寧靜的以色列

□文/唐綱

寧靜的以色列

□文/唐綱

耶路撒冷城

輕些，再輕些，別讓腳步踏出的聲響打破以色列寧靜的蔚藍色天空。

以色列，曾經長年飽受戰火，近年又受地區紛爭而終日難以安寧，其定格在人們心中的印記是：此地危險。今年6月，我們一行人走進了以色列，感受到的確實一片大相徑庭的寧靜天空。

寧靜的隔離墻

要去以色列了，心有些忐忑，因為安全。有朋友開玩笑說：“去當戰地記者嗎？”并不斷提醒我們：“要多加小心。”

或許因為新聞宣傳的原因，在我們多數人的心中，以色列就是長年炮火、彌漫硝煙的國度。

6月，我們從重慶出發，先到北京，再坐6個半小時的飛機到莫斯科，再坐近4個小時的飛機才到以色列特拉維夫機場。此時，我們正式踏在了這個“戰火硝煙”的以色列土地。

出了機場，我們的車輛沿以巴隔離墻飛馳，路上車水馬龍，川流不息，令人完全忘卻了“巴以沖突”。

自2002年6月起，以色列開始沿1967年戰爭前以巴邊界線修建高8米、長約700公里的安全隔離墻，其目的是將約旦河西岸巴勒斯坦地區與以色列徹底隔離開來，阻止巴激進組織成員滲透到以境內實施襲擊。

隔離墻是我們最熟悉的名字，也是讓我們一行人最興奮的“景點”。車輛一路奔馳，我們都拿出各自的手機、相機等設備不停地拍攝。一路上，隔離墻就是我們的話題。我們向導游提出各種各樣的有關隔離墻的問題。

隔離墻由數米高的鋼筋混凝土墻體、鐵絲網、高壓電網、電子監控系統組成，并由以色列巡邏隊和哨兵進行警戒。但我們并沒有看見荷槍實彈的哨兵和巡邏隊。一路上井然有序的車流告訴我們，這里一切都是那么寧靜。原來在來前所有的擔憂仿佛都是多余。

“這里其實很安全。”導游小姐說。她是一位中國人。

隔離墻

沒有哭聲的“哭墻”

耶路撒冷是位于近東黎凡特地區的一座歷史悠久的城市，在地理上位于猶大山地，介于地中海與死海之間，被譽為三大宗教（猶太教、基督教和伊斯蘭教）的圣城。

“哭墻”又名西墻

以色列“哭墻”是猶太教的遺跡，又稱“西墻”，在耶路撒冷東區老城的東部，長160英尺，由大石砌成。猶太人認為哭墻是當年圣殿留下的唯一遺跡，因而是猶太教最神圣的祈禱地方。許多世紀以來，猶太教徒都到這里來面壁祈禱，每當追憶歷史上圣殿被毀情景，便不禁嚎啕大哭一場，哭墻因此而得名。以色列人發誓決不廢棄“哭墻”。只有在這里，他們才能找到血脈相承的歸屬感和認同感，好比中國人認祖歸宗，落葉歸根。

“哭墻”看起來和一堵巨大的石墻無異。1981年哭墻被列入《世界遺產目錄》。據說每天都可看見猶太人自動分成男女兩撥，分別在哭墻的北南兩段祈禱，他們常常手捧《圣經》，一邊祈禱，一邊點頭（根據猶太教規，凡是念到圣人名字的時候必須點頭），有的人更是搬把椅子面對哭墻，一整天都沉浸在與上帝的對話中。

哭墻，聽起來就這么的滿含悲憤。我站在了哭墻腳下。這里多少人在面壁祈禱。這里雖然名為“哭”墻，但聽不到一絲哭聲，他們都在心里默默地與上帝對話、祈禱。

哭墻，也顯得那么寧靜。這就是以色列。我也遵循當地習俗，把寫著心愿的紙條塞入了哭墻的墻縫，為家人或朋友祈禱。

如果你沒有看到過任何哭墻的照片，僅憑各種表述，一定覺得這里非常偉岸才對。實際上并不大，只是很短的一段城墻。只是覺得這里實在適合靜靜地坐上往往的游客、士兵、信徒，和希伯來白胡子老人聊天，看那些年滿13歲的男孩子們在父親兄弟的簇擁下來到西墻前舉行儀式。

