2024-06-07 National Donut Day

【In Vain I Migrate】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

        I migrate in vain

        In every city I drink the same coffee

        and resign myself to the waiter's impassive face

        The laughter of nearby tables

        disturbs the evening's music

2024-06-06 National Yo-Yo Day

【My Mother's Language】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

         It's been twenty years since I last saw my mother

         She starved herself to death

         They say that each morning

         she would pull her headscarf off

         and strike the floor seven times

         cursing the heavens and the Tyr

2024-06-06 National Fish & Chips Day

【Dish Of The Day】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

            For today's special

            we'd like to recommend a very spicy

            'killer' stew

            The innkeeper

   &n

2024-06-06 National Eyewear Day

【Fingerprints】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

                If we could write

                simply by placing

                fingerprints

             &nbs

2024-06-06 D-Day for Normandy Landings

【I'm a child of this dreary century】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

            I'm a child of this dreary century

            a child who never grew up

            Doubts that set my tongue on fire

2024-05-31 National Smile Day

【The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man (1923)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        One's grand flights, one's Sunday baths,

        One's tootings at the weddings of the soul

        Occur as they occur. So bluish clouds

        Occurred above the empty house and the leaves

2014-01-10

【Aiden in English】

        Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, resembled an alien planet. It was only a step ahead of the other large African cities, but the difference was clearly visible. More modern technologies were used in the central business district. The houses were displayed extravagantly in European styles, and the lavish neighborhoods were built with high walls on leafy streets in the northeastern suburbs. The roads seemed so clean that a pie

2014-01-09

【Aiden in English】

        I always loved animals. At the zoo, I would spend hours looking at the large animals. But when I meant love, I didn't mean waking up at the crack of dawn love. Even so, that's exactly what we did. It started with a short ride on the highway to Chobe National Park, the first park established in Botswana. It was covered with dry savannah, floodplains, and teak woodlands, which became ideal habitats for various an

2014-01-08

【Aiden in English】

        The first night of sleep in Chobe Marina Lodge, Botswana, after a 30-day cruise, made me feel like I was landing and sleeping on the moon, which seemed impossible. When it was time for the boat cruise down the Chobe River in Chobe National Park, which borders Botswana and Namibia, I still had black spots under my eyes.

        This afternoon, the three-hour boat cruise was for wildlife. We immediatel

2014-01-07

【Aiden in English】

        Finally, it was time to get off the cruise ship Nautica Oceania. After 30 days of swaying and bumpy nights, I wanted to free myself. But I didn't want to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. From the most populous city in South Africa, we flew to Victoria Falls National Park, situated on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, to see one of the world's largest waterfalls and a UNESCO World Heritage S

2014-01-06

【Aiden in English】

        After about a month at sea, the cruise was going well. It was too well. The sky was always cloudless, and the sun shone brightly, but not today. The day in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, was cloudy and foggy. The damp air and the ever-blowing winds from the Atlantic Ocean didn't help either.

        We were scheduled to ride a cable car up to Table Mountain. However, if it were too windy, we wou

2014-01-05

【Aiden in English】

        I was never really a shopper. The reason was that I never knew what to buy. That was why it became torture today trying to redeem things with my Big-O-Points as we left Durban for Cape Town and sailed across from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa.

        I had 112 points from Shuffleboard, Baggo-bean, Team Trivia, Miniature Golf, Table Tennis, and Brainteaser. The most expensive was the 50 lb. luggage sc

2014-01-04

【Aiden in English】

        Under the vast yellow sun, life in the Tala Private Game Reserve was remarkable. Everything was in motion and had a role in the ongoing cycle of life. Three African Big Five could be seen there: the black rhino, elephant, and Cape buffalo in the wild savannah outside Durban, South Africa.

