Travel Guide Elmina

So goes the Ghanaian legend of the founding of Elmina: three hunting brothers had set out from Techiman to discover new lands. Dehydrated, overheated and on the verge of collapse, they saw a river and ran to drink from it. No sooner had they finished their first sip than a deity emerged from the stream. The deity explained that those who took advantage of the source of life could not go back to " Ano-ansa ". She added that seven months after their meeting - and this every year - it was necessary to celebrate the event. This celebration became a festival, the "Bakate" festival, which is held every first Tuesday in July. The eldest of the three brothers respected the deity and decided to call the place Edina and to settle there.The name Elmina was given by the Portuguese (" El mina" means "the mine" in Portuguese). They built a fort, the oldest on the coast, and brought in a lot of gold. Afterwards, the place changed European hands several times.