Post #17 – Lome, Togo – First Day – 04-18-2025 - Country #83
Togo is a tiny country in the Gulf of Guinea. At only 22,000 square miles it is smaller than West Virginia. At its widest, it is only 71 miles wide. The coast of Togo in the Gulf of Guinea is 35 miles long. Togo is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It has a population of 8 million.
But there is lots to see and do here so I will be taking 3 tours in 2 days.
We were an hour late getting into port because the pilot was late. For once my cabin was not on the dock side so I can look out into the harbor. I put the camera out on the balcony to warm up, hoping then it wouldn’t fog up when I got off but it didn’t make any difference and there were no dancers on the dock. Most of the tours offered were all day tours – hiking or full day voodoo tours. I opted to do a Lome Highlights tour in the morning and a cooking class in the afternoon.
Again, the itinerary said we would be going to the Grand Marche (the Central Market) but we went to a craft market instead. Disappointed to not see the big market but at least this time the craft market was fairly extensive and I was able to get a few nice souvenirs. The people were very friendly and not aggressive.
Always love the kids
Some people were going to go later today on their own to the Great Market but too involved – get the ship’s shuttle to the beach resort, then call a tuk-tuk or motorcycle taxi. Then getting back…. At the last minute they offered a shuttle to the market but too late - I have my cooking class at 3 so not an option. Heard later that it was too crowded and not comfortable to visit.
After the craft market, we drove by many of the high rise buildings in the downtown. The architecture was amazing. I’ve looked for some images online as taking photos out dirty bus windows doesn’t work really well. Because we were late into port, no time for picture stops. So, here are a few pictures from the internet:
Banks
Congress building
Independence Monument
Our next stop was at the Palais de Lome. It is a restored colonial palace that now houses contemporary African art. It also had pretty grounds.
Our final stop was the Akodessewa Fetish Market, one of the largest voodoo markets in West Africa. They had warned us that this place would be an assault on our senses. Visually yes but luckily not as “fragrant” as they had warned. Togolese beliefs include voodoo and many of their “cures” involve using dead animal parts. What is sad is that many of the dead animals here are threatened or endangered. They said all died naturally but I didn't buy that. The main thing they were trying to sell to us were little voodoo dolls. They said they were used to bring about good things but they still creeped me out. I had purposely left my wallet on the bus so wasn’t tempted to buy anything.
Warning: creepy, graphic dead animal photos –
Got back to the ship in time for lunch. I was so drenched in sweat from the hot, humid weather that I had to have a quick shower before going out for my afternoon cooking class. I’ll cover that in my next blog post.
History from Wikipedia: The name Togo is translated from the Ewe language as "behind the river".
The Atlantic slave trade began in the 16th century, and for the next two hundred years the coastal region was a trading center for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".
In 1884, a paper was signed at Togoville with King Mlapa III, whereby Germany claimed a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. Its borders were defined after the capture of hinterland by German forces and signing agreements with France and Britain. In 1905, this became the German colony of Togoland. The local population was forced to work, cultivate cotton, coffee, and cocoa and pay taxes. A railway and the port of Lomé were built for export of agricultural products. The Germans introduced techniques of cultivation of cocoa, coffee and cotton and developed the infrastructure.
During the First World War, Togoland was invaded by Britain and France, proclaiming the Anglo-French condominium. The Togoland Campaign involved the successful French and British invasion of the German colony of Togoland during the West African Campaign of the First World War. Following the Allied invasion of the colony in August 1914, German forces were defeated, forcing the colony's surrender on August 26, 1914. On December 7, 1916, the condominium collapsed, and Togoland was subsequently partitioned into British and French zones, creating the colonies of British Togoland and French Togoland. On July 20, 1922, Great Britain received the League of Nations mandate to govern the western part of Togo and France to govern the eastern part. In 1945, the country received the right to send three representatives to the French parliament.
After World War II, these mandates became UN Trust Territories. The residents of British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast as part of the independent nation of Ghana in 1957. French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the French Union in 1959, while France retained the right to control defense, foreign relations, and finances.
The Togolese Republic was proclaimed on April 27, 1960.