Tourists went on holidays while travellers did something else. They travelled. - Alex Garland

16 October 2019, Larabanga
Bulu Guest House 60GHC (R171)

Wikipedia.com: The Larabanga Mosque is … built in the Sudanese architectural style… It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been referred to as the "Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone restoration several times since it was founded in 1421. The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. The restoration works have revived the knowledge of mud-plaster maintenance.
The mosque has an old Quran, believed by the locals to have been given as a gift from heaven in 1650 to Yidan Barimah Bramah, the Imam at the time, as a result of his prayers. The mosque, built with mud and reeds, has two tall towers in pyramidal shape, one for the mihrab which faces towards Mecca forming the facade on the east and the other as a minaret in the northeast corner. These are buttressed by twelve bulbous shaped structures, which are fitted with timber elements. According to a legend, in 1421, an Islamic trader named Ayuba had a dream while staying here, near a "Mystic Stone", instructing him to build a mosque. Strangely, when he awoke, he found that the foundations were already in place and he proceeded to construct the mosque until it was completed. There is a belief that he left instructions that he should be buried close to the mosque and that after three days, the baobab which would shoot up on his grave was to be preserved from generation to generation. The baobab tree next to the mosque today is reputed to mark the site of Ayuba's grave. The townsfolk of Larabanga supposedly depend on the leaves and stem of this baobab tree for healing of ailments … Larabanga is one of eight ancient and highly revered mosques in Ghana, and is also the oldest. It is a place of pilgrimage and is considered the Mecca of West Africa.
Today we visited the mosque and the mystic stone; breakfasted on omelette in bread from a sidewalk vendor, and dined on spaghetti in a vegetable stew at the Savannah Lodge, which was mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide to west Africa as early as the mid-1990s. Our host, one of the Salia brothers, told us “Africa is paradise”. We are not in agreement with his assessment; Africa is tough for almost all who live here.
We were interested to know how much of the myths surrounding the mosque and stone are believed to be true by the younger generation. We asked a young man at the stone if he thought the stories were true. “It’s in the Quran, so it is true” was his response.