Following the footsteps of Marco Polo in Kyrgyzstan
在吉尔吉斯斯坦追随马可波罗的足迹
By Photographers Hill and Aubrey spend time on the Silk Road
It was maybe half an hour till dawn when I woke up. Zamir, our driver, was leaning against the window smoking a cigarette. Tim [Hill] sat on the front seat loading a roll of film into a camera. The dull hue of daybreak hung in the sky. I knocked on the cold glass, opened the door and considered our surroundings. As far as I could see, snow-covered peaks zig-zagged their way across the horizon. The sun rose quickly; “It’s going to be hot,” said Zamir.
我醒来的时候，天亮大概还有半个小时。我们的司机扎米尔靠在窗户上抽着烟。蒂姆[希尔]坐在前座上给相机装着胶卷。天空中挂着黎明的暗淡色调。我敲了敲冰冷的玻璃，打开门，打量了一下周围的环境。我能看到的尽头，被雪覆盖的山峰在地平线上锯齿状延伸。太阳迅速升起；“今天会很热，”扎米尔说。
Kyrgyzstan sits in the heart of central Asia. It is one of the least-talked-about countries in the world but what it lacks in notoriety, it makes up for in geography: a quasi-crossroads between Russia, China, Europe and Afghanistan, which since the days of Marco Polo has had vital geopolitical significance. To follow in his footsteps is a wonderful thing; in a country where transportation has been the lifeblood of the economy for more than 2,000 years, it seems fitting to load the car up and get out onto the road.
吉尔吉斯斯坦位于中亚腹地。它是世界上最少被提及的国家之一，但它在知名度上的不足，却在地理位置上得到了弥补：它几乎是俄罗斯、中国、欧洲和阿富汗之间的交叉路口，自马可·波罗时代以来就具有重要的地缘政治意义。追随他的足迹是一件美妙的事情；在一个交通运输已经成为经济命脉超过 2000 年的国家，装载汽车出发上路似乎再合适不过了。
The Toktogul Reservoir © Hill and Aubrey
托克托古尔水库 © 希尔与奥布里
We’d arrived in the capital, Bishkek, earlier that morning and immediately embarked on the 12-hour drive to Kyrgyzstan’s southern capital, Osh. First we crossed the mountains, or more specifically, passed through them. Kyrgyzstan is mountainous, with 94 per cent of its territory sitting above an altitude of 1,000m. We sat patiently in dark tunnels. The only light came from industrial lamps that glistened off dust kicked up by roadworks and illuminated the way for the herds of sheep, cattle and horses. At this time of year, shepherds move their flocks to high pastures to avoid the searing heat of the lower plains. We waited, competing with animals for space while sitting in the inky light.
我们早上到达了首都比什凯克，立即开始了前往吉尔吉斯斯坦南部首府奥什的 12 小时车程。首先我们穿越了山脉，或者更确切地说，是通过了山脉。吉尔吉斯斯坦多山，94%的国土面积位于海拔 1000 米以上。我们耐心地坐在黑暗的隧道里。唯一的光线来自于工业灯，它们在道路施工激起的尘土中闪烁，并为羊群、牛群和马群照亮了前行的道路。在这个时候，牧羊人将他们的羊群转移到高山牧场，以避免低平原上灼热的酷暑。我们等待着，在墨黑的光线中与动物们争夺空间。
As the tunnels gave way to the vast peaks and lakes of the country’s interior, Zamir talked about his country’s nomadic history and its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. During the Soviet era he had been in the army before becoming a teacher, and had learned English from audio cassettes. Huge brutalist monuments announcing the various regions of the country towered over us as motorways made way for rural roads. We stopped for Russian ice lollies and cigarettes while the car was filled up with foul-smelling gas (a cheaper alternative to petrol in this part of the world). We slept when we could, as we trundled past yurts that sat in the basins separating us from the mountains; flecks of white canvas against the bowling-lawn green of the steppe.
