【海外风情】世界奇观—以色列、约旦自驾遊 (下)

文/圖 : Foley Lau

Wonders of the World – Israel and Jordan by car  (part 2) – Introduction &  Captions in Chinese  by  Stephen Low

上回說及中東宗教与历史息息相關. 中東的宗教初時只有基督教, 後來分化出許多派别, 較有規模的有天主教, 猶太教, 伊斯兰教, 拜火教等, 雖然大家信奉同一天主(耶穌) 但新約旧約取態不同, 在宗教历史进程中行为各異. 由幾千年前到今天, 常因領土、種族、信仰、利益之争而战亂不絕. 又因石油關係, 西方國家介入中東事務, 更是乱上加乱.

看看其組成諸國, 我们都在新聞報導中聽說過無數次吧？

中东一般说来包括 巴林、埃及、伊朗、伊拉克、以色列、约旦、科威特、黎巴嫩、阿曼、 卡塔尔、沙特、叙利亚、阿联酋,也门，巴勒斯坦、阿尔及利亚、利比亚、摩洛哥、突尼斯、苏丹、毛里塔尼亚和索马里，部分土耳其、塞浦路斯和阿富汗。

基督教和天主教在世界各地開枝散葉, 我们現在用的西历是以《圣经》中耶稣诞生的那天 为基准,开始记录日期。 英國以「天佑女王」為國歌；美國總統每次演講完畢, 不論理直理屈必加上一句「天佑美國」壯壯膽；加拿大的教堂無處不在. 好在宗教与政治分開免却不少麻煩.

今次除了看聖経故事遣跡及現代以色列之外順遊約旦, 体驗一下死海之神奇、 親臨世界奇觀佩特拉古城(Petra), 仰慕一下屬於沉睡千年的史前文明. 古城在鬆軟的赤褐色砂巖上開鏨而成, 斜陽照射猶如塗抹了一層玖瑰色油彩. 因此也叫玖瑰城。 古城1980年被列入世界文化遺產,2007年入迭世界新七大奇跡之一.

Petra

Situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea and inhabited since prehistoric times, the rock-cut capital city of the Nabateans, became during Hellenistic and Roman times a major caravan centre for the incense of Arabia, the silks of China and the spices of India, a crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. An ingenious water management system allowed extensive settlement of an essentially arid area during the Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine periods. It is one of the world’s richest and largest archaeological sites set in a dominating red sandstone landscape.

Day 6 Old Jerusalem, Israel
We checked out of our Jerusalem hotel on Saturday morning. The hotel hostess came to see us off. Our itinerary for the day was to head south along the Dead Sea, stopping at Masada, and then continue south to Eilat where we would cross over to Aqaba, Jordan.
第六天
今天暫別以色列. 酒店职員來送行. 我們将駛車南下,沿死海(以色列這一边)到馬萨達稍停後繼續往以色列最南的埃拉特港口.

Day 6 Masada, Israel
Riding a cable car up Masada. Notice visitors are all smile.
馬薩達上山纜車. 不用爬山遊客盡歡顏.

Day 6 Masada, Israel
A model of the ancient fortification at Masada.
古代防御工事模型.

Day 6 Masada, Israel
View of Dead Sea and the surrounding desert landscape from top of Masada.
Eva pointing to the siege ramp that the Roman army built to reach to the top of Masada. The Romans forced the Jews to build the ramp so there was no way the Jewish rebels at the top would throw rocks at their own kinsmen.
上: 山上看到死海
下: 罗馬軍來攻利用猶太人先行(掘級上山), 猶太人投鼠忌器不敢掟石阻擋.

Day 6 Masada, Israel
View of Dead Sea and the surrounding desert landscape from the top of Masada.
馬薩達山上看死海, 周邊全是沙漠.

Day 6 Masada, Israel
Masada is popular for hosting special event, such as one being set up here.
沙漠地帶也有大型活動. 可以想像一下凍飲受歡迎之程度.

Day 6 Eilat, Israel
Eilat is Israel’s southernmost city, a busy port and popular resort located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aqaba
以色列最南面之埃拉特港口. 位於紅海北方亞喀巴灣. 也是氣候宜人渡假好地方.

