Travel: Africa’s busiest and dynamic square in a Red City

Tourism is strongly advocated by the reigning Moroccan monarch, Mohammed VI, with the goal of doubling the number of tourists visiting Morocco to 20 million by 2020. 

A major tourist destination is Marrakesh, the third largest city in the northeastern African country after Casablanca and Rabat.

Marrakesh is the most important of Morocco's four former imperial cities that were built by Moroccan Berber empires – the region was inhabited by Berber farmers from Neolithic times, but the actual city was founded in 1062.

It is easy to get lost in the city because all structures are in one colour – the red walls and various buildings constructed in red sandstone have given the city the nickname of the "Red City".

Marrakesh has established itself as a cultural, religious, and trading centre for the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. Today it is one of the busiest cities in Africa and serves as a major economic centre and tourist destination.

One Cultural space you cannot afford to miss is Jamaa el Fna – a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter – old city.

The square attracts people from a diversity of social and ethnic backgrounds and tourists from all around the world. Major attractions are snake charmers, acrobats, magicians, mystics, musicians, monkey trainers, herb sellers, food vendors, story-tellers and entertainers.

During the day it is predominantly occupied by orange juice stalls, youths with chained Barbary apes, water sellers in colourful costumes with traditional leather water-bags and brass cups, and snake charmers who will pose for photographs for tourists.

As the day progresses, the entertainment on offer changes: the snake charmers depart, and late in the day the square becomes more crowded, with Chleuh dancing-boys, story-tellers, magicians, and peddlers of traditional medicines.

As darkness falls, the square fills with dozens of food-stalls as the number of people on the square peaks.

The square is edged along one side by the Marrakesh souk, a traditional North African market catering both for the common daily needs of the locals, and for the tourist trade. On other sides are hotels and gardens and cafe terraces offering an escape from the noise and confusion of the square.

Narrow streets lead into the alleys of the medina quarter and a strong but discreet police presence ensures the safety of visitors.

It is fun to be at the Square but have enough cash if you want to pose for photographs – it is big business!

Touring Ghana's only natural lake

The Lake Bosomtwe is Ghana’s only natural inland lake and one of the few in Africa.

The Abono Declaration of 1999 identified the Lake Bosomtwe as an eco-tourism zone, but plans to develop the basin have not been carried through successfully.

Today, the Lake Bosomtwe, situated within an ancient meteorite impact crater, is affectionately acclaimed the ‘Sea of Ashanti’, increasingly attracting foreign and domestic tourists.

Located about 30km south-east of Kumasi, the area has become a major recreational destination for holiday-makers in the Ashanti region and other parts of the country.

It indeed feels good and pleasant to be at the banks of the lake, especially on a warm afternoon – to enjoy the soothing breeze, the whistles of the birds and the greenly scenery that abound around the calm water; where man and nature come under an atmospheric harmony.

Travelling from the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, to the lakeside itself is fun – the exciting scenes of rural living, the beacon to taste palm wine en route to the lake town of Abono and the politeness of the youth of the area to educate you about the history behind the Lake Bosomtwe; which is more of a mystery of a hunter and a missing antelope.

Recreational activities for holidaymakers and visitors to the lakeside include swimming, Lake Cruise, musical jamboree and most recently horse cum canoe ride, which is a private-sector initiative.

The Green Ranch at the lake side offers an adventurous experience for both adults and children to enjoy the sport of horse riding, which is very uncommon for Ghanaians.

Established barely a month ago, the Eco-Friendly Equestrian Leisure Centre is attracting groups and individuals seeking the sports and entertainment of horse-trekking.

Elodie Antwi, known in the local community as Abena Ponko (horse) is in-charge of the ranch. She says patrons are offered the service of riding along the banks of the lake as wells exploring the length and breadth of the water in a canoe.

A number of hotels and resorts have also sprung up, offering diverse services to patrons.

The Republic Day Lake Festival has also been instituted by the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), in collaboration with the Bosomtwe District Assembly and the Multimedia Group, to boost the tourism and socio-economic potentials of the area.

The 2011 maiden edition of the festival attracted thousands of residents in the Ashanti region and beyond to join in the fun of the party at the lakeside. Top highlife artistes, Kofi B, KK Fosu and Kofi Nti thrilled holidaymakers with their exciting live band performances.

However, the potentials of the lakeside remain untapped because of under-developed facilities to promote eco-tourism around the inland lake.

In a bid to develop facilities in the area, the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council is collaborating with the Tourist Board to commission a socio-economic survey as a step to develop a land-use plan for the enclave.

According to the Regional Manager of GTB, Ekow Sampson the project is aimed at attracting investors to improve the livelihood of local communities.