        As we drove through, the first animal we saw was a gun that was sitting in the middle of the road. Its short, pointy horns st

2014-01-03

【Aiden in English】

        If you love hippos, crocodiles, and aquatic birds, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa is the place to be, especially when you happen to be in Zulu territory, on the outskirts of Richards Bay. Many animals reside there, and it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

        The iSimangaliso Wetland was well protected since St. Lucia Lake flourished with life, thanks to a rich supply of fish. The h

2014-01-02

【Aiden in English】

        When I was little, I loved natural history museums. But never in my life had I seen something like this. The Natural History Museum in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, was like none other. 

        An artificial 4-D of a typical African ecosystem is collected from the first floor. It had the African Big Five: the lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, elephant, and rhino. The 4-D picture had them set around a small pool of

2014-01-01 New Year's Day

【Aiden in English】

        The first day of 2014 wasn't going so well. I felt queasy about the food I ate last night while crossing the Mozambique Channel from Madagascar to Mozambique. I also overslept at the golf tournament. If I were to catch up to a table tennis tournament, I had to hurry.

        The problem wasn't "Am I going to make it to the game," but "How am I going to d

2013-12-31 New Year's Eve

【Aiden in English】

        The liveliness of New Year's Eve was spectacular. Everyone was getting ready for the New Year Show, which didn't begin until another hour later. The Nautica lounge was packed, and I couldn't wait for the show to start.

        The first song the cruise entertainers performed was a classic about New Year's and Christmas. I could see everyone enjoying it because the a

2013-12-30

【Aiden in English】

        The lemurs of Madagascar had large eyes and resembled cats in size. Their long, puffy tails dangled down while they rested. It was an endemic primate, and Mom and I didn't want to miss it. In addition, the lemurs were so famous that they were featured in the Hollywood cartoon Madagascar by King Julien.

        We boarded a Dinghy, a small speedboat like a tender, and came to Nosy Be Island, Madagascar. From there, w

2013-12-28

【Aiden in English】

        Mom and I were woken by the morning call to start the day. It was 6:30 a.m., and we had a tour at 7:45 a.m., so we had to hurry to catch it.

        The upcoming tour was a safari, and it began with a short flight on a propeller-driven private plane from the capital city, Dar es Salaam, also known as the "Abode of Peace," to the Selous Game Reserve, the first and oldest national park in Tanzania and a UNE

2013-12-27

【Aiden in English】

        The narrow, winding, and serene alleys made it a mysterious place. The bare stone walls, iron-bar windows, and pointed wooden doors created a gloomy atmosphere. But as I entered the more extensive road, the place burst into excited activity. I felt as though I was transported back to the "Arabian Nights" in ancient times (1706-1721). This is Stone Town, Zanzibar, in Tanzania, a Swahili coastal trading center in East Africa

2013-12-26

【Aiden in English】

        Kenya is now one of my favorite places. I went on my first wilderness safari there right after Christmas Day.

        The Safari began with a two-hour drive from Mombasa to Tsavo National Park, the largest park in Kenya. That's when we climbed aboard a van. At first, the van didn't look like something fit for the Safari. But as if the truck was trying to prove me wrong, the roof opened, allowing the passengers t

2013-12-23

【Aiden in English】

        The closest thing to the Seychelles is Hawaii, except that the Seychelles are located in the Indian Ocean, while Hawaii is situated in the Pacific Ocean. Our tour took Mom and me to the National Botanical Gardens in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles. Victoria is on Mahe, the largest island in the nation.

