Tamale

It felt to me like Tamale ran along a long road, intersecting with the town centre and then continuing on. I got to know the road well, on one side it led to a place called 'Kamina', surrounded on both sides by dry teak forest. The weather was still hot and dry, but milder than Bolga, and more bearable. Tamale's market, bigger than in Bolga, with enough to see and wander through, but not so big or crazy that you get lost or overwhelmed. I was in Tamale for 5 days and loved my time there. These were the highlights:

Fieldwork on the back of a moto

Motorbikes and scooters are more common than cars in Tamale and seeing the town from the back of a moto gave a completely different perspective and proximity. I loved it, even the scarier bits driving through congested traffic acoss town when I could have reached out and touched any number of vehicles!

Climbing up a mango tree with strangers

By coincidence, there was a scavenger hunt on the Saturday night, which I joined in, tearing round Tamale chasing points, testing our ingenuity and braveness, and yes, for 10 points our whole team were briefly up a mango tree.

TZ

The local starchy white lump eaten with soup in northern Ghana. It is rice-based and I really liked it. Had it with a soup called 'bito', which for those who know it, reminded me of haleem.

Naaaaaah

This is how people greet and respond to one another in Tamale. By far the most memorable part of my trip and it brings me joy every time I think about it – its intonation, character and genuineness, accompanied sometimes with a slight bow.




Round houses in Tamale

 


Inside a Tamale mosque





Teak forest

 



Making TZ

 



Street signs in Tamale

 


TZ