Archive for the ‘Personal Work’ Category

Cape Coast and Elimina Castles, Ghana

February 9th, 2010

It took me a while to get this post up, in part because it was a struggle to figure out what to say about the experience of visiting the castles at Cape Coast and Elimina, which were used to hold slaves before shipping out to the new world as part of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.  Leah wrote a great description of our visit which is included below.  The only thing I can think to add now that I look back is that I had a really powerful feeling of empathy for the people that passed suffered in these places hundreds of years ago.  It was a humbling experience.

Our tour of the coast of Ghana took us to the old slave castles, one of which Obama visited when he came to Ghana this past summer.  Castles is kind of an ironic word as I always think of princes, princesses and overall riches when I hear the term castles, but these white washed castles served a dark purpose for over three hundred years.  These large fortresses were built by the Portuguese, Dutch and English and were at the center of slave trading in the Gold Coast region.  Once Ghana gained its independence from the British in 1957 these fortresses were finally in the hands of the Ghanaian people and over the past few decades renovations were completed to make these castles accessible to tourist and are now listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  From the outside the most striking part of these buildings is the white walls contrasting with the surrounding colorful African city and the blue ocean and sky.  This is in stark contrast to the dark insides where we were lead down into the slave dungeons that held hundreds of men and women for months in rooms with minimal light and ventilation and no plumbing facilities to speak of.  Slaves were held in these dark, dank rooms until ships carrying guns and liquor arrived which were traded in the courtyard of theses castles for live men and women.  The slaves were then taken through the “Door of No Return” and packed on to boats on the way to Europe and the Americas. The riches and development of the western world came from man power taken from this area of Africa.  Visiting these castles was a powerful experience and a made us reflect on the injustices of one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity.

Wedding and Funeral Decoration – Cape Coast, Ghana

December 14th, 2009

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We still have a few more posts of pictures and stories to publish from Ghana.  After I get through all of my holiday orders you will see them here!

Elimina Castle and Fishing Boats – Elimina, Ghana

November 24th, 2009

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We are back in the States, but there are a few more posts worth of pictures to share.

Any Color You Like – Kumasi, Ghana

November 21st, 2009

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A fabric vendor in Kejetia Market, Kumasi, Ghana.  The women in Ghana buy these patterned fabrics and use them to sew their own amazing dresses.  When I saw this on the computer it reminded me in an odd way of the Portrait of Alele Bloch-Baur by Klimt that we saw on our New York layover on the way over.

Green Turtle Lodge – Busua, Ghana

November 20th, 2009

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The start of our Ghanaian beach vacation took us to the eco-friendly Green Turtle Lodge outside of Busua.  This backpacker’s resort was located on a remote beach 10km down a poorly maintained dirt road.  We arrived to find composting toilets, solar energy and plenty of our new favorite, Star beer!  The beer label claims to “unlock the joys of life with sparkling brightness” – we are not sure if it was the beer or the beach vacation but we were enjoying life.  Some highlights included hearing the ocean from our hut, meals served on the beach, a bonfire with African drumming and plenty of relaxation with our books.  The lodge is involved in turtle conservation and we went on a walk with a guide one night to see turtles laying and covering their eggs.  We saw three Olive Ridley turtles that are about 30-40 pounds.  It was truly amazing to see these creatures meticulously cover their eggs, a process that takes up to 15 minutes and then disappear back into the ocean.  These and the other turtles native to this area are endangered due to local fishing practices and this lodge and others are working to educated local communities and conserve the turtle population.  – Leah

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