随着隧道向国内广阔的山峰和湖泊敞开，扎米尔谈起了他的国家游牧的历史以及 1991 年从苏联独立。在苏联时代，他曾在军队服役，后来成为一名教师，并通过音频磁带学会了英语。巨大的野蛮主义纪念碑宣告着国家各个区域的边界，高耸在我们头顶，随着高速公路让位给乡村道路。我们停下来买俄罗斯冰棍和香烟，同时汽车加满了味道难闻的气体（在这个地区是比汽油更便宜的替代品）。我们尽可能地睡觉，因为我们颠簸着经过分隔我们和山脉的盆地里的毡房；白色帆布的斑点点缀在草原的保龄球场绿色之中。
The new mosque in Osh © Hill and Aubrey
奥什山新清真寺 © Hill 和 Aubrey
We arrived in Osh late and woke early. It felt like the city of the wandering traveller. Continuously inhabited for around 3,000 years, it is one of the oldest cities in central Asia, attracting Kyrgyz traders as well as Uzbeks and Tajiks to buy and sell their goods in the huge bazaar that dominates the centre. Sulaiman-Too, a Muslim pilgrimage site, overlooks it. About halfway up you are encouraged to spend a surreal hour in the local museum. Ernst Stavro Blofeld would be impressed by the building, a feat of Soviet engineering carved into the side of the mountain where you can learn about Kyrgyzstan’s prehistoric past.
我们晚间抵达奥什，一早醒来。这座城市给人一种流浪旅人的感觉。奥什连续有人居住约 3000 年，是中亚最古老的城市之一，吸引了吉尔吉斯商人以及乌兹别克人和塔吉克人来到这里的巨大集市中买卖货物，该集市主宰着市中心。穆斯林朝圣地苏莱曼山俯瞰着这一切。大约在山腰处，你会被鼓励在当地博物馆度过一个超现实的小时。恩斯特·斯塔夫罗·布洛菲尔德会对这座建筑印象深刻，这是苏联工程的壮举，雕刻在山侧，你可以在那里了解吉尔吉斯斯坦的史前时期。
We picked our way up the polished steps and admired the view of the city below, making our way past women whispering incantations and performing quiet, shaman-like rituals – ancient practices subtly infused with those of the country’s majority-Muslim population. The early afternoon was spent wandering the bazaar, kitting ourselves out in the local handmade waistcoats and traditional Ak-kalpak hat so popular among Kyrgyz men. We ate wurut – savoury snacks made from salty fermented cow’s milk that are a challenge for the western palate – and drank Soviet cola mixed in front of us by a man in a lab coat as children bought candy floss, paying with ticket stubs for Soviet-era fun-fair rides.
我们沿着光滑的台阶拾级而上，欣赏着下方城市的景色，一路经过低声念咒、进行着宁静的、类似萨满仪式的女人们——古老的实践巧妙地融合了这个国家大多数穆斯林人口的习俗。初午时分，我们漫步于集市，为自己配上了当地手工制作的背心和在吉尔吉斯男性中颇为流行的传统 Ak-kalpak 帽。我们吃了 wurut——由咸味发酵牛奶制成的咸味小吃，对西方人的味蕾来说颇具挑战性——并喝了由一位穿实验室大衣的男子当场调制的苏维埃可乐，而孩子们则买着棉花糖，用苏联时代游乐场的票根付款。
That evening, we headed for Arslanbob, an Uzbek enclave in the foothills of the Babash Ata mountain range, where livelihoods revolve around the annual harvest of its main attraction: the world’s largest walnut forest. I sank like a stone into a deep wooden cot of eiderdown and woollen blankets in our little guesthouse. When I woke there was a cool humidity in the air and the rustling of leaves outside the window. I opened the curtain to a lush vista of trees waving softly in the breeze. The arid dust of the low country had again been replaced with something from an alpine postcard. I wandered across the courtyard to a table of homemade jams, freshly churned butter, bread and local honey that had been prepared for us.
那天晚上，我们前往位于巴巴什阿塔山脉山麓的乌兹别克飞地阿尔斯兰波布，那里的生计依赖于每年一度的主要吸引力：世界上最大的核桃林的收成。我沉重地倒在我们小客栈里的一张深木床上，床上铺着鸭绒和羊毛毯。醒来时，空气中有一丝凉爽的湿润和窗外树叶的沙沙声。我拉开窗帘，眼前是树木在微风中轻轻摇曳的郁郁葱葱的景象。低洼地区的干燥尘土再次被阿尔卑斯明信片上的景象所取代。我漫步穿过院子，来到一张桌子前，桌上摆放着为我们准备的自制果酱、新鲜搅拌的黄油、面包和当地蜂蜜。
In mid-morning we took a jeep into the mountains, and in the heat of the day we hiked past waterfalls and rice fields. Birds darted in and out of the spray as we peered into the mist below. By late afternoon we’d arrived at the forest; I had a strange and sudden feeling of homesickness as we moved quietly under the canopy of trees: we could have been in the New Forest. It was uncanny. Our guide proudly regaled us with local legends of ancient treasure supposedly hidden under the waterfall, how the people of these parts are the apparent descendants of Alexander the Great, and that, remarkably, Winston Churchill is said to have traded weapons for walnut wood to produce the dashboards of Rolls-Royces during the war.
