When Bosnia’s National Library went up in flames in 1992 in a bombardment during the Bosnian Serb siege of Sarajevo, Mustafa Jahic knew he had to act to save his institution’s priceless collection.
As curator of the almost 500-year-old Gazi Husrev Bey Library, Jahic was guardian of a treasure trove of Oriental literature in the heart of Sarajevo, a city under siege during Bosnia’s war from 1992 to 1995.
His and others’ efforts were rewarded when a new state-of-the-art library, a stone’s throw from the original in the cobbled streets of Sarajevo’s historic Bascarsija district, opened its doors recently.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
“A unique book that is destroyed can never be restored again,” said Jahic. “So for me to save a single book became tantamount to saving a human life. It steered me through the war.”
Some 3 million books perished when the National Library and Sarajevo’s Institute for Oriental Studies were razed in a bombardment by Bosnian Serb forces.
Fearing for his own library’s 100,000 volumes, Jahic and a small team of fellow book lovers braved sniper fire to smuggle them in banana crates from one safe house to another.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
Two decades later, the works are together again. Funded by a US$9 million donation by the government of Qatar, the library holds 25,000 manuscripts from across the Islamic world.
(Reuters)
當波士尼亞國家圖書館於一九九二年波國塞爾維亞裔部隊圍困塞拉耶佛期間慘遭砲轟起火時,亞希奇知道他必須採取行動搶救他所負責管理的無價收藏品。
身為有將近五百年悠久歷史的格茲胡色雷貝圖書館館長,亞希奇是這個位於塞拉耶佛市中心的東方文獻寶庫守衛者,塞拉耶佛在波士尼亞於一九九二年到一九九五年爆發戰爭期間遭到圍困。
他和其他人的努力最近終於見到了成果,一座距離舊館只有一箭之遙、位於塞拉耶佛巴許恰須亞舊城區的鵝卵石街道上,一座嶄新的圖書館最近剛剛開幕。
「一本書如果被毀就再也無法修復,」亞希奇說。「所以對我而言,搶救一本書就相當於搶救一條人命。這個信念帶領著我渡過戰爭。」
當國家圖書館和塞拉耶佛東方研究所遭塞裔部隊砲火夷平時,約有三百萬本館藏書籍也付之一炬。
擔心他自己館內的十萬本書籍也可能不保,亞希奇和一小群愛書人冒著生命危險,從狙擊手槍火下用裝香蕉的箱子把書籍偷運出來分送到不同避難點。
二十年後,這些文獻又再度聚首。在卡達政府提供九百萬美元捐款贊助下,新圖書館現在藏有來自全伊斯蘭世界的兩萬五千件手稿。
(路透/翻譯:俞智敏)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You