By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, Aug 16 (SALONE TIMES) – Hello folks, how are you doing? The long absence of TRACEJoenal was as a result of proper research about the emergence or should I say reemergence of clock towers in Sierra Leone.
TRACEJoenal has been tracing cities, towns and villages to get firsthand information about clock towers in those places.
As I moved from one town to the other, I reflected on the days when people were fighting for clock towers from east end Police to Koidu City among many others.
TRACEJoenal moved from Kailahun to Makeni, Kono to Kabala, Bo to Kenema and discovered that 95% of the clock towers are only cosmetic. The clock towers are nothing but white elephants as only the structures bear their testimonies.
The clock towers in Kalahun and Segbwema are still being constructed. Mile 91, Makeni, Port Loko and Kabala clock towers among others which were commissioned only work for few days and turned white elephant.
The clock towers in Kenema, Bo and Freetown are under good working condition especially the one in Kenema which is the only digital clock tower in the country.
The Bo clock tower is only visible during the day as the blackout at night overtakes its visibility.
Freetown East End Police clock tower is still battling with its chiming. I realized that one metropolitan police will run in to play a sound when it always closes to the hour. The clock has no auto chime except somebody does that manually.
Historically, clock towers are specific types of structures housing turret clocks with one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions.
Clock towers are a common sight in many parts of the world with some being iconic buildings. One example is the Elizabeth Tower in London (usually called “Big Ben”, although strictly this name belongs only to the bell inside the tower).
The significance of clock towers is way back from a photograph of the Empress Market clock tower that appeared in Dawn (April 16) reminded me of the legacy of the British who conceived an innovative idea of fixing clocks in the marketplace of every city and town of the colony such as the one at east end Police.
The use of clock towers dates back to the antiquity. The earliest clock tower was the Tower of the Winds in Athens which featured eight sundials. In its interior, there was also a water clock (or clepsydra), driven by water coming down from the Acropolis.
The first striking clock tower was constructed centuries later in 1154 near the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, by Arab engineer al Kaysarani. The earliest clock tower in mediaeval Europe was the Salisbury cathedral clock in England, completed in 1306.
The five of the best known ‘clock towers’ are the St Stephen’s Tower, which houses Big Ben of the Palace of Westminster in London, the Rajabai Tower in Mumbai, the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Campanile in Venice, Italy, Zytglogge clock tower in the Old city of Berne, Switzerland are still in good shape and working properly.
Although clock towers are today mostly admired for their aesthetics, they once served an important purpose. Before the middle of the 20th century most people did not have watches, and prior to the 18th century even home clocks were uncommon. To facilitate the people about time, clock towers were placed near the centres of towns and established mostly in the tallest structures.
When the British subjugated the Orient, they introduced clock towers throughout the occupied territory. In Sindh also these clock towers can be seen in marketplaces and main public buildings of even the small towns.
Now these towers because of their antiquity, architectural eminence and central location are considered objects of exquisite beauty rather than just time machines.
Unfortunately, most of the recent clock towers show total neglect by the authorities. In some places the structure of tower buildings are nearing collapse due to lack of proper maintenance and the clocks in most of the towers are either broken or not functional. Thus like squandering other assets of national importance, the nation has also failed to preserve such monument of national importance.
I request the municipal authorities to appreciate the significance of these clock towers, a priceless national asset, and not only restore their edifices to pristine beauty but also ensure that clocks fixed in the towers are made functional.
TRACE Joenal is a regular column brought to you by Ibrahim Joenal Sesay, Senior Staff Writer of SALONE TIMES NEWSPAPER, Best Human Right Reporting award winner and Advocate for Change in Sierra Leone. You can follow him on www.232news.com,Twitter & Facebook @tracejoenal or E-Mail salonesij@gmail.com