上午我们乘吉普车进入山区，在一天中最热的时候，我们沿着瀑布和稻田徒步行走。鸟儿在水花中快速穿梭，我们凝视着下方的薄雾。到了傍晚，我们抵达了森林；当我们静静地在树冠下移动时，我突然有了一种强烈的思乡之情：感觉就像在新森林一样。这感觉真是神奇。我们的向导自豪地向我们讲述了当地的传说，古代宝藏据说就藏在瀑布下，这些地方的人显然是亚历山大大帝的后代，而且，令人惊讶的是，据说温斯顿·丘吉尔在战争期间曾用武器交换核桃木，用来制造劳斯莱斯汽车的仪表板。
A Soviet-era road marker © Hill and Aubrey
苏联时代的道路标记 © Hill 和 Aubrey
The thick trees eventually opened up into a large clearing where families had gathered for a meal. We sat and watched as children were winched up in giant swings and catapulted, screaming with excitement, into the air. Food was prepared; people sat on cushions in raised huts as the sun began to dip below the horizon. We rested for a while before we had to leave this little Eden and start down the mountain, to get back on the road.
茂密的树木最终敞开，露出一个大空地，那里聚集了许多家庭准备用餐。我们坐下来观看孩子们被吊到巨大的秋千上，然后尖叫着兴奋地被弹射到空中。食物被准备好了；人们坐在升高的小屋里的垫子上，太阳开始沉到地平线下。我们在这个小伊甸园里休息了一会儿，然后不得不离开，开始下山，回到路上。
The next day we stopped to buy honey. A large man perched on a donkey came to investigate, a lady in a purple jumpsuit milked a mare and a curious family holidaying from the capital invited us inside their yurt. Inside the tent a child lay sleeping on a mattress bathed in soft light from the hole in the top. Outside we drank milk, sweet and delicious, with our new friends.
第二天我们停下来买蜂蜜。一个骑在驴背上的大个子男人过来看看，一个穿着紫色连身衣的女士在挤母马的奶，一个来自首都的好奇家庭邀请我们进入他们的毡房。在帐篷里，一个孩子躺在被顶部洞口柔和光线照射的床垫上睡觉。外面我们和新朋友一起喝着甜美可口的牛奶。
The changing of the guard in Bishkek © Hill and Aubrey
比什凯克卫兵交接仪式 © 希尔与奥布里
We finished our trip in Bishkek, where grid systems and military parades still evoke the faded pomp of the Soviet era. As we entered the capital, the topic of conversation turned to religion, and Zamir said: “My religion is the USSR.” His comment contains a note of irony. This is a country still trying to find a balance between its nomadic heritage, its recent history and its potential as a shining liberal democracy of central Asia – the crucible of access between vying continents. It occurred to me that on the side of a road, you can experience all this in the gentle hospitality of a single family.
我们的旅行在比什凯克结束，那里的网格系统和军事阅兵仍然让人回想起苏联时代褪色的华丽。当我们进入首都，谈话的话题转向了宗教，扎米尔说：“我的宗教是苏联。”他的评论带有讽刺意味。这是一个国家，仍在试图在其游牧传统、近期历史以及作为中亚闪亮的自由民主国家的潜力之间找到平衡——它是争夺大陆之间通路的熔炉。我意识到，在路边，你可以在一个家庭的温柔好客中体验到这一切。
Kyrgyzstan has always been a crossroad, cultural and geographical. I thought about our little caravan heading due south. Would this have been so different from the experience of the Venetian merchants that crossed central Asia and sold their wares in the court of Kublai Khan? The modern metropolis, making way for the desert, tents and life of the nomad. I hope not. Marco Polo summed it up nicely. “You will hear it for yourselves, and it will surely fill you with wonder,” he wrote. “I have not told the half of what I saw.”
吉尔吉斯斯坦一直是一个文化和地理的十字路口。我想着我们的小商队正向正南方向前进。这与那些穿越中亚并在忽必烈汗宫廷中销售商品的威尼斯商人的经历有何不同？现代都市让位于沙漠、帐篷和游牧民的生活。我希望不会有太大差别。马可·波罗总结得很好。“你们自己会听到，这肯定会让你们惊叹，”他写道。“我所见之事，尚未道出其半。”
本文为 gang/刚戈 撰写，采用 CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 许可协议，转载请注明出处。
