A motorcyclist dodges in the annual water-splashing festival to mark the New Year of the Dai minority in Menglian, Yunnan province April 13, 2015. (Photo by Wong Campion/Reuters)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. compete during the ice dance short dance program at the ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating in Tokyo April 16, 2015. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

School girls stand next to a ballot box at a polling station during the municipal elections in Havana April 19, 2015. Cuba held its first local elections since a historic thaw in relations with the United States with an unusual wrinkle in the single-party system: two of the 27,000 candidates openly oppose the government. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Prospective flight attendants listen to their instructor during an etiquette training course at Indigo Airlines' Ifly training centre in Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi November 18, 2014. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Spur Lacasse of Cochrane, Alberta rides the horse Rebel Warrior in the novice bareback event during the Calgary Stampede rodeo in Calgary, Alberta, in this July 12, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Todd Korol/Reuters)

Father Christmas arriving at the Arding and Hobbs store in Clapham Junction, London, 2nd November 1926. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Male is the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives. The city is geographically located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll (Kaafu Atoll). Administratively, it is a city-class constituency and is governed by the Malé City Council. Traditionally it was the King's Island, from where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located. The city was then called “Mahal”. Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by fortifications and gates (doroshi).

Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)