Ada Foah is a town on the southeast coast of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, where the

Volta River The Volta River (, , ) is the main Drainage system (geomorphology), river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso Department, Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso. The three main part ...

meets the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The town is located along the Volta River, off of the

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Aflao Aflao is a border town in the Ketu South District in the Volta Region of Ghana on the Ghana–Togo border, border with Togo. Aflao is the twenty-eighth most populous Human settlement, settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a populat ...

motorway. Known for

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

-lined beaches and

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

islands, Ada Foah is also the capital of the Ada East District (formerly Dangme East District) and the seat of the District Assembly.

History

Dutch colonialism into Ada in the 16th century saw development of a trading post in 1775. The name "Foah" comes from the word Fort, as from 1783, Fort Kongenstein was built by the Dutch and used in the

Transatlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

and Sub-Saharan Slave Trade. The fort was purchased by the English on 15 March 1850. Only traces of Fort Kongenstein are found in Ada, in the

Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of Ghanaian re ...

. The port of Ada is located at the mouth of the Volta River. Ada people were sold and shipped to

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

through this fort as slaves. The fort has almost disappeared into the sea and is half eroded, gradually washing the building that once used to be a prison into the ocean. As rising water levels continues to jeopardise the coast and local communities, construction of the sea defence wall hope to stop this progress.

British colonial rule The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

was imposed at the end of the 19th century. Trading with the Europeans in the transatlantic slave trade, Ada became a major market for the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

in human exports. After the slave trade had been abolished, the Dangmes traded products of the African tropical forests (mostly

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

palm kernel The palm kernel is the edible seed of the oil palm fruit. The fruit yields two distinct oils: palm oil derived from the outer parts of the fruit, and palm kernel oil derived from the kernel. The pulp left after oil is rendered from the kernel ...

s and

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

). Ada used to be a major trading centre and trade was one of the main sources of income. There were large

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

s for storing the trading goods close to the seaside. Its location at the

ensured a quick transportation along the

up to the north of the country.

Ada today

Today, Ada is a shadow of its former self as far as social life and economic activities are concerned. There are hardly any traces of physical structures such as forts, factories and shops remaining, since large parts of the town have been

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

and washed into the sea. Especially with the start of the cocoa industry, Ada lost its importance, since cocoa was transported on the road instead of the river and was harvested far away from the Volta River. Also, the construction of the

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, in

Akosombo Akosombo is a small town in the south of the Asuogyaman District, Eastern Region, Ghana with notable street names of some African countries in the sub-region like Ghana, Congo, Namibia, Lagos-town, and Freetown. It is occupied by people of ...

, completed in 1965, dried up the Volta River and ships could no longer pass. Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III is the current Paramount Chief of the Ada Traditional Area.

Tourism

Ada Foah is the tourism centre of the Ada East District with its beaches, the

and many tourism attractions and services. With the river and the ocean, Ada Foah is famous for water sports like swimming, sailing, fishing and boat cruises. The river shore is mostly blocked by holiday chalets as many people from

use the place as a weekend getaway. There is a ferry and boat

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

at the riverside where boats can be rented for a cruise around the islands in the river. The Ghana Sailing Club, located at the Volta River, is open to members only. Ada Turtle Bay, developed by Trasacco Estates Development Company, a real estate developer based in Ghana, is a private residence project including 40 private villas and a Hilton Resort and Spa.

Sights

Although the old trading fort, built by Danish traders in the 18th century, is already halfway eroded and washed into the ocean, the remains can still be visited. Close to the fort is the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

that was built by the first generation of Ghanaian Christians. Next to it is the old

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

cemetery. Ghanaian artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo's installation, ''Nkyinkyim'', which consists of more than 1,300 cement effigies, is embedded in a field in Nuhalenya Ada, a town outside Accra. This collection of cement effigies represents those people involved in the slave trade, opening a dialogue about African history, of which Ada Foah played its role as a trading fort.

Events

Ada Foah is the secondary venue of the annual Asafotufiami Festival that takes place during the first week of August. Its main venue is Big Ada but many celebrations also take place in Ada Foah. There is a

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

tournament on the first weekend of each month at the seaside near the estuary, where teams from different communities in the district compete against each other. Before the start of the tournament, the beach is cleaned, which is the underlying intention of the whole event. Once a month, there is a

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

on the ferry that operates between Ada Foah and Anyanui. This is to inform both locals and tourists about specific topics concerning health, tradition and education. A boat race takes place every year in December. Paddle boats for 5 or 15 people compete against each other. Visitors can watch the race and also participate if they register as a group about a week in advance.

Geography

Climate

Tropical savanna climates have monthly mean temperature above 18 °C (64 °F) in every month of the year and typically a pronounced dry season, with the driest month having precipitation less than 60 mm (2.36 in) of precipitation. The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is Aw, tropical savanna climate.Climate Summary for Ada Foah
/ref>

Gallery

File:A Tree At Ada.JPG, A Tree in Ada File:Maranatha_Beach_Resort.jpg, Golden sand at Maranatha Beach Resort File:Cruise_boat_at_Ada_Foah.jpg, Cruise boat at Ada Foah File:Presby Church.jpg, Presbyterian Church in Ada Foah File:Remains_of_Fort_Kongenstein_(C).jpg, Remains of Fort Kongenstein (2) File:Remains_of_Fort_Kongenstein_(D).jpg, Remains of Fort Kongenstein (3) File:Chalets_at_Ada_Foah.jpg, Some chalets along River Volta File:Grave_of_Capt._A._Cooper.jpg, Grave of Captain A. Cooper (1876 - 1926) who died on 11 April 1926, aged 50

References

External links

*
Ada Tourism
official website {{Coord, 5, 47, N, 0, 38, E, display=title, region:GH_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in the Greater Accra Region