______
Sarah’s Picture Selection
No. 2: Gaafu Dhaalu Rathafandhoo - Example of a coral stone house, which became much more widespread only in the last century, before greater environmental awareness brought an end to mining of the reef.
No. 3: Gaafu Dhaalu Gan - One of the largest (uninhabited) islands in the country, and home to some of its biggest secrets.
No. 6: Gaafu Alif Kolamaafushi - Traditional joali chairs found on every street across the islands.
No. 8: Gaafu Dhaalu Nadellaa - One of the few remaining blacksmiths (kanburuveriya) in the country, with over 50 years experience.
No. 9: Seenu Hithadhoo - Removing the husk from a mature coconut (kaashi), which was traditionally soaked before being twisted into very strong coir rope.
No. 10: Seenu Hithadhoo - Lady with broom (illoshi fathi) - made from parts of the palm leaf, used to sweep, and to swat away mosquitoes.
No. 11: Noonu Lhohi - Lady up at dawn to sweep the streets, a traditional activity seen less in more urbanised islands.
No. 12: Gaafu Dhaalu Madaveli - Woman holding limestone rocks (old corals) boiled as part of the production of palm syrup.
No. 17: Gaafu Dhaalu Faresmaathodaa - Harbour built between the two connected islands of Fares and Maathodaa; home to one the largest fishing fleets in one of the most fishing-intensive atolls.
No. 18: Gaafu Dhaalu Vaadhoo - An island with a rich history of Buddhism and Islamic scholarship, through Sheikh Mohamed Jamaluddin, as well as the Blue Bowls surf break.
No. 21: Gaafu Alif Villingili - Small lake, more common in the larger southern isles; this one in the atoll capital contains tilapia fish nests.
No. 22: Gaafu Dhaalu Dhigilaabadhoo - Uninhabited island in the southern atolls, containing mangroves and known to be a breeding area for sharks and mantas.
No. 23: Gaafu Dhaalu Dhigilaabadhoo - Unusual u-shaped island lying in the south-east of the atoll, between the inhabited islands of Faresmaathodaa and Fiyoari.
No. 24: Gaafu Dhaalu Faresmaathodaa - The islands of Fares and Maathoda were joined together in 1998.
No. 27: Noonu Lhohi - Lady sweeping early in the morning, upholding Maldivian island villages' long reputation for impeccable cleanliness.
No. 28: Noonu Lhohi - Maldivians have over the past hundred years gradually converted their homes from thatched roofing to corrugated iron, which keeps out more rain but keep in more heat (and lasts longer).
No. 29: Alif Alif Rasdhoo - Maldivian women, particularly the older generations, still love to smoke hookah pipes, known locally as gudugudaa due to the bubbling sound they make.
No. 30: Gaafu Alif Nilandhoo - Bougainvillea trees outside the Pearl Beach guesthouse, just yards from the reef shallows.
No. 31: Gaafu Dhaalu Dhigilaabadhoo - Unusual u-shaped island lying in the south-east of the atoll, between the inhabited islands of Faresmaathodaa and Fiyoari.
No. 33: Finolhu resort, Baa atoll - The Dhivehi word for sandbank, from which this resort takes its name, is 'finolhu'.
No. 35: Kaafu Male': Man working in the capital's famous fish market, preparing freshly caught tuna.
No. 41: Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah - Lady tending a watermelon patch in Fuvahmulah, the Maldives' largest single-island atoll.
No. 43: Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah - Fishermen in Fuvahmulah working just beyond the waves; the island's unique geography means it is surrounded nearby on all sides by deep ocean.
No. 47: Lonuboa, Alif Dhaalu; School of jackfish just off the reef by Lonuboa, a private island which is part of Maafushivaru resort.
No. 49: Noonu Lhohi - Traditional joali chair, shaded beneath a tree in the middle of the road; small islands like Lhohi have few motor vehicles, and no cars.
No. 52: Seenu Hithadhoo - The Koattey area at the extreme north-east of Addu atoll forms part of the Hithadhoo Protected Area, preserved for its wetlands, bird species, and historical significance.
No. 53: Kaafu Male' - Gaadiya food stand in the capital, taking its name from traditional carts, though these on the south side of Male' are static.