        There were exotic flowers and trees, such as trumpet pitchers, screw pines, Coco de Mer, Spanish dagger

2011-04-12

        开罗，世界上最古老的城市之一，既是埃及与阿拉伯“游牧”国家最大的首府，也是整个中东政治、经济与商业的中心。2,000万人口，几乎与北京相当——全埃及四分之一的人聚居于此。这座“征服者”之城、“胜利者”之都，远比我们想象中更加雄伟。尼罗“溪谷”河昂首穿过市中心，成千上万的宣礼塔如地对空导弹齐刷刷列队，无愧“千塔之城”的美誉；圆穹形清真寺鳞次栉比，是开罗最醒目的标志。每日五次唤拜，都市的喧嚣、浮躁、拥挤、污浊、富贵与贫穷，都在那一刻沉淀净化。科普特“埃及人”

2011-04-10

        过去10天里，我们沿尼罗“溪谷”河两岸寻古探幽——驱车跋涉古都孟斐斯“恒美之城”，纵贯飞越中王朝重镇阿斯旺，又顺流漂至新王朝名城底比斯“权杖之城”，不觉跨越了7,000年时光。放眼尼罗河西，撒哈拉“沙漠”空阔无际；东望阿拉伯“游牧”沙漠，广袤千里，贫瘠苍凉。近在水一方，8,000万埃及子民依河而生——尼罗河不仅养育了这片土地，更孕育了整个人类的文明。按既定行程，我们继续上路，很快便消失在通往红海的东部沙漠中。

        从卢克

2011-04-09

        古埃及发明了香水，称它为全世界香水文化的祖师爷，恐怕并不为过。1096年至1291年间，十字军东征让法国不仅领教了伊斯兰“向神臣服”文明，也见识了埃及的香水文化。从那时起，法国开始“山寨”埃及国粹，此后香水业蒸蒸日上，几近一统天下。香奈尔(Chanel)5号的妩媚、莲娜丽姿(Nina Ricci)的飘逸、兰蔻(Lancôme)的甜美、迪奥(Dior)的神秘——无一不成为世人推崇的装饰之品。身在埃及，自然少不了体验正宗的香水文化，亲自鉴赏当年法老王后惯用的品牌。不到半个月，我们在开

2011-04-09

        站在游轮甲板上向对岸望去，卢克索“宫殿”神殿坐落在市中心河滨大道旁，外形酷似运送神明的圣三桅帆船。3,500多年前，阿蒙霍特普“太阳神满意者”三世与拉美西斯“太阳神拉之子”二世跨越时代联手，与其他法老合力推出这座供奉底比斯“权杖之城”三柱神的大型庙宇。此后，每年一度的奥佩特“河马女神”节都在此举行盛大庆典——法老与祭司举国上下，争相表达对阿蒙“太阳神拉”、穆特“众神之母”与孔苏“月亮之神”的热忱爱戴，借此强化宗教奴役，巩固王权。卢克索神殿与卡纳克“圣地”综合神

2011-04-09

        距卢克索“宫殿”以北不到2公里/1.2英里，有一个名叫卡纳克“神圣之地”的小镇。古时隶属尼罗“溪谷”河东岸的“生者之城”——东底比斯“权杖之城”。因圣庙、圣塔、圣像、圣湖荟萃于此，一举成为古埃及最受崇敬的朝拜圣地。如果说卢克索是世界上最大的建筑博览会，那么卡纳克综合神殿便是古埃及最古老的露天博物馆，1979年列入世界科教文组织《世界遗产名录》。穿过拉美西斯“太阳神拉之子”二世及其女儿把守的塔门，我们便置身于别具埃及风格的古代建筑群中。这里自公元前1991年中王国时

2011-04-08

        哈布“心爱”神殿祭庙本不在我们的计划之中。因埃德夫“复仇之城”神庙行程临时变故，导游急中生智，在前往帝王谷与王后谷的路上兜了个弯，绕到这里，算作补偿。说实话，尼罗“溪谷”河黄金线路上的每一处古迹，除非已成废墟，都不该落下——它们几乎尽数收录于世界科教文组织《世界遗产名录》。哈布城神殿祭庙位于帝王谷与王后谷东南，同属尼罗河西岸的“死者之城”——西底比斯“权杖之城”。3,200年前，第20王朝第二位法老拉美西斯“太阳神拉之子”三世在此修建大型王宫兼灵堂祭庙，其规模

