🇬🇭 World Heritage: Osu Castle ‖ Accra, Ghana
🏰 Osu Castle (aka Christiansborg Castle)—featured on Ghana's 50-cedi banknote—is shrouded in local mystery. Many believe it's off-limits, but visitors CAN enter during non-office hours! (Dec 2023: ~100 GHS/person with guide, kids free, 30-min tour.) 🕰️ A Fort with a Dark Past 1659: Built by the Danes to honor King Christian IV, replacing a Swedish mud fort. Colonial Chesspiece: Traded among Europeans, expanded as a hub for gold, ivory, and the transatlantic slave trade. The Dungeons: Cramped, airless cells held hundreds of enslaved people for months—many died of disease/starvation. Door of No Return: The last glimpse of homeland before forced onto ships... chilling to walk through even today. 🏛️ From Oppression to Politics 1902–present: Served as Ghana’s presidential palace/government offices post-independence. Decaying Legacy: Despite its UNESCO status and historic rooms (like where Ghana’s independence was signed), much of the castle is crumbling. (Rumored future renovation into a presidential museum.) 🌿 Today: A Paradox of Beauty & Memory Jubilee House is now the presidential seat, but Osu Castle’s gardens host events—we caught a fashion-music show the night of our visit! #WorldHeritage #DarkTourism #GhanaHistory #Accra #SlaveTrade #AfricanHeritage #TravelDeep #OffTheBeatenPath