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Elmina Castle
About
Elmina Castle, (10 km west of Cape Coast), [1]. Built in 1482, Elmina Castle is the oldest European structure in Africa and incidentally the oldest slave fort. Elmina was a notorious slave fort used for moving slaves onto ships bound for other parts of the world. Although today it is a tourist attraction, but once was a prison used by the Ghanaian government. It is quite a sobering experience and can be emotional at times (particularly the "room of no return", the cell for rebellious slaves, the female slave dungeons, which still smell like bodily fluids). There is an admission fee as well as a minimal fee for taking pictures. Besides a guided tour with knowledgeable, friendly tour guides who are open to questions, there is an on site restaurant, bookstore, gift shop, and a small museum inside the renovated Portuguese church within the castle.