2011-04-08 

        底比斯“权杖之城”，横跨尼罗“溪谷”河中游两岸，是继孟斐斯“恒美”之后古埃及中王国与新王国时期最重要的都城，距今已有4,000余年。据载，当时城池百座，人口稠密，建筑壮丽，被荷马盛赞为“百门之都”。尼罗河东岸为“生者之城”，西岸为“死者之城”。公元27年，一场大地震彻底摧毁了这座古都，如今只剩下残垣断壁，散落在卢克索“宫殿”地区，1979年列入世界科教文组织《世界遗产名录》。底比斯地域不大，集中坐落在梅雷特塞格尔“亡灵女神”山脚下，帝王谷、哈特谢普苏特“贵妇

2011/04/06—2011/04/08

        从阿布辛贝“风信子之父”返回的途中，我们再次穿行西部沙漠。天色已黑，气温骤降，阵风卷着沙尘一路尾随，我们以鬼魅般的速度杀回阿斯旺“市场”。一提起《尼罗“溪谷”河上的惨案》，娃儿立刻来了精神——接下来我们要乘尼罗河游轮，开始世界第一长河的水上游弋。他素来喜欢侦探推理，对福尔摩斯“低洼草地”崇拜有加，想不到比利时侦探波洛“梨贩”同样擅长抽丝剥茧。让他惊讶的是，三起谋杀案就发生在眼前这艘游轮上。我暗自庆幸自己未曾读过克里斯蒂“基督追随者”的原著，

2011-04-07

        尼罗“溪谷”河一定长过天河，否则何以有如此绵绵不绝的神话？古埃及人不嫌其久，不嫌其玄，也不嫌其多——哈罗里斯“鹰首”、索贝克“鳄鱼神”、阿努比斯“胡狼头神”、伊西斯“救世女神”、哈索尔“天空之神”……众神皆从水中走出。康翁波“黄金之山”双神庙，便是这样一座同时祭奉鹰首神荷鲁斯与鳄鱼神索贝克的“双神殿”。它坐落在尼罗河南岸，周围农田绿洲环绕。每年七月十五河水泛滥，为河谷村庄覆上一层厚厚的淤泥，土地肥沃，庄稼一年三熟。四月上旬我们到访时，正值努比亚“黄金”人的

2011-04-06

        中午从阿斯旺“市场”出发，沿纳赛尔“胜利”人工湖南下，很快便驶入西部沙漠。这片占埃及近三分之二国土的荒原，沙丘绵延，砾石遍布，与撒哈拉“沙漠”一脉相承，几乎无人居住，连旱生植物都鲜少光顾。一路上除了我们这辆大巴，难得见到别的车辆。随行的武警战士始终警觉，自动步枪挎在腰间寸步不离——四月初的气温已逼近体温，足足三个小时，才抵达阿布辛贝“风信子之父”，距苏丹边境仅40公里/25英里的埃及西南重镇。

        阿布辛贝神庙

2011-04-07

        离开开罗“胜利者”，乘飞机不到两个钟头，便抵达阿斯旺“市场”——努比亚“黄金”腹地的心脏之城。据说努比亚乃世上最早的黑人文化，乃至整个人类的起源，传说中的伊甸“天堂”园也与之紧密相连。阿斯旺位于上埃及，是埃及的南大门、黑非洲的要塞，年降雨量几乎为零，堪称地球上最干燥的地区之一。大清早我们在纳赛尔“胜利”湖畔集结，轮渡早已守候，三桅帆船整装待发。远望桔黄色的努比亚村舍依山而立，水鸟紧随船后，在水面与湖岸间忙碌不息。

