The Travelling Sociologist

Among sites that have been awarded official status, the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO lists Asante traditional buildings and forts and castles in the Volta Region, the Greater Accra Region, the Central Region, and the Western Region. The Asante people are one of many people of the Akan ethnic group speaking the Twi-Fante Akan language, a group that also includes the Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem (Twi speakers), Agona, Kwahu, Wassa, Fante (Fanti/Mfantse speakers), and Bono ethnicities as well as subgroups of the Anyin, Baoulé, Chakosi, Sefwi, Nzema, Ahanta, and Jwira-Pepesa ethnicities Later, in 1868, Denkyira joined the Fante Confederacy and the alliance of Great Britain against the Ashanti and Dutch peoples, finally becoming a part of the Gold Coast region and then part of the Central Region in the present-day Republic of Ghana. UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ghana include forts and castles located throughout the Volta Region, the Greater Accra Region, the Central Region, and the Western Region—Ghana’s southernmost regions that line the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The best road trip in the Maritimes in Eastern Canada is definitely the route between New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island (PEI), and Nova Scotia – Canada’s Maritime provinces. Driving along the coast of Nova Scotia will bring you full circle to a slice of heaven called the Bay of Fundy, one of the 7 Wonders of North America, famous for the face-like sculptures of Hopewell Rocks, whale watching, and dinosaur fossils. End your glorious road trip by following the highway through Truro, Nova Scotia, back to New Brunswick, and rewarding yourself in the town of Shediac with purportedly the best lobster in the Maritimes! If you’ve still got a case of restless feet after your feast, you can extend your road trip by continuing up the east coast of New Brunswick to visit all the historic, French-speaking Acadian towns there, and instead end your francophone experience in Shiphead, the easternmost point of the Gaspé peninsula in Québec, a unique region with its own dialect and culture.

There will be free shuttle buses serving the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau), Major’s Hill Park (Ottawa) and the Supreme Court of Canada from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on July 1. • Gatineau: on Laurier Street South direction, at Elisabeth-Bruyère intersection • Ottawa: on Wellington Street, in front of the Supreme Court of Canada Direction: Gatineau-Ottawa toward Major’s Hill Park: Ottawa: at the intersection of Murray Street and Mackenzie Avenue Concession stands will be available near Parliament Hill, at Major’s Hill Park, and at the Canadian Museum of History. The show usually starts at 10 pm and the best places to see them include: the central loop of Confederation Boulevard, which runs along Wellington Street, Mackenzie Avenue, Sussex Drive in Ottawa, and Laurier Street in Gatineau; Major’s Hill Park, which overlooks the Ottawa River, and the lawn of the Canadian Museum of History, which lies along the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River (note that the Alexandra Bridge, which links Ottawa to Gatineau, is usually closed an hour before and after the fireworks).

The city of Cape Coast, a formal national capital, is the capital of the Central Region, which is the western-bound neighbour of the Greater Accra Region. The upper falls (80 metres high) require an hour’s to two hours’ trekking, and the lower falls (50 metres high) require 40-45 minutes’ trekking. Elmina Castle is the biggest and the oldest of about 40 castles built along the coast of the colonial Gold Coast (modern day Ghana) which traverses the Volta, Greater Accra, Central, and Western Regions (see the map of Ghana, above). Read more about Elmina Castle and the slave trade here For a visual overview, here’s a quick flyover video of the castle grounds.