Today we went to Accra to do some 'sight seeing.' We enjoyed Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park where we visited a small but informative museum about Ghana's first leader. I learned something new and that is that after Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966 he became a co president of Guinea with Sekou Toure! He died in Bucharest in 1972 while seeking medical treatment and his body was in a few places before finally resting at the mausoleum in front of the museum. We also saw the (now headless) statue of Nkrumah that was toppled during the coup with the head only retrieved years later and now placed beside the headless statue. A newer bronze image now stands in front of the mausoleum on the exact spot on which Nkrumah declared Ghana's independence in 1957.
We drove quite a while on High Street which was Accra's original main thoroughfare and has now been renamed John Atta Mills High Street in honor of the late president who died in July. We drove through Jamestown and other parts of Old Accra. We also visited the Centre for National Culture otherwise known as the Arts Center, which is basically a shopping spot for tourists and said to be the most visited site in the country. Lots of haggling over inflated prices as we made our purchases. We ended up for lunch on Oxford Street.
Note to students: the name Accra is believed to come from the Akan word nkran which means ants and refers to the numerous anthills around the city!
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