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Shopping in the
Maldives
Malé is the commercial hub of the
Maldives in addition to being the capital
city. Varieties of consumer goods are
imported to Maldives and are sold in Malé.
Electronic items, beauty products, perfumes,
chocolates and cosmetics are available
from shops in different parts of Malé.
Garments are mainly found in shops in
Majeedhee Magu and Chandhanee Magu, two
well-known streets of Malé. Garments
are mainly imported from Thailand, Singapore,
Indonesia and Dubai. The shopping area
of Chandhanee Magu is known as Singapore
Baazaar, named after the shops that used
to be there, with products imported from
Singapore in 1960s and 1970s. Today, the
area is flooded with souvenir shops. Nevertheless,
one can still find varieties of other
products in this area.
Most of the souvenir shops are located
in the area of Chandhanee Magu, Orchid
Magu, Fareedhee Magu and Faamudheyri Magu.
The shops offer diverse items, both imported
and locally produced. Lacquer works, locally
woven mats from dried coconut leaves and
reeds, wooden fishes, T-shirts, sarongs,
caps, scarves, bracelets, rings, necklaces,
shells, models of local vessels (dhoani)
made out of wood and oyster shells, postcards,
books on Maldives, and maps are some of
the items available. Not all these items
are produced in Maldives. Some of them
are imported from Dubai, India and Indonesia.
It is better to visit some shops and
compare the prices before purchasing anything.
You may find a lot of people trying to
persuade you to visit a certain shop and
it is in your best interest that you should
be independent in your decisions.
The duty free shops in Malé International
Airport offers you a variety of commodities
including from electronic items, liqueur,
chocolates, jewellery, souvenirs, stationary,
perfumes, and toys.
In each resort, you will find a shop
catering for in-house guests. Items like
cosmetics sun protection and tanning products,
sarongs, shorts, swim wear are found.
In many local islands in the tourism
zone, souvenir shops have flourished.
They also provide diverse range of souvenirs
for the tourists who might visit the islands
on excursions. Himmafushi, Maafushi, Huuraa,
and Guraidhoo of Malé Atoll are
famous for its souvenir shops. Rasdhoo,
Mahibadhoo and Dhagethi in Ari Atoll are
also well known.
The shops in the Maldives open at different
times in the morning but usually before
9.00 A.M. The shops closes for prayer
times for an interval of 15 minutes. The
latest time for the shops to close business
is 11.00 P.M.
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Local handcrafted
vase - A must buy for every visitor
to Maldives |
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