Melania continues solo tour of Africa with visit to slave-trading castle in Ghana and walks through infamous 'Door of No Return' where thousands of slaves passed before being shipped overseas
- Melania visited the Cape Coast Castle on West Africa's Gold Coast on Wednesday morning for a tour
- The First Lady said it was something she would 'never forget' and said the site was 'a special place'
- The castle was used by Europeans in the 17th Century to house slaves before shipping them to America
- President Obama visited it in 2009 while he was president and said it represented 'evil'
- Melania's tour, which is her first solo venture, continues with visits to Malawi and Kenya then Egypt
- On Wednesday, she paired a previously worn $595 Veronica Beard jacket with slacks and $50 Zara loafers
Melania Trump became emotional as she visited a 17th Century slave trading outpost in Ghana on Wednesday on the second day of her solo tour of Africa.
The First Lady arrived at Cape Coast Castle in the early afternoon after a two-and-half hour drive from the capital Accra where she stayed on Tuesday night.
First, she sought permission to tour the UNESCO site from the local Fante tribe whose young members gave her a warm reception.
She then spent around an hour at the castle, touring its dungeons and walking through the sacred 'Door of No Return' which thousands of slaves passed through in the 1800s before boarding cargo ships which ferried them across the Atlantic to the Americas to work for white masters.
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Melania spent around an hour at the Cape Coast Castle which was used in the 18th Century as a slave trading outpost. She was somber as she toured the site and described it afterwards as a 'very emotional' experience
Speaking after the visit, Melania said she it was a 'very emotional' experience.
'I will never forget (the) incredible experience and the stories I heard.
'The dungeons that I saw, it's really something that people should see and experience,' she said.
Later, she described her day as 'so impactful', writing in a tweet: 'My visit to Cape Coast castle was a solemn reminder of a time in our history that should never be forgotten.
'Thank you to Chief Osabarima Kwesi Atta & the chieftains for the warm welcome & cultural ceremony.'
For 10 minutes, Melania stood in what was used as a cramped dungeon to keep male slaves before they were ferried overseas.
Dressed down in a pair of beige pants, a $595 Veronica Beard military jacket and a pair of $50 Zara faux-snakeskin loafers, she was somber as she walked through the crumbling site.
She was more dressed up earlier in the day while visiting the local tribe chiefs. There, she added a pair of brown Manolo Blahnik shoes and a leather belt to her look.
First Lady Melania Trump hugs a young member of the Fante tribe as she seeks permission to visit the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, a former slave trading outpost, on Wednesday morning
Before going to the castle, Melania sought permission for the visit from chiefs of the local Fante tribe. She was more dressed up for their meeting in a pair of pointed stilettos and with a thick brown leather belt around her $595 jacket
A young member of the tribe presents the First Lady with a bouquet of local flowers before she leaves for the castle tour
Melania Trump shakes hands with members of the Fante tribe as she makes her way through a receiving line at the Emintsimadze palace on the Cape Coast of Ghana on Wednesday morning
Melania shakes hands with Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II in front of other members of the Fate tribe on Wednesday at the Emintsimadze Palace. The tribe erected a US flag as a symbol of hospitality before her visit
Melania Trump takes a seat next to Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, chief of the regional tribe at the Emintsimadze Palace
The First Lady was excited by the meeting and beamed as she stood beside Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, the chief of the regional tribe at the Emintsimadze Palace
The First Lady poses for a portrait with Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II and other members of the tribe
The First Lady was enamored with one of the youngest members of the tribe who held her hand during a photo-call at the end of the visit
The First Lady was welcomed with cultural ceremony into the 'Obama Hall' named after former president Barack Obama's 2009 visit
The tribe erected a banner welcoming the First Lady and draped US and Ghanaian flags over the palace walls
President Obama visited the castle in 2009 and said it was an example of the evil humans are capable of.
It was originally built by Dutch and Swedish tradesman but was captured by the British in 1664.
Cape Coast Castle is one of the largest forts which was used to facilitate the Atlantic Slave Trade of the 16th and 17th Century.
The site was first used to trade from but became a housing facility for enslaved Africans in the 1700s and 1800s after the dawn of the Atlantic slave trade.
