纪录片《文明》 第126期 艺术的胜利（3）

When the Ottoman Turks

奥斯曼土耳其帝国

conquered Constantinople in 1453,

1453年征服君士坦丁堡后

instead of demolishing¹ the Hagia Sophia,

他们并没有推倒圣索菲亚大教堂

they converted it into a mosque².

而是将它变为了清真寺

But there was no escaping the fact

不可否认的是

that this conversion³ was superficial.

这一变化微不足道

Islamic elements had merely been bolted onto a church.

教堂建筑本身几乎没有什么伊斯兰元素

Somehow, Christianity was always showing through.

而基督教元素却始终呼之欲出

There came a time when this partial makeover

有一段时期 这种有限的改造

wasn't good enough.

并不令人满意

Not, at any rate,

至少

for the greatest of the Ottoman rulers

奥斯曼伟大的君主苏莱曼大帝

Suleiman the Magnificent.

对此非常不满

His armies had cut a swathe through Christian⁴ Europe.

他的军队横扫欧洲基督世界

So when he decided⁵ to build a new mosque,

所以他决定建造一座新的清真寺

unencumbered by Christian leftovers⁶,

完全不受残留的基督教元素束缚

he was making a point for Allah.

是为真主安拉而建

And he was making it directly at his rivals,

也是为了针对他的敌人

the holy Roman Emperor and the Pope.

神圣罗马帝国皇帝和教宗

Ironically, the master builder ordered to create

讽刺的是 受命建这一礼拜用大清真寺的

the great Friday service mosque had been born a Christian.

伟大建筑师却是基督教徒出身

Mimar Sinan was a Janissary,

米马尔.希南是耶尼切里军团的一员

converted to Islam as a child

童年改信伊斯兰教

and conscripted into

然后被征召

the crack household troops of the Sultan.

加入了苏丹派系复杂的军队

Sinan rose through the ranks

希南通过晋升

to become the greatest military engineer of his day.

成为了当时最伟大的军事工程师

But he always felt himself destined⁷ for something greater

但他冥冥中觉得自己命中注定要干一件大事

than bridges and fortresses⁸.

而不仅仅是建造桥梁和堡垒

"I wish to become an architect", he told his biographer,

他告诉传记家 "我想成为一个建筑师

"So my perfect skills should leave art to the world."

这样我完美的技术可以作为艺术展现给世界"

Suleiman's order was thrilling but daunting⁹.

苏莱曼的命令令他兴奋 却也是个挑战

A great dome¹⁰ surrounded by half domes¹¹, four minarets¹²,

大穹顶需要由半圆顶和四座尖塔拱卫

a structure as immense as the two-continent empire.

整个结构需要像横跨两大陆的帝国一样庞大

A mosque that would eclipse Hagia Sophia.

这座清真寺需要让圣索菲亚大教堂黯然失色

The visible proclamation of Islam's victory.

这是伊斯兰教壮观的胜利宣言

Sinan's great idea is the indivisibility of space.

希南的设计理念是空间不能分割开

The architectural proclamation of the union of all believers.

这是所有信徒团结一致的理念在建筑上的表达

Here, the space isn't chopped up by forests of columns

在这里 空间没有被一根根立柱以及唱诗班

and barriers of choir¹³ and altar.

和圣坛的围栏分割开

1 demolishing   

v.摧毁( demolish的现在分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings. 这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。 来自《用法词典》
• Conventional demolishing work would have caused considerable interruptions in traffic. 如果采用一般的拆除方法就要引起交通的严重中断。 来自辞典例句

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

7 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

8 fortresses   

堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They will establish impregnable fortresses. 他们将建造坚不可摧的城堡。
• Indra smashed through Vritra ninety-nine fortresses, and then came upon the dragon. 因陀罗摧毁了维他的九十九座城堡，然后与维他交手。 来自神话部分

9 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

10 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

11 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

12 minarets   

n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Remind you of a mosque, red baked bricks, the minarets. 红砖和尖塔都会使你联想到伊斯兰教的礼拜寺。 来自互联网
• These purchases usually went along with embellishments such as minarets. 这些购置通常也伴随着注入尖塔等的装饰。 来自互联网

13 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。