Elmina and Cape Coast Castle

A week and a half ago, my group took its first trip out of Accra to Cape Coast and Elmina.  Cape Coast and Elmina, which are about a 3 hour drive to the west of Accra, are home to Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle, two of the oldest buildings remnant of European colonialism in Ghana.  Cape Coast Castle was one of the largest slave-holding sites in the world from the colonial era.  Thousands of Ghanaians were forced into cramped dark dungeons as they waited to board merchant ships that would take them to Europe and the Americas as slaves.

Viewing the castles from the outside, you can't help but acknowledge their architectural beauty.  However, upon entering the castles walls and walking through its incredibly small dungeons, these castles became two of the more horrible and sobering places I've ever been.  One room in particular, near the castle's exit to the sea, bears the name "the door of no return," where slaves were lined up in chains before they boarded ships to the Americas, never to return home to Africa.