ފައިލު:Shamsuddine at meduziyaraiy.jpg

The Sultan offering prayers at the Central Shrine circa 1933. The Sultan Mohamed Shamsuddine III Iskander makes a right turn on Meduziyaaraiy Magu at the Central Shine from which the street derives its name. He has just finished offering prayers to a saint buried in the shrine. Before the advent of real Islam in the Maldives in 1979, praying to saints in shrines dotted across the archipelago was common and was more popular than offering prayers to Allah in mosques. White penance flags surrounded these shrines. The Saudi and Egyptian trained mullahs banned these flags in 1979. All but very few important of these shrines were demolished following orders from Medina.