彭蒙惠英语:伊斯坦布尔(1/3)
Istanbul
伊斯坦布尔(1/3)
Istanbul
What’s it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on TV? Get an inside look from an American woman living in Istanbul
A True Turkish Delight
Anastasia Ashman, 41, is a writer and editor in Istanbul, turkey, where she has lived three years. Her adopted home, formerly known as Constantinople, was the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Turk empires between 330 1918.
Q. You’re living in quite an illustrious and ancient metropolis. Are residents here aware of living amid the past?
A. Three are traces of the past embedded in everyone’s neighborhood. I live in a part of the city established in the 13th century. When I go to the newsstand, I pass a mosque that Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent built in the 15th century. But the average person living her life, doing her errands, doesn’t notice these things around her as unusual.
Q. Tell us some more about your neighborhood.
A. Beyoglu is considered the cultural heart of modern Istanbul. It’s just across the Golden Horn (estuary) from the Old City. Later, an emperor gave it to the Genoese as a trading concession. The city was the last stop for the caravans on the Silk Road before all those silks and spices went by water to Europe. I live in an apartment on a cliff overlooking the Bosphorus (the strait separating Europe and Asia). Most people in Istanbul live in apartments due to the population density.
Q. What’s it like being a woman here?
A. One thing I really like about Istanbul, and much of Turkey, is a level of civility you often don’t find in other Mediterranean countries. If you behave respectfully, you get respect. The men are gallant in a old-fashioned way, and it’s part of Turkish culture to be helpful and neighborly
Istanbul is a sprawling place with 12 million inhabitants, and more arriving every day. There’s quite a range of society. Foreigners come here and don’t expect Turks to be so worldly, chic and sophisticated.
Specialized Terms
Byzantine (adj) 拜占庭的；东罗马帝国的 relating to the ancient city of Byzantium founded in the seventh century B.C.
Ottoman Turk (n) 奥图曼土耳其人 the ethnic subdivision of the Turkish people, members of the tribe of Osman I, who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire
Sultan (n) 苏丹王 a ruler, especially in the past, of some Muslim countries
Estuary (n) 河口 the wide part of a river at the place where it joins the sea
Strait (n) 海峡 a narrow area of sea which connects two larger areas of sea
Vocabulary Focus
Illustrious (adj) famous, well respected and admired
Embed (V) to be a fixed part of a surrounding whole
Mosque (n) 清真寺
Genoese (n) 热那亚人
Concession (n) right given or sold to sb by the owner(s) of sth, allowing him to use or operate it 特许权
Caravan (n) 旅行队
Bosphorus (n) 博斯普鲁斯海峡
Civility (n) politeness and formality
Gallant (adj)
Worldly (adj) practical and having a lot of experience of life
Chic (adj) elegant and stylish
Discussion Question
What’s Istanbul like in your mind?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘The city was the last stop for the caravans on the Silk Road before all those silks and spices went by water to Europe.’
2. According to the recording, was the mosque really built in 15th century?
