A picture says a thousands words. So, I am lucky to have more pictures of Makola market as it will greatly reduce the energy and thought I must expend writing about the area.
Remember how I tried to describe the chaos that was Makola market? Well, I found a sneaky place on the fourth level of one of the building in Makola where I could finally get some great pics of the market. Now the pics below do reveal the hectic crowds that line the streets, the colours, the busyness etc. But what it doesn't show is how at every turn, there is an alley lined with even more booths. And each of these alleys leads to other alleys and other alleys and so on. It's a veritable maze straight out of a children's activity book, with every square inch lined with household products, shoes, clothing or food.
My sneaky aerial view!
This view is even sneakier! But a little less exciting of a subject: the parking lot.
Though it appears chaotic (and it feels that way, I assure you. One leaves Makola completely exhausted) there is a method to the madness here. For example, when I asked people where I could get shoes (my Birkenstocks have officially retired after I noticed moss growing on them), I was led through a forrest of wooden booths and stands, following the tiniest stream of concrete that I could hardly call a path. And where did I end up? In an area completely surrounded by shoes!
Some of the friends I went with said they found themselves in what appeared to be an alley of meat vendors. One complained of his particularly close proximity to a butcher slamming down his knife on a fresh slab of meat, flicking blood onto his face. I will add this story to my top ten reasons why I love being a vegetarian. We have been granted a karmic immunity to animal blood splatter.
The market is not all business. All around you see women and men accompanying their vendor friends - chatting, eating, laughing. Even when conducting business, there seems to be a strong social component. Especially when you pass by women getting their hair done, trying on dresses, having their toesnails painted. It's a fun time!
The pictures above unfortunately refrain from describing the market's soundscape which is equally as stimulating as the visuals. Against the backdrop of white noise that one finds in any busy city, certain sounds are so very Ghana. Like the honking of the horn held by Fanmilk vendors (sounds a bit like the horn that clowns use when they trick you into sniffing the flowers on their shirts but instead honk a horn and water sprays in your face... does anyone catch this reference?), or the incessant high-pitched taxi horns who will literally continue to honk for blocks until a customer finally shuts them up. One of the sounds that I hear so often it has literally begun to haunt my dreams is the Trotro call for Circle Station. When said in the Ghanaian accent it sounds like "Seh-cle." However, when said in the Ghanaian accent, 100 times over and at inhuman speed, it sounds like this: "Se! Se! Se! Se! Se! Cal."
Certain vendor calls have become quite familiar to me as well. The girls carrying sachets of fresh water call out "pure water!" but with the accent it sounds a bit more like "pyah wahta!" Other familiar calls (and my attempt to describe the sound of the dialect) include: plAN-tain, Feesh! (Fish), Bees-Keet! (Biscuits), Mentos! (yep, Mentos, the original Freshmaker).
I've noticed that some merchants opt for shouting the price rather than the product. This is a particularly useful strategy when the price is a much more attractive feature than the product itself: "Wan Cedi, Wan Cedi, Wan Cedi, Wan Cedi!" (one Cedi). Usually the enthusiastic chant decrescendos into a rather solemn description of the product: "nayce shirt" (nice shirt).
Continuing on the subject of "sneaky photos of places I have thus far only described in words", I managed to snap some pics of Circle Station (yes the infamous Se! Se! Se! Se! Se! Cal station). Circle is by far the biggest transport hub in Accra. Trotros, taxis, buses to almost anywhere in the country can be found at Circle. It takes up a generous amount of land on either side of an interchange. The place is a bit difficult to navigate but luckily people are really helpful at guiding you in the direction you need. Here are some pics of a parking lot of Trotros:
This is about 1/18th of the amount of Trotros at Circle station. So don't judge me for getting completely lost all the time.
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