2013-12-09
【Aiden in English】
Today, we will tour Sharjah, the Pearl of the Gulf. It was once considered "the cultural capital of the Arab world," a designation bestowed by UNESCO 15 years ago. Sharjah was one of the seven emirates, located adjacent to Dubai, and was home to numerous mosques, museums, and markets. The Cultural Square was enormous, featuring the Ruler's Office, the Quran Monument, the Ahmad Bin Hanbal Mosque, and the 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 restrictive and wouldn't allow anyone but the locals to go inside, which left us with no choice but to stay in the lobby. The situation was bizarre. Wasn't tourism a big part of the economy? Was it why Sharjah was removed from the list of cultural capitals of the Arab world by UNESCO? I was still thinking about this until our next stop, the Blue Souq, also known as the 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 things that became irrelevant to gold would be restaurants and ice cream stands. Mom and I went shop by shop, seeing all the displays that 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. 【紅霞譯】
今天我們遊覽沙迦“旭日”城，號稱阿拉伯“海灣明珠”，15年前，沙迦曾一度被世界科教文組織列為“阿拉伯王國文化名都”。
沙迦毗鄰迪拜，是阿聯酋七個酋長國之一，多種多樣的清真寺、博物館、貿易集市隨處可見。文化廣場巨大，涵括酋長官邸、古蘭經紀念碑、主愛總督清真寺、文化諮詢中心、公立圖書館；文化諮詢中心實為皇宮，因此所有裝飾都具有獨特的中世紀風格，尤其它的正門高大無比，好像專門為巨人所建，非常氣派。遺憾的是文化廣場上的建築物對遊客而言基本上都被當作擺設，除本地人可以有條件進出之外，酋長辦公室謝絕參觀，清真寺不允許非穆斯林者入內，圖書館閒人免進，唯有文化諮詢中心門廳對外開放，真搞不清什麼名堂，難道旅遊業已非沙迦經濟的重要組成？或許沙迦不再是世界文化之城？
我疑惑不解，直到走進沙迦黃金市場才得以釋然。沙迦黃金市場九曲十八彎，從純金禮服到純金手錶，各種首飾招搖過市；鍍金家具、含金水果以及其它東西，中看不中吃；有的店鋪甚至出售純金塑像，整個黃金市場恐怕價值十億或萬億美元。天哪，一個地方怎麼會有這麼多金子！除了餐廳和冰激凌攤位而外，放眼望去，到處金光閃閃。
我和媽媽挨門逐戶欣賞黃金製品，心中不免好奇地揣摩黃金用途，為什麼人們對黃金如痴如狂？難道因為它的光澤、價值、漂亮，還是純屬炫耀？錢財真的能實現夢想嗎？ 由於時間所限我無法參觀其它地方，正如世上任何事情有開頭必有結束，只不過此次遊程比我想像的還要短，值得回味的是天底下無論地方大小，我都會發覺像沙迦一樣各有執念。  Cultural Square Symbolizing Sharjah's Spiritual Essence
(文化廣場·象徵沙迦的精神真髓) 
Quran Monument w/ Heritage Sights Possessing Islamic Roots @ Quran Roundabout (環島處《古蘭經》紀念碑·蘊含伊斯蘭根源的文化遺產)  Culture and Information Center or the Sharjah Department of Culture
(文化與信息中心·沙迦文化部 12-09-2013) 
Public Library, Dating back to the Year 1925 (公共圖書館·其歷史可追溯到1925年 12-09-2013)  Ruler's Office, Cultural Capital of the Arab World & Capital of Islamic Culture
(酋長府·阿拉伯世界和伊斯蘭本土文化之都)  Port Khalid Authority Customs Bldg, the Sharjah Ports' Flagship Deepwater Port & Handles All of the Emirate's Container Traffic
(哈立德“不朽”港務局海關大樓·沙迦港的旗艦深水港，通往沙迦的門戶，負責處理沙迦酋長國的所有集裝箱運輸) 
Ahmad Bin Hanbal Mosque w/ a Mausoleum Dedicated to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Founder of the Hanbali School of Islamic Thought (原始真主清真寺——內有紀念伊斯蘭教漢百里學派創始人艾哈邁德·伊本·漢百里的陵墓 12-09-2013)
 Al Maghfirah Mosque, the Main Mosque for the Hajj & Umrah Pilgrimages
(馬格菲拉“真主寬恕”清真寺·伊斯蘭教中朝覲和副朝的主要清真寺) 
Façade of Al Maghfirah Mosque Blending Modern Elements w/ Traditional Islamic Design (馬格菲拉清真寺正面觀·融合了現代元素與傳統伊斯蘭設計 12-09-2013)  Al Maghfirah Mosque, the Largest Mosque in the Emirate of Sharjah
(馬格菲拉清真寺·沙迦酋長國最大的清真寺 12-09-2013)
 Al Noor Mosque, the Most Famous Mosque of Sharjah, Completed in 2005, w/ Classical Turkish Ottoman Influence
(諾爾“光明”清真寺·2005年竣工、沙迦最著名的清真寺，深受古典土耳其奧斯曼“強大”風格的影響)  King Faisal Mosque in a Blend of Traditional Islamic & Modern Styles
(費薩爾“果敢”國王清真寺·融合了傳統伊斯蘭風格和現代建築風格)  Univ of Sharjah, the Largest in the Emirate
(沙迦大學·阿拉伯聯合酋長國最大的高校)  Al Ittihad Monument, a Symbol of Unity in Sharjah
(伊蒂哈德“聯盟”紀念碑·沙迦團結的象徵) 
Souk Al Arsah, Sharjah's Oldest Marketplace (阿爾薩“露天”市場·沙迦最古老的貿易場所 12-09-2013) 
Souq Al Jubail, the UAE's Largest Fresh Produce Market (朱拜勒農貿市場·阿聯酋最大的新鮮農產品市場 12-09-2013)  Fish Market @ Souq Al Jubail
(沙迦農貿市場·魚市 12-09-2013)
Fish Market @ Souq Al Jubail (農貿市場·魚市)
 Souq al-Markazi, the Blue Souk or Central Market
(馬爾卡齊“藍色/黃金/中央”市場·主要購物場所)  Entrance of Blue Souk (藍色商城·入口處)
Gold Market @ Blue Souk (藍色商城·黃金市場) Crosslinks(相關博文): United Arab Emirates(出遊阿聯酋)
Across the Indian Ocean(穿越印度洋) 5th Grade(小學五年級)
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