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MALDIVES – THE CORAL GARDEN OF THE INDIAN OCEAN



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WORDS © MARION FRIEDEL





As I approached by air, there appeared beneath me a strange, almost unreal vision. Islands, a mass of tiny islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Out of the dark blue of the sea, more than 6,500 feet (2,000 m) deep, rise the coral reefs. Large and small, round and oval, and the necklace-like atolls. Turquoise lagoons, sandbanks and tiny palm-covered islets, bordered with gleaming white beaches.

From the jetty I look down through crystal-clear water on to vast shoals of multi-coloured fish, such as you would not find in any aquarium. With an escort of flying-fish, a boat brings me to the island.

My feet sink deep in the coral sand. In fifteen minutes I have walked round and explored the litle island. Exciting adventures await only a few yards from my bungalow, on the reef bordering the lagoon. I gaze into a strange and unfamiliar world, an endless natural aquarium. I see shapes that look like stags antlers, like gigantic brains, ostrich-feathers and fans - I see petrified coral and coral that sways in the water. Through these gardens of glowing coral, fish swim in amazing numbers, of every colour and shape. They do not dart away in fright, nor do they avoid me, so that I can reach out and touch them. These isles are only the peaks of a sunken land named the Maldives."Dhivehi Raage" is the name which the inhabitants gave to their island kingdom. And they described themselves as "Dhivehi" - island people. The little isles ranged round circular reefs, they called "atolu," thus giving us the international term "atoll" which is applied to all coral islands. The Maldive chain of atolls lies 400 nautical miles south-west of the southern tip of India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It represents the largest and most impressive reef-formation on earth. Shaped like a necklace, made up of nearly two thousand islands and islets, the atolls extend over a distance of 475 miles (760 km) from north to south, and 75 miles (120 km) from east to west. The Maldive archipelago is a natural barrier thrusting across the sea-route to southern India, and rightly feared by seamen since time immemorial.

Charles Darwin, who first propounded the classical theory of atolls, was lost in wonder: " We are amazed when travellers tell us of the vast pyramids and other great ruins; but even the greatest of these are as nothing when compared with the mountains of stone that have been built up by the activity of innumerable tiny creatures! This is a miracle which, though it may not surprise us when it first meets our eye, does so all the more when we reflect upon it...The infinity of the ocean, the raging of the surf, in sharp contrast to the low elevation of the land and the smoothness of the bright green water within the lagoons, these are things one cannot imagine without having seen them."

There are a number of conflicting theories about the origin of the atolls. Darwin believed they were created when volcanic islands were slowly sinking into the sea. As the land-mass submerged, coral reefs simultaneously grew upwards, forming a ring round the original coastline. Because of its need for light, the coral grew steadily upwards until it was level with the surface of the sea. Since conditions for survival were more favourable on the outer edge, the centre gradually rotted away and became a lagoon. Then storms, waves, tides and currents wash in coral fragments and shells, which fill the lagoon and create a low sandbank. Coconuts float ashore, palm-trees grow and their roots stabilize the beach. Sea-birds, land hermit-crabs and insects are the first visitors to the islands. The archipelago of the Maldives is one of the wonders of the world, created by tiny creatures - the coral polyps.

"When the king of the Maldives claims to rule over 12,000 islands, that is oriental hyperbole. Most of the islands are uninhabited and contain nothing but trees. Others are mere heaps of sand, which are covered by water when the tide is particularly high..." Thus spoke the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who admittedly never once left his native Königsberg, but took issue with this exaggeration in his

"Lectures on Natural History."

Today, the Maldivians make more modest claims. They talk of twenty-six natural atolls, which are grouped into nineteen administrative atolls; and of 1,190 islands, of which 215 are inhabited. The entire land surface of this maritime nation totals only 115 square miles (298 sq.km), which is equivalent to a medium sized city. The size and number of islands in this coral republic are not immutable figures. Coral reefs are extremely sensitive and slow-growing organisms. They can take as much as a century to grow one meter. Slight shifts in the balance of nature are enough to make whole islands sink beneath the sea, while other new ones are being born.

