2006年VOA标准英语-Joint Project Seeks to Revitalize Kabul's Art C

By Michael Kohn
Kabul
19 October 2006

 
Houses in Murad Khane that will be restored by the Turquoise¹ Mountain Foundation  
  
The neighborhood of Murad Khane in Kabul's Old City was once a wealthy area of merchants and members of the royal family. But after 25 years of war, most of the homes have been abandoned and left to ruin. A new project begun by President Hamid Karzai and Britain's Prince Charles seeks to renovate² the area and make it a cornerstone for Afghanistan's revitalized arts community.

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Deep in the market of Murad Khane a radio crackles through the streets while silver workers sell their wares³, fortunetellers leaf through astrological books and pilgrims line up outside a Muslim shrine⁴. Murad Khane is rich in culture and full of elaborate houses, but it has seen better days.

A few hundred yards away, laborers⁵ are busy digging up 25 years of dirt and garbage that has piled in the streets. This is the first stage of a renovation⁶ project to breathe life back into Murad Khane, which has been devastated⁷ by almost continuous war since 1979. So far the workers have removed 350 trucks full of rubble⁸, dropping the level of the street by almost two meters.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Britain's Prince Charles dreamed up the project last year, when Mr. Karzai visited Britain.

The work is being done by the Turquoise Mountain Foundation - an Afghan organization dedicated⁹ to preserving the country's unique architecture and arts, with funds from the prince's School of Traditional Arts in London, and from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and from a Jordanian group. 

Rory Stewart (L), British head of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation with, with Afghan participants  
  
Former British diplomat¹⁰ Rory Stewart heads the project, and he has gathered together Afghanistan's best artists to train craftsmen¹¹ who could renovate the damaged structures.

Walking through Murad Khane, Stewart describes its vitality¹² and importance.

"Murad Khane is first historic settlement on the north bank of the Kabul River. It was founded in the mid-18th century, it is a classic miniature Islamic city. We have here two mosques¹³ a public bathhouse, two shrines¹⁴, and a lot of trades and shops," said Stewart. "This is a classic Central Asian combination of religious institutions, civic¹⁵ institutions and commercial institutions working together."

The Turquoise Mountain Foundation pays half the rebuilding costs for a house and the homeowner the rest. By the end of the project, as many as 55 homes could be renovated¹⁶, with some buildings used as artists' workshops and art galleries.

But renovating¹⁷ these old structures is no easy task in a country so recently consumed by war. Engineer Rahmattullah Oryakhel says much effort was taken in finding artists who remember the old designs.

"Restoration of old buildings is difficult and time-consuming," said Oryakhel. "The biggest challenge is how to keep the original condition of the building. This requires skilled craftsmen, knowledge of materials and good supervision¹⁸."

 
Afghan wood carvers
  
The restoration of the Old City is just one part of a plan to revitalize the arts in Afghanistan. Besides woodworkers and engineers, the Turquoise Mountain Foundation also employs calligraphers and pottery¹⁹ experts. Eventually their works will be sold at art exhibitions and in galleries. The organizers see the plan as a way to generate income for the artists and boost Afghan culture.

At the workshop where the craftsmen are putting together shutters²⁰ and window frames for the homes in Murad Khane, Turquoise Mountain administrator²¹ Ben Gauss talks about the project.

"This is a really good project because it gives skills and jobs to people that previously²² didn't have them while at the same time rebuilding the city, in a way that can help Afghans connect with their past and make them proud of it," said Gauss. "It would be a shame if their culture was lost."

Afghan wood carver  
  
In the craft market in Murad Khane, residents say that rebuilding the neighborhood will be good for their heritage and tourism.

"These buildings were constructed long ago, even before there were maps of the city," said one resident. "They are rebuilding them to help local people and promote tourism. During the Taleban time most were destroyed. But when they come back the tourists will also return. I think this will help us."

Three decades ago Murad Khane was scheduled for demolition²³ by the Soviets²⁴. Age and war left it a crumbling²⁵ ruin, likely to be torn down and replaced with Western-style villas²⁶. But with some help from President Karzai and Prince Charles, the embattled neighborhood stands a chance of surviving another century.

1 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

2 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

3 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

4 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

5 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

6 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

11 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

12 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

13 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

14 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

15 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

16 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

17 renovating   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The increased production was largely attained by renovating old orchards and vineyards. 通过更新老果园和葡萄园，使生产大大增加。
• Renovating that house will cost you a pretty penny. 为了整修那所房子，你得花很多钱。

18 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

19 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

20 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

21 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

22 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

23 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

24 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

25 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

26 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。