Ghana trivia: 48 questions and answers

Accra. Accra is the capital and largest city. Kumasi was the capital of the Asante kingdom, and Cape Coast was the capital of the Gold Coast until 1877.

True. True. The Prime Meridian passes through the port city of Tema, about 25 km east of Accra.

The Gold Coast. The Gold Coast took the name Ghana at independence. Upper Volta is the old name of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast is Ghana's western neighbour, and the Grain Coast was an old name for the coast of Liberia.

Portugal. Portugal began the castle of São Jorge da Mina in 1482. The Dutch captured it in 1637 and held it until it passed to Britain in 1872.

Yaa Asantewaa. Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother of Ejisu, led the uprising after the British governor demanded to sit on the Golden Stool. Okomfo Anokye lived around 1700, Theodosia Okoh designed the flag in 1957, and Nkrumah led Ghana to independence.

6 March 1957. Ghana became independent on 6 March 1957. It became a republic on 1 July 1960, the Gold Coast Colony was proclaimed on 24 July 1874, and the Accra riots began on 28 February 1948.

False. False. Ghana became independent from Britain. Its neighbours Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo were once French territories.

Former soldiers asking for their promised pensions. The marchers were former soldiers asking for their promised pensions, men who had fought for Britain in the Second World War. Three were killed, and the riots that followed sped up the road to independence.

The first enslaved Africans landed in English Virginia. The first enslaved Africans landed in English Virginia in 1619, and in 2019 Ghana invited people of African descent to visit. Elmina Castle dates from 1482 and the Asante union from about 1701.

Green plantain. Fufu is boiled cassava pounded with green plantain, or sometimes cocoyam or yam, in a wooden mortar. Rice is used for rice balls (omo tuo), a different dish.

From the red palm oil and the orange fried plantain. The name comes from the red palm oil and the orange fried plantain served with it. Red red is made with black-eyed beans, not kidney beans.

Dried sorghum leaves. Dried sorghum leaves are cooked with the rice and beans and taken out before serving. Hibiscus flowers colour the drink sobolo.

Spiced fried plantain. Kelewele is spiced fried plantain, cubes of ripe plantain tossed with ginger and pepper. Fermented corn dumplings are kenkey, bean fritters are koose, and the hibiscus drink is sobolo.

Hibiscus. Sobolo is made from hibiscus (roselle) flowers boiled with ginger and cloves. The same drink is called bissap in Senegal and zobo in Nigeria.

True. True. The two kinds of kenkey differ in their wrapping, which also gives them a slightly different flavour and texture.

False. False. In Ghanaian cooking soups and stews are the main course, served with a starch such as fufu, banku or rice balls.

Ghana and Nigeria. Ghana and Nigeria have the best-known rivalry over jollof, though cooks across West Africa make their own versions.

Cape Coast. Cape Coast was the capital until 1877, when the government moved to Accra. Kumasi was the Asante capital, and Ho was the capital of British Togoland.

True. True. Sekondi and Takoradi merged in 1946. The city is the capital of the Western Region and is called the Oil City.

British Togoland. Ho was the capital of British Togoland, which had been part of German Togoland until the First World War and joined Ghana at independence.

Elmina Castle. Elmina Castle was begun by the Portuguese in 1482. Cape Coast Castle was started in the 1650s, Manhyia Palace was built in 1925, and the Independence Arch was finished in 1961.

Cape Coast Castle. Cape Coast Castle is part of the World Heritage Site of Ghana's forts and castles. Kakum National Park has only been proposed for the list, and Mole and Lake Bosomtwe are not on it.

A walkway of rope bridges high in the rainforest trees. Kakum's canopy walkway is a walkway of rope bridges high in the rainforest trees, about 40 m above the ground.

True. True. The meteorite struck about 1.07 million years ago, and the crater is about 10.5 km wide. It is Ghana's only natural lake.

The Akosombo Dam. The Akosombo Dam across the Volta River was completed in 1965. The Aswan High Dam is in Egypt, the Kariba Dam is on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the Hoover Dam is in the United States.

True. True. The park is on the old polo ground where Nkrumah declared independence in 1957, and he is buried in its marble mausoleum.

False. False. It is a small mud mosque in the Sudanese style, with two pyramid-shaped towers and wooden beams sticking out of its walls.

The Asantehene, king of the Asante. Manhyia is the seat of the Asantehene, king of the Asante. The old palace is now a museum, and the present king lives in a newer palace nearby.

An ancient West African empire. The name comes from an ancient West African empire, the Ghana Empire, which flourished from about the 3rd to the 12th century. The Twi word for gold is sika.

A cowry shell. Cedi means a cowry shell in Akan. Cowries were used as money on the Gold Coast until 1901.

A black star. A black star sits in the gold stripe between red and green. It also gave the national football team its nickname, the Black Stars.

True. True. Lake Volta covers 8,502 km², about 3.6% of Ghana's area. By volume, Lake Kariba holds more water.

Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast, Ghana's western neighbour, is the largest exporter, and Ghana is one of the biggest cocoa growers too. Dry Burkina Faso grows almost no cocoa.

Basket. Kente comes from kɛntɛn, the Twi word for basket, because the early woven cloths looked like baskets.

True. True. The Golden Stool is set on a blanket, and at an enthronement the new king is lowered and raised over it without touching it.

Welcome. Akwaaba means welcome. Thank you is medaase, and goodbye can be nante yie.

Medaase. Medaase means thank you. Akwaaba is welcome, dabi is no, and nkwan is soup.

False. False. Dabi means 'no'. 'Yes' is aane.

Foreigner. Obroni means foreigner, often taken to mean 'white person'. It is usually called out in a friendly way, not as an insult.

Maakye. Maakye means good morning. Maaha is good afternoon, maadwo is good evening, and nante yie is goodbye.

Wei yɛ sɛn?. Wei yɛ sɛn? means 'How much is this?'. Wo din de sɛn? asks someone's name, the third asks for the toilet, and Mente aseɛ means 'I don't understand'.

True. True. Nante yie means 'walk well', a kind wish for someone who is leaving.

Me ho yɛ, medaase.. Me ho yɛ, medaase means 'I'm fine, thank you'. Me din de Kofi means 'My name is Kofi'.

Yellow fever. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required to enter Ghana. Travellers should also take protection against malaria.

False. False. Use your right hand to eat, give and receive; using the left is seen as rude.

112. You can call 112, or 999, for police, fire or an ambulance in Ghana.

True. True. Wearing camouflage or other military clothing is against the law, so leave such clothes at home.

Mobile money on a phone. Mobile money on a phone is used everywhere in Ghana. Cowry shells were money on the Gold Coast only until 1901, and travellers' cheques are very hard to change.