34 http://www.ultramarinemagazine.co.uk
Anatomy of
an Atoll
Images and text by
Richard Aspinall................. giris, thilas and reefs
The Maldives has been a Mecca for divers and tourists seeking white sand, palm trees and
luxury resorts for several decades and for a country with only a fraction of a percentage
of its territory able to be called dry land, its punches well above its weight in attracting the
tourist dollar. Once the preserve of only the wealthiest (and in the main, Europeans), the
Maldives is increasingly being opened to the world and global mass tourism.