畅游尼罗河谷
2008-05-12 22:56:15
畅游尼罗河谷
The longest river in the world, the Nile, flows through the north-western area of Africa, and then into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile valley is a fertile one where there is an abundance of water and sun, elements which the ancient Egyptian believed were gods, they called the sun Amon and the Nile Apis. Memphis was the first great capital of Egypt, united as a single kingdom in the third millennium B.C..But the Nile burst its banks a few centuries ago, flooding the ancient capital. The river however has given more than it has taken, enough to make Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian say: Egypt is a gift from the Nile. The annual floods left precious silt on the fields, a miraculous natural fertilizer which made the crops grow luxuriantly. This instrument, called a Nilometer was used by the ancient Pharaohs to establish how high the periodic floods would be. The Nilometer, on the presupposition that the harvest would be plentiful, was nothing other than a device for setting income tax level. The date palm is without a doubt the plant which characterizes Egyptian agriculture more than anything else. The peasants use it to make roofs, to construct furniture, to weave baskets; but above all the sweetest fruit on earth grows on the palm: the date. On display are the souks. Red dates can be purchased here. They are dry and crunchy, less sweet than the others; the semi-sweet ones have all the shades of orange; the brown and the black ones are very soft, and their sugar seems to dissolve in your mouth. If the Nile yields simple, raw materials, the inspiration of its people gives rise to one of the most perfumed, flavorsome and colorful cuisine in North Africa. Food in Egypt is hot and spicy, drenched in sauces. The national dish is fouhl, a fragrant soup of beans which is sold on every street corner. Egyptians tend to wash down these libations with black tea. Non-Muslims also enjoy the fine local wines and beer, whose origins are actually Egyptian. Ever since the 3rd dynasty drinking it while eating bread was considered a good omen. What we are seeing is the village near Luxor, which is characterized by the typical houses built with mud and straw. Some of these houses have been painted with colorful drawings, which are very curious. Aeroplanes, departures, ships and scenes from journeys. These painted walls tell us about the Islamic custom of going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. A duty which should be carried out at least once in a lifetime, an event that is to be passed down to descendants with a vivid fresco. The population on the Nile has grown at a dizzying rate, giving rise to a great metropolis of the size of Cairo the second most populous city in the world. To see the swarming crowds in the capital it would seem that the lesson of Ramese II, whose colossal stature is located near Cairo's Central Station, is still alive in Egypt. Ramses II had more than a hundred children and in Egypt today a baby is born every 20 seconds. The population is very young and half of its 54 million inhabitants are under 20 years old. The crowds in Cairo, the hustle and bustle of the typical souk, are an unmissable spectacle for people arriving in Egypt, a brilliant contrast to the mysterious charm of the monuments of the Pharaohs. These solemn states are almost participants in modern life. You can almost find your ideas about the Nile reflected in their eyes. 世界上最长的河流尼罗河，流经非洲西北部，最终汇入地中海。 伟大的人类文明多发源于河流两岸，但人类历史上最为绚丽、神秘的是使于尼罗河的古埃及文明。 尼罗河谷拥有充足的淡水与阳光，这二者被古埃及人奉为神灵，他们尊称太阳为AMON，称尼罗河为APIS。 孟菲斯是埃及第一个首都，公元前3000年，它建立为独立王国。而若干世纪以前，尼罗河水泛滥，冲垮了古都。 但毕竟，尼罗河所赋予的远大于它索取的。正如古希腊历史学家希罗多德所言：埃及是尼罗河赐予的礼物。 每年洪水过后，土地上都会留下一层淤泥，这是能让庄稼茁壮成长的天然优良肥料。 这个被称作"Nilometer"的设备，是古代法老用来预测一定时期内洪水的可能高度。用于推断丰收与否的"Nilometer"，其实就是制定税收标准的装置。 最具埃及农业特色的无疑是枣椰树。农民用它建房顶，打家具，编篮子。但最重要的是，世上最甜的水果就长在这树上——枣。 红枣就在这里出售。风干的枣吃起来不太甜很但脆。半甜的枣呈现出橙色；棕黑色的枣口感很软，它们的糖份仿佛已经溶进了嘴里。 如果尼罗河只提供简单的原料，北非人就会把它们变成美味佳肴。埃及食物多辛辣，并要用酱汁浸透。 FOUHL是当地食品，这种鲜美的豆汤在各个街道都能买到。 埃及人习惯用红茶解酒。非穆斯林也能享用当地美味的葡萄酒和啤酒，其实它们就原产于埃及。早在第三王朝，喝酒吃面包被视为是吉兆。 现在我们见到的是位于卢克索附近的村庄。其标志性房屋是用泥和稻草砌成的。 一些屋外画着彩色的画，有些画很罕见。飞机，离别，轮船以及旅途中的景象。壁画讲述着伊斯兰教徒去麦迦朝圣的习俗。那是教徒一生中至少要履行一次的责任，鲜活的壁画的也将代代相传。 现在，尼罗河沿岸人口激增，首都开罗已经是世界人口最多的第2大城市。 看着熙来攘往的人群，仿佛又看到了莱比西斯二世的故事重现。他的塑像早已矗立在开罗中央车站。莱比西斯二世有一百多个孩子，而今天的埃及每20秒就有一个新生命诞生。当地人口年轻化，5千4百万人口中，有一半不满20岁。 喧闹的开罗会给每位来访者留下深刻的印象。 而肃穆的法老像似乎也在参与着后人的生活。也许，你能从他的眼中读到关于尼罗河的种种证实。 神秘的白宫 One of the most recognizable structures in the world, one can 't say they're been to Washington D.C. until they have seen the White House. The home of the leader of the free world is open to the public five days a week from 10 – noon. Originally known as the Executive Mansion, construction of the White House began in 1792 under the direction of George Washington. The structure was not completed until 1800, so ironically Washington is the only President not to live there. The executive mansion was torched by British troops in 1814, during the War of 1812. The structural damage caused by the fire was repaired but the exterior sandstone walls were still black with fire damage. The walls were then painted white, giving birth to the nick name "The White House". An act of Congress made this the official name in 1902. Every President has left his mark upon the