It may have been the end of my month with the Human Rights
Advocacy Centre, but I still had two weeks left to enjoy Ghana. I decided to
use that time to travel around. My first stop was city of Tamale in the north
of the country. Tamale is the gateway
to the north of the country. If you are heading to Mole, you will struggle to
get there without at some point transiting through the city.
Tamale is an easy trip from Accra – provided you are willing to fly. By road, the journey
takes around 12-14 hours. Flights are operated by Starbow and Antrak. My one
way flight cost 150 cedi (£30), booked around 2 weeks in advance. The flight
takes under 1 hour, although the general sense of chaos in the domestic terminal
at Accra airport can cause delays. Despite the terminal being miniscule, no one
seemed to be able to tell me at which desk to check in or which gate to head
to. Eventually I found my way and arrived in Tamale.
Tamale has a very different feeling to Accra, although
terrible traffic is something both cities have in common. Despite the bustle
and noise, Tamale gives a sense of being a bit more laid back than the capital
and people are incredibly friendly. It’s also predominantly Muslim, which also
gives the city a different vibe. Mosques are dotted on every corner. Men
wearing long, white galibeyas (full sleeved shirts that go all the way to the
ground) are the norm and women tend to be much more conservatively dressed than
in the capital (bear this in mind when packing).
Unlike Accra, Tamale has very little in the way of sights
and nightlife: better just to amble aimlessly around and soak up the
atmosphere. The streets arranged in grid-system between the STC bus station and
the Vodafone tower is a particularly nice place to stroll. People here are very
welcoming, and you’ll likely stumble upon women out in the street pounding
fufu. Just be careful of the many, many, goats – I found myself caught up in
something of a stampede!
Both the central market and the Cultural Centre are
worthwhile visits. The central market straddles the main tro-tro and taxi
station. It’s a mishmash of stalls selling just about everything: from
household goods, to clothes, to fabrics, to food (you may want to breathe
through your mouth when walking through the meat section). There is also an
interesting section selling materials for traditiona medicine, including
various crushed up bones, leopard skin, and horse tails.
The market seems to be a particularly good place to buy
fabrics, particularly batik, as well as men’s smocks. These items, which men
all over the country wear are baggy sleeveless shirts, with a v-neck, and
flared into a triangle shape at the chest. Most have vertically striped
patterns. There are rows upon rows of stalls where you can see men weaving
these smocks by both hand and by machine. Expect to pay around 50 cedi (£10)
for a machine woven smock and around 80 cedi (£16) if it’s hand woven. Everyone
in the market is very friendly. The weavers will happily talk you through the
production of smocks and allow you to take pictures, even if you tell them
you’re not buying. I also had a very amusing exchange with a woman selling rice
after I asked to take a photograph of her enormous bowls of rice, stacked up in
high heaps. She shrugged and called me a “funny, strange, obruni*”, evidently
not understanding why I would want to photograph rice. I explained that in my
country we don’t sell rice like this – it comes in small bags. This was
apparently hysterical.
The Cultural Centre, about a 10 minute walk from the central
market is not a “cultural centre” as we might use the term. Like the Cultural
Centre in Accra, it is simply a tourist-oriented market selling such things as
beads, bags, African masks, carvings, drums, painting and ready made batik
clothing. Unlike the Cultural Centre in Accra it is a hassle-free zone, with
friendly vendors who will happily chat away and allow you to browse without
going in for a hard sell. Prices also seem to be better than in Accra (though many
are fixed price, which can be a mixed blessing).
I’m afraid, however, that I have no good recommendations for
places to eat in Tamale. I ate at a few places recommended by the Bradt Guide
but find myself disagreeing with its conclusions. Sparkles Restaurant, located
in the Cultural Centre, was very disappointing. The menu is varied and includes
both Ghanaian and Chinese dishes for around 15-20 cedi (£3-4). Unfortunately
the food took a long time to arrive and when it did none of us actually
received what we had ordered. We accepted anyway, but most of what we had was
very bland indeed. The jolof rice in particular was a let down, tasting more
like fried rice and really lacking in any flavour.
The food at the Catholic Guest House, though prompt and extremely
generous in its portions, was all so salty it tasted like the ocean.
Unfortunately guinea fowl, a speciality in Tamale, was off the menu owing to
the current ebola outbreak in neighbouring countries and WHO advice to avoid
bush meat.
Suad Fast Food, just down the road from the Catholic Guest
House, however, was pretty good – though the Indian dishes were notably better
than other items on the menu. Curries are good value at around 20 cedis (£4),
including rice or naan. Better value still are some of the street vendors just
outside which sell mouthwatering kebabs for around 2 cedi (40p).
The Catholic Guest House, salty food aside, is recommended
for budget travellers. It is 1.5km out of the city centre, but very close to a
rank for shared taxis, which will take you into the centre of town for 1 cedi
(20p). The staff are extremely friendly and the rooms, though simple, are clean
and come with their own en suite bathrooms (cold showers only). The green
grounds are a pleasant place to relax in with a drink. Staff will store your
baggage free of charge if you are heading to Mole and coming back in a few
days. A “single” room with fan costs 35 cedi (£7), though this is actually a
room with a double bed. A twin room with fan costs 42 cedi. Expect to pay
around 10 cedi more per room for AC.
*white person
