While in Kumasi I spent a few hours in the largest market in all of West Africa. It was intense and exhilarating.
As I wound my way through aisle after aisle I encountered just about everything you would think anyone could ever want or need to buy. See this gentlemen selling jewlery:
There were whole aisles dedicated to singular goods, particular fabrics, machetes, slingshots, or tshirts. An entire section of the market was dedicated to foodstuffs. I thought I’d found something exotic when I disovered fist-sized, living snails. And then I found these: (yep – roasted rats. This guy is smaller than a lot I found, but more “artistically” displayed.)
This market would have been overwhelming to me if I had needed to find something in particular. It was thoroughly enjoyable however to get lost inside and simply enjoy the new sights, sounds, and smells (okay, not all the smells were enjoyable). Most enjoyable were the people, I would have loved to spend the day simply making my way from conversation to conversation.
Everywhere we went the aisles were packed with people buying, selling and moving products. It was a constant shuffle of feet, and ducking in and out of stalls. There were people of all ages working, mothers with babies strapped to their backs, others with kids playing near by. These mothers were excited when I chatted with their kids:
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