I was on a speedboat coming back to Male' from a resort site inspection, and we neared to the west side and sped along the coastal lines until we reached no.1 jetty. During the short while it took to come from the west to the north-west, I saw a side of Male' I had not seen before, and felt ashamed I had not. I have grown up here, spent 21 years here and have failed to walk on the sea wall surrounding the harbour and market. Living in a 2 sq km island (correct me if I'm wrong cos I think I am about the size), I don't think there should be even an inch of the land we haven't covered or poked our noses into. For example, I didn't know the gap you see in the above picture was even there! For me, little things like this matter. I like little things. Little things combine to form bigger things... no?
I liked that the navigation light posts were a bit different from the ones at the airport ferry terminal, they looked older and more ancient. Made me imagine how several decades ago our little island would look like - no paved roads, no big buildings, a vehicle or two here and there, just a wee little quiet, yet a busy fishing and business port. A drop in the ocean.
I roamed in and around the market with Faz - joined later by Fabio and Murray. It was my first time inside the old market (one end you can see from the above pic), the one made out of tins opposite the fish market, and I enjoyed every second of it. The stale smells, the thick, humid atmosphere, loud radios screeching Quran, religious programs or some other talk shows. Walk we did, checking the prices of salted and dried fish, mangoes, veggies and fruits from different stalls. There was a stall selling goods from Fuamulak, everything was from Fuamulak, except the guy who was selling them. I really had it pegged for a 100% authentic Fuamulak stall you know. Bit dissapointing. Everyone gave me funny looks because I doubt they've seen a local girl our age go there in ages.
So last night I showed this and some other pics to my boyfriend and to my surprise, even HE didn't know this little gap existed. See, I think little details are very important.
I am waiting for the weather to let up again. I'm not too happy with the photos I took so... once the weather clears, it's time to go visit the market again. I we should walk around more... vehicles interfere with our way of live more than we think they do. More about this later. I wanted to write about materialism in here as well, but let's just keep this about Male' and her beauty (though we've lost most of it).
4 comments:
i didnt know that gap existed either. nice find. but then again i rarely walk around in Male' even when i do go back. so hm must be that.
I've been in that area filming and i didnt see it that time. It must be new cos they reclaimed that area for the new Local Market
btw male' is roughly 5.7sq km.
Good read! I was shocked the first time I saw the gap as well.
The whole region, especially the area near the small roundabout encircling the harbour lights is very soothing at night. It sets a very calm mood with the sound of the waves caressing the mild silence, with of course the interruption of the occasional whirr of the motor boats. The fishermen mind their own business and you are free to observe the distant lights, and let your thoughts wander. It's kind of like a hidden face of Male' where most ppl do not often think about going.
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