When slavery was outlawed by the British in 1807, the building was put to use as administrative space and later had a court and school in its grounds.
It remained in the hands of the British until 1957, when Ghana gained independence and then became a museum.
The coastal castle is one of dozens that was used along West Africa's Gold Coast to house and then trade slaves across the Atlantic in the 1800s. The First Lady was given a private tour on Wednesday morning
At the castle, Melania walked through the Door of No Return, so named by the thousands of slaves who passed through it from their dungeons to board ships that would take them overseas to become enslaved to white masters in the Americas
Museum director Kwesi Essel-Blankson explains the route the slaves were forced to take from their dungeons through the halls of the castle before passing through the door to board ships and be taken to the Americas
The castle is now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage site. It was in the hands of the British until 1957 but was reclaimed when Ghana gained independence
The slaves were take from the dungeons onto boats waiting for them in the sea then onto larger cargo ships to be ferried over to America
One of the dungeons where hundreds of slaves were held huddled together in squalid conditions is pictured
At any given time, 1500 slaves were held in horrifying conditions inside. Men and women were held in separate dungeons, crammed in by the hundreds with nowhere to go to the bathroom or get fresh air.
They spent between six and 12 weeks in the castle before being shipped to 'the new world'.
Obama and other former US presidents also visited Elmina Castle, another of the slave trading outposts and what is considered Ghana's official 'Door of No Return'.
Melania and museum director Kwesi Essel-Blankson tour the castle on Wednesday morning
The museum director points out a grave in the courtyard of the castle as the pair continue their tour
Melania and museum director Kwesi Essel-Blankson talk at the 'door of no return' on Wednesday. The First Lady described it as a 'special place'
The First Lady was given a tour by museum educator Kwesi Essel-Blankson. She described the visit as 'very emotional'
The First Lady lays a wreath at the castle during her visit on Wednesday morning
The First Lady takes a moment to reflect in front of a wreath at the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana on Wednesday morning
Melania signed the visitor book before leaving the castle. She spent an hour at the site in total
Melania wore a pair of $50 Zara faux python loafers for the castle visit after changing out of a pair of high heels
Melania's visit to Ghana has not been met with the same enthusiasm as Obama's was in 2009.
Locals said on Tuesday that 'you wouldn't know' about Melania's trip unless you were 'following the news' whereas residents packed the streets and stood on rooftops to catch a glimpse of Obama - 'the son of Africa' - nine years ago during his visit.
'The interest is very, very muted and subdued.
'There are a lot of people (in Ghana) who are extremely indifferent about this visit,' political commentator Etse Sikanku told AFP.
With Obama, he said 'it was like a big party, everybody was into it, people stood on rooftops, everybody wanted to see Barack Obama, the son of Africa.'
Melania described the castle as 'something that people should see and experience'. The site was where slaves were held before being shipped out of Africa
During the visit, she also met members of the local Fante tribe. She is pictured touring the castle with museum director Kwesi Essel-Blankson
The castle is now protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site and been drawing high profile visitors, including President Obama who visited during his presidency in 2009, for years
The First Lady dressed down for the occasion in some beige pants, a khaki jacket and a pair of $50 Zara faux snakeskin loafers
African security officials lined the walls of the fort on Wednesday morning as the First Lady toured it
President Obama is pictured visiting the same site in 2009 with his family during his presidency. Locals said there was more excitement about his visit to Ghana than there has been for Melania's
Melania's trip is to promote her Be Best campaign and reiterate the US's commitment to distributing aid in Africa.
Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said on Tuesday: '[Melania] is hoping to visit the countries to learn what their challenges are, and also see where the US is having a positive impact or results.
'To that end, our office has been working closely with USAID [the United States Agency for International Development] and each stop will focus on one or more projects they have been working on within each country.
'The visits will include stops having to do with education, healthcare, some conservation and tourism–and as with all that she does through her initiative Be Best, the well-being of children will be her focus.'
She will return to Washington DC on October 7.
On Tuesday, the First Lady visited the Greater Accra Regional Hospital where she played with children and cuddled babies.
She then went to the Presidential Palace to have afternoon tea with the country's First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
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