdoor setting. The choice of cuisine is quite wide: from an exquisite international menu to local versions of Asian and European dishes. Some restaurants are open in the morning, others in the afternoon and all restaurants close at 1 am.

Image credits: fototelegraf.ru

Despite the modest size of Malé, a taxi in the city can come in handy. The country has four local airports. All resorts, hotels, large shops and restaurants are authorized to provide currency exchange services and accept currencies of many countries for payment.

Image credits: fototelegraf.ru

Malé is the country's commercial center with a large selection of stores selling necessities to more 250,000 residents and thousands more buyers arriving from the islands. Small shops on the outskirts of the capital can receive visitors as early as 6-7 am, while shops on the main streets open around 9-10 am. All shops close at 11 pm, as well as 15-minute breaks for prayer time.