“We are also thinking of structural plan that will involve the areas around and I’m sure that in the next two to three years investors that will be coming in will be ready to say let me put this thing here or there”, he said.

The Bosomtwe District Assembly has identified developments in road and housing infrastructure as critical factors in the drive to maximize the full economic and tourism potentials of the Lake Bosomtwe.

The assembly is scouting investors to create a water park for water sporting activities, as well as cycling and hiking routes to provide adventure and recreation for visitors.

The district is also hoping to take advantage of the forest cover and slopes around the lake to create a park with hanging bridges, similar to the Kakum National Park.

District Coordinating Director, Felicia Dapaah believes communities along and around the lake would benefit from such investments when housing and road infrastructure are enhanced.

“Even though we have quite a number of hotels doted around the area, because our district is very close to Kumasi, we believe that if we have a housing policy – a very good housing programme, it will also boost tourism in the area. We are thinking about one bedroom, two bedroom apartments, where people coming to Kumasi or the lakeside will spend a day or two with their family members.

“Then we are also thinking about our roads; if you look at communities along the lake, as we speak now there is no linkage to the various communities and if we have a cycling route along the lake that links the various communities, that could also be an exciting adventure for people”, Mrs. Dapaah said.

If the partner groups should succeed in the investment drive to develop the Lake Bosomtwe, the image of the Ashanti region would be enhanced as a leading cultural and tourism destination in Ghana.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Playing the host – 'Farming with Trees'

First it was in Ibadan-Nigeria, and then to Nairobi-Kenya, all in 2009 but least did I expect that Kumasi-Ghana would be the next stop for the WRENmedia team in 2010, thanks to the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Lucky me, I had the privilege of being assigned the role of a co-trainer. However meeting Mike and Susie once again was more of a family reunion… and I did miss Susanna; actually, anyone who has had the opportunity of meeting, interacting or doing anything with anyone at WRENmedia will attest to the FACT that they are more than teachers, facilitators, editors and… all those professional attributes. Oh yes – Mama Susie is always concerned about the health of her trainees even as she motherly leads the ‘radiolets’ to keep their eyes on the ‘redbox’ with cues, interviews and features whilst Papa Mike ensures his ‘printlets’ complete their production schedule in time with little or no pain.

Well, I knew all these but certainly could not say same for the new course participants who came from Anglophone West Africa - Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and my very own Ghana. These Journalists on the ‘Better Science Reporting’ workshop apparently wanted to have a real experience of ‘Farming with Trees’ – which was the subject of the training. They came focusing on tree crops like Cashew, Allanblackia, Cola, Moringa, Cocoa, etc.

The Samaritan Villa Guesthouse located within the Christian Village at Santasi, Kumasi was home to the team. General impression about choice of training venue and customer service was positive though some participants had challenges with my typical local cuisine like ‘banku and okra stew’. Thank God the fried plantain and beans or ‘red red’ came to my rescue.

The Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) played the role of partners and really made the group feel the Ghanaian ‘Akwaaba’ hospitality – very proud of Teresa Peprah and all in facilitating movements and contacts with researchers. Tree crop and agroforestry specialists came in handy to enrich the journalists in all aspects of tree-crop farming and provided other information to improve their understanding of science. The three-night science safari to the Bobiri Forest Reserve and Butterfly Sanctuary was intriguing, fun and educative – Evans was at hand to take the group on the forest trail. Created in 1939 when it was still unexploited primary forest, the tropical forest reserve – covering an area of 54.6sq.Km – is one of the most beautiful reserves in the West African sub-region with over 400 species of butterflies and 100 bird species.
Moments with the trees were simply awesome – truly nature should not be compromised for any so-called modern development. And for this reason, campaigners like the Rainforest Friends Ghana and the Trees for Life must be supported to advance advocacy for tree planting and preservation of forests.

Now, the team later returned to the Samaritan Villa much refreshed to complete assignments on time… and the production team had put up their best for a good job (greetings to Aaron).

What next? After shopping strolls at the Kumasi Cultural Center and the city’s central business district, it was party time… and the Clarke House hosted the family on a rainy Tuesday – a blessed night it was – good fun, lovely gifts and soothing testimonies! Time to say goodbye and my story should have ended here, but no…

The final day trip to the Blue Skies fruit processing plant and the pineapple farms of Prudent Exports Limited was a reflection of the safari to Bobiri Forest – farms and trees should co-exist for mutual benefits. Now after a good lunch with fresh pineapple juice, and a drive through pineapple plantations, it dawn on me that the time to let go had arrived.

