環球之旅:大自然的賜予——埃及

The longest river in the world, the Nile, flows through the north-western area of Africa, and then into the Mediterranean Sea.
　　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 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 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.

世界上最長的河流尼羅河，流經非洲西北部，最終匯入地中海。
　　偉大的人類文明多發源於河流兩岸，但人類歷史上最爲絢麗、神祕的是使於尼羅河的古埃及文明。尼羅河谷擁有充足的淡水與陽光，這二者被古埃及人奉爲神靈，他們尊稱太陽爲AMON，稱尼羅河爲APIS。

孟菲斯是埃及第一個首都，公元前3000年，它建立爲獨立王國。而若干世紀以前，尼羅河水氾濫，沖垮了古都。
　　但畢竟，尼羅河所賦予的遠大於它索取的。正如古希臘歷史學家希羅多德所言：埃及是尼羅河賜予的禮物。
　　每年洪水過後，土地上都會留下一層淤泥，這是能讓莊稼茁壯成長的天然優良肥料。
　　這個被稱作"Nilometer"的設備，是古代法老用來預測一定時期內洪水的可能高度。用於推斷豐收與否的"Nilometer"，其實就是制定稅收標準的裝置。

　　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.

最具埃及農業特色的無疑是棗椰樹。農民用它建房頂，打傢俱，編籃子。但最重要的是，世上最甜的水果就長在這樹上——棗。
　　紅棗就在這裏出售。風乾的棗吃起來不太甜很但脆。半甜的棗呈現出橙色；棕黑色的棗口感很軟，它們的糖份彷彿已經溶進了嘴裏。
　　如果尼羅河只提供簡單的原料，北非人就會把它們變成美味佳餚。埃及食物多辛辣，並要用醬汁浸透。
　　FOUHL是當地食品，這種鮮美的豆湯在各個街道都能買到。
　　埃及人習慣用紅茶解酒。非穆斯林也能享用當地美味的葡萄酒和啤酒，其實它們就原產於埃及。早在第三王朝，喝酒吃麪包被視爲是吉兆。

　　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.
　　These solemn states are almost participants in modern life. You can almost find your ideas about the Nile reflected in their eyes.

現在我們見到的是位於盧克索附近的村莊。其標誌性房屋是用泥和稻草砌成的。
　　一些屋外畫着彩色的畫，有些畫很罕見。飛機，離別，輪船以及旅途中的景象。壁畫講述着伊斯蘭教徒去麥迦朝聖的習俗。那是教徒一生中至少要履行一次的責任，鮮活的壁畫的也將代代相傳。
　　現在，尼羅河沿岸人口激增，首都開羅已經是世界人口最多的第2大城市。
　　看着熙來攘往的人羣，彷彿又看到了萊比西斯二世的故事重現。他的塑像早已矗立在開羅中央車站。萊比西斯二世有一百多個孩子，而今天的埃及每20秒就有一個新生命誕生。當地人口年輕化，5千4百萬人口中，有一半不滿20歲。
　　而肅穆的法老像似乎也在參與着後人的生活。也許，你能從他的眼中讀到關於尼羅河的種種證實。