I visited this tentative site in November 2016. The Old Friday Mosque of Fenfushi is not looked after and alone would not deserve inscription. However, the Old Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiy) of Male is a true gem.

The overbuilt and overpopulated capital of the Maldives is not the primary reason for visiting this country. Yet, I think it's a worthwhile stop before boarding a sea plane to one of the heavenly atolls. Hidden among several concrete buildings is a small green area with the Old Friday Mosque, a minaret and a 17th century Muslim cemetery.

In theory non-Muslims are not allowed inside the mosque and there is a clear board stating this. However, a strange sentence caught my attention: "Non-Muslims who may wish to enter the mosque must obtain prior permission from the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs". Although I was not looking forward to overcoming red tape while visiting the Maldives, I decided to try my luck at the Islamic Centre since it is right next to the Eid Mosque which is rather generously included among the tentative sites. Visiting the Islamic Centre alone most probably helped me to yield a positive answer as I got permission to visit the Old Friday Mosque. Unfortunately, however, your chances of success will surely decrease if you're in a large group or if your a woman.

The interior of the coral mosque is rather dark but the coral pillars, the beautiful coral engravings and the unique lacquered wooden beams were a definite highlight to fully appreciate the OUV of this site. The exterior is not that grand especially since the corrugated iron roof is not that photogenic. I really enjoyed observing the different tombstones in the Muslim cemetery. Their sizes and shape vary according to gender, age and power. Women had roundish tombstones, men had pointed tombstones, royalties had a gold plaque and lavish coral engravings and children had tiny coral tombstones.

A number of 12th century mausoleums around the mosque were much larger and had the shape of tiny chapels with intricate carvings in Quranic script and geometric engravings. The most important and well-kept was that of Maulena Al-Hafiz Abul Barakaath Yoosuf Al-Barbari of Morocco who converted the Maldives to Islam in 1153 AD. This tomb is known as Medhuziyaaraiy or Central Tomb.

The minaret's shape is similar to those at the entrance to Mecca. All in all, I think that these sites are worthy of inscription as they are truly unique and I truly hope they make it in 2018.