A Visit to the most historical island of Maldives, Ha. Utheemu.

During my visit to  Kulhudhufushi I got my uncle to arrange a trip to the island of  Utheemu , which was about 30 minute speedboat ride from Kulhudufushi. The island was the  home of Mohamed Thakurufaan a local freedom fighter, who saved the country from the hands of the Portuguese and later became the ruler of the country.

Maldives may be small but it still has pieces of history left for us to discover. Between 1558-1573 Maldives was under Portuguese rule and was saved by a  man named  Mohamed Thakurufaan ,who later became the ruler of Maldives.  His story is a legend, how he built his boat Kalhu ohfummi and went along with his two brothers and a few men to organise what they say is a "popular revolt" against the Portuguese and finally gained control of the the country from the hands of the Portuguese. The day Mohamed Thakurufaan gained control over Maldives is now marked as National Day.

His home in Utheemu has been made into a memorial place by the local government and has kept his home well preserved except for a few renovations to the roof and some of the walls of the home.   Its a place locals visit and also to tourists, who are curious to learn about the history of Maldives. The place is closed during weekends and public holidays. There is an entrance ticket at the office section and you have to wait for your guide at the gate of the palace or gaduvaru before you are ushered in.  A guided tour is given inside,  although we weren't allowed to take photos inside the home to prevent further damage to the preserved items.

If you are thinking this is a history lesson well, it is, sort of.  I thought of showing you one of the most historical islands in the country.

We went off on a beautiful Sunday morning ( Sundays are working days in Maldives, as the weekend is Friday and Saturdays) , and had a  rather awkward landing as there is no jetty for getting down the boat. From one side of the island, its the soft sand, from the other end there are some rather large rocks,which made it a lot easier to go down than a good leap onto the sandy shore.

Heading off to see the Ganduvaru 

A local in traditional clothes (libaas and kandiki) sweeps the road using a iloshifathi  

The island was very peaceful and quiet, with few people, who were very proud of their heritage with national coloured flags around the island and banners.  Because there were a few groups of locals waiting to enter the place, we had to wait for our turn to get in, so headed off to check out the Kaani gas ( a large Sea trumpet tree ) which is said to have grown from a piece of stick that Mohamed Thakurufaan had stuck on the ground to fix his weaving loom.

 

Kaani gas

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The beach was spectacular!!! Since it was a gorgeous sunny day it looked even more stunning and had us all wishing we had come for the whole day so we can take a nice swim in it.

awestruck!

 The kids still couldn't resist and got their feet wet in the water before we headed off to enter the home or palace ( ganduvaru) as it was known among the locals.

There were several interesting things inside,  one being that a door that was hastily shut by one of the ladies of the house had refused to budge even today. Another where the reflection from outside,   that falls on a curtain inside is seen upside down, unfortunately, I couldn't take any photos, so you have to see for your self someday. The floor was covered with superfine sand. Most of the house was made of wood, although the roof was changed later, the original roof was made of thatched palm tree leaves.

The front door into the home of Mohamed thakurufaan

There was even a large hall where they held gatherings, prayer meetings and dinners.

When I say dinners don't expect large dining tables, the men sat on woven mats on the floor and ate from a huge tray laden with food. We call it jaafai , or feast, where the dinners share a large tray laden with food.

The great hall with a water well outside. 

After exploring the home of Mohamed Thakurufaan, we wandered off to find an old mosque which is said to be the place where he  and his two brothers, Hassan and  Ali prayed to Allah to grant them victory in their struggle to bring freedom back to their country.

Kanduvalhu mosque.

The mosque also had a kind of swimming pool which is said to be a place where the men supposedly took a bath to clean up.

The islanders have even made a children's playground,so there was entertainment for the kids after a short history lesson.  Since it was a hot day and since there was some time left before heading back to Kulhudhufushi, we headed off to find a place to grab a drink. The locals were helpful and showed us the way to an open cafe' .

Wandering about  the island

It was a great day,  and I felt proud that we had great heroes and to see how simply they lived in those days, even now, one thing I noticed in the islands that I have visited, was life is so peaceful and less hectic compared to the chaotic roads in Male' city.