The Maldives: The Island Kingdom Quiz

Answer: coral

The Maldives archipelago is largely comprised of 26 atolls, an atoll being an island developed from coral with a central lagoon. The word 'atoll' is actually derived from the Maldivian language and is now used worldwide to describe this kind of geographical feature.

Whilst the islands of the Maldives spreads out over a territory of 90,000 square kilometres, the total land area of the islands themselves is only 300 square kilometres.

Answer: Crescent Moon

The flag of the Maldives is an interesting composition of symbols. The outer red rectangle represents the heroism of their warriors and their willingness to shed blood for their country. In contrast, the inner green rectangle represents peace and prosperity. The white crescent moon represents the Muslim faith, the predominate religion of the Maldives.

Answer: Buddhism

Buddhism was the predominant religion in the Maldives prior to its conversion to Islam in the 12th century. The island of Thoddoo is home to a number of important Buddhist ruins. However, Islam later became firmly entrenched as the state religion, to the extent that the country's constitution was amended in 2008 to include a clause that non-Muslims could not become citizens of the Maldives.

Answer: Laccadive Sea

The Laccadive Sea is located in the Northern Indian Ocean and it borders India. Other island groups in this area include Sri Lanka and the Lakshadweep archipelago. The Lakshadweep archipelago was once known in English as the Laccadive Islands, hence the name of the sea.

Answer: Tourism

Tourism and fishing are the two most important contributors to the economy of the Maldives. The Maldives is promoted for its resort-style holidays as well as diving holidays on its beautiful coral reefs. Tourism websites describe the Maldives as "a thousand Robinson Crusoe islands" and wax lyrical about its "emerald isles", "turquoise seas" and "dazzling underwater coral gardens".

Source: maldivesonlineguide.com

Answer: Sri Lanka

The legend has it that Prince Koimala of the Lion Race from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) established a kingdom on the North Maalhosmadulu Atoll in the early 12th century. It is said that through this relationship with Koimala, the Maldivian throne became known as the "lion throne".

Answer: Lowest country in the world

The average level of the Maldives above sea level is 1.5 metres, making it the lowest country in the world. With a highest point above sea level of 2.3 metres, it earns its other world number one--the country with the lowest high point. The Maldives is also the smallest country in Asia in terms of land area.

Whilst a very small country in terms of land area, Maldives is only the tenth smallest country in the world.

Answer: Spain

The Portuguese were the first to arrive in the Maldives, establishing a small trading post in the mid-16th century. The Dutch were the next to establish a political interest in the Maldives in the mid-17th century. The English were successful in reducing Dutch influence in the region when they evicted them from Ceylon in 1796, and at the same time brought the Maldives under the English umbrella as a protectorate.

The Maldives achieved independence from Great Britain in 1965.

Answer: Tsunami

Yes, the Maldives too was a victim of the tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. About 108 people were reported as being killed and the waves were said to be 4.3 metres high. In a country with an average height of 1.5 metres above sea level, significant amounts of infrastructure were destroyed and many islands had to be evacuated.

Answer: Global Warming

Like many low-lying island nations, the debate around global warming is of significant interest to the Maldives. If, as has been argued, global warming does result in significant rises in sea levels, then the very existence of the Maldives is at stake.

This is of such concern that in 2008 the government of the Maldives announced it would commence purchasing land in other countries, funded from their tourism revenues.

Answer: Alcohol free

The Maldives, being a Muslim state, has a ban on alcohol. So outside of the resorts catering to tourists, visitors will normally be unable to buy an alcoholic drink in a local bar or restaurant in any other part of the Maldives, including the capital Malé.

Answer: Highland

Of the just over 1,900 islands of the Maldives, about 250 of them are inhabited. The rest are described as uninhabited in that they have no permanent settlements on them. The third group "disappeared" refers to islands which are no longer extant either due to erosion, rising sea levels or incorporation into other islands.

Some of these "disappeared" islands have left their legacy in Maldivian history or in the names of atolls.

Answer: Dhoni

The dhoni is the traditional Maldivian fishing boat. It is estimated that half of the Maldivian workforce is employed in the fishing industry. Whilst much of the industry is based around food fish such as tuna, the Maldives has been developing an export industry in aquarium fish harvested from its rich tropical waters.

Answer: March

The rainy season in the Maldives tends to start in April and runs all the way into November. February and March tend to receive the lowest rainfall over the course of the year. Temperatures vary between 24c and 31c across the year - sounds like heaven to me.

Answer: Cowrey Shells

The Maldives was one of the major suppliers of cowrey shells to the ancient world when the cowrey shell was an important form of currency. The importance of the cowrey shell in the history of the Maldives is recognised in it being adopted as the symbol of the Maldives Monetary Authority.