Day 6 Eilat, Israel
It was 35 deg c in the shade
陰處 温度約攝氏35度. 在沙漠地方又有海風可以接受.

Day 6 Eilat, Israel
Arrived at the Yitzhak Rabin Border Terminal around 4 pm. Our Avis rental Mazda 6 is really a Mazda 3 in North America! Fortunately all our luggage could fit into the trunk.
我们租來的馬士達停泊在边境伊扎克·拉宾 關閘
停車場, 已是下午四點. 自推行李过关.
長者坐輪椅, 車泊輪椅位.(免費停車數天)

Day 6 Eilat, Israel
We had to walk across to Jordan from the Israel side of the border, known as Wadi Araba Crossing in Jordan.
只能步行出境入境. 背後就是約旦.

Day 6 Aqaba, Jordan
A short taxi ride to our hotel in Aqaba, Jordan!
入境後乘的士很快到了我们在約旦亚喀巴希尔顿逸林酒店 , (距离 Al Khazneh The Treasury 98.1 km)
Hilton Aqaba酒店距离侯赛因国王国际机场（King Hussein International Airport）有10.6公里，设有2个漩涡浴缸、桑拿浴室、设备齐全的健身中心以及享有亚喀巴湾（Gulf of Aqaba）美丽景致的无边泳池。 酒店的所有客房均配有豪华寝具，包括250织物密度的床单和羽绒枕。每间客房均设有光线充足的办公桌、32英寸平面电视以及私人阳台。

Day 7 Wadi Rum, Jordan
Wadi Rum has been inhabited by many human cultures including the Nabateans, leaving their mark in the form of rock paintings, graffiti, and temples. Wadi Rum was used by the Nabateans as part of their trading routes, but it is largely known today for its connection with British officer T. E. Lawrence, who passed through it several times during the Arab Revolt of 1917 with the tribes of the area in World War I.
第七天
約旦這边另租車開始瓦迪倫沙漠之旅. 人類文化史重要遣迹之一, 其中鈉巴泰族人之石头画最著名, 但与英國人罗倫士的關係最為人津津樂道. 在 1917年阿拉伯起義战争中(第一次世界大战) 与土著并肩作战多次進出沙漠. 那段历史被拍成絰典电影 Lawrence of Arabia「沙漠梟雄」,該电影及該电影之男主角彼得奧圖 Peter O’Toole 聲名大噪.

Day 7 Wadi Rum, Jordan
Morning sun over the Jordanian desert.
沙漠清晨有點寒意. 日与夜氣温差落頗大.

Day 7 Wadi Rum, Jordan
The air was cool in the morning.
變幻莫測的光彩笼罩在山峦之上, 沙地一片金紅, 好似月亮之表面, 故称月亮谷.

Day 7 Wadi Rum, Jordan
Notice the Toyota Land Cruser in the distance, giving you a sense of scale of the surrounding granite rocks.
沙漠边有高山. 有多高多大？看看汽車与花崗岩的比例就知.
眼力好的看出那是一部丰田越野車. 四野無人飛馳在沙漠附近硬地上相信十分剌激 过癮.

Day 7 Wadi Rum, Jordan
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom as named in T.E. Lawrence’s novel.
在托馬斯.爱德華.罗倫斯的著作中提过的”智慧七柱子”

Day 7 Madaba, Jordan
We came across this Lebanese restaurant while driving around in Madaba so decided to have lunch here.
The restaurant decorated their bar area with typical Bedouin décor. Notice also the mosaic tile on the wall. Madaba is famous for the numerous mosaic artifacts and is known as the City of Mosaic
馬達巴
約旦中部一市镇, 又称碎石画城聞名遠近. 遇然在此黎巴嫩餐室食午餐,欣賞到四壁碎石画.名不虛傳.

Day 7 Madaba, Jordan
Can’t wait for our food to come!
地方不擠拥我們等食餐要有點耐性.

