Tag: Maldives

History According to physicscat.com, the first residents probably arrived in the archipelago from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and southern India before 500 BC. It is believed that as early as 2000 BC the islands were located at the crossroads of trade routes of various maritime nations. The Maldives maintain that an ancient people of sun worshipers, the Redin, were the first residents of the islands, and they left behind the beliefs and customs related to evil spirits or Jinnis, still in force today. The Redin left the territory around 500 BC or were absorbed by Buddhists from Ceylon or Hindus from India. Since construction materials were limited, each group built its most important structures on top of those left by previous settlers. This explains why many Maldivian mosques are oriented towards the sun and not towards Mecca. Arab…

According to ezinereligion, in 2007, the population of Maldives was estimated to be around 393,500 people. The economy of Maldives was heavily dependent on tourism and fishing. Foreign relations were strong with many countries in the region such as India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Politically, Maldives was a presidential republic with Mohamed Nasheed as the President at the time. He had been in power since 2008 and led the governing coalition, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The opposition consisted of several smaller parties such as Jumhooree Party (JP), Adhaalath Party (AP) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP). These parties had been gaining more support nationwide since 2005. Yearbook 2007 Maldives. According to CountryAAH, Male is the capital city of Maldives. About 61 percent of the participants said in a referendum in…