Parting ways has always been mixed – and the Ghana experience was no exception! As Susie and Mike were zoomed to the Kotoka International Airport to catch their flight back to the UK, thoughts of admiration filled my heart, appreciating the enormous task of creating a production team of African journalists to work with scientists, researchers and communities - all within a short period of ten days.

Indeed, working with people with diverse cultural, philosophical and emotional attachments can be very challenging. Personally I was angered by certain characters, and so did some of my talk or action not go down well with other team members.

Playing host to the Kumasi ‘Better Science Reporting’ workshop has opened my thoughts to the intricacies of event management and creative methodologies in knowledge (skill) impartation. But most importantly, I have become much conscious about the need to keep my calm when opinions and emotional outbursts of people do not conform to my personal ideals - respect and love for fellow (wo)man as well as nature is as important as reporting science.

May the WRENmedia family of African journalists interested in reporting science live forever!
©KAD

Going back to my good old Lagos!

I was not too keen going to Lagos, Nigeria! Not because I don’t like the city’s hustling and bustling environment but apparently I had been to Ibadan seven months earlier. Also the fact that the trip was an opportunity to acquire new skills in reporting sports and society was bait for me to relive the over five years I spent in Nigeria as a student and human rights activist.

The 2010 workshop was to prepare participants to be capable of writing and producing passionate features about African life and football – African journalists telling African stories linked to sports.

The workshop, held at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism – my very own training grounds – was insightful, highlighting issues beyond stadiums and scores, rankings or strictly news related content.

Participating radio and photojournalists from Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Namibia, Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leon and Kenya demonstrated diverse skills in content development and feature presentation. The guidance of tutors from the Thomson Reuters Foundation ensured production was tight and interesting to targeted consumers.

The training and fraternization among the media personnel indicated there is hope for developmental journalism on the African continent.

Going out to Surulere, Ikeja and Isale Eko in Lagos to cover my assignment revealed the changing (positive) landscape of a city I had known very well. Most Lagosians were quick to mention Governor Babatunde Raji Fasola for the giant strides in the reengineering of Lagos State. This man, I am told, has defied all odds to embark on a radical action to redevelop the state.

Obviously pulling down structures erected at unauthorized places has deprived some people of their places of habitation and livelihoods but to majority of the people a price has to paid if Lagos State is to survive urbanization. Already Ghana is learning from the Fashola experience in the management of traffic and public transportation.

There are concerns that Governor Fasola may pay politically for implementing some new policies of social re-engineering but I can strongly say this man is leaving his name in the sands of times and if he should carry his legacy through to the end, he would certainly be remembered as one of the greatest administrators Nigeria has ever produced.
The next time I travel to Nigeria, I would be expecting freer traffic flow, a clean and healthy environment and a more organized people productively developing their State!

Lagos is leading the way for other African cities to better manage limited resource and journalists should support public-sector managers or administrators to advance local communities.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

A Journey to Kenya’s South Rift Valley!

I traveled to Kenya to join a group of African Journalists who love reporting science as part of everyday life. The purpose was to meet with scientists and interact with livestock keepers in the South Rift Valley of that East African country.

Thoughts of people and places filled my mind as I got on board the ‘Pride of Africa’, Kenya Airways from the Kotoka International Airport. The warmth and dedication of the flight crew gave an assurance my 10-day trip to Nairobi would not be regretted, though the recent political brouhaha coupled with the drought and famine in East Africa was a worry to me.

The over five-hour air-borne was smooth and landing at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport was safe; I was greeted by a soothing early morning weather as my pick-up chauffeur rode me through some principal streets to my place of temporary abode. So, this increased my hope of a great stay away from home.

My place of abode was Kolping Guest House at Adams Arcade, off Ngong Road, Karen Nairobi. Every home meal was an experience but the room space was too small for man: a bit of a breathing space would have been great. What interested me most however was the environmental consciousness of the middle-class residential area; trees planted along streets and in homes were of beauty and refreshing in the community.

First three days

Two Kiswahili words were prominent throughout my stay: ‘Karibu’ is synonymous to the Akan’s ‘Akwaaba’ or welcome in English. I was therefore not surprised to have received a dose of karibu. But guess what, I was always quick to respond to the welcome because I had a personal interest. The Kiswahili word of ‘thanks’ is ‘Asante’ and of course you trust this was a good time to have pride in been an ASHANTI!

My rather good stay in Nairobi would have been curtailed when I went out for a walk at Adams Arcade. How could I have forgotten that Kenyans drive on the right? Traffic is in the opposite direction to what pertains in Ghana. It therefore makes sense that as a pedestrian I walked along the expected direction. But yours truly thought he was strolling along the streets of Amakom in Kumasi. The strong hot hoot of a Matatu (mini-bus) massaged my ear to be alive to my new environment. Studying Nairobi’s transportation system also revealed the responsiveness of the people to the wearing of seat belts, especially in public buses. A very good thinking that is never taken for granted and I resolved not to drive without putting one on!

