A tired man sits in his workshop in the garage, hoping the woman and her camera will soon leave so he can have a nap in his comfy chair. (He's actually talking to Shelby who is just out of the frame, so it doesn't make for a great shot, but I'm getting short of daily photos with our gray days outside, so ....) Feeling very grateful to all of you this morning…. thanks so very much for all your comments and encouragement - altho I don’t always mention it, I definitely think it and feel it every single day. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and find many, many photo ops! 11/16/19
Cats are such good cuddlers, even with each other. Thanks so much for all your comments on the photos Mackenzie sent from Ghana, I hope you found them interesting… 11/15/19
"One of the most famous castles in Ghana's dark episode of slavery is the Cape Coast Castle. It began as a trade lodge constructed by the Portuguese in 1555 on a part of the Gold Coast, which later became known as the Cape Coast. Up to 1,000 male and 500 female slaves were shackled and crammed in the castle's dank, poorly ventilated dungeons, with no space to lie down and very little light. Without water or sanitation, the floor of the dungeon was littered with human waste and many captives fell seriously ill and died. The men were separated from the women, and the captors regularly raped the helpless women. The castle also featured confinement cells - small pitch-black spaces for prisoners who revolted or were seen as rebellious. Once the slaves set foot in the castle, they could spend up to three months in captivity under these dreadful conditions before being shipped off to the New World. The castle's involvement with slavery eventually stopped as a result of Britain's ban on the slave trade. Cape Coast Castle went back to its previous function as an essential site for (non-human) commodity trade, after which it was turned into an army training facility. In 1957, when Ghana became the first sub-saharan African state to regain independence from British colonial rule, the ownership of the Cape Coast Castle was transferred to the new government and subsequently to the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. More than just museums, this castle and many others are filled with haunting histories, revealing the horrors of the slave trade. By serving as a strong reminder of Ghana's dark history, the castles continue to pay respect to the millions of people who suffered at the hands of slavers. They are far from forgotten, even in the 21st century. (quoted from an online article - Ghanaian Slave Castles: The Shocking Story of the Ghanaian Cape Coast" by Culture Trip) Mackenzie toured this castle, it was a heartwrenching experience and brought her to tears. The horrors of this place still live on the walls for all to see. 11/14/19