White House. Thomas Jefferson added terraces to the east and west wings, Andrew Jackson installed running water, and Harry Truman added a porch. Bill Clinton's addition to the White House was an indoor-running track(Used to relieve tension and cheeseburgers). In order to visit the White House, you must first pick up a free ticket from the White House Visitor Center located at 1450 Pennsylvania Ave. During the height of tourist season, tickets are nearly impossible to get. Get in line by 7AM (the facility opens at 7:30) and you might have a chance. Ignore the scalpers that are selling free tickets. Guided tours can be arranged by contacting your representative or senator. Be on the look-out for Wolf Blitzer or other famous White House correspondents. Due to recent developments in the news, the number of reporters that usually surround the White house have swelled dramatically. The White House tour probably ranks high on a visitor's list of things to do while in Washington D.C., but the process to get tickets will definitely test your determination. The White House is open Tues. – Sat. from 10 AM – Noon, but you need to get one of the free tickets for admittance. Herein lies the problem, because tickets for that day's’ tours can only be picked up at the White House Visitors Center and they run out very quickly. Although the center opens at 7:30 AM, the line to get tickets starts to form sometime around five. Therefore most people have to be satisfied with seeing only the exterior of the White House. The Visitors Center has nice displays on the history of the White House to mollify the disappointed visitors who couldn't get tickets. Don't expect to get tickets for the tour if you arrive after 9 AM. If you are lucky enough to get tickets, they will be stamped with the departure time of your tour. Bleachers have been set up on the Ellipse so visitors can sit until the tour staff collects them. The twenty minute tour consists of five rooms: The East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room and the State Dining Room. The President's Garden The lovely White House gardens of today and those that preceded them are the theme of the President's Garden organized by the White House Historical Association, the White House Curator's Office, and the Superintendent of the Grounds fo rthe White House in cooperation with the National Park Service. The exhibit traces the history of the White House grounds from the 1790's to the present day and displays more than 60 historic black and white and color photographs, paintings, documents and other illustrations from the past and present. White House Visitor Center, 1450 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Open daily from 7:30am to 4pm. For more information cal the National Park Service at (202) 619-6350. 神秘的古埃及金字塔 神秘的古埃及金字塔 古埃及金字塔是奴隶制帝王的陵墓，最宏大的当为吉萨三座大金字塔。塔基呈方形，每边长230米，高146米，用230余万块巨石(每块平均重达2.5吨)垒成，国王墓室用一块400吨重的石板垒成。整体规模雄伟壮观，设计科学，构造复杂，历时30年建成。古希腊时即被称为世界七大奇迹之一，1980年列入世界遗产名录。 Built 4,000 years ago, the three great pyramids at Giza, in the Egyptian desert remain the most colossal1 buildings ever constructed. The pyramids were built by Egyptians under the orders of the Egyptian leader, whose title was Pharaoh2. There was a sequence of Pharaohs culminating3 around 2615 B.C., with the Pharaoh Cheops who built the biggest thing ever built, the Great Pyramid, also known as Khufu. Cheops built a pyramid 770 feet on one side and 481 feet tall. How ancient builders managed to build these massive structures has never been fully answered but the effort clearly required brains and brawn4. Was there engineering genius involved? Yes, there was. For example, when you're putting the block right at the top, how are you going to lug5 a block of stone that weighs several tons 480 feet up a structure? How are you going to do it, and how are you going to do it without leaving scratches6 on all the rest of the structure? And how many people does it take to drag a block weighing several tons 480 feet up into the sky? Approximately, 2.3 million blocks of stone were cut, transported and assembled to create the Great Pyramid. The Pharaohs may have set out to build magnificent tombs for themselves, but in the end they created monuments to human potential. There's a universal message in the pyramids. The pyramids belong to Egypt, but the pyramids also belong to the world. That's why we can all identify the pyramids as an early monument of human greatness. For being a manmade wonder that has survived the sands of time1, the pyramids rise to the number two spot. 矗立在埃及沙漠中吉萨的三座大金字塔建于4000年前，它们一直都是有史以来最宏大的建筑。 金字塔是埃及人在他们的领袖——名为法老——的命令下建造的。在公元前2615年左右，几任法老相继统治埃及，基奥普斯法老建造了有史以来最大的金字塔——大金字塔，也被称为胡夫金字塔。胡夫金字塔每边长770英尺，高481英尺。古代的建筑者是如何建造这些庞然大物的，这一直是个未解之谜，但很明显它需要付出大量的脑力和体力。 有工程天才的参与吗？是的，有。比如，当你要把一个石块放在顶端时，你该如何把一个几吨重的石块提升到480英尺的高度呢？应该怎样做？怎么做才不至于在塔身留下刮痕？把几吨重的石块提举到480英尺的高处又需要多少人力呢？为了建造大金字塔，人们切割、运输、垒砌了大约230万块石头。 法老们的初衷是为自己建造豪华的陵墓，而最终他们创建的却是昭示人类潜能的纪念碑。金字塔蕴含着一种共同的信息，金字塔属于埃及，但它也属于世界。因此我们完全可以把金字塔作为展示人类伟大文明的早期纪念物。 由于历经岁月的沧桑，金字塔位列十大人工奇观排行榜第2名。
Great civilizations have always flourished alongside rivers, but the Egyptian civilization, which started on the Nile, is the most fascinating and mysterious in the history of mankind.
The Pyramids
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