墻意味著某種空間的隔離，意味某種信仰，意味某種憑吊，意味著人乃至一個民族的過去、現在以及未來。之所欲“哭”，這是為了他們的信仰、土地、家園、親人……

海法市巴哈伊教空中花園

美麗的海濱之城——海法

海法，以色列北部港口城市，以色列第三大城市，僅次于耶路撒冷和特拉維夫。它西瀕地中海，背倚迦密山。海法是”美麗的海岸“之意。

聯合國教科文組織世界遺產委員會于2008年把以色列海法市的巴哈伊圣地列為世界文化遺產。巴哈伊圣地包括海法的巴哈伊花園，和位于阿栲附近的巴哈歐拉神廟。世界遺產委員會評價其不僅具有普世的精神價值，在建筑風格和設計上也具備獨特的文化價值。

海法是一座美麗的海濱城市，擁有民族宗教融合的包容，其中巴哈伊教的“空中花園”舉世聞名。它被稱為“世界新七大奇跡”之一，被載入世界遺產名錄。

沿一條大街向迦密山上望去，令人驚嘆的“空中花園”就展現在眼前了。它的中軸線是花園的主要通道，臺階又將各層平臺串聯起來。每一層平臺都設計有對稱的噴水池、花壇、石雕，而每一層融合了歐洲、地中海不同風格的石雕、鐵藝的雕花、噴水池的形狀，花壇的造型，又各不相同，各有特色。輝煌美麗的巴哈伊空中花園，與迦密山的環境絕妙地融為一體，是喧鬧嘈雜的城市中，安寧靜謐的綠洲。

然后，我們驅車駛上山巔，俯瞰城市和港口，現代化的城市鑲嵌在一望無際的大海邊，金色的陽光撒在大海上，金光熠熠。在陽光下，城市與花園完美地融合。空中花園蒼翠、簡潔。據說，花園建有18層梯田平臺花園，整個梯田花園從山頂到山腳延伸一公里，垂直高度225米，最大坡度63度，寬度從60米到400米不等。從陵寢平臺向上和向下各有九級梯田平臺花園，以陵寢平臺中央大殿為中心點，設計九個同心圓，向外發散出來。梯田花園逐步地由規則對稱變為自然狀態，離花園軸線臺階最近的兩側對稱裝點著草坪、花壇、覆蓋著長春藤的石墻和修剪成一定形狀的灌木叢和樹木，稍遠一些的兩側，則被設計為開放式的花園，主要種植的植物多是從中東及其他氣候、土壤和水資源與以色列相近的地區移栽的橄欖樹、角豆樹、橡樹及多年生灌木。

當晚，我們就住在山上的一個酒店里，臨窗就能眺望城市和大海。

特拉維夫的“白墻”

特拉維夫—雅法，通常簡稱為特拉維夫，是以色列第二大城市。

特拉維夫濱臨東地中海，是以色列最大的都會區，是該國人口最稠密的地帶，也是以色列的經濟樞紐。特拉維夫被認為已出現了成為世界級城市的趨勢，并被列為中東生活費用最昂貴的大城市。

特拉維夫市最初創建于1909年，是由一批猶太移民為逃避鄰近古老的港口城市雅法昂貴的房價而興建，逐漸地，特拉維夫的發展超過了以阿拉伯裔為主的雅法。在以色列建國兩年以后的1950年，特拉維夫和雅法兩市合并成立特拉維夫-雅法市。今天，特拉維夫被認為是以色列最為國際化的經濟中心。該市具有活躍、摩登、世界主義的特征，被公認是以色列的文化之都。2003年，該市以包豪斯建筑鑄成的特拉維夫白城被聯合國教科文組織列為世界遺產。

我們入住的賓館坐落在特拉維夫的海邊，臨窗眺望，眼前是一望無際的地中海。沙灘上，幾個少年正在歡樂地打著排球，遠處的沖浪手隨著海浪起起落落，海邊大道上，晨跑的人、騎自行車鍛煉的人和牽著一群狗的專業遛狗人在悠閑地踱步。在海邊運動，已經成為這座城市居民的生活習慣。

