Ada Foah...
Supposed home of the turtles- not really sure where they are
tho, and I’m not even sure where they would appear. I can see the appeal in principal but the
litter and trash would really be a problem.
Ada Foah was once (and I am
talking a few hundred years ago) a thriving trading post, originally set up by
the Dutch in the 16th century to facilitate trade between West
Africa and Europe. By 1775 the Danes had
taken over and in 1783 they built Fort Kongenstein to defend against attack
from neighboring tribes. Despite this
the Danes remind in control of all the area East of what is now Accra for just
over 100 years; before the British arrived at the end of the 19th
century.
During
this time of trading with the Europeans Ada also became a major market for the slave
trade. Unlike Elmina (a trip to follow) the tribes
in this area acted as middlemen between the European slave buyers and the
African slave sellers- more of this story is told in the Slave Castles of
Cape Coast. After the slave trade had
been abolished this area became more famous for its palm oil, palm kernels and rubber-
all products of the tropical forests found in the surrounding area.
There is
now very little evidence left of what used to be a major trading center. The warehouses have gone, the shops have
disappeared and even the fort, that the area was named after (Ada Fort- Village
of the Fort) has half fallen into the sea due to erosion. Where the Volta River Transportation had once
helped trade reach its peak, it has now been damned up at Akosombo (yet another
trip to make), meaning that shipping is no longer possible and a fading beach
resort is all that is now to be found here.
Leaving Accra the first thing you notice are hawkers at the side
of road- I get you might want soda, water, plantain chips, nuts etc . These things are always good for car journeys,
particularly here as traffic is ridiculously slow, there are no service
stations- and barely any gas stations- although interestingly those that they
do have all have the very same “geek American” posters. However, I still wonder at exactly why they
need to sell certain items. I am never
going to find myself driving down the highway and suddenly realize I have
forgotten to pack my medical anatomy chart!
Never in my entire life of car journeys have I realized I would really
like a clock, or whether on my way out for a night, away for the weekend, or
merely heading to work have I forgotten, or even felt the need to invest in a
life sized poster of Marky Mark.
I know I said that Ada Foah was a little downtrodden but at
some points it truly looked like a medieval village- some of these places look
like they are actually from the middle ages.
I am thinking “Maid Marion and Her Merry Men” Tony Robinson style Middle
Ages here. They are built out of mud, they have roofs made of palm leaves, (they
might not have had the palm leaves in Sherwood Forest,) no running water and
only a few places have electricity.
Those that do don’t seem to use it for anything useful, like AC, or a
fan, but just to run a big stereo speaker. I
have to say, if I had the choice between running water and running electricity
I would have opted for the water. I know
you still can’t use it for A/C and a washing machine, but at least you can have
a bath or a shower. Without aerials for
reception all you can use the electricity for is to power a CD player. I am sure there must be more depth to the
situation that I am reading into it- but I really just can’t see it.
I also don’t get how people live with all the litter around
their houses. Why would you just dump it
all, and empty the privy pots just 10 yards from your door? There are animals roaming around and living
in and among the houses and all the trash.
They still have typhoid, cholera and dysentery here. Again, maybe I am missing something vital-
but I thought that clean water supplies and keeping sewage and garbage away
from living areas would help encourage a healthier living environment. Maybe it is all to do with education and not
being able to spread these messages, or maybe I have totally misunderstood, but
this is a massive decline over the last 100 years for what was once a busy,
thriving port. The only difference
from a medieval village and some parts of this area is that even the Catholic
Church here seems to be lacking money! The Church here is missing wall, pews,
stained glass windows and decoration.
Maybe this is just all a money issue.
The beach when you get there could be idyllic. It has palm trees, it has sand, it has green-blue water. If it were in Europe it would
be built up and spoiled, in part of some holiday resort. Indeed some parts of the coast are covered
with chalet style buildings belonging to hotels, and plenty of people flee the
heat and business of Accra to head out here for the weekend. However, that does
not spoil the natural beauty of long stretches of the beach. The neglect and dilapidation are obvious- buildings
that are falling down and a road that is running off the cliff- but in some
places it just adds to the charm, and the no longer exploitative nature of the
area. A slightly jaded, sorrowful
reminder of what was, once upon a time…
My slightly out there statement for the day -also there was a
naked man walking down the road which is odd on two counts:
1, he was naked and wandering down the road,
2, no-one was concerned in the slightest that this may be a bit
weird, he wasn’t getting a second glance (apart from me- and that might be a
bit odd in and off itself)
I have no idea how or why this came about, and no real way of
linking it in to the rest of my thought sequence. Just that I was a little astounded to notice
it and thought it might need a mention.
Along side the termite hills that were bigger than me, and people
working in the fields with hand tools.
Actually, I do have lots to say on that topic, but I will leave that for
another week.
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