Senior museum educator Kwesi Essel-Blankson (left) recounts for Melania Trump the history of Cape Coast Castle, a 17th-century fortress used in the slave trade. (© Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Melania Trump pays somber visit to Ghana slave fortress

By

 Lauren Monsen

 -

Oct 3, 2018

Melania Trump peered out of the infamous “Door of No Return” at a 17th-century slave fortress in Ghana on October 3, and said she’ll “never forget [the] incredible experience and the stories” she heard.

After walking through the dungeon at the restored Cape Coast Castle, the first lady said: “It’s really something that people should see and experience.”

First lady Melania Trump signs the guest book during a tour of Cape Coast Castle in Cape Coast, Ghana. (© Carolyn Kaster/AP Images)

The fortress warehoused newly enslaved Africans before they were shipped like cargo across the Atlantic to the Americas.

Trump, escorted by senior museum educator Kwesi Essel-Blankson, spent nearly an hour at the white-stone fortress.

Melania Trump and Kwesi Essel-Blankson walk past cannons facing the sea. Cape Coast Castle was used by gold and timber merchants before the trade became slavery. (© Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The first lady began her visit to Africa on Monday, touring a hospital and baby clinic in Accra, Ghana, and will also travel to Malawi, Kenya and Egypt.

Trump is focusing on maternal and child health and children’s education as part of her “Be Best” campaign. Trump’s “Be Best” initiative promotes children’s emotional, social and physical health.

The tour is her first extended overseas solo trip as U.S. first lady.