Malé awakens gently on Martyrs’ Day. The call to prayer drifts across the capital, settling over the turquoise horizon of what many Maldivians lovingly call God’s own archipelago. On this day, history feels unusually close in a land shaped by faith, resolve and a long lineage of brave defenders. At the centre of the national reflection stands Sultan Ali The King, remembered simply as Ali Rasgefaanu or King Ali. His final stand on the 1st of Sha’ban in 965 AH, corresponding to May 20, 1558 AD, remains one of the most defining chapters in Maldivian memory. The Portuguese invasion was … Continue reading In Malé, Martyrs’ Day Unfurls as a Living Memory of a Nation’s Courage