2006年VOA标准英语-Turkey Prepares for Pope's Visit

By Sabina Castelfranco
Istanbul
27 November 2006

Turkish authorities are preparing for Pope Benedict's arrival on Tuesday. They are taking massive security measures, deploying¹ thousands of police officers. Despite protests against the pope's visit, there are many Turks who say it is an opportunity for Turkey to show the world its best side. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports from Istanbul.

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Turkish policemen gather in front of the Haghia Sophia museum at the Sultanahmet square for a security meeting in Istanbul, 27 Nov. 2006
In Istanbul, police officers could be seen patrolling major avenues and areas that the pope will be visiting. Thousands are being deployed².

Many were receiving their instructions Monday morning on the busy Kennedy Avenue, which borders the Bosporus, along which the pope will travel after he arrives in Istanbul.

Security officials were also carefully watching tourists and locals around Aya Sophya, which used to be a church, then a mosque³ and later was converted to a museum.

The pope will visit the site on Thursday, and, the Grey Wolves, a Turkish right-wing militant⁴ group, has planned a protest not far from it for the same day.

Protests against the pope's visit have already been taking place in Istanbul. But not everyone is against Benedict's arrival.

35 -year-old Can Iliris is a tour guide. He says, the pope is welcome, despite the comments he cited about Islam earlier this year, which angered Muslims so much.

"Turkey is a very important country, where a lot of cultures -- they live in this country. Unfortunately, he had some speeches against Muslims, but this is a good opportunity for him to fix his words, and Turkish people, I know, welcome him in Turkey," he said.

Analysts⁵ say the pope will likely use the opportunity of the visit to try to mend relations with Muslims. He is hoping also to visit the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

It will be the second time a pope visits a mosque. The Vatican says this stop is a good will gesture on the pope's part.

Many in the streets in the area of Sultanahmet, where the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophya are located, say that the security measures are necessary, but not because this is Turkey.

Iliris said, "Security now is all over the world. If you go in Spain, in London, in Turkey… after 11 September security measures are very strict and very strong."

 
Turkish Islamists shout slogans in Istanbul during a rally against the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict 
Iliris says the protests cannot be avoided because that is part of what a modern democracy is all about.

"We are living in democracy. People, they like something, people they dislike something," he said.

"Of course, there are some people who do not welcome him, but there are some people who welcome his visit. And, this is normal, especially in democracy," he added.

Pope Benedict will be spending four days in Turkey. He will visit Ankara, Ephesus and Istanbul.

On his arrival Tuesday, he will meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who originally had not planned to meet the pope, citing his travel to a NATO summit in Latvia.

In Istanbul, the pope will meet with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew the First, the leader of the world's Orthodox Christians⁶.

1 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 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。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。