No. 54: Lhaviyani Naifaru - Narrow streets of the atoll capital, one of country's the more recently, but more densely, populated islands.
No. 55: Seenu Hankede - This once-inhabited island now lies on the iconic Addu link road, until recently the longest in the country.
No. 56: Gaafu Dhaalu Madaveli - Small family business making traditional Dhivehi dresses, known as Libaas.
No. 57: Seenu Maradhoo - Children taking swimming lessons on the floating swimtrack; found in a number of larger islands.
No. 62: Gaafu Alif Kanduhulhudhoo - One of the island's last toddy tappers, with his trusty knife - without which no islander was considered fully dressed in the past.
No. 63: Gaafu Dhaalu Villingili - Ladies preparing curry spices (havaadhu) ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan.
No. 68: Gaafu Dhaalu Gahdhoo - Lady practising the traditional art of mat-weaving, found mainly in this island and nearby Fiyoari.
No. 70: Gaadu Dhaalu Nadellaa - Unusual channel cut into the reef on the approach to Nadellaa, designed with the currents in mind, to reduce the need for dredging.
No. 71: Alif Alif Rasdhoo - Lady blowing on the embers in preparation to smoke sheesha - or gudugudaa - an activity now almost exclusively practised by women in their homes.
No. 73: Gaafu Alif Dhevvadhoo - Ladies peeking out from joali, positioned in the sandy streets; the perfect place for island gossip.
No. 74: Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah - Cricket has traditionally only been played by an elite few in the capital; this girls cricket team is the first of its kind.
No. 80: Gaafu Dhaalu Madaveli - Residents of the island chat in the shade before the fast breaks during Ramadan.
No. 82: Gaafu Dhaalu Gahdhoo - Children having water fights on Eid al-Fitr following the end of Ramadan; these traditions are no longer found on every island.
No. 83: Seenu Meedhoo - Koagannu cemetery in Addu Meedhoo is the oldest in the country, and thought to be the resting place of some of the country's first Muslims, from the 12th century.
No. 88: Kaafu Male' - Man taking freshly caught tuna, the Maldives main export and its economic lifeline before tourism, to the fish market in Male'.
No. 92: Lhaviyani Naifaru - Narrow streets of the atoll capital, one of the more recently, but more densely, populated islands.
No. 93: Kaafu Gulhi - Boys playing football (the nation's most popular sport) on the sand and coral stone pitches.
No. 95: Gaafu Alif Nilandhoo - Lady beating the fibres from coconut husks, after having soaked them for many days, prior to twisting rope for coir.
No. 105: Kaafu Male' - Crowded street of the capital city, home to around one-third of the population and now one of the most densely populated islands on the planet.
No. 109: Maafushivaru resort, Alif Dhaalu - Small reef shark swims close to the beach of this resort; very common throughout the Maldives.
No. 113: Alif Alif Madivaru; Snorkelling over the busy reef next to small islet of Madivaru (Madi is Dhivehi for ray fish).
No. 114: Gaafu Dhaalu Madaveli - Lady trimming the stem of the coconut palm, in preparation for collecting palm sap -used for toddy and making palm syrup (Dhivehi hakaru).
No. 115: Gaafu Alif Hithaadhoo - The protected island of Hithaadhoo is one of only two in the Maldives with nesting sites for the Lesser Frigate Bird (Hora).
No. 117: Gaafu Dhaalu Hoandedhoo - Island in north-west of atoll, about to be connected to neighbouring Madaveli via reclamation projects.
No. 122: Gaafu Dhaalu Gan - Many ruins are buried in the jungle of this uninhabited island, after its people were supposedly chased off by 'cat people' hundreds of years ago.
No. 124: Gaafu Dhaalu Rathafandhoo - Small community on an island forming the longest single-island chain in the archipelago; 86 islands over 35km.
No. 127: Hanifaru Bay, Baa atoll - Giant manta rays swimming alongside a snorkeller in the Maldives UNESCO biosphere reserve.
No. 129: Seenu Hithadhoo - Cross-section of coral stone beach, public pathway, and the Ranin Hanaa Fengandha pond in the Hithadhoo Protected Area.