2015-06-29

【Aiden in English】

        The city of Nessebar in Bulgaria is a life-size maze of cobble streets and Byzantine neighborhood. I believed that it was one of a kind. But when I arrived in the Cycladic Mykonos of Greece, my original theory was proven to be far from correct. 

        Similar to Nessebar, Mykonos had the tiny little island built like a labyrinth for the same reason. Piracy was a common act when the island was established back to the 16^th-17^th century. In order to protect itself, the maze was built to confuse invaders and pirates. Navigating the narrow and winding streets was difficult even with a guide, since the area to walk in was cramped and gave off a claustrophobic vibe. The whitewashed paint didn’t exactly help, either. 

        Oh, you won’t imagine the whiteness of that place (not racist)! The reason behind that was how hot the temperatures got sun kiss in summer. Although I didn’t feel much today, an average temperature in Mykonos was 92^oF/33^oC or so during the summer. Not to mention heatwaves, pulling the temperature up to 110^oF/43^oC for a few days straight. Everything was painted in white for this reason. However, the temperature at the moment hadn’t reached over 80^oF/27^oC, and that was because of the winds. So when the meteorologists said today’s forecast was 87^oC/31^oC, the tourists felt a cool 75^oF/24^oC or so. I guess they are as wrong as ever. Imagine what life would be without a breeze here. This wind was life to the population. The island was dotted with the Mycenaean windmills. The windmills produced the only source of power for years. Recently, the use of them has decreased since the technology gets more modern. And the wind was so important in the island that the nickname given to the place was called the Island of the Winds. Supposedly the wind god Aeolus would release the winds over this island by stretching his wings. Let’s talk about aerodynamics. The wind also made a great place for wave surfing. The winds, as the years passed, provided a natural air conditioning as well. In fact, with the cool air over narrow corridors, the people of the island felt as if they were shielded inside all the time. 

        Although the white was a bit freaky, this classic Aegean island looked cozy and crazy all at once. Not to mention that bathrooms. Most people believe living by the azure sea is good. But in a place called Little Venice, the bathrooms were rectangular prison bulged out of the quaint houses, hanging over the shoreline. Can you image going to use the toilet in a storm?

        The wind and heat shape the charming island of Mykonos, setting the very reason for the difference of its antiquity from the other settlements. The entire island was built to combat them, making it unique at the same time.

【紅霞譯文】

        走入保加利亞內塞巴爾鵝卵石街道拜占庭式城區，如同掉進真人大小的奇幻迷宮，我蠻以為是個例現象，但不獨有偶，等我抵達希臘基克拉迪群島之一米科諾斯以後，我才意識到上述結論下得為時過早。

        與內塞巴爾相似，米科諾斯出於同樣原因也把彈丸之地打造成潔白迷宮。追溯到十六──十七世紀小島始建初期，海盜活動極為猖獗，為了保護自身，迷宮被當成迷惑敵人的有效方式。說實在的，在這裡即使眼下由導遊全程帶路，欲想搞清楚東南西北決非輕而易舉，因為我所涉足的地域狹窄曲徑通幽，猶如身陷囹圄而無法自拔，清一色白花花的外表無濟於事，什麼忙也幫不上。

        對啦，你根本難以想象那裡到底有多白（絲毫沒有種族色彩）！夏季高溫天氣竟然得到太陽無限厚愛，儘管今天我並不覺得怎麼着，但在排除熱浪來襲的前提下，米科諾斯島夏季平均溫度通常保持在華氏92度／攝氏33度左右，否則連續幾天氣溫狂飆至110^oF／43^oC，正因如此，這裡老鄉乾脆把什麼東西都刷成白色。好在到現在為止，氣溫尚未超過80^oF／27^oC，這得歸功於海風。所以，當氣象員預報氣溫要達到87^oF／31^oC時，遊客感覺只有75^oF／24^oC上下，我認為天氣預報可信性一向極差，還是先來想一下假如沒有海風人該如何過活吧。海風對當地生態必不可少，島上邁錫尼風車更是隨處可見。從前風車都被用來發電，如今隨着科技水平的提高，風車的使用率已大大減少，不過海風仍然至關重要，難怪米科諾斯的外號被稱作“風之島”，據說風神埃俄羅斯展開雙翅，風呼拉拉地扇到米科諾斯島上。下面再來談一下空氣動力學，風不但有助於帆板運動，而且自古以來一直被視作天然空調，實際上，街道狹長的米科諾斯島飽經涼風洗禮，讓大家心有所屬情有所依。

        雖然白色顯得有點怪兮兮的，可這個古色古香的愛琴海小島卻優遊閒適，令人格外痴迷，當然盥洗室另當別論。誰都喜歡臨海而居，但在當地有一處號稱“小威尼斯”的地方，盥洗室不過為一間長方形監獄，凸出古樸民居之外高懸蔚藍色海岸之上，風景獨好。想過沒有，暴風雨來臨如何解手？

        海風熱浪把米克諾斯島打造得魅力十足，並雕飾出自己的民族本色，米克諾斯人始終為弘揚獨特的古韻遺風做出不懈努力。