The first three days of acclimatization was exciting and insightful; checking out the mountainous skyscrapers at Kenyatta Arcade in Nairobi’s central business district, shopping at the spacious Nakumatt in the city centre, taking a rest at the friendly Uhuru Recreational Park and peeping through the luxurious hotels and offices.

Okay, now I’ve been to Kenya and I can say something about the city of Nairobi back home. But is that all to tourism traveling?

Science Safari with a difference!

The suggestion of my host for the team to travel outside Nairobi was received with mixed feelings. Well, I really needed some adventure but the idea of camping in tents somewhere deep in the wild, for two (I mean two) nights got me complaining deep within. But once born a man, I should behave as such and so I got myself parking for the science safari.


Late afternoon, September 26, 2009, the team of journalists from West, East and Central Africa, set off to Kenya’s South Rift Valley to discover the best kept secret in Africa! The destination neatly bridges the dispersal area between Kenya’s Amboseli National Park and Maasai Mara National Reserve. The group’s interest was to understand the strong links between traditional knowledge, modern science, local community members and conservation.

The four-hour drive was bumpy but hardly was that realized because of the rich education handed down by our guide for the trip. The South Rift combines wildlife safaris with wilderness experience, photographic experience of the Rift Valley, unique geographical formations and ecotourism facilities. The area supports one of the highest diversity of vertebrate on the African continent, set against a backdrop of stunning volcanic lakes and mountains.

The South Rift is home to the Masai, a pastoralist community whose rich culture and tradition has survived over 600 years. Pastoralism here is a skilled job that involves the mind, body and soul. The Masai have had exchanges with the Cowboys of the USA and other pastoralist groups in the world. No wonder Billionaire, Bill Gates chose to celebrate a birthday bash with the people down the Valley at Shompole.

It is here in the South Rift you find the ‘Cradle of Mankind’- where the fossil or man’s origin is found. It is also home to Lake Magadi, one of the biggest breeding zones for Flamingos.

The experience

I was eager to experience the unique ancient traditions of the Masai culture, while exploring the untouched wilderness teeming with wildlife and learn about innovative conservative projects, including eco-tourism. My adventurous destination was Sampu Camp, a self-catering tent facility, owned and operated by the local Masai community within the Olkirimatian ranch.

I was excited to meet my first Masai friend, Kuluo, on the way to the camp. He is very gentle and calm, always with a welcoming smile. Kuluo helped shape my perception about the Masai: their attachment to their livestock, respect for wildlife, interest in education and determination to sustain livelihoods.

The friendliness of the Masai perhaps explains the wonder of man’s co-habitation with livestock and wildlife. And this was the highest point of my experience at Sampu Camp: observing wildlife and livestock grazing together! So close was I to nature that I heard the loin roar just close to my tent and the following morning I checked out that the animal had come drinking at a nearby stream.

The night and day game rides, led by John Kamanga, projected the awesomeness of nature!

I saw the footprints of elephants, giraffes’ sun-burning, wildebeests and zebras grazing, birds and baboons swinging. So many animals did I see that I wondered if the Zoo is the best avenue to keep wildlife. I was however sad to find most of the animals die due to the severity of the drought in East Africa. The pastoralists were much concerned because their cattle, sheep and goats were dying, a situation that prompted the conduct of a drought survey by the African Conservation Centre and the local community. Leader of the research team, Samantha Russell told me there are on-going projects to validate local knowledge while applying science to solve local problems.

There is no doubt that the South Rift region provides many opportunities for diversification of land use and livelihood generation. And I was motivated by local initiatives, spearheaded by the Masai women, to promote eco-tourism and education.

Back to base

I returned to Nairobi fulfilled yet worried about the future of such a beautiful environment. Would the land of the Masai be degraded by human advancement? Are policies going to be supportive of preservation of natural habitats? Would the young Masai succumb to the pressure of modernity to compromise the rich traditional heritage? How could the selfish wealthy poacher be stopped from hunting wildlife? Can the pastoralists continue to adapt to climate change?

Answers seemed far fetched but deep within me I had the conviction that Kenya’s South Rift Valley would stand the test of time and any harm to this NATURE would be one of man’s inhumanity to man.

Sitting at the departure hall of Kenyatta Airport, awaiting my flight back to Ghana, I watched people from all walks of life pass by with a ‘MAYA’ duty-free item in hand. Well, I was holding none except that my mind was enriched with the beauty of nature and humanity: the fascinating work of THE ONE ABOVE!

All I could say was God Bless Africa!!

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh