Malé and the coral mosque
The world's densest capital on two square kilometres, and a mosque cut from coral.
Duration
2 hrs – 3 hrs
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Malé occupies two square kilometres and houses more than two hundred thousand people: one of the densest cities on earth, built to the water's edge and ringed by a wall of concrete blocks against the swell.
The Hukuru Miskiy, the old Friday Mosque, was built in 1658 from cut coral blocks fitted without mortar, with lacquered wood panels carved in calligraphy. Coral was worked like soft stone then hardened in the air: it is a Maldivian technique, and quarrying has long been banned — it could not be built again.
Getting there
Public ferry from Velana airport, ten minutes, a few rufiyaa. The whole of Malé is crossed on foot in half an hour.
Rules on site
The Maldives is a Muslim country where alcohol is banned outside the resort islands, and covering dress is expected in Malé — shoulders and knees, for everyone. The Friday Mosque requires prior permission to visit, obtained from the ministry.