This results in a natural harbour that is very calm and safe for sea vessels at all times and is not affected by seasonal changes.

During the Second World War, Addu Atoll was the site of a secret Royal Navy base called HMS Haitan, to take advantage of the deep anchorage and sheltered natural harbour there.

[1] Oil tanks and storage facilities were built on Gan island, together with an airstrip and a flying boat base.

The cosmopolitan white tern ("dhondheeni") is found in the Maldives only on Addu Atoll and is seen as a symbol of the islands.

Traditionally, Addu dialect was widely spoken amongst the educated masses of three different atolls in the south, who adopted it as their lingua franca.

Long ago Addu City was ruled by families appointed by the sultans in Malé, and may have had a matrilineal system of inheritance; it is very much a man's world today.

There was a recent period in Addu history when the status quo changed for a while, when a more matriarchal society developed and women became the breadwinners.