The early history of their settlement is obscure. According to one myth, Singhalese women were the first to set foot on the islands. They called their realm "Mahiladipa" - the islands of women. From this name it is not difficult to derive the "Maldives" of today. Erotic legends were woven around these women; they took explorers, merchants and shipwrecked sailors as their lovers and bore them children. The men were mainly Arabs, but also Africans and Malays. It is their descendants who have given the present inhabitants their characteristic appearance. Tales of these islands of paradise are centuries old. The first description of the Maldives was written by the Moroccan explorer and adventurer, Ibn Battuta, who visited the "Sultans Islands" in the 14th century, and stayed there for more than a year: "From the fruit of the palm the people make milk and honey. From this food, and from their fish, the inhabitants gain remarkable endurance in the practice of love-making. The achievements of the islanders in this respect are astonishing... When a ship arrives the crew gets "married." When the sailors leave again, they abandon their women, so the marriages are but brief ones." Battuta went on to report that even in the 12th century the islands were a well-organized state. In the year 1153 Abu-ul-Barat, a Berber devoted to the Koran, converted the Buddhist chieftain and his court to Islam. With this event begins the officially recorded history of the Maldives. Together with Qatar and Oman, the Maldive republic is today one of the only three countries in the world which are 100 per cent Muslim. The ruling class profited in a number of ways from the islamicisation of the archipelago. The islands became part of the Arab trading network, so that rare and valuable goods came in from abroad. The strict Islamic code of law made government easier and strengthened the role of the central authority over the widely scattered island kingdom. In this period, the Maldivians literally grew for themselves the coinage of international trade, just as in the Land of Cockaigne. They laid branches down in the lagoons, on which grew thousands of cowrie-shells, which were a very important currency throughout Africa, India, Arabia and Asia. Since the end of the slave-trade, the cowrie, or monetaria moneta, to give it its scientific name, has played no part in world trade.

Throughout the centuries, by virtue of their geography, the Maldives remained independent. They were never of interest to colonizers, since apart from fish and copra, there was nothing to be had there.

The Portuguese only stayed there from 1558 to 1575 and were driven back by the Maldivians to their Indian base in Goa. Three hundred years later, the British declared the Maldives a protectorate, but never became involved in the internal affairs of the sultanate.In 1965 the Maldives gained their political and economic independence. In the 1950s, Hans Hass discovered the fascinating world

of the Maldive atolls and coral reefs on his expedition on "Xarifa".

In his wake came diving enthusiasts, who formed the vanguard of the tourist invasion. In the 1970s the first international visitors reached the Maldives via Colombo. They landed on Hulule Island after a tiring 2-hour flight in a propellor-driven aircraft.

Four policemen controlled the traffic on this island in spite of its having no cars. Their only job was, once or twice a day, to check the four paths which crossed the airstrip, and see that no villagers or goats wandered in front of the aircraft.

Visitors sailed out to the islands of Kurumba or Bandos in dhonis, the Maldivian fishing-boats. These were the first uninhabited islands to have simple bungalows erected on the beach. To do this, literally everything had to be imported: every nail, screw and water-tap, every piece of corrugated iron, every wash-basin, every bowl, the canned beer, the wine, even the writing-paper for the holidaymakers

from Europe.

Shrewd scouts and pioneers of the travel industry marketed the little islands, with their waving palms, white beaches and blue lagoons, as "dream islands." With their yearning for faraway places and desire to see these fabled islands, more and more sun-worshippers, snorkellers and divers arrived from all over the world.

At first, the sleepy coral republic did not know what to make of this invasion. Having lived for centuries from little else but coconuts and fishing, cut off from the outside world, they were propelled, overnight, into the demanding, hi-tech culture of 20th century mass tourism. Being alert and intellegent, they quickly realized that they could earn foreign currency from the things they had in abundance: sea, sun, coral reefs and islands. Today the nations cash-registers are filled with US dollars. Having been an independent Islamic republic since 1965, the government made tourism a Maldivian business right from the start and holds the reins firmly in its hands. All the islands are owned by the state and are not for sale. Foreign investors in the hotel sector are only accepted for a limited period. When a lease expires, the buildings and other facilities revert to Maldive ownership. This ambitious young nation intends to remain master in its own land, and tries, as far as possible, to manage all the aspects of tourism itself. One soon appreciates the Maldivians as tolerant and open-minded people, who learn quickly from new experience and, when necessary, draw the right conclusions from it.

In only ten years the Maldivians had made the leap into the 20th century. In 1972 the first hotel was opened, in 1977 the first jets landed and satellite telephones were installed, in 1978 colour television...Between 1976 and 1981, as tourist traffic was building up, the island of Hulule was evacuated and levelled with coral stone to provide a runway for jumbo jets. It became an air crossroad in the Indian Ocean.

In 1981, the Maldive atolls, which look from the air like a floating dream, became a paradise destination for charter flights, only 10 hours by air from the capitals of Europe and Asia. It is the Italians, smitten with wanderlust, who form the majority of sun-worshippers, snorklers, scuba-divers and surfers, followed by the Germans, British, Swiss, Scandinavians, French, Australians, Japanese and Chinese.

