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| Male'
is the busiest place for shopping, given the choice
and variety of goods available in this centre of commercial
activity |
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| Male'
offers a great choice of restaurants to choose from |
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| Male'
the capital offers a wide choice of interesting places
to see, including a beautiful old mosque which
boasts some of the most intricate and oldest coral carvings
in the world. |
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| Souvenir
Shopping |
| In
addition to every resort having a shop full of souvenirs
for you to take home, Male' offers a wide choice including
electronics and duty free shopping. |
Souvenirs
It is not difficult
to find your way around Male?, especially if you carry a
map with you. After all it is only two square kilometres.
The main street Majeedhee Magu, runs right across the island
from east to west. Chaandhanee Magu on the other hand runs
from north to south. Most souvenir shops line the northern
end of Chaandanee Magu, earlier known as the Singapore Bazaar
for its many imports from Singapore. Guides and vendors
speaking in English and other foreign languages patiently
wait to serve the visitors. These shops are stocked with
an ample supply of gifts and souvenir items. Best buys include
the "thudu kuna" the Maldivian mat woven with local natural
fibres. Attractive too are the wooden miniature "dhonis".
When shopping for souvenirs, do keep in mind that export
of products made of turtle shell, black coral, pearl oyster
shell and red coral is prohibited.
Garments to electronics
Shopping is the favourite
activity for the locals especially in the evenings, when
it is cooler. The Majeedhee Magu, which is the main road
on the island, has along its sides various shops selling
goods from the smallest commodities to virtually everything
you could think of. The shops are well stocked with garments,
perfumes and cosmetics, jewellery, watches or electronics,
to name just a few. Many find it a pleasant experience to
join the throngs of shoppers on the main shopping streets
in the evenings. All shops are open until 11.00 in the night,
except for prayer times, when they are closed for 15 minutes.
Fish Products
Canned fish produced
at the canning plant in Felivaru, Lhaviyani Atoll is available
in a number of shops in Malé. Tuna used for canning are
caught by the traditional pole and line method, as are all
fish caught in the Maldives, and therefore are dolphin
friendly. Vacuum packed smoked fish and chipped dried fish
are also available in many super markets around Male'. These
genuine Maldivian products would make excellent gifts for
a friend. Or just take some home and try them out
yourself.
Local Produce
The Local Market,
just a block away from the Male? Fish Market on the northern
waterfront, is divided into small stalls. Here the pace
is slower and the atmosphere peaceful, compared to the hectic
activity in the rest of this neighbourhood. Each stall is
filled with a variety of local produce mainly from the atolls.
Here you will find different kinds of local vegetables,
fruits and yams, packets of sweetmeat, nuts and breadfruit
chips, bottles of home made sweets and pickles and bunches
of bananas hanging on coir ropes from ceiling beams. Another
building just next door sells smoked and dried fish.
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