BOKÉ FORT (NOW A MUSEUM)
Boké is famous for its fort, built in 1878, which became a museum in 1971 and was restored in 1982 by the association of friends of the museum. The famous Almamy Alpha Yaya Diallo (1840-1912), king of Labé, was imprisoned there as was King Nalou (1840-1897), the first king of the region to convert to Islam. Art lovers will be able to admire some period pieces: baga objects such as communication drums, caryatid drums for initiated women, the baga snake for the initiation of boys, guenzés (toma money) and nimba masks, symbols of fecundity. The basement, occupied by sinister interrogation rooms, bears witness to the harsh "interviews" that the colonial administration subjected those who were to become Senegalese riflemen. You will also find some cells where the prisoners were chained: no less sinister..
In the garden, busts of Guinean heroes erected under Sékou Touré (Samory Touré, Alpha Yaya, Dinah Salifou, the king of the Nalou, etc.) are enthroned amidst old cannons, as well as a stele commemorating the departure of René Caillié on April 19, 1827, in the direction of Labé, on his journey towards Timbuktu.
The major interest of this fortress lies in the guided tour offered by the charismatic "curator" Mamadou Baïlo or his son Mamadou Oury Traoré (who assists his father when he is there). Both of them will tell you more than just stories, both inside and around the museum!