According to the dictionary, a tourist resort is a place of refuge and recuperation. This certainly describes the eighty islands, on each of which hotel complexes have been built, predominantly in the bungalow style. Initially, the complexes comprised: a reception, a restaurant, a bar, guest bungalows and nearly always a diving and surfing school. The first visitors were seasoned travellers. With their pioneering spirit and love of improvisation, they appreciated the simply appointed resorts, close to nature, where neither shoes nor elegant clothes were required. The size of these resorts was not measured in surface area - you can comfortably walk round most of the islands in ten to twenty minutes - but by the number of beds. The shortage of natural fresh water has been overcome by the desalination of sea-water. This made it possible to increase the number of beds, thanks also to water-bungalows built on stilts. Paradise is getting more crowded. The tourists resorts are being steadily adapted to meet the wishes of the guests, and many of them have been enlarged and upgraded to international "Five Star" standards. Air-conditioned bungalows, speciality restaurants, bars, Jacuzzi, fresh-water swimming-pool, tennis-courts with floodlighting, fitness centres, business centres with Internet connection, spas and "wellness" oases, saunas, schools for surfing, sailing and scuba-diving - all these are standard features. The exception is the first, and so far only, golf course on Kuredu Island. With a few exceptions the visitors and the indigenous population keep to their own separate islands. Resort guests usually only get to know the locals as male hotel staff or boatmen. In Ibn Battutas day, friendly contact between the races was common, and he wrote enthusiastically of the "delightful company offered by the womenfolk." In todays Islamic regime, however, any such contact is considered undesirable, and would be harshly punished - even though it might be beneficial for tourism. The unusually high divorce rate here - according to UNESCO, the highest in the world - is something the Maldivians must sort out for themselves. This strictly regulated picture-book paradise is divided into three regions, and three corresponding strata.

Firstly, there are the holiday islands, then there is the only city and its island of the same name, Male, since time immemorial the economic and cultural centre of the island nation - and then comes the rest of the archipelago.The westernised way of life in the enclaves for holidaymakers who bring foreign currency, and the high living-standard of the old established citizens in the "power centre" of Male, based on the traditional family networks of oriental autocracy, have nothing in common with the rest of the archipelago, where the majority of the population is spread over nineteen atolls and ekes out a lonely existence on remote islands. Life in these self-sufficient village communities is tranquil, monotonous and strictly ordered. The men, if they are not working in tourist resorts, are predominantly fishermen, wresting from the sea the staple diet of their people and also the republics principal export. Until a short time ago. Contact with the outlying islands, and with the outside world in general, was minimal. But that has changed a great deal. Today nearly every Maldivian owns a mobile phone and every village community has at least one satellite TV set. The villagers watch Maldive-made soap-operas and international news with equal fascination. The Maldive government has made a decision to open up eleven more islands, spread over all the atolls, for tourism.

Centuries before the fictional hero Robinson Crusoe appeared on the literary scene, the real-life explorer Ibn Battuta declared his wish to be banished to paradise on one of the many isles of the Maldive archipelago: "We sailed to a very small island, on which stood but one house. In it dwelt a weaver with his wife and children. He had a boat in which he went out fishing or sailed to one of the neighbouring islands. Banana-plants and coconut palms provided food for the taking. By Allah, I envy this man, and wish the island belonged to me, so that I might retreat from the world and await my final hour."

"Back to nature, preferably on a desert island." In the early 1980s, a German touroperator made this dream come true. "Be another Robinson Crusoe - alone on your own island; we arrange your trip with nothing included." All that was offered was the flight, and a boat to take you to an uninhabited isle. Equipped with basic provisions, a US Navy survival manual and a fishing-line, the over-civilized seeker of paradise could spend up to three weeks rediscovering his natural roots. A marvellous idea in theory, it failed in practice due to a surfeit of nature and solitude, which brought on a mild form of dementia, and because kindly native fishermen would try to rescue the lonely exiles. For, even today, the severest punishment for any Maldivian is to be banished to a strange island. So the Crusoe-island holidays were permanently dropped from the tour-operators catalogue. A modern variant is provided by day-trips in a sea-plane for a "Robinson Crusoe" picnic. Accompanied by a tour-leader, would-be Crusoes share a beach buffet for two hours on an uninhabited island.

For me, the loveliest way to travel around the Maldive atolls is in a safari-boat. These are dhonis, which are fitted out, with modest comforts, for fairly long voyages. As you glide through the archipelago and then out into the infinite expanse of ocean, you suddenly see another island on the horizon, and it seems that you have reached the goal of all your dreams.

Miniature islands, like the Maldive atolls, have always aroused a romantic yearning for untroubled bliss, for a charmed existence, free from the anxieties of civilization. Away from the hectic, depersonalizing routine of making a living, one dreams of never again being a slave to mere economic necessity.

Words by Marion Friedel





MALDIVES – THE CORAL GARDEN OF THE INDIAN OCEAN
WORDS © MARION FRIEDEL