特拉維夫的海濱浴場整潔得像一個文靜的姑娘，細軟白凈的沙灘從棕櫚樹下直鋪到海邊，一排排黃色的沙灘椅愜意地躺在沙灘上，幾個木頭搭建的涼亭隨意地曬著陽光，陣陣海浪悠閑地在岸邊蕩漾。這里被譽為地中海最美的海濱的確當之無愧。

大街兩邊白色的“包豪斯”建筑是特拉維夫市的重要特征。這些建筑的外表為白色或混凝土色，窗戶小，墻面多，方正平頂，如火柴盒式樣，正面往往有開闊的陽臺。“包豪斯”建筑風格誕生于第一次世界大戰結束后的德國，由當地的猶太人創立和倡導，后來他們當中的許多人由于生存環境惡化而紛紛移居到尚未建國的以色列區域，也把這種簡潔明了的現代主義風格帶入了特拉維夫，促成了特拉維夫新城區的急速發展，也締造了這里獨特的建筑風格。2003年，特拉維夫市區由于這些白色的建筑被聯合國教科文組織評為世界文化遺產，“特拉維夫白城”的稱號也因此享譽全球。

潔凈得幾乎沒有任何雜質的“白墻”告訴人們，這里是一片寧靜的天地，何曾被硝煙熏染？

游以攻略：

簽證：以色列駐成都總領事館2014年11月開館，預計將于今年底前開辦個人因私旅游簽證，可關注其官方微博：以色列駐成都總領事館。

交通：目前重慶以色列沒有直航，可通過北京、香港中轉，兩地有以色列航空執飛的直航，分別為每周三班、五班。

貨幣：謝克爾。1謝克爾 約 1.64 人民幣

官方語言：希伯來語、阿拉伯語。不過教育程度較高，使用英語暢通無阻 。

特別感謝：以色列旅游局、 以色列駐成都總領事館

Quiet，be quieter. Don’t let your footsteps interrupt the tranquil and blue sky of Israel.

Once trapped in war for a long period of time，now Israel is involved in all kinds of regional disputes，unable to enjoy a peaceful moment. at the first thought of Israel，it reminds people that it is a dangerous place. But in June 2015，I went to Israel with my partners and we saw a different Israel where the sky was so tranquil.

City View，Haifa

Tranquil Separation Barrier

Out of consideration of safety，when I was going to Israel，it seemed that I had a butterfl y in my stomach. Some friends made a joke with me and said: “are you going to be a war correspondent there？” also，they kept on reminding us to take care of ourselves there.

Perhaps it was because we had read many reports orother information about Israel from all kinds of news that in our mind，most of us had always thought of Israel as a country where war never ceased and people lived a miserable life.

In June，we started from Chongqing and arrived in Beijing. Then after 6 and a half hours’fl ight，we arrived in Moscow，and fi nally we arrived at Tel aviv airport in Israel after taking airplane for almost 4 hours. From that moment on，we stepped on the land of Israel in the real sense.

Out of the airport，we drove a car speeding along the Palestinian-Israeli separation barrier. There were so many cars coming and going on the way that we completely forgot Palestinian-Israeli confl icts.

Since June 2002，Israel started to build a safe separation barrier which was 8 meters high and 700 kilometers long along the Palestinian-Israeli border before the war in 1967，aiming to completely separate Palestinian areas at the West Bank from Israel and to prevent members of radical organizations in Palestine from entering the border of Israel to launch attacks.

The separation barrier was the most familiar name with us and it was also the most exciting“scenic spot” for us. as the car was speeding on the way，all of us took out our cell phones，cameras and other facilities to record the scenery. The separation barrier was our topic on the way and we asked the tourist guide all kinds of questions about it.

The barrier consisted of wire entanglement，grid system，electronic monitoring and control system and a wall of reinforced concrete which was meters high. Israel patrols and guards were guarding against it. However，no guards or patrolmen were seen with loaded guns. The good traffic order on the way told us that Israel was a tranquil place，and we had just worried too much.

