Day 9: Discover Accra!

This morning was scheduled for a ride around Accra organized by the Tourism Board. We were taken in our big blue van to all points around the city which had historical significance.

Presidential Residence & the Mausoleum: We drove by the a huge structure which was built for the Presidential residence(where nobody lives 'coz the President didn't like the structure) - so now it's just shut & not used for anything. We stopped to spend some time at the Mausoleum where one of the most prominent men in Ghanaian history - Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was buried. It looked like the stump of a tree which represents him resting under the shade of a tree. The black star at the top is symbolic of all black people. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a prominent figure during the Ghana's independence in 1957 & was the first President of the country. He married an Egyptian and had 3 children - two of them are politics now while the 3rd lives in Egypt. He was against external influence and believed in uniting Africa & using its resources for its own people. However, a military coup - believed to be masterminded by the CIA - ousted him from power in the 1960's (damn, can't remember the year!) and he was in prison for 14 years. Later, he was made 'co-President' of the neighbouring country Guinea where he lived for the rest of his life. He died of prostate cancer and was brought back to Accra, his body was well embalmed and was available for people to see for 20 (freakin') years! It was then buried in the mausoleum. When his wife died, she requested to be buried next to him (awww!) and their tombs are open for public to visit. 

The Mausoleum

James Fort Prison - one of the oldest prisons around

A run down warehouse by the beach (used during colonialism)

James Town: Next we headed to James town which is a fishing community and one of oldest trading towns - you see quite a bit of the colonial influence here. Through the van, we saw Ussher Fort which was used to store slaves before they got shipped out. :| It also has the 'James Town' prison which is a rather small structure. Since it's not too difficult to escape this prison coz of the weak structure, they hold only small time criminals who serve about 2- 3 months. The harbour had a light house and a run down warehouse used during the colonial period to store goods before they were shipped out and a light house. Observation: This place could be turned into a really neat tourist attraction, but the Tourism Board hasn't really done much in that area. It's good in way since it's not commercialized but a few stalls to sellin water or items of tourish interest would help create jobs for the community

The famous Light House

Jen & I @ the market

The Mokala Market:

Snails @ Mokala market

Then we went to one of the biggest markets in Accra called the Mokala market. It was a lot like the markets in India where you could get anything - from all kinds of fabric to big huge snails (it's a delicacy here). While the girls shopped for fabric (they went crazy!) :) , I walked around talking to the local women. You see all kinds of people there - women carrying their little babies on their backs sitting at the market all day to sell their items to teenage girls running their little hair saloons. They do lovely braids - I'm definitely getting my hair braided like that before I leave! Some of them are very friendly and they're fascinated to hear everything about you. Mohit almost got a marriage proposal from a 40 year old woman - who wanted him to take her to India! I think that's their fascination with expats - in a weird way they're considered as passports to the outside world. 

So adorable! @ Mokala Market

By 12:00pm, we were done with the market and headed to eat food at a chop bar (a restaurant serving authentic food). I feasted on Fufu with Talapia soup - Fufu is a favorite food among the Ghanaians. Post lunch, we went back to office to work on our consulting project for a while - my consulting project was to work with CamFed Orgn. Olivia & I spent the afternoon planning our agenda & questions for our meeting with the CamFed staff the next day after which left office to head straight to 'The Honeysuckle' - an pub run by Indians! (We're everywhere!). Feasted on a pizza & had this drink called 'Sex of the beach'. Guess it's a popular drink - but I'd never had it before but loved it! So, one more drink I like apart from Blenders Pride - woohoo! (revelation!) :)