2013-12-09

【Aiden in English】

        Today, we will tour Sharjah, the Pearl of the Gulf. It used to be "the cultural capital of the Arab world," designated by UNESCO 15 years ago.

        Sharjah was one of the seven emirates right next to Dubai and was full of many different mosques, museums, and markets. The Cultural Square was ginormous, including the Ruler's Office, Quran Monument, Ahmad Bin Hanbal Mosque, and Public Library. Since the Culture and Information Center used to be a palace, all the decorations were stylized in medieval fashion. Its entrance looked like a doorway for a giant. Unfortunately, this heritage area was extremely fussy and wouldn't allow anyone but the locals to go inside, which left us to stay in the lobby. The situation was bizarre. Wasn't tourism a big part of the economy? Was it why Sharjah got removed from the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

        I was still thinking about this to our next stop, the Blue Souq or gold market. It was a long hallway with shops on either side selling everything from golden dresses to gold watches. There was furniture crafted out of gold, fruits carved out of gold (not edible), and much more. Some stores even sold statues made of pure gold. The whole market could be worth billions or even trillions of dollars in America. I couldn't believe there was so much gold in one place. Everywhere you looked, something would reflect the light into your eyes. The only thing that became irrelevant to gold would be restaurants and ice cream stands.

        Mom and I went shop by shop, seeing all the displays gold could turn into. I was fascinated by how many ways gold could be made and wondered why people loved gold so much. Was it because of its shininess, value, beauty, or to show off? Was gold the great magician of the earth that realized our dreams?

        I wanted to see everything here, but everything that had a beginning would have an end. And this end came sooner than I expected. I have learned that even some tiny places like Sharjah have unique features.

【红霞译】

       今天我们游览旭日城，号称阿拉伯“海湾明珠”，十五年前，旭日城曾一度被世界科教文组织列为“阿拉伯王国文化名都”。

       旭日城毗邻迪拜，是阿联酋七个酋长国之一，多种多样的清真寺、博物馆、贸易集市随处可见。文化广场巨大，涵括酋长官邸、古兰经纪念碑、主爱总督清真寺、文化咨询中心、公立图书馆；文化咨询中心实为皇宫，因此所有装饰都具有独特的中世纪风格，尤其它的正门高大无比，好像专门为巨人所建，非常气派。遗憾的是文化广场上的建筑物对游客而言基本上都被当作摆设，除本地人可以有条件进出之外，酋长办公室谢绝参观，清真寺不允许非穆斯林者入内，图书馆闲人免进，唯有文化咨询中心门厅对外开放，真搞清什么名堂，难道旅游业不是经济的重要组成部分？也许这正是旭日城不再列为《世界遗产名录》的原因？

       我疑惑不解，直到走进旭日城黄金市场才转移思绪。旭日城黄金市场九曲十八弯，从纯金礼服到纯金手表，各种首饰招摇过市；镀金家具、含金水果以及其它东西，中看不中吃；有的店铺甚至出售纯金塑像，整个黄金市场恐怕价值十亿或万亿美元。天哪，一个地方怎么会有这么多金子！除了餐厅和冰激凌摊位而外，放眼望去，到处金光闪闪。

       我和妈妈挨门逐户欣赏黄金制品，心中不免好奇地揣摩黄金用途，为什么人们对黄金如痴如狂？难道因为它的光泽、价值、漂亮，还是纯属炫耀？钱财真的能实现梦想吗？

       由于时间所限我无法参观其它地方，正如世上任何事情有开头必有结束，只不过此次游程比我想像的还要短，值得回味的是天底下无论地方大小，我都会发觉像旭日城一样各具特色。

Cultural Sq (文化广场)

Quran Monument (古兰经纪念碑)

Culture and Information Ctr (文化与信息中心 12-09-2013)

Public Library (公共图书馆)

Ruler's Office (旭日城酋长府)

Port Khalid Authority Customs Building (不朽港务局海关大楼)

Ahmad Bin Hanbal Mosque (原始真主清真寺 12-09-2013)

Al Maghfirah Mosque (真主宽恕清真寺)

Al Noor Mosque (光明清真寺)

King Faisal Mosque (果敢王清真寺)

Sharjah Intl Book Fair @ Expo Centre

(博览中心·旭日城国际书展)

Souk Al Arsah (明智市场 12-09-2013)

Fruits & Vegetable Market @ Souq Al Jubail Sharjah

(旭日城农贸市场·果蔬店 12-09-2013)

Fish Market @ Souq Al Jubail Sharjah

(旭日城农贸市场·鱼市)

Blue Souk (蓝色商城)

Gold Market @ Blue Souk (蓝色商城·黄金市场)

Crosslinks(相关博文):

United Arab Emirates(出游阿联酋)

Across the Indian Ocean(穿越印度洋)

5th Grade(小学五年级)