“actually，Israel is a safe place”，said our tourist guide，a Chinese lady.

The Separation Barrier along the border of Palestinian-Israel

“Wailing Wall” without Any Sound of Crying

Hailed as the Holy City in three main religions（Judaism，Christianity and Islam），Jerusalem is a city with a long history near Levant in the Near East. It is situated in Judea geographically and located between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.

The “Wailing Wall” in Israel，also known as the “West Wall”，was a relic of Judaism. Located in the east of the ancient town in east region of Jerusalem，it is 160 feet long and was made of stones. The Jews thought that the “Wailing Wall”was the only relic left by the Temple of God，so it became the holiest place for Judaist prayers. For many centuries，the Judaists came here to pray，facing with the wall，and when they recalled the situation where the Temple of God was destroyed，they couldn’t help crying sadly，hence the name the “Wailing Wall”. The Israeli swore they would never abandon it. It was only in this place that they could fi nd a feeling of belonging and a sense of identity，which was just like Chinese people’s awareness of seeking their ancestors and fi nding the real home.

The “Wailing Wall” was nothing but a huge stone wall. and it was listed into the World Heritage in 1981. It was said that there were many Jews who would divide themselves into two groups，a group for women，and the other for men. With a Bible in their hands，they would sit at the northern and southern ends of the “Wailing Wall”，nodding while praying （according to the doctrines of Judaism，the worshippers must nod whenever the name of a saint is mentioned）. Some people even moveda chair here，facing with the “Wailing Wall” to immerse themselves in the dialogue with God.

The name of “Wailing Wall” sounded sad. Now I was standing at the foot of it. There were so many people praying here. although it was called the “Wailing Wall”，I couldn’t hear any sound of crying at all，because these people were praying and talking with God in their mind silently.

The “Wailing Wall” is but tranquil，a typical feature of Israel. and I crammed a slip of paper，with my good wishes to family or friends written on it，into the crevice of the wall according to local customs.

If you didn’t see any photos about the “Wailing Wall”，you must think it is a magnifi cent place by all kinds of expressions. actually，it’s not so big and just a very short passage of wall where it is fi t and comfortable to sit quietly for an afternoon or several afternoons，observing visitors，soldiers and disciples coming and going，chatting with a Hebrew man with white beard，seeing those 13-year-old boys having their ceremonies before the “West Wall” accompanied by their father and brothers.

The Wall meant a lot，including the separation of spaces，a belief，a eulogy，and even the past，present and future of a person or a nation. The Wall was “Wailing” for people’s belief，land，home and relatives…

The Wailing War，Jerusalem

Haifa—A Beautiful Coastal City

Bordering on the Mediterranean in the west on the slopes of Mount Carmel，Haifa，a seaport city in northern Israel，was the third largest city of the country. Though not as large as Jerusalem and Tel aviv，Haifa was a beautiful city as its name，meaning beautiful coast in Hebrew，indicated.

The holy land - Bahá'í of Haifa in Israel was listed as a world cultural heritage in 2008 by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. It included Bahá’í Gardens and the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb near akko. according to the Committee，Bahá’í had not only a universal spiritual value，but also a unique cultural value in terms of architectural style and design.

Haifa was really a beautiful coastal city featured with the harmony between different religions. as a world heritage，“Garden in the air”of Bahaism in it was regarded as one of “the new seven wonders of the world” and was famous throughout the world.

Walking in a street，we would be happy to see the amazing “Garden in the air” before our eyes if we would look in the direction of Mount Carmel. Run through the Garden was its axis，which was also its main passage，and its many a platform was connected by steps. Each fl oor was decorated with symmetrical fountains，fl ower beds and stone carvings. With a mixture of the European and Mediterranean styles，the stone carvings，iron decorative patterns，fountains and flower beds，though different in sizes，vied against each other but stood out as itself. Completely integrating with the environment of Mount Carmel，the splendidly beautiful “Garden in the air” was just like a serene oasis in a noisy city.

