Ashanti capital
Trip Start
Sep 28, 2005
1
28
103
Trip End
Jun 24, 2006
Kumasi,
Ghana
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Miles Travelled: 18923
We're in Kumasi, in central Ghana. This was the seat of the Ashanti empire in the 15th-18th centuries. The Ashanti were a powerful people who traded in gold and slaves, and Ghana was known as the "Gold Coast" because of this wealth. The Ashanti were eventually defeated by the British in 1900 and the area became a British colony until independence in 1957. The British influence is evident in the English language and Christian faith prevalent in the country now.
About 70% of Ghanaians are Christian, and there are churches everywhere you look. The phrases of faith also find their way into the names of businesses - we saw the "Jesus is Alive Internet Café", "What a Mighty God Plywood and Art Supplies", "God is Great Refrigeration and Electrical Engineering", the "Psalm 23" bus, the "God is Alive" taxi, and lots of others
01 young street vendor
. No joke, those are actual names. It's quite amusing, but it's also cool to see Christian references so numerous and open after being in predominantly Muslim countries since we left the U.S. Whether these displays are more cultural or whether they actually reflect a deeper faith, we're not sure. We hope to find an English-speaking church in Accra, since we'll be there on a Sunday.In Kumasi, we visited the local museum, which though small, featured a number of artifacts from the Ashanti kingdom; we also got good explanations from a guide there. Kumasi also boasts the largest market in West Africa, but we were so drained from other markets that we decided to give it a pass this time.
Comments
signs
Those signs are SO funny!!! I don't think that would work so well in the bay area. I'm learning a lot...