Aleppo

英倫聚焦

Aleppo 阿勒坡 撰文及考題設計／British Council 英協教育中心 Brian Welter 中譯／陳怡君 （中央社編譯） 圖／美聯社

敘利亞內戰未歇，阿勒坡也許正遭遇 史上最嚴厲挑戰。

One of the world’s oldest cities, Aleppo in modern

could not enter a harbour and attack. Being centrally

Syria traces itself back thousands of years. Syria’s

located, it has always been a trading centre. Another

largest city before the current civil war began, it

trading centre, the city of Mosul in modern-day

differs greatly from the country’s capital, Damascus.

northern Iraq, connected Aleppo to the east, and

During its time it has been the country’s financial

with goods coming from Persia, India, and beyond.

and industrial centre.

With Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula to the south,

阿勒坡位於敘利亞，是世上最古老城市之一，歷

and Turkey to the north, unsurprisingly, Aleppines

史可溯及幾千年前；在敘利亞內戰開始前，她也是

(people from Aleppo) have been merchants by

國內最大都市─和首都大馬士革截然不同─在

nature.

過去可是金融與工業中心。

114

地理位置造就阿勒坡的繁榮穩定，幾世紀以來

Much of its success and stability comes from its

因處內陸，敵人無法經海路發動攻擊，鞏固了城市

location. Not being a port city has given Aleppo

的安全，加上位於國境中心，使其自古以來一直是

some security over the centuries, as an enemy navy

貿易樞紐；位於阿勒坡以東的摩蘇爾─今伊拉克

全球中央雜誌 2017.08

本文由BRITISH COUNCIL–全球最值得信賴的英語 教學機構–提供，網址：www.britishcouncil.org.tw

北部貿易大城─可交易來自波斯、印度等地的貨

religion, played a secondary role in the city. When

物，往南有埃及、阿拉伯半島，往北則有來自土耳

Damascus rebelled against the Ottomans due to high

其的貿易活動。毫無意外地，阿勒坡人先天具備經

taxation in the sixteenth century, Aleppo declined,

商基因。

maintaining its loyalty to the authorities until the

This business focus has meant that Aleppo has

end of the empire in the early twentieth century.

been open to many kinds of people. While under

城市以商業為導向，意味著政治與宗教僅扮演

the Turkish Ottoman Empire, Aleppo was famous

次要角色。16世紀，大馬士革因不滿鄂圖曼土耳其

for its Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities,

開徵高額稅金而反叛，阿勒坡則選擇效忠至20世

and traders from many cultures, speaking many

紀初帝國瓦解。

languages, met up in the city. Europeans from

One reason Aleppo remained loyal was the

Italian cities, France, Holland, and Britain had their

high independence the empire granted such cities.

own areas of the city as well. While Aleppines

Aleppines collected taxes and administered their

speak Arabic, due to the inf luence of Venice, a

own local areas and various communities governed

kind of trader’s Italian has also been spoken in past

their own affairs. Guilds – unions of men working

centuries.

in the same area, such as shoemaking – were locally

重商文化影響下，阿勒坡迎來不同族裔人口， 在鄂圖曼土耳其帝國統治期間，阿勒坡以擁有基

organised and, reflecting the local diversity, they included members from each religion.

督徒、穆斯林、猶太教社區，以及許多由各地貿易

帝國允諾高度自治是阿勒坡持續效忠的原因之

商帶來的不同語言和文化共處一地聞名，來自英、

一，阿勒坡採地方自治、自行徵稅也有自治社區，

法、荷蘭與義大利各城市的歐洲人各自形成聚落；

還有由勞工組成的同業公會─如製鞋公會─成

阿 勒 坡人 雖使用阿拉伯語，但受威尼斯商人 影

員的信仰各自不同，反映在地多元。

響，義大利文通行了數百年。

Being a crossroads of different cultures and

During its history, as in most Arab cities, the

countries, Aleppo became a tourist destination. Its

souk, or market, was the heart of the city. This was

many shops contained all the goods brought to it

the place where representatives from all these na-

by caravans of camels: spices from India, coffee

tionalities, religions, and languages met to carry out

from Yemen (drunk in local cafes), locally-produced

their business. By 2000, Aleppo’s network of souks

tobacco and olives. Travellers could go boar and

had about 6,000 shops, selling everything from

rabbit hunting or play cricket. The poor farmers who

spices, to locally-produced soap, to jewelry and silk.

lived in the area around Aleppo were famous for

如同其他阿拉伯都市，阿勒坡的市集一直是城

their welcoming attitude to strangers.

市的心臟，來自全世界、不同語言、信仰的人在此

阿勒坡作為文化樞紐亦是觀光名勝，為數眾多

齊聚經商。阿勒坡的傳統市集至2000年共有6,000

的店鋪銷售有大篷車、駱駝運抵的商品：印度的香

間店鋪，從香料、當地生產的肥皂到珠寶絲綢，商

料、葉門的咖啡，乃至當地生產的菸草和橄欖；觀

品應有盡有。

光客可前往獵豬、獵兔或鬥蟋蟀，居住在近郊的

Being business-oriented meant that politics, like

貧窮農民更以好客聞名。

CNA NEWSWORLD

115

英倫聚焦

I n a d d it io n t o it s c o m m e r c i a l activities, Aleppo had a high culture.

