Orientation
Male's main street Boduthakurufaanu Magu, home to banks and most government buildings, runs along the north shore. Roughly in the middle is the square of Jumhooree Maidhaan, a handy reference point since it has a giant flagpole visible from far away. From the flagpole extends a series of ten jetties running eastward, with jetty #1 the Presidential Jetty right in front of the square and jetties #9 and #10, used by the airport ferry, at the northeastern tip of the island.
Understand
The island is 1.7 km long and 1.0 km wide, but with over 100,000 people crammed onto it, Male is by some measures the world's densest city. The new island of Hulhumalé, built as the name says between Male and Hulhule, is being reclaimed from the sea to provide some much-needed extra space.