The Maldives or Maldives is an island state in South Asia,
located on an archipelago in the equatorial Indian Ocean. The
Republic of Maldives is located on more than 1000 atoll islands,
located about 700 km southwest of Sri Lanka.
Regions
Administratively, the Republic is divided into 19 island groups,
plus 1 metropolitan area: Administratively, the Republic of Maldives
is divided into 19 island groups - atolls: Alifu, Baa, Vaavu, Gaafu,
Alifu, Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Mimu, Nu- well,
Raa, Sinu, Thaa, Faa-fu, Khaa, Shaviyani and Male.
Cities
Male - the capital and the only city of the country, is one of the
smallest capital cities in the world, and, accordingly, one of the
most densely populated cities on the planet.
How to get there
Visa
The Maldives for citizens of the Russian
Federation has established a visa-free entry procedure for up to 30
days, registration is carried out at the airport upon arrival.
By
plane
From Russia to the Maldives you can fly a direct flight of
Aeroflot airline. When flying with a transit transfer, it is most
convenient to use Emirates airlines with transit to Dubai or Qatar
Airways with transit in Doha. Landing takes place near the capital, on a
neighboring island.
Language
Dhivehi is the official language
of the country.
Purchases
The country's currency is the
Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR).
Costs
This is one of the most
expensive beach resorts in the world.
Nature
Small lizards,
snails, flying foxes, crabs, herons and other different birds live in
the Maldives. Also there is a very rich underwater world, as in Egypt.
Precautionary measures
The Maldives is a Muslim country.
Forbidden to import: salami sausage, pornographic products and drugs.
The import of alcohol is also prohibited, its use is allowed only in
specially permitted places: bars and restaurants of hotels. Drinking
alcohol, being naked on the beach, and topless are also prohibited on
the beaches. Spearfishing, collection of corals and marine fauna is
prohibited.
The Republic of Maldives is located in the equatorial waters of the
Indian Ocean, about 700 km southwest of Sri Lanka. The western coast is
washed by the waters of the Arabian Sea, and the interior of the
Maldives also belongs to its water area. At the same time, the eastern
coast of the archipelago is washed by the waters of the Laccadive Sea.
The archipelago is a chain of 26 atolls, which include 1192 coral
islands. The islands do not rise much above the ocean level: the highest
point of the archipelago is on the southern Addu (Siena) atoll - 2.4 m.
The total area, calculated together with inland waters, is 90 thousand
km², the land area is 298 km². The capital of Male - the only city and
port of the archipelago - is located on the atoll of the same name.
Climate
The Maldives has a stable tropical monsoon climate (Am)
according to the Köppen climate classification, which is influenced by a
fairly large area of South Asia. Since the Maldives has the lowest
altitude of any country in the world, temperatures are constantly hot
and humid. This causes differential heating of the earth and water.
There is a constant influx of moist sea air from the Indian Ocean -
monsoons. The Maldives is dominated by two seasons: the dry season,
associated with the winter northeast monsoon, and the rainy season,
which brings high winds and storms.
The transition from the dry
northeast monsoon to the wet southwest monsoon occurs during April and
May. During this period, southwest winds contribute to the formation of
the southwest monsoon, which reaches the Maldives in early June and
prevails until the end of August. However, the weather conditions in the
Maldives do not always match the monsoon regimes of South Asia. Annual
rainfall averages 254 centimeters (100 inches) in the north and 381
centimeters (150 inches) in the south. The monsoonal influence is
greater in the north of the Maldives than in the south - this is due to
the presence of equatorial currents.
Giant Achatina, hermit crabs live on land, while flying foxes and
gray herons live in the air.
Water world
The waters around the
Maldives include several different ecosystems, but they are best known
for their variety of colorful coral reefs, home to 1,100 fish species, 5
sea turtle species, 21 whale and dolphin species, 187 coral species, 400
mollusk species and 83 echinoderm species. In addition, many species of
crustaceans live here: 120 species of copepods, 15 species of amphipods,
as well as more than 145 species of crabs and 48 species of shrimp.
Families represented here include: pufferfish, snapperfish, horse
mackerel, lionfish, eastern sweetlips, reef sharks, groupers, eels,
cesiums, bristletooths, ephippids, wrasses, eagle rays, scorpionfish,
lobsters, nudibranchs, angelfish, butterflyfish, holocentric, soldier
fish, glass groupers, surgeonfish, longtails, triggerfish, napoleons and
barracudas.
These coral reefs inhabit a variety of marine
ecosystems from planktonic organisms to whale sharks. Sponges gained
great importance after five species were found to have anti-tumor and
anti-cancer properties. In 1998, the water temperature rose by 5 °C due
to the El Niño event, which caused coral bleaching and the death of ⅔ of
the organisms that live in coral reefs.
In an attempt to re-grow
the reefs, the scientists placed electrified cones at a depth of about
6.1-18.3 m to provide a substrate for coral larvae to attach to. In
2004, scientists noticed the regeneration of corals. The corals began to
release pink-orange eggs and sperm into the water. These electrified
corals grew five times faster than regular corals.