VOA常速英语2008年-Somaliland Cultural Sites Remain Little Known O

By Cathy Majtenyi
Zeila, Somaliland
22 February 2008
 

Somaliland is a relatively¹ new east African republic that broke away from Somalia in 1991 and is still not recognized internationally as independent. But it is a land ripe with historical treasure, including the town of Zeila on the Gulf² of Aden and the rock paintings at Las Geel. Cathy Majtenyi takes a look at these major, yet little known, landmarks³ of human history.

Scholars say early followers⁴ of the Prophet Muhammad fled to Zeila from Mecca around 615 A.D. And current residents say those early Muslims built a mosque⁵ facing in two directions, toward Jerusalem and Mecca. It is believe to have been one of the first outside the Middle East, marking Islam's initial entry into Africa.

Arabs began to administer the small town on the Gulf of Aden soon after their arrival, but by the 16th century, Ottoman Turks took over administration, followed by a brief stint⁶ from the Egyptians. Britain began governing in the late 1800s.

Throughout the centuries, Zeila developed into a major trading and commercial port.

Yusuf Hassan Muhid is said to be Zeila's oldest resident. Muhid, who villagers say is 100 years old, remembers when tea was shipped in from India, and animal hides, peanuts and Ethiopian coffee were shipped out. He recalls, "My father was a businessman who brought in dates and other food items from Yemen."

With the development of the port in neighboring Djibouti, by the early 1900s, Zeila lost its importance as a major trading center. And years of warfare⁷ and neglect have turned most of the historical sites into rubble⁸.

Town elder Ibrahim Ahmed decries⁹ the sites' condition. "The historical sites are not limited to the mosques¹⁰. One good example is the museum next door that needs rehabilitation¹¹," he said.

He urges Somaliland authorities to restore the mosque and other buildings.

Ali Ibrahim is Somaliland's minister of National Planning and Development. Ibrahim says that Culture Ministry¹² officials are consulting with experts on how best to preserve Somaliland's historical sites and are forming plans on how to preserve, maintain and promote those sites.

He adds, "These historical sites need a lot of investment for their own rehabilitation and I think the Ministry of Culture does not have enough funds to do that work. That is why it is trying to attract foreign institutions to collaborate¹³ with them in the preservation¹⁴ of these historical sites. So the work has started."

More than 300 kilometers south of Zeila are the hills of Las Geel. Hidden within the hills are ancient caves. Their walls contain paintings estimated to date from 4000 to 3000 B.C.

The paintings depict¹⁵ mostly cows and some human figures. Historians believe that early artists crushed stones of different colors to make a paste that they used as paint. The historians call for the cave paintings to be protected from damage so that the legacy¹⁶ of the ancients can live on.

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

4 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

5 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。

6 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

7 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

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 decries   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr Basescu decries communism as criminal, but Bulgarian leaders only mumble. 巴塞斯库总统将共产主义比作犯罪，而对这个问题，保加利亚的领导人却避而不谈。 来自互联网
• A staunch materialist,he decries economy. 一个坚定的唯物主义者公开谴责经济。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

14 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

15 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

16 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。