Faafu Atoll (also known as Northern Nilandhe Atoll or Nilandhe Atholhu Uthuruburi) is an
administrative division
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
of the
Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
Certain islands of this atoll used to be inhabited, like Himithi. The islanders were resettled in other islands so that Friday prayers could be held.
NOTE: ''Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Shaviyani, Noonu, Raa, Baa, Kaafu, etc. (including Faafu) are code letters assigned to the present administrative divisions of the Maldives. They are not the proper names of the
natural atolls that make up these divisions. Some atolls are divided into two administrative divisions while other divisions are made up of two or more natural atolls. The order followed by the code letters is from North to South, beginning with the first letters of the
Thaana
Thaana, Tãna, Taana or Tāna ( ) is the present writing system of the Maldivian language spoken in the Maldives. Thaana has characteristics of both an abugida (diacritics, vowel-killer strokes) and a true alphabet (all vowels are w ...
alphabet used in
Dhivehi. These code letters are not accurate from the geographical and cultural point of view. However, they have become popular among tourists and foreigners in the Maldives who find them easier to pronounce than the true atoll names in Dhivehi, (save a few exceptions, like Ari Atoll).''
[Tim Godfrey, ''Atlas of the Maldives'', Atoll Editions 2004]
Geography
The atoll is separated from its Sister atoll (
Dhaalu Atoll) by a 6km long strip of Ocean, The atoll is also smaller than its Sister atoll (
Dhaalu Atoll). The atoll contains 23 Islands, of which 5 are inhabited. The capital of the Atoll is
Nilandhoo, The largest and most Populated Island in the atoll. The shape of the atoll resembles
Dhaalu Atoll, but a little bit shorter.
References
* ''Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh''. Divehi Bahāi Tārikhah Khidmaiykurā Qaumī Markazu. Reprint 1958 edn. Malé 1990.
* ''Divehiraajjege Jōgrafīge Vanavaru''. Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee. G.Sōsanī.
*
Xavier Romero-Frias
Xavier or Xabier may refer to:
Place
* Xavier, Spain
People
* Xavier (surname)
* Xavier (given name)
* Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint
** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation)
* St. Xavier (disambiguation)
* Xavier (footballer, born ...
, ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom''. Barcelona 1999.
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Administrative atolls of the Maldives
Atolls of the Maldives