Travel to Appreciate History

May 10 2013 , Written by The Diverse Traveller Published on #TravelQuote, #Slavery, #Benin Republic, #Africa, #Culture

Photo: Gate of No Return in Ouidah, Benin Republic*

"As the traveller who has once been from home is wiser then (s)he who has never left his/her own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinise more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own." - Margaret Mead, anthropologist

* ...The Gate of No Return is not an ancient ruin. It was built in 1995 by the Beninois government, along with the help of UNESCO. So what’s so special about it? Centuries ago, Ouidah was one of the capitals of slave trading in Africa. The slaves were sold in a market, as tomatoes and mangos are sold in the same market today. They were then forced to walk – shackled – about 5km to the port from which they would board a ship set for the Americas. The Gate of No Return symbolizes the location of this long gone port. Source: http://noprereqs.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/gate-of-no-return.html

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