英國語文第六冊(雙語):陸路(7)

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Before the establishment of the Overland Route, Suez, though a place of considerable transit trade between Egypt and the East, was a small, ill-built, wretched-looking town. Since that time it has been much improved, and has become there sidence of many merchants and agents. The country around it is desert, and provisions and water have to be brought from great distances.

蘇伊士運(yùn)河如今雖然是埃及和東方國家之間的一個(gè)重要的貿(mào)易中轉(zhuǎn)站，然而在陸路建立之前，它僅僅是一個(gè)建設(shè)不良且破敗的小城鎮(zhèn)，陸路建立之后條件才大有改善，成為許多商人和代理商的居住地。其周圍的國家都很貧瘠，糧食和水資源都需要從很遠(yuǎn)的地方運(yùn)過去。

Reembarking at Suez, we pass down the gulf of the same name, which is the western of the two arms at the head of the Red Sea. The Gulf of Suez is 190 miles in length; and near the head of it is believed by many to be the place at which the Israelites crossed the Red Sea in their exodus from Egypt. As, however, the gulf is known to have receded many miles from its ancient head, even since the Christian era, it is more probable that the scene of the passage is now in the sandy waste of the isthmus.

再次回到蘇伊士運(yùn)河時(shí)，我們從一支同名的海灣經(jīng)過，該海灣在紅海盡頭兩條支流的西邊。蘇伊士灣總長190英里，很多人認(rèn)為以色列人在從埃及遷徙出來、跨越紅海時(shí)就曾經(jīng)過紅海盡頭附近。然而，眾所周知，蘇伊士灣已經(jīng)自那古老的源頭后退了很多英里，甚至從基督教時(shí)代開始，這條通道現(xiàn)在的地點(diǎn)更可能是在地峽那荒涼的沙地之上。

The eastern arm of the Red Sea is the Gulf of Akaba, which is 100 miles in length. On the triangular tongue of land between the two gulfs are the mountains of Horeb-Sinai, in whose midst there appeared to Moses "an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush;" and on whose "secret top" he received from God the "lively oracles" to give to the people.

紅海的東部是阿卡巴灣，長100英里。兩個(gè)海灣之間的三角地帶是霍利伯西奈群山，群山中間是摩西，即“荊棘火焰中上帝的使者”，他在群山那“神秘的頂部”接收了上帝給人們下達(dá)的“神諭”。

Half way down the Red Sea, the navigation of which is rendered difficult by sudden changes of wind and heavy gales, we reach Jedda, one of the most active sea-ports in Arabia. Here thousands of pilgrims land every year on their way to Mecca, the birth-place of Mohammed and the cradle of the Mussulman faith.

在去往紅海的中途，由于驟然間狂風(fēng)大作，我們的航行變得十分地艱難。之后我們到達(dá)了阿拉伯半島最繁忙的海港之一——吉達(dá)，在這里每年都有成千上萬的朝圣者踏上前往麥加的旅途。而麥加既是穆罕默德的出生地，也是穆斯林信仰的搖籃。

Near the southern extremity of the sea, on the margin of a sandy plain on the Arabian coast, is Mocha, a fortified sea-port, from which thousands of tons of the finest coffee are annually exported. Passing through the Straits of Bab-elmandeb, we reach Aden, where the sign-board of "The Prince of Wales Hotel" reminds us that we are once more in a British possession. Like Gibraltar and Valetta, Aden is considered an impregnable fortress. Like Gibraltar, too, it stands on a rocky peninsula, connected with the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Its harbour is the best in Arabia; and the town abounds in mosques and Mohammedan remains, which testify to its former magnificence. From Aden we steam through the Gulf of Aden and across the Arabian Sea; and before many days pass we are at anchor in the spacious harbour of Bombay.

穆哈靠近紅海的最南邊，位于阿拉伯海岸沙質(zhì)平原的邊緣，它是防御性海港，每年都有成千上萬噸極品咖啡從這里被出口到其他地區(qū)。穿過曼德海峽之后我們到達(dá)了亞丁，一個(gè)寫著“威爾士王子酒店”的廣告牌提醒我們，我們再一次到達(dá)了英國境內(nèi)。亞丁和直布羅陀以及瓦萊塔一樣被認(rèn)為是一座堅(jiān)不可摧的堡壘，同時(shí)它和直布羅陀一樣坐落在一個(gè)多石的半島上并通過一條狹窄的地峽與大陸相連。那里的海港是阿拉伯半島最好的港口。城鎮(zhèn)里有大量的清真寺以及伊斯蘭教徒的遺跡，這些無不印證了它曾經(jīng)的輝煌。從亞丁出發(fā)，我們穿過了亞丁海峽和阿拉伯海。之后的許多天，我們一直停泊在孟買寬闊的海港。