Hukuru Miskiy: Malé's Coral-Stone Old Friday Mosque

Tucked behind a whitewashed wall near the presidential area, Hukuru Miskiy — the Old Friday Mosque — is easy to walk past. Don't. Completed in 1658 under Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I, it's built from blocks of coral stone, cut from the reef and fitted together with remarkable precision. The exterior walls carry intricate carvings, and the cemetery around it is filled with carved coral headstones. The Maldives' coral-stone mosques are on UNESCO's tentative list for World Heritage status, and this is the best-known of them. Visiting: it's an active place of worship, so dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered) and visit outside prayer times. Non-Muslim visitors may need permission to go inside; the exterior and grounds are worth the trip on their own. The tall minaret next door, Munnaaru, dates from 1675.