After a brief sojourn to Tamale and northern Ghana and with nothing much to hold us there we headed south to Kumasi, a city known as the cultural capital of the country. We arrived into mayhem on the outskirts of the central market, a heaving mass of stalls and people. The heavens were about to open and the crowd was rushing in all directions. A young boy took charge of our route and set a punishing pace through the chaos, we hurried behind with our huge rucksacks dodging cars, wagons, and head-loads. A ridiculous yet what turned out to be apt introduction to this hectic city. We reached Guest Line Lodge exhausted after the hilly climb. With excellent views this was our base for the next few days and our first dormitory in Africa.
Kumasi quickly became our favourite city in Ghana. With something going on on every corner it has an atmosphere of hustle and bustle. The central market is the largest in West Africa and commerce spills far beyond the edges of the tin shacks, flooding every nearby street. The market itself is a nightmare to negotiate and you quickly lose yourself in the over-packed corridors. The goods piled meters high restrict the light filtering through akin to a forest canopy. From the largest stall to a lone woman selling old toothpaste on the corner, like the forest, the market at ground level is a hot bed for competition. Everyone scurries under and over each other like insects, each with a singular purpose in mind and with a desire to complete their task as quickly as possible.
The hurried pace within the market makes it almost impossible to actually buy anything. The only break in this endless flow of activity is when the call of a wagon man sees everyone dive into a stall to save their toes. If you are lucky you may find yourself confronted with something you actually want! In our case groundnut paste, which is the peanut butter of Africa! Women make it by hand and sell it from huge metal bowls. You can buy it in whatever quantity you want, from large jars to a couple of dollops knotted in a sandwich bag. Quality varies so pick your women and consistency carefully!
The market is vaguely set into districts. Yam avenue can be found in the suburbs of this warren like place as can the metal works and the fish mongers. The butchers however sprawls at the heart and you would have to know the place better than we did to avoid it. At every turn we found ourselves once again faced with every type of offal, membrane and limb. Legging it down particular passageways is a necessity if you do not want to be splattered by the flying lumps of skin and fat that shoot off the butchers pounding cleaver.
Having visited many markets across West Africa there is nothing quite like this one. It is an impressive sight in its sheer size and scale but you would not want to visit in a bad mood as irritation could easily get the better of you. We were glad to leave before we had completely lost our cool!
If you are not losing yourself in the overcrowded market or busy streets you can relax in one of the many roadside bars sipping on a chilled Star as the rest of the world hurries by. Fast food stalls abound catering to the fast pace of life in Kumasi. Our favourite (daily) haunt was K.Tee fast food (opposite Adum police station) which offered a delicious plate/plastic bag of fried rice accompanied by a piece of fathomless-ly fried chicken, a pinch of lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, shitu (local spicy sauce), and a small teaspoon of baked beans. Perfect for our greasy faces!
Blaring music is a major part of the city’s soundtrack. If it is not evangelical then it is probably High-life, an upbeat calypso style genre that sounds like a good mood. Echo’s, a bar popular with the locals is a place where you can see this excellent music played live. Ghanaians flock here at the weekend, including Sunday’s to enjoy a dance under the stars. We celebrated Arsenal’s fourth place victory over Tottenham by joining them for a night of revelry. We got to see the best brass band we have seen in Africa and experience the hilarity of our first ladies urinal – a room full of bidets! Without a doubt we are keen on Kumasi!
