Sites Around Accra

One of the things that Kent and I have enjoyed doing on a Sunday afternoon after church is driving around the city of Accra.  The traffic is normally awful, but on Sunday and sometimes on Saturday there is very little traffic and you can actually see things and take some pictures.  So here are some of the sites.

Last Sunday we attended a ward in Kosoa  -  We met some  missionaries - I try to take there pictures and then get their email addresses and send them home to their mothers.  These two missionaries are really awesome and they were just put together as a companionship.  One is from England and the other one from Utah.

As were driving home from church we saw these oranges piled high on the sidewalk - I was wondering if they could really sell that many oranges!

We could also hear a great noise and looked up into the trees and saw these - what do you suppose they are?

On Saturday Kent wanted to go over to the La Palm Hotel.  They are going to hold the Mission Presidents Seminar at that Hotel.  It is was very nice and sits right on the water.

There was a beautiful pool and the grounds were very nice.

This was at the entrance of the Hotel

After we checked out the Hotel, we decided to go to the National Art Museum. which was very close by.  This is the largest and oldest of the six museums in Ghana.  It opened in 1957.  It has Archeology, Ethography and fine art.  The objects range from the stone age to now.  There were beads, textiles, masks, wooden objects, pottery and modern art.  It was quite interesting.

I asked them about my wooded statute that I bought.  I described him and when I told the curator that he had his had in cupping shape, she said that it would be old.  She told me if I brought it in, they would try to tell me something about him.  I think we will try to do that.

They would not let you take pictures in the museum, but I took a couple.  Someone was always following us around and watching us.

These were very old objects in front of a Kente Cloth - Kente Cloth is weaved in 4 inch strips and then sewed together.

Kent at the doorway of the Museum - being eaten by a Crab

They had large wood objects that had been carved - this was a Tro-Tro

Looking out one of the Museum Windows you could see this boat out on the water.

There was also a swimming pool below - I asked the guard and he told me you could pay to swim in the pool.

I liked this painting - it was called the The Tree Wisemen

We then went outside and took some pictures of some of these objects that were outside the museum.

They look very old and were being destroyed by the elements.

I liked these three guys

We then decided to drive up to a place called the Gecko, which is a place that has crafts.  It was a very nice place, and the crafts were more expensive but very nice.  They had many usual objects.

These were standing out in the Parking Lot

In this picture, you can see some of the things that were inside the store.

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This is a picture of the store - not very large, but some good things,  I would go back.!

 Some Street Scenes

We were driving down the street and we could see this over the fence!!!

Next time you need to move some chairs - you could try this!

These Black and Red Tents were put up for a funeral.  Funerals are very expensive here - everyone who know the person is expected to come and stay for a long period of time.  The family must feed them and pay for  their transportation and the person is buried in the village in which they were born.  Some families have to go into debt to pay for the funeral and they will put the person on ice for 3 or 4 months until everyone can get to the funeral.

This Sunday, we drove down to Independence Square, it is the 2nd largest square in the world, next to Tiananen Square in Beijing.  At one end of it is an arch - it is guarded by soldiers and they will not let you get close to it to take a picture.  I took the one below from the car window as we drove by it.

The square itself is hugh with stadium seating around it.  This is the Arch.

This is called the Black Star gate, it was built in 1957 for the freedom of Ghana
Notice is has Freedom and Justice written on it, it is part of  Independence Square.

We then went over to the Memorial for Kwame Nkrumah -
He was born in 1909 and was the leader of Ghana and the Gold Coast from 1951-1966
He became the first President of Ghana and the 1st Prime Minister 1 July 1960 to Feb 1966.
He oversaw Ghana's independence from the British in 1957.

He was trained as a teacher and obtained a degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  He was overthrown in 1966 and exiled to Guinea.  He died in Bucharest, Romania.

This is his tomb - there is also one in his village

Kent at the entrance of the Tomb

The Grounds were very nice, with fountains and statues.
Wedding parties were taking pictures on the grounds.

This picture was in a building that contained his car

Two Statues that were on the grounds

There were peacocks wondering around, he decided to perform for us.

This is the Accra Football Stadium - they have a very good team.

I thought Troy would like this - it is the Supreme High Court of Ghana

Hope you all have a great week - Elder Cooke and Elder Clayton will be here this next, along with their wives.  Hopefully, we will get some pictures for next week.  We love you all - Kent & Judy