Ghana - Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions

GHANA
Fort St. Jago, Forecourt of Elimina Castle, and Elimina Castle.

Sent by Kwame from Cape Coast, Ghana.

The remains of fortified trading-posts established between 1482 and 1786 can still be seen along the coast of Ghana between Keta and Beyin. They were links in the trade routes established by the Portuguese in many areas of the world during their era of great maritime exploration.

Accra was first settled at the end of the 16th century when the Ga people migrated there. The site allowed them to engage in trade with the Europeans who had built forts nearby, the most important of these being James Fort and Ussher Fort. These early inhabitants also engaged in farming and lagoon fishing, with sea fishing taken up during the middle of the 18th century. During the slave trade Accra took on greater importance owing to the nearby forts, many of which were owned and controlled by the Dutch, a prominence that lasted until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.

In Accra, competition between the different European states was strong and having a fort at Accra was of great strategic value, as it lay at the end of an important inland trade route. The forts and castles were built and occupied at different times by European traders and adventurers from Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Germany and Britain to safeguard trading posts. The castles defended the European merchants and their local allies and trading partners against competition; they were used as entrepôts for slaves and trade-goods, and they were the centres of European administration on the Gold Coast. (read further)

Ghana - Accra - Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Freedom of Justice Arch at the Independence Square

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Freedom of Justice Arch at the Independence Square in Accra Ghana.

Sent by Dogbe from Ghana.

This is from Wikipedia : The Independence Arch, part of the Black Star Square, in Accra, Ghana, inscribed with the words "Freedom and Justice, AD 1957", commemorates the independence of Ghana, a first for Sub Saharan Africa. It contains monuments to Ghana's independence struggle, including the Independence Arch, Black Star Square, and theLiberation Day Monument.

The Black Star Square is the second largest City Square in the world after the Tiananmen Square in Beijing,China.

An image of Black Star Square can be found on the rear of Ghana's cedi banknotes.

As of 2011, the square is guarded by several soldiers who prohibit people of taking pictures of the area and asking visitors for official permission.

Ghana - Larabanga

Larabanga Mosque - The oldest mosque in Ghana. It's believed to contain an ancient copy of Koran.
Larabanga Mystery Stone : whenever the stone was moved to make way for construction, it mysteriously moved back to its original position.

Sent by Vagbornye from Upper West Region, Ghana.

This is from Wikipedia : Larabanga is a town in north western Ghana. It is known for its mud-built whitewashed Sahelian mosque, said to date from 1421. It was at the height of the trans-Saharan trade. It is reputed to be Ghana's oldest mosque and houses a copy of the Qur'an almost as old.

The town is also known for its Mystic Stone, for its patterned vernacular architecture and as the entrance to the Mole National Park.

Akwaaba Ghana

One of the three postcards sent by Kofi from Accra-North in Ghana. Akwaaba in Ewe Language means "Welcome".

The postcard shows Accra Memorial where Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President (1909 - 1972) was buried.

This is from Wikipedia : Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 - 27 April 1972), was an influential 20th century advocate of Pan-Africanism, and the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966.

Kwahu Paragliding

One of the three postcards sent by Kofi from Accra-North in Ghana. The postcard shows paragliding activities in Kwahu, a region in South-Central Ghana.



This is from Wikipedia : Kwahu is a region in south-central Ghana, on the west shore of Lake Volta. There are two common spellings, Kwawu and Kwahu. The "w" spelling is the official spelling from the African Studies Centre, University of Ghana, and more resembles the pronunciation. The "h" was put in by Swiss missionaries from Basel, who added the "h" to ensure that Kwa, the first syllable, was not pronounced as "eh." The "h" is not separately pronounced in the name.

The term Kwahu also refers to the variant of Akan language spoken in this region and to the Kwahu-people that come from the region, there are ca. 65.000 Kwahu's. Kwahu are originally Akan people.

The name derives from its myths of origin, "The slave (awa) died (wu)," which was based on an ancient prophecy that a slave would die so the wandering tribe of Akan would know where to settle. The myth was part of the historical stories of the Agona matriclan, the first paramount lineage of Kwawu, and was later adopted by the Bretuao-Tena matriclan (Twidan) who later replaced them.

The paramount chief and the royal matrilineage of the Kwawu reside at Abene, north of Abetifi on the banks of the highlands. Abetifi (Tena matriclan) is the head of the Adonten (vanguard). Obo (Aduana, Ada, Amoakade) is the head of the Nifa (Right Division) Aduamoa (Dwumena, Asona) is the head of the Benkum (Left Division).

As part of the Asante Empire, Kwawu had an Asante emissary, governor or ambassador at Atibe, next to Mpraeso, of the Ekuona matriclan). To indicate its independence from Asante in 1888 the Kwawu assassinated the Asante emissary in Atibe, about the time of the arrival of the Basel missionaries from Switzerland. The Kwawu royals invited the missionaries to build their mission in Abetifi. Obo led the pro-Asante opposition to the Swiss.

Greetings From Ghana

One of the three postcards sent by Kofi, a TravBuddy friend from Accra-North in Ghana.