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Cape Coast: Ghana's Slave Castles [The Morning Call]

The Morning Call

Welcome to this travel episode with Nyasha K Mutizwa.

Today we kill two birds with one stone. We travel back into time by travelling to Ghana.

We head to Cape Coast, a town in the centre of the seaboard of Ghana. It lies on a low promontory jutting into the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean about 120 km southwest of the Ghanaian capital of Accra. However this town is haunted by ghosts of the past.

This former European colonial capital, originally named Cabo Corso by the Portuguese, was once the largest slave-trading centre in West Africa. It initially traded gold before it became a hub for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. About forty slave castles, trading posts and forts were built in Ghana, but the biggest of them is the Cape Coast Castle which today is one of the major tourist attractions.

These castles provided the last experience that men and women had in their homeland before their final departure.

Trans-Atlantic slavery was abolished in 1870.

We jump to the 21st century!

Cape Coast is an easygoing fishing town with an arty vibe. Crumbling colonial buildings line the streets, seabirds prowl the beaches and fishermen cast nets where slave ships once sailed. There are a lot of American guests who visit to follow the footsteps of their ancestors.One such guest is former American president Barck Obama who visited the site in 2009.

You can attend one of the 32 festivals held there or go to see the Kakum National Park. If you are food lover you can try the very popular Baobab House known as a vegeterian’s dream.

So take a visit to Cape Coast and allow yourself to take a step back in this now fast paced world and remember the sacrifices our ancestors made for us to be here.

@NyashaKMutizwa

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The Morning Call

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The Morning Call

The Morning Call is about you. We want to share your opinions on our programme. If you want to contribute to The Morning Call, here are the best ways to get in touch : For more details on how to contribute, click here.