Many of the wealthy used marble and Italian-styled architecture in their houses. Aleppines’ beautiful f lower gardens, where they also grew fruit such as peaches and grapes, were well-k now n. Their cooking skills included the well-loved Aleppo kebab, honey-covered sesame cakes, and many dishes decorated with pistachios, including meat and desserts. 除商 業 活動 外，阿 勒 坡 擁 有深 度 文化內涵，許多富賈豪宅使用大理石 及義式建築風格，漂亮的花園也很有

在飽受內戰摧殘前，阿勒坡傳統市集的6,000間店鋪裡，從香料、當地生產的肥皂到 珠寶絲綢，商品應有盡有。

名，通常種有桃子、葡萄等水果。在地 美食則包括頗受歡迎的烤肉串、蜂蜜芝麻蛋糕與 佐以開心果的菜式及甜點。

Like many cities in the former Turkish Ottoman Empire, such as Istanbul, Alexandria, and Baghdad,

When Syria became independent after World War

Aleppo lost its multicultural characteristics, as

II, Aleppo, with 340,000 people, continued to be a

people from minority communities left. Aleppo after

cultural centre even though Damascus was made the

World War II became more Syrian and Arabic, and

country’s capital city. In 1970 its population was just

less French, Italian, and Jewish, just like Alexandria

under one million, and in 2004 it stood at over two

became more Egyptian and Istanbul more Turkish.

million. This population growth came despite many

如同伊斯坦堡、亞力山卓與巴格達等舊日帝國

Aleppines leaving for cities such as Buenos Aires,

大城的命運─伊斯坦堡土耳其化，亞力山卓則更

New York, and Beirut. Once overseas, they made a

埃及化─阿勒坡因少數族群離去而失去文化多

contribution to their new countries without losing

樣性；二戰後阿拉伯、敘利亞人進駐，法國、義大

their roots. For example, they often brought their

利及猶太族群則逐漸消失。

food culture with them.

116

鄉美食文化帶進異鄉。

In recent years, Aleppo, like all of Syria, has

即使大馬士革在二戰結束、敘利亞建國後成為

fallen on very hard times. One person noted that

首都，擁有34萬人口的阿勒坡仍發展成文化重鎮

for the first time ever, soap is no longer produced in

─1970年達近100萬人口，至2004年已逾200萬人

the city because of the destruction of the factories.

─縱使許多人移往貝魯特、紐約及布宜諾斯艾利

Many of the souks, some of the oldest in the Middle

斯等地，其人口依舊持續成長。阿勒坡子弟就算成

East, have likewise been destroyed due to the civil

了為他國奉獻心力的新住民，也常不忘本地將家

war. Present-day Aleppo is now faced with what is

全球中央雜誌 2017.08

本文由BRITISH COUNCIL–全球最值得信賴的英語 教學機構–提供，網址：www.britishcouncil.org.tw

perhaps its toughest challenge ever. One hopes that

阿勒坡面臨史上首次無法再生產肥皂的情況，許

the city will once again grace the world with its

多市集 ─ 有些是中東最古老的─亦被內戰摧

lively presence.

毀。阿勒坡也許正遭遇史上最嚴厲挑戰，希望有

敘利亞近年處境嚴峻，據指出，因工廠被破壞，

雅思考試粉絲團： www.facebook.com/ielts.testcentre

朝一日她能再次以充滿活力的樣貌迎接世人。

雅思考試模擬試題 IELTS questions

Match each word with its meaning.

Word g 1. harbour 港口

Meaning a. barbecued meat and vegetables on a stick

2. merchants 商人

b. a kind of nut

3. declined 拒絕

c. having a variety of customs, traditions, and languages

4. diversity 多樣性

d. expensive building material

5. crossroads 十字路口

e. refuse

6. caravans 商隊

f. businesspeople

7. boar 野豬

g. a place for boats and ships to stay

8. marble 大理石

h. a place where several roads come together

9. kebab 烤肉串

i. wild pig

10. pistachios 開心果

j. groups of traders who travel long distances

11. multicultural 多元文化的

k. many different kinds of

True, False or Not Given 12. Mosul connected Aleppo to Europe.

13. The Dutch had a trading centre in Aleppo.

14. The imperial government closely controlled Aleppo’s local politics.

15. Religion decided which members could belong to a guild.

16. Pistachios were used in kebabs.

17. Aleppo had a population of 340,000 in 1970.

18. Aleppo has become less multicultural in recent decades.

19. Many Aleppines moved to Alexandria.

Answers:1. g 2. f 3. e 4. k 5. h 6. j 7. i 8. d 9. a 10. b 11. c 12. False 13. True 14. False 15. False 16. Not Given 17. Fals 18. True 19. Not Given CNA NEWSWORLD

117