Lesson: The Maldives

A. Discussion

Discuss the questions in pairs:

1. Have you ever visited any island or seen any island on TV?
2. Have you ever heard of a coral island? Is there any coral island in Bangladesh?
3. What do you know about the Maldives?

B. Reading

Paradise in Peril

The Republic of Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean. It has 1,199 islands clustered into 26 major atolls. An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef or string of closely spaced coral islands. The natural coral reefs of the Maldives are surrounded by the sea on all sides and stand out as a pearl in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is the eighth smallest country in the world, with an area of only 300 square kilometers. It is the smallest Asian country in terms of both population and size.

(Picture: An aerial view of the Maldives)

People have been living on the islands of the Maldives for nearly 3,000 years. They set sail from different parts of the world—Asia, Arabia, Europe, and America—to come to these islands. The earliest settlers of the Maldives were probably from southern India and Sri Lanka, who came to these islands in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. In the 12th century AD, sailors from East Africa and Arab countries came to the Maldives. As a result, the Maldivians, who were originally Buddhists, converted to Sunni Islam in the mid-12th century. In 1344, Ibn Battuta, a famous Arab historian and scholar, traveled around the Maldives.

In the 16th century, the Portuguese conquered the Maldives and ruled the country for 15 years. Although governed as an independent Islamic sultanate for most of its history from 1153 to 1968, the Maldives was a British colony from 1887 to 1965. Following independence from Britain in 1965, the sultanate continued to operate for another three years. On November 11, 1968, the sultanate was abolished and replaced by a republic, and the country assumed its present name.

The Maldives is famous as a tourist destination because of its pleasant weather, heavenly beaches and lagoons, luxurious holiday resorts, and peace-loving people. The Maldives was ranked as the best country for beautiful beaches and facilities for recreation in 2008.

The Maldives is well-known for being the lowest country in the world. Unfortunately, this small country with idyllic natural beauty is under threat from rising sea levels due to global warming. Most of the country is just 1.5 meters above sea level, with the highest point at 2.3 meters! Many predictions have been made that the Maldives will be swept away by the rising water levels in the Indian Ocean. When the powerful tsunami of 2004 hit the island nation, many of the islands’ dry parts were flooded by seawater. The Maldivian government has begun to purchase land from nearby countries to resettle its people if the islands go underwater!

To highlight the threat of global warming to its low-lying islands, the Maldivian government held a cabinet meeting underwater in 2009. That was the first-ever underwater cabinet meeting in the world. The meeting took place about 5 meters underwater in a blue-green lagoon on a small island. While underwater, the cabinet signed a document calling on all nations to cut their carbon emissions.

(Picture: Maldivian government officials holding an underwater cabinet meeting)

C. Comprehension

Ask and answer these questions:

1. What is an atoll?
2. How many countries in the world are smaller than the Maldives in size?
3. When was Islam introduced in the Maldives?
4. What makes the Maldives an ideal destination for tourists?
5. What dangers of climate change might affect the Maldives?
6. Do you support the idea of having a cabinet meeting underwater? What could be the reason for holding such a strange meeting?

D. Table Completion

Complete the table with no more than two words and/or numbers.

| Time | Facts | |--------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th and 5th centuries BC | The early inhabitants of the Maldives arrived and settled from Southern India and Sri Lanka. | | 12th Century AD | The sailors from African and Arab countries started to settle in the islands. Buddhism was ______ by Islam. | | 1344 | A famous scholar and historian named Ibn Battuta visited the islands of the Maldives. | | 16th century | The Portuguese occupied the Maldives and became the ______ of the country for 15 years. | | 1887 | Beginning of the British ______ era. | | 1965 | Maldives became independent from British rule. | | 1968 | End of the Islamic sultanate and ______ of the Republic of Maldives. |

E. True/False

Say whether the statements are true or false. Give the correct information if a statement is false.

1. Only seven countries in the world are smaller in size than the Maldives.
2. No other South Asian country has a population smaller than the Maldives.
3. The islands of the Maldives were first inhabited in the 12th century.
4. The Maldives was an independent Islamic sultanate from 1153 to 1968.
5. The Maldives was ranked as the second-best country for natural beauty in 2008.