Day 7 Madaba, Jordan
This church is dedicated to the rememberance of the beheading of John the Baptist.
紀念施洗约翰(被希律王下令斬首)之教堂.
門上方見到施洗約翰頭像.

Day 7 Mount Nebo, Jordan
Mount Nebo is a memorial of Moses leading Israel to the Promised Land, which Moses himself was prevented from entering. However, God allowed him to have a glimpse of the Promised Land from this distance.
尼波山(Mount NeBo)是约旦最值得敬重的圣地之.
紀念摩西帶領以色列到”应許之地”。
上帝誏摩西由這里遙望一眼那应許樂土.

Day 7 Mount Nebo, Jordan
View of the Promised Land as Moses would have seen before he died.
尼波山上看上帝应許之樂土. (大概是摩西死前所見景色)

Day 8 The Dead Sea, Jordan
Early morning view of the resort from our hotel room balcony. Overnight temperature got down to the low teens.
第八天
約旦境内之死海. (从我們所住渡假村旅館房间外望)
晚上温度与日间相差很大.

Day 8 The Dead Sea, Jordan
Dead sea mud treatment
終於來到死海. 下水前來个泥浆浴.

Day 8 The Dead Sea, Jordan
Floating in the Dead Sea. At 31.5%, the Dead Sea has roughly ten times the salinity of the standard ocean.
輕易浮於水上. 海水盐浓度為百分之31.5, 比大洋正常海水高出十倍!

Day 8 Petra, Jordan
unique hotel interior with a Turkish feel.
Right: Our hotel overlooks Petra.
旅館土耳其式装饰.

Day 8 Petra, Jordan
Our meal was just average in otherwise a very nice hotel.
旅館靚, 普通食物也有水準.

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
The Djin Blocks mark the entrance to the ancient city of Petra.
第九天
今天專程去佩特拉古城 Petra. 世界七大奇觀之一.
入口處的大俊石. 高達9米, 先聲奪人.
在荒凉的大地，顺着一道弯弯的峡谷，七拐八弯突然出现在眼前，每个人都发出惊讶的赞叹！最值得去的地方之一，充满古人的能力和智慧，堪称奇迹。古城佈局大致上在北边是基督徒特区、土耳其人墓群和邮局郊区；西边是比亚拉姆峰、蛇山古迹区和修道院；南边位于法拉沙谷地中，包括罗马士兵墓群和花园神庙、高山献祭处、葬礼礼堂和狮子喷泉古迹；东边则包含神庙、水库、阶梯和靠近扶梯轮旅馆的武卫拉碉堡，以及靠近博物馆的哈比碉堡。

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
The Siq 俗祢蛇道was used as the grand caravan entrance into the Nabatean city of Petra.
Petra was chosen as the capital of the Nabateans likely because of its geographical situation – a valley surrounded (or well hidden) by sandstone mountains.
Al Khazneh was originally built as a mausoleum early 1st Century AD. Its Arabic name Treasury derives from one belief that pirates hid their loot in a stone urn high on the second level.
入內通道有一段好似羚羊峽谷(Foley今年去过)
阿拉伯民族纳巴汀人（Nabatean）公元一世紀早期建都於此.
佩特拉古城地域分布很广,它们有秩序的四散分布着，要想完整的欣赏它们，你必须要有充足的体力并且要有两到三天遗忘世事的时间。

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
Perched on the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to A.D. 40).
Petra is famous for its many stone structures such as a 138-foot-tall (42-meter-tall) temple carved with classical facades into rose-colored rock. The ancient city also included tunnels, water chambers, and an amphitheater, which held 4,000 people.

佩特拉的历史可以回溯到新石器时代。其鼎盛时期则是在公元前后四世纪之间，那时候由于商业交易活动的频繁，佩特拉作为沙漠商队必经的地区，自然成为三大洲之间文化艺术交流的一座桥梁，不仅吸取了古希腊、罗马和古埃及的文化，而且也使纳巴特文明得以广泛传播。

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
The narrow gorge winds its way about a mile and leads to Petra’s most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh, commonly known as the Treasury
走了很長的一段路來到卡兹尼神殿
卡兹尼神殿是约旦古城佩特拉中心的一座神殿，俗称“宝库（Treasury）”，在一整块砂岩中雕刻而成，已有两千年历史。当地的贝都因人传说其顶部藏有宝藏，故而该神殿俗称宝库。

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
A sense of scale of Al Khazneh from this angle
从這角度看神殿更覺其雄偉. 很多何里活大电影都用約旦的沙漠拍月球、這里的神殿拍尋宝動作片. 如 火星之旅, 木乃伊复活記及 奪宝奇兵电影系列之聖战奇兵(Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) 等.

