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GHANA |
I had the opportunity to travel to Ghana in December 1998. Ghana is situated in Western Africa and its neighbouring countries are The Ivory Coast to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. In the south there's the Atlantic Ocean.
We stayed at The Golden Tulip Hotel in the capital city of Accra. We were actually the only "real" tourists staying at the hotel. Most of the others were businessmen.
Ghana is, by African standards, a very peaceful country. You feel completely safe all the time, even at night. Ghana was actually the first African nation to become independent from a colonial power. That happened in 1957 when Great Britain left Ghana. In 1960, the nation held its first democratic election and Dr Kwame Nkrumah was elected president. During his time as head of state, Ghana made great progress in social welfare, education, medical care etc. In 1966 he was overthrown in a coup led by Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka. That meant the military was in power and they were ruling the country on and off in the 70s and 80s. After the death of Dr Nkrumah, they built a mausoleum and museum to his memory. This is situated in the centre of Accra. Look at the picture!
In both 1979 and 1981, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings seized power by military coups. Since 1993, he's the elected president. He also won the latest election in December 1996. He's governing his country from Christiansborg Castle, a 17th century Danish fort in Accra. The Danish, the Swedish, the English and the Dutch were all dealing in slaves on the Gold Coast 300-400 years ago. They also built some forts and castles. There are two Swedish forts in Ghana. Nothing to be proud of at all!
Here are some pictures that I took. Roll the mouse over them to get more information and click on them to get bigger pictures.
HOW PEOPLE LIVE
Just like in all major cities all over the world, there are both poor and rich areas of Accra.
OUT AND ABOUT IN ACCRA
If you want to buy things at the local markets, you should try to bargain a bit. It's customary. Most of the time, the people are honest and they won't fool you.
A DAY AT THE BEACH
New Year's Eve 1998. We hired a local taxi the whole day. Our driver took us to one of the best beaches outside Accra. We were the only westerners there!
PEOPLE
The people are very friendly. They are not used to tourists, which means they are genuinely nice and curious.
Would you like to get more information about Ghana? Here you have some links you can check out.
The Republic of Ghana - official information from the state
Lonely Planet about Ghana - information about Ghana from Lonely Planet
The World Travel Guide Online - Ghana - more travel information
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Ghana is, by African standards, a very peaceful country. You feel completely safe all the time, even at night. Ghana was actually the first African nation to become independent from a colonial power. That happened in 1957 when Great Britain left Ghana. In 1960, the nation held its first democratic election and Dr Kwame Nkrumah was elected president. During his time as head of state, Ghana made great progress in social welfare, education, medical care etc. In 1966 he was overthrown in a coup led by Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka. That meant the military was in power and they were ruling the country on and off in the 70s and 80s. After the death of Dr Nkrumah, they built a mausoleum and museum to his memory. This is situated in the centre of Accra. Look at the picture!
In both 1979 and 1981, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings seized power by military coups. Since 1993, he's the elected president. He also won the latest election in December 1996. He's governing his country from Christiansborg Castle, a 17th century Danish fort in Accra. The Danish, the Swedish, the English and the Dutch were all dealing in slaves on the Gold Coast 300-400 years ago. They also built some forts and castles. There are two Swedish forts in Ghana. Nothing to be proud of at all!