      &n

2011-04-05 清明节

        埃及人信神灵，痴迷来世。他们视尘世短暂，而灵魂的升华才是永恒——这份信念深植于古埃及的绘画之中。线条简练平直，场景横带铺展，如被时间的水平线切割出迥然有别的界面。动物造型陆续登场，平面排列渐次凸显；柔和细腻的着色烘托出亲切朴实的质感：棕红偏暗、面无表情的强健男性，淡黄浅红、姿态端庄的美丽女子，褐白黄红间以蓝绿的神氏象征——人神同框，生死相融，使亡灵的永生之旅变得温馨而恒远。坦率说，我们素来受唯物意识影响，对此异邦文化缺乏感性

2011-04-05 清明节

        从沙姆沙伊赫“教长湾”飞回开罗“胜利者”，已是晚上八点多。次日凌晨，我们要与来自美国各地的21位团友会合，直驱南下，开始尼罗“溪谷”河两岸的寻古之旅。这是2011年4月，埃及“一月革命”后首批美国私人旅行团。大家素昧平生，自投罗网地结伴同行——想来多半像我一样，并非不远万里到非洲投身革命，而是平日安居乐业的生活，早已教我们随遇而安，彻底丧失了阶级斗争的觉悟。不过，既来之则安之。

        一行26人从开罗出发

2011-04-05 清明节

        古埃及乃世界四大文明古国之一，吉萨“凿刻的石头”金字塔则是其最经典的代表作，被尊为埃及的象征，1979年列入世界科教文组织《世界遗产名录》。古埃及人笃信宗教，视死亡为尘世的延续。法老从登基之日起，便开始为自己修筑通往天国的阶梯——金字塔。那方锥形的结构，既为灵魂升天提供了通途，也表达了对光芒四射的太阳神拉的无限崇拜。至今埃及已发现96座金字塔，大多分布在尼罗“溪谷”河西岸古城孟斐斯“恒美”周围，其中最著名的当属开罗西侧吉萨的三座。

 &nb

2011/04/03-04

        从开罗“胜利者”飞往沙姆沙伊赫“教长湾”，只需一个小时。飞机越过苏伊士“开端”运河后，很快便进入山峦起伏的西奈“荆棘”半岛。苏伊士运河1869年竣工，是亚非两洲的分界线，却因扼守欧洲至印度洋及西太平洋的最短航道，在政治、经济与军事上举足轻重。埃及为收回运河主权与英法以周旋数10年，直至1956年才收归国有。西奈半岛北临地中海，东接亚喀巴“山口”湾，西连苏伊士湾，南濒红海。南部的西奈山被犹太教、伊斯兰教和基督教共奉为圣地——据《出埃及记》记载，摩西在此领受

2011-04-02 

        亚历山大“人类捍卫者”城坐落在埃及北部地中海南岸，恰处亚、非、欧三洲交汇之地，是通往尼罗“溪谷”河与地中海的要冲。它仅次于开罗“胜利者”，是全国第二大城市，我们的埃及之行便从这里拉开序幕。这座城始建于公元前332年，以亚历山大大帝之名立城，历经马其顿、托勒密、古希腊与奥斯曼帝国的统治，曾为托勒密王朝的首都。抵达埃及次日清晨，从孟菲斯“恒美”旅行社雇用的专车准时来到开罗酒店门口。司机笑容可掬，话却不多，一路播着阿拉伯情歌；导游阿莫尔“爱”倒是个健

2011-03-21

        人的嗅觉若是因季节性过敏而迟钝，倒不算什么——一片仙特敏(Zyrtec)下去，衰弱的嗅觉便能失而复得。可政治嗅觉一旦麻木，懵头懵脑撞进风起云涌的变革之中，纵有灵丹妙药，怕也难打救了。我便属于后一种。否则怎会刚刚安排好去埃及的行程，就赶上了那场空前绝后的“一月革命”？倒是娃儿嗅觉灵敏，闻出异样，连舔到嘴边的美味都顾不得咽，立刻拎起报纸、打开广播、牵上网线，又揣着小道消息，把中东与北非的时事摆到我面前——我当即成了不折不扣的“问题专家”。唉，都是好奇