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
The Theater is seen in the background。
Eva 背後是古代劇場.

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
Ad Deir,  otherwise known as the “Monastery”, is another monumental building carved out of rock by the Nabataeans. It measures 50 meters wide by approximately 45 meters high.
穿过这个大门，前方的山路，就是会通往另一个最经典的佩特拉地标Al Deir “The Monastery” 修道院。古城一部分定期晚上開放. 灯光幻影另有一番景像.

Our JoDay 9 Petra, Jordan
Our guide, nicknamed “little horse” in chinese, spoke very good Cantonese, which he picked up while living in Hong Kong for 15 years.
約旦导遊自称”馬仔”曾在香港住过15年能說流利粤語.

Day 9 Petra, Jordan
A short horse ride.
我们骑驴上山到最佳俯视点, 也有出租駱駝供遊客慢慢欣賞玖瑰紅牆, 見証昔日繁盛.
纳巴泰人是精明能干的商人，不仅控制着沙漠商队，而且精于建筑、凿岩和抛光技术。还有珍贵、无人超越的制陶产业，据说在抛光和彩绘装饰的技术方面，他们的质量甚至超越了我国瓷器的精密度。
纳巴泰人住在无水的沙漠里，周围还有罗马人虎视眈眈。为了生存，他们在农业和水利建设上投注了大量的心力，广建蓄水和排水设施，妥善安排配水管, 水利系统非常先进。(使我們想起麗江由古至今的水流過濾管理系統似乎更勝一籌)

Day 10 Aqaba, Jordan
View of Aqaba coastline from our hotel room. Egypt can be seen across the opposite shore.
第十天
酒店房間外望亞喀巴港風光.
对面就是埃及 (上圖上方).

Day 10 Yitzhak Rabin Border Terminal, Israel
Leaving Jordan and returning back to Israel.
又返回伊扎克拉宾關閘步行入以色列.

Day 10 Mitzpe Ramon, Israel
We noticed many Nubian ibex wandering freely around the park. The Nubian ibex is a desert-dwelling goat species found in mountainous area.
取回汽車北上. 途經米玆佩拉蒙. 見到自由自在的努比亞羱羊(山羊之一种-沙漠有山,山上有羊)
下圖: 以色列参加國际太空計劃, 以國太空人在這里接受訓練. 地型土質有點似月球.

Day 10 Ben Gurion’s Tomb, Israel
便古里安夫婦墓
便古里安是第一任总理，於1948年5月14日在特拉维夫市长得胜高呼故居宣布以色列独立。
墓碑上有小石. 是以石子代替鲜花. 因為炎熱天氣鲜花不耐用.

Day 10 Tel Aviv, Israel
以色列名城特拉維夫
特拉维夫是以色列首都(猶太人自称耶路撒冷為首都但國际不認同)，是地中海沿岸一座新兴的港口城市，位于北纬32°05′，东经34°46′。特拉维夫北起维尔贡河下游，南到雅法湾，面积约50平方公里，城市区域狭长，沿海岸绵延约9.6公里。气候冬、春温和，夏季潮热，1月平均气温13度，8月平均气温26度。年平均雨量559毫米。

Day 11 Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel
heading to the departure gate after a lengthy screening and check-in process.
第十一天
旅程尾聲. 本古里安國际机場出境手續繁复.
無論如何, 我们此行避開战火, 遇到的当地人友善, 減少了緊張心情.只有一次因找尋橄欖山迷路誤闖城東阿拉伯區. 好在他们見是中國人没有留難, 有驚無險完了心願,不枉此行.