2015-06-21

【Aiden in English】

        Imagine having a house up in the mountains hovered in the air. Wow, imagine living in it. Imagine surviving with no internet, no roads, no cars, and to reach any other civilization meant a walk straight down. 

        That came around about 400 years ago. Nowadays, a road allows tour busses to reach Meteora of Greece. Its spectacular landscape has derived from an extensive ongoing gravel deposits over the time and become the well-known “columns of the sky”. Perched on remarkable pinnacles of sandstone rocks are the orthodox monasteries that functioned as refuge to avoid the Ottoman’s invasion and dangerous bandits back to the medieval era. And just saying, the hermit monks went to the extremes to build the wonder off the sheared cliffs high atop where it was once virtually inaccessible. Well, actually it’s these things because there used to be 24 monasteries, but what remains is six and smaller ones that somehow survived the churning tides of time. Egypt’s pyramids were unbelievable to build, considering how heavy the stones weighted. The Great Wall of China was incredible just thinking about building something so long over three different dynasties. The settlement of all monasteries was just as grueling and tough to build as any other ancient great structures. The climb from the bottom is exhausting to even think about it. At times, the mountain stood vertically and a tower of rock formation known as stone pillars jutted out from the sides. And for a quest for solitude and enlightenment, instead of setting up shop in the mountains like normal people, the monks 400 years ago decided to their religious monuments on the rock towers. They traveled using rope ladders and rope pulley system with a net basket. The rocks went straight up, so water had to be collected everyday by the monks still living inside. Yet, there are still some of them feeling the life of hardships. They prayed all day, but doing chores became a little different through the years. There is the help of technology now, and the tourism gave the monasteries some money as well. I wonder if a landlord charges tax in this area. 

        The isolation comes with gifts as well. The monks were blessed with an amazing view of the surrounding. 400 years ago, this gift was used to scout enemies and to be on the lookout. Tourism changed the gift into a flurry of amazing photographs. A small town of simple triangular-roofed red houses began at the slope of the mountain. A ring of lush mountains surrounded the area, reminding me of a giant crater. But the guide said that it used to be an enormous lake. Throughout the ages, earthquakes changed the geography of the land and the water flowed away. What remained was a land that became Greece most fertile agricultural land. Most of the land became farms, and forming the fields came with the freshest olives, cotton, corn and wheat. One’s lose was tamed to another’s treasure, and it is a saying that will survive through, well, forever. I would happily take the president’s trash, since I’m sure something valuable will be hiding in there. And through the years, this area grew more and more famous. Incidentally, the quality of places is also viewed as time flew by. Since Meteora’s monasteries were done 4 centuries ago, time has made this area a priceless piece of art work, stunning to anyone who enjoys treasure hunting. Why? It is the very land that is a treasure itself. And just imagine that the motivation gave impetus to do it. Religion can really be the fuel to man-power at the time. 

        400 years ago, a group of monasteries were built by hand, the supplies were carried by back, and the experience was filled with sweat and tears. 400 years later, who would know that a young boy is writing about the effort spent to make this marvel what it is today. IT’S ME IF YOU DON’T KNOW!

【红霞译文】

        试想一下，群山峻岭之巅高悬空中楼阁；哇塞，设想一下栖身于此每天的日常起居；再细想一下，生活在没有互联网、没有道路、没有汽车、惟有万仞峭壁与外界相通的世界。

        上述场景定格在400多年前，如今旅游大巴浩浩荡荡开进希腊被誉为“天空之柱”的曼代奥拉，大自然鬼斧神工，逐渐将这一带砂岩地貌打造得怪石嶙峋，峰林层峦叠嶂。位于石柱顶尖，具有中世纪遗风的东正教修道院巍然耸立，当时为了躲避奥斯曼入侵远离匪徒骚扰，隐士僧人无畏艰辛困苦，勇敢地挑战自身极限，在人迹罕至的悬崖壁上创出奇迹，随着时光推移岁月磨蚀，原本廿四所修道院中仅剩下规模较小的六所得以幸存。古埃及巧夺天工，用巨大无比的石头修建金字塔，令人叹为观止；中华民族气吞山河，三个朝代前仆后继筑起万里长城，名声传遍天下；古希腊别具匠心，愣把宗教精神寄托到遥不可及的净土乐园里，别说爬了，就是从底部抬头朝顶部望去，心中顿感慌恐不安。有时山势陡峭垂直，石柱从侧面凸起，400年前苦行僧们非同凡人，既耐得住孤寂又干得出大事，打定主意一定要在天空之柱上开辟新天地。他们把绳索做成梯子，并将滑轮绑上筐子当作交通运输工具；尽管岩石直起直落，可住在石柱顶上面的人每天都要下来取水，生活的艰辛由此可略见一斑。僧人们终日祈祷，一年四季轮流打理不同事务。新技术的出现以及游客的馈赠，使得修道院的生活条件得到改善，但我心存好奇，不知道地主是否从中抽利。

        与世隔绝的地方定有独到之处，身居其中的隐士有幸饱览周围壮丽山色，而这些奇观异景从前均被用作瞭望台来观察敌人动向。到此一游的朋友无不以此为快，噼哩啪啦按下快门。山坡下面的小镇三角形红色房顶耀眼夺目，郁郁葱葱的群山环抱山谷，令我禁不住联想起巨型火山口，不过据导演介绍，很久以前这里一片汪洋，多年来地震改变了地质形态，从此河床从视线中消失，结果遗留下来的土地成为希腊最肥沃的农业基地，该地区大部分土地被用来开垦农田，主要农作物有橄榄、棉花、玉米和小麦，失之东隅收之桑榆，古谚说得千真万确，保不齐我也乐意给总统当差，没准能发掘意外收获。碰巧的是，越是古老的宝地越发受人瞩目；无疑，具有四百年历史的曼代奥拉修道院堪比一件艺术珍品，尤其对那些爱好寻古探幽的人来说，为什么呢？无非渊于自然景观，其潜在的动机无不打动来访者内心深处，当时的宗教思想激发了人们饱满斗志。

        400年前的过去，建造修道院群完全用手搭靠背扛，勤劳的汗水和辛酸的眼泪交织在一起；400年后的今天，有谁想得出一位风华少年正挥笔记录自己的所见所闻，如果你不认识他，那么让我来告诉你，正是本人！