| Agbodrafo | ||
| State | Togo | |
|---|---|---|
| Territory | Maritime Region | |
| Prefix tel | 228 | |
| Time zone | UTC | |
Position
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Agbodrafo (former Porto Seguro) is a city of the Maritime Region in Togo.
To know
It grew up around a Portuguese fort with the name of Porto Seguro, becoming today a famous seaside resort.
The city of Agbodrafo has been recognized as part of the "slave coast" (or Diego Cao). You can discover some vestiges of the past such as the "house of the slaves" or the well of those chained.
Geographical notes
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the city was the heart of the slave trade that existed throughout the Gulf of Benin.
How to orient yourself
Agbodrafo: full screen map.How to get
How to get around
What see
There are still some symbolic remains from this past.
- 1 House of slaves (Maison des esclaves or Maison de Woold). The house, owned by a Scottish merchant and slave, John Henry Wood, was built shortly after 1835. This house was intended to illegally run a slave trade despite the abolition of the Atlantic treaty byEngland in 1807. This house was used for illegal traffic until 1852. The building, in Afro-Brazilian style, is located 3 kilometers from the Atlantic coast, in an area that at the time was masked by vegetation. It consists of six bedrooms, a living room, 1.5 meter wide corridors and a 1.5 meter high cellar under the whole building. The upper rooms served as accommodation for the slaveholders, while the cellars served as barracks for the slaves. The latter were pushed from the outside through several air intakes. A small trap door located in the living room allowed access to the cellars for the slavers.
- Shackled well. Near the house, on the road to the sea, there is a well called "chained well". This is the place where slaves took their last bath before being embarked on slave ships bound for the Americas. African oral tradition states that after their bath, the slaves were forced to make seven turns of the well to sever ties with their deities and ensure the slaveholders' abandonment of supernatural forces.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Where stay
Average prices
- Auberge du lac. It houses a small village of 9 thatched huts (bungalows), ventilated or air-conditioned rooms and a lakeside restaurant. Water sports: windsurfing, pedal boats, boating, jet skiing. Pirogues available to reach Togoville. Cultural entertainment: storytelling evenings, Djembe and traditional dances.
- Hôtel du lac. An unusual place where you can swim in shallow water. To sleep and have lunch if you spend the day there. The hotel is popular on weekends with tourists and expats.
