TATOS (Local Forts)
Countless tribal wars, slave trading, which stepped up in the 18th century and political upheavals in the 19th century, were all factors which resulted in few people in West Africa being totally immune from danger. Subsequently at the turn of the 20th century, almost every village and town had some degree of structural defence.

MEMORIALS (Musa Molloh, Mungo Park)

Musa Molloh
Musa Molloh is a renowned and famous warrior, leader of troops as well as a skilled diplomat in having dealt successfully with both the French and British in the midst of Senegambia politics in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
To get to Musa Molloh's tomb make a left turn at the village of Boraba which is less than a kilometre from the junction leading to Sankulay Kunda and Georgetown. Kesser Kunda is about two kilometres from Boraba. Visit the Alkalo of the village who can assign you a guide to take you to the tomb.

Getting there:
Make a left turn to the village of Boraba which is less than a kilometer from the junction leading to Sankulay Kunda and Georgetown. Kesser Kunda is about 2 kilometers from Boraba. Visit the Alkalo of the village who can assign you a guide to take you to the tomb.

Mungo Park
Mungo Park was a British explorer born in Selkirk, Scotland, in 1771 and died in 1806 at Busa, Nigeria.

After serving as a surgeon with the East India Company, he was employed by the 'Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior of Africa' to explore the course of the Niger River. Traveling from the Gambia River, he reached the Niger at Segu and proceeded upstream to Bamako. On his return to England he published Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa. He was sent (1805) by the government to trace the Niger to its mouth, but at Bussa, Nigeria, he and his party all of them lost their lives.

There is a memorial stone obelisk dedicated to Mungo Park located at Karantaba in the Sami District of the Central River Division.

CROCODILE POOLS
The three sacred crocodile pools of Katchikally in Bakau, Folonko in Kartong and Berending (at Berending) are primarily fertility shrines where , for generations, people have sought help for their problems. Bringing kola nuts as offerings, women come to cure their infertility, men to reverse bad fortune in business, parents to seek protection for their children during the trials of circumcision, wrestlers to achieve victory and more.

The reptiles in the pools are Nile crocodiles which can grow up to 4.5 metres long and may live up to a century. The pools at Bakau and Kartong are fed by springs while the Berending pool is fed by salt water from nearby streams.

Getting there:
Katchikally is located in the Bakau bush close to Atlantic Road.

Folonko can be found in Kailung which is predominantly a fishing village on the coast that is now popular for sand mining. Kailung is about 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Banjul.

Berending can be reached from Banjul by using the ferry crossing to Barra on the north bank of the river. Berending is about 5km from Barra.

SAND DUNE MOSQUES
Kenye-Kenye J amango is a Mandinka tern which literally translates as Sand Dune Mosque. This refers to a makeshift mosque located on the sand dunes overlooking Gunjur beach about 1 km from the fishing centre. The mosque, associated grounds, buildings and rocks are all regarded as sacred because the site provided sojourn for the Khalifat'ul Tijanniyya Sheikh Umar Taal (Leader of the Tijanniyya Sect in West Africa) during his Islamisisation Mission in West Africa during the 19th century.

Getting there:
The site is about 1 km from the fishing centre at Gunjur beach. Any resident of the area can point it out from the fishing centre.

SANNEHMENTERENG
Sannehmentering is a sacred grove located on the cliffs overlooking the sea at Brufut. The grove is mainly of Baobab trees. It has a well defined approach from the main road opposite the village, which is marked by a newly lined ornamental plants. A mud hut with corrugated iron roofing provides shelter for those wishing to keep vigil at the site. At the bottom of the cliff is a well where those who come for prayers are ritually bathed.

SHELL MOUNDS
In simple terms, a shell mound is a rubbish heap of debris left behind by people who supplemented their diet by eating shell fish. They collected their shellfish, extracted the meat from within and then dumped the empty shell. These shells accumulated over time, interspersed with other debris thrown out by the people, including broken pottery and other domestic items.

While shell mounds can accumulate as part of a natural depositional process, there are shell mounds in this country that are man-made. Huge numbers of these mounds have been recorded, distributed along the coast of Senegal, through The Gambia, Cassamance, and into Guinea Bissau.

Raymond Mauny, a French archaeologist at IFAN, reported some of these mounds in 1958. He correctly stated that some were artificial pottery. They are usually located on the mangrove swamps, at the point where dry land gives way to the tidal marshes, although some are recorded as being complete artificial islands mid-stream in bolongs, for example at Dioron Boumak in Senegal and there is a similar site in the bolongs near Denton Bridge, outside Banjul.

OTHER SITES OF INTEREST
These include sacred wells, sites used by renowned religious personalities for prayers, ant hills, cemeteries, stone circles or isolated pillars, caves, mosques, churches, etc. They are sometimes associated with special powers and are consequently venerated by individuals and communities.

For further information and directions on any of the above sites please feel free to visit the National Museum on Banjul's Independence Drive.