Ghana is a country in West Africa. It spans the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. With over 31 million people, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria.
Geological facts
Name: Republic of Ghana
Capital: Accra
Government: Unitary presidential republic
Language: English, Akan, Dagaare, Dagbanli, Dangme, Ewe, Frafra, Ga, Gonja, Nzema, Twi
Area: 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi)
Population: 31,072,940
Currency: Cedi (GHS)
The first permanent state in present-day Ghana was the Bono state of the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by numerous other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the late 19th century. Following over a century of colonization, Ghana's current borders took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations on 6 March 1957, becoming the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty. Ghana subsequently became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement.
Ghana is a multinational state, home to a variety of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. The vast majority of Ghanaians are Christian (71.2%), with close to a fifth being Muslim and a tenth practising traditional faiths or reporting no religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of government. Since 1993, it has maintained one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and performs relatively well in metrics of healthcare, economic growth, and human development.
Source: wikipedia
Fun facts about Ghana
Ghana has a space program; it launched a satellite, GhanaSat-1 and was successfully developed by students at the All Nations University, based in Koforidua. They sent it into orbit from the International Space Station, in 2017.
Ghana thrives in the world of cocoa production. It is the main agricultural export of the country. They are second only to the Ivory Coast, which also makes them the second-largest cocoa exporter on the planet.
Ghana is also the second-largest producer of gold in Africa. In fact, before 1957, Ghana was commonly known as the Gold Coast because of its availability of gold along the rivers Ankobra and Volta.
Lake Bosumtwi is considered to be a sacred place by many Ghanaians. The natural lake is situated in an ancient impact crater that is around 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometres) in diameter. The lake has no inlets or outlets and is only replenished by rainfall.
The word Ghana means “Warrior King” in the Senegalese’s Soninke language.
Although English and Akan are the two most spoken languages in Ghana, the Ghanaians still speak more than 40 languages throughout the country’s 10 regions.
The colourful national costume of Ghana is made from handwoven cloth called kente. It consists of separate strips sewn together and is a kind of cotton and silk fabric. It’s typically known for being the native dress of the Akan ethnic group of Ghana who are the founders of the Akan language.
In Ghana, you can find six national parks along with lots of smaller nature reserves that were established as a pro-active way of helping to protect Ghana’s wildlife. The wildlife there is rich and there are more than 650 butterfly species in the Kakum National Park alone. This includes the giant swallowtail species who are known for having wingspans of almost eight inches!
The capital city of Ghana is named Accra. Its name translates to “ants.” The name was gained because of the anthills that used to surround the city.
In 1991, a man from Ghana named Ferdie Ato Adoboe set a world record. He successfully ran 100 meters backwards in a remarkable 13.6 seconds!
Source: Agape Volunteers
The book I read
The Hundred Wells of Salaga by Ayesha Harruna Attah
Translators (to Dutch): Annelies de hertogh en Els de Roon Hertoge
Synopsis: Aminah lives an idyllic life until she is brutally separated from her home and forced on a journey that transforms her from a daydreamer into a resilient woman. Wurche, the willful daughter of a chief, is desperate to play an important role in her father's court. These two women's lives converge as infighting among Wurche's people threatens the region, during the height of the slave trade at the end of the nineteenth century.
Through the experiences of Aminah and Wurche, The Hundred Wells of Salaga offers a remarkable view of slavery and how the scramble for Africa affected the lives of everyday people.
A good book, and an important read. Nevertheless, I felt the characters were a bit 'flat' at times, which made it a three star instead of a four for me.
About the author
Ayesha Harruna Attah was born in Accra in the 1980s, under a military government, to a mother who was a journalist and father who was a graphic designer. Attah has said: "My parents were my first major influences. They ran a literary magazine called Imagine, which had stories about Accra; articles on art, science, film, books; cartoons—which I especially loved. They were (and still are) my heroes.
Other book recommendations for Ghana
Ghana has some great writers, who often found ways to tell traditional stories in a new way. Yaa Gyasi is probably most famous at the moment (Transcendent Kingdom, Homegoing).
On Travel by Books, we add new titles from countries all over the world every week. Check out which (other) books are featured for Ghana here.
Souvenir
I'm loving the kente fabric, so I thought I would search for something with this pattern, and I found quite a lot. For instance, this cool mousepad!
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