A Visit to Olumo Rock - Abeokuta Nigeria (1)
Not too long ago, I paid a visit to the ancient city of Abeokuta, a name which means under the rock in the Yoruba language. This is not unconnected to the intimidating presence of the Olumo rock in the town.
Although I had visited Abeokuta severally, on this very occasion I decided to visit the Olumo rock which is one of the most popular tourist centres in Southwest Nigeria.
About 450 feet tall, the Olumo rock is the tallest point in Ogun State, Nigeria. The name Olumo, I was told, means God moulded it in the Yoruba language. Apparently, the size of the rock must have mesmerized the early Yoruba settlers who decided to adopt that name.
Olumo Rock, Elephant of Stones Sleeping Side By Side
I arrived the premises of the Olumo rock when the blazing ball of the sun was burning in the sky. From the distance, I could see nothing except what looks like an elephant of stones sleeping side by side.
I was thrilled at the towering rocks which slept in the distance. The brownness of the rocks only reflect how hard time has punched it. Anyways, it is still standing and standing strong.
Climbing the Olumo rock
At the gate, I paid a fee of one thousand naira before I was given the ticket to access the rock.
Before I embarked on the exhausting task of climbing the Olumo rock, I bought myself a bottle of chilled drinks to palliate the oppression of the sun.
Afterwards, I headed for the man-made stairs carved into the breast of the rock. I would later gather that there was a more adventurous route to climbing the rock.
At the Peak of the Olumo rock
After taking hundreds of steps, I finally arrived at the peak of the rock. I was completely exhausted, my legs aching.
Luckily I found a shed with about a dozen chairs at the peak of the rock. So, I sat down and rested for a short while before I ordered a cone of ice cream from a vendor who sat some yards away.
The wind that blew on the Olumo rock was different. It was soft, pure, and tender. From the peak of the Olumo rock, you could behold the beauty of the ancient city of Abeokuta. You could see a long stretch of burnt roofs and cars as small as cockroaches in the distance.
At a point, I thought about the part of the scripture where the devil showed Jesus the glory of the world and charged him to bow down and worship him. Well, I saw the whole glory of Abeokuta from on top of the Olumo rock. However, there was no devil to tempt me.
SUPPORT CORNER
Kindly follow the peerless vocabulary lessons delivered by @majes.tytyty and get rewarded with some upvotes for your participation.
Are you a minnow and you're already thinking of giving up on Steemit? Please don't quit. Kindly follow @Steemitcentral and use the steemitcentral tag in your posts to get some upvotes.
I am @gandhibaba, the young man who goes about carrying his magical pen, not his gun, in his pockets.
.gif)
Gif courtesy of @artzanolino
As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!
Oh for real...almighty olumo rock. Cool tourist site.
Posted using Partiko Android
It is a great place. I will like you to see it if you ever visit Abeokuta.
I have been to Abeokuta, but didn't check out the rock. We've got rocks in the northern region too.
Posted using Partiko Android
That's good to know. I think the north has got some of the tallest rocks. I hope you share some with us here soon. Cheers!
Your post has been featured on @wafrica
Courtesy of @nmalove
Wow. This is good news. Thanks for featuring it.
Hello! I find your post valuable for the wafrica community! Thanks for the great post! We encourage and support quality contents and projects from the West African region.
Do you have a suggestion, concern or want to appear as a guest author on WAfrica, join our discord server and discuss with a member of our curation team.
Don't forget to join us every Sunday by 20:30GMT for our Sunday WAFRO party on our discord channel. Thank you.
lol where did you take that shot? I really like this photo. which lens did you use?