Late yesterday afternoon we received our loading date and time. We will be loaded 6pm this Sunday, the last boat of the day. The rest of the boats will be loaded Monday. Since we are scheduled as the last boat Sunday we are open to the possibility we will be loaded on Monday unless everything goes like clockwork Sunday. But nothing lately has gone like clockwork, so maybe it will be Monday morning. Sunday morning we will go to Male’ to purchase our airline tickets for Istanbul and then with our E-ticket begin the checking-out process from Male’. Now if the Sox could just quit losing, everything really be looking up.
Ru
DoraMac
National Library of the Maldives
Randal and I finally visited the National Library. It’s another one of those, “had we known how long we were going to be here…” I learned that we could purchase a library card and that the library has quite a good collection of English language titles. It’s a small collection, but well selected. The card would have cost $28 but that’s cheaper than one hard back book. But we learned about it just a few days ago. Until then I wasn’t so desperate for something to read. But with little else to do here I’ve gone through most of the books I brought with us from the US. Usually places we stop have a few used book shops where Western travelers can go for books, but not here on Male’. I’ve just dug out my old battered copy of Thoreau’s Walden and Other Writings and with little else going on, I actually have the patience to read it. I started The Girl Who Played With Fire, sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but, though I like the characters, there is too much violence so I’m making myself read it rather than enjoying it. In India I bought Alice Walker’s Anything We Loved Can Be Saved, a collection of essays and read that when the Larsson book gets too depressing or Thoreau too long-winded. I’ll be glad to get to the book shops in Istanbul. But I’m still not dying for a Kindle yet or any computer generated reading….Unless it’s from the Boston Globe or MLB telling about the Red Sox finally winning a game! PLEASE!!!!
The path by the Islamic Center offers shade so we walk past it almost every time we’re in Male. We haven’t gone in but all are invited according to the sign at the front of the building.
It is actually a very pretty building though we see more people at the small mosques located throughout Male’. But this photo was taken mid-morning and not one of the times of prayer.
Looking across at the National Library.
We’ve visited the National Library and the small National Art Gallery but not the American Center. Next time we’ll have to check it out. The Chinese and British apparently have offices in the building too.
A building on the main road had a sign indicating that the Turkish Consulate was located on the 2nd floor. I gave up after walking 4 ½ floors with a heavy pack and finding nothing but a locked metal door blocking entrance to the 5th floor. Maybe next visit I’ll try again though hopefully we’ll actually be in Turkey soon.
These look familiar. No “NO Photos” sign.
Once you know the Dewey Decimal System you can find books anywhere in the world. I think that’s actually quite amazing! Go Librarians! This giant Silence sign seemed to work as the room was actually quiet, though the students did speak with each other. My guess is that these are either college students or older high school students or they would have been in school at the time of day I took the photo.
It was quite busy for a week day mid-morning.
This room had Reference, Fiction and Non-Fiction. The Reference books were interfiled with the Non-Fiction but distinguished with an R. Maybe a good idea, maybe not. But interesting.
Randal reading a local English language newspaper which included articles from the world press.
I found a wonderful book on watercolor so sat looking through that. I wanted to copy a few of the pages so asked at the staff desk. One of the ladies smiled, got up, made the copies, remade one page that didn’t come out perfectly, and charged 2 rufiyaa for the 4 pages; about 15 cents. That makes the National Library one of the best bargains on Male’.
Our friend Suze from Voyager looking at the books on an earlier library visit.