It’s perhaps best encapsulated when dining at the Ba’theli Lounge restaurant, which celebrates the culinary legacy of those maritime merchants. The setting – on the decks of Ba’theli cargo boats stationed in the shallows – is beyond romantic, with sharks milling around the turquoise water and the Milky Way glittering above. This is one of five eateries on the island that provide a host of options, such as wood-fired pizzas at Azure or tuna burgers at the Shoreline Grill. Breakfast is another highlight, as you wander past chefs picking herbs from the kitchen garden before enjoying smoothies and scrambled eggs at the water’s edge. Turquoise Holidays (turquoiseholidays.co.uk) offers seven nights in a Water Villa from £5,599, half board, including flights and transfers.