Then，we drove our car to the mountain top to have a bird’s-eye view of the whole city and its ports. Before our eyes was a modern city embedded in boundless sea，shining brightlyunder the golden sunshine. The city merged with the Garden perfectly in the sun. It was said that the Bahá’í Gardens were composed of 18-layer terrace gardens，which stretched almost one kilometer long from the mountain top to the foot with a vertical height of 225 meters，a slope of 63 degrees and a width varying from 60 meters to 400 meters. There were 9-layer terrace gardens down from the Shrine. Nine concentric circles were designed to spread outside with the golden dome of the Shine as its center. The shapes of gardens varied from regular symmetry to a natural form，whose steps closest to the axis were decorated at both sides with lawns，flower beds，ivycovered stone walls，symmetrically-trimmed bushes and trees. a little bit far away were open-style gardens where olives，algarrobas，oaks and perennial shrubs were planted. These plants were transplanted from the Middle East and places whose climate，soil and water resources were similar to Israel.

We stayed in a hotel that night at the mountain top where we could overlook the city and the sea through windows.

The “White Wall” of Tel Aviv

Tel aviv-Jaffa，usually called Tel aviv，is the second largest city of Israel.

Bordering on the eastern Mediterranean，Tel aviv is not only the largest metropolitan district，but also the most populous area and the economic hub of Israel. Besides，it is developing into a world-class city and it is regarded as the most expensive city in the Middle East in terms of living expenses.

First built in 1909，Tel aviv was constructed by a group of Jewish immigrants who wanted to get rid of the expensive housing price of the port city Jaffa，and gradually the newlydeveloped city was much better than Jaffa，where the majority of people were arab descendants. In 1950，2 years after the founding of Israel，Tel aviv was united with Jaffa，becoming Tel aviv-Jaffa. Now，Tel aviv is regarded as the economic center with the highest degree of internationalization in Israel. Moreover，it has become Israel’s capital of culture for its dynamic，modernized and cosmopolitan features. In 2003，the Bauhausian “White Wall” in Tel aviv was listed as a UNESCO world heritage.

The hotel we lived in was located besides the sea of Tel aviv. We could see the boundless Mediterranean through the windows. On the beach some teenagers were playing volleyball happily，and some surfers far away were rising and falling along with the sea waves. On the road nearby the sea，we could see people jogging，riding bicycles and walking casually with their dogs. For local residents，it was a habit to exercise by the sea.

The bathing beach of Tel aviv was as clean as a quite girl，with soft and clean beach stretching all the way from the land under the palm trees to the seaside. Rows of yellow beach chairs were lying on the beach with comfort，wood pavilions bathing in the sun and sea waves kissing the seaside at leisure. This was indeed the most beautiful coast in the Mediterranean.

The white Bauhausian buildings on both sides of the street，as an important feature of Tel aviv，were all white or in the color of concrete with small windows，many walls，spatial balconies in the front and upright and foursquare fl attops. They looked like matchboxes. Born in Germany after World War I，the Bauhausian architectural style was created and advocated by local Jews who later immigrated into the unestablished Israel because of the deterioration of living conditions. The emigrants brought this concise modernist architectural style into Tel aviv，promoting the rapid development of the new city regions and forming the unique style of architecture as we were seeing now. In 2003，Tel aviv was listed as a world heritage by UNESCO due to these white buildings and therefore，the city was known as the “White City of Tel aviv” in the entire world.

The pure “White Wall”，without any impurities，were telling people that this was a tranquil place not contaminated by the“smoke of gunpowder”.

Tour Guide:

Visa：Israel Consulate-General in Chengdu was opened in November 2014； it is expected to be opened for the personal private tourist visa by the end of this year. You can follow its offi cial Weibo at以色列駐成都總領事館(Israel Consulate-General in Chengdu).

Transport：Currently there is no direct flight from Chongqing to Israel； however，you can transfer in Beijing or Hongkong，where both respectively have Israel airlines fl y directly，to arrive at the destination three or fi ve times a week.

Currency: Shekel. 1 Shk equals about 1.64 Rmb.

Offi cial languages: Hebrew，arabic. However，English is also available there.

Special thanks to: Israel Tourism Bureau，Israel Consulate-General in Chengdu

Translated by Li Yunbi

Tranquil Israel

□Written by Tang Gang