‫)‪English-Arabic & Arabic- English Translation Manual (Level IV‬‬
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‫‪UNIT TWENTY TWO‬‬
‫هيكل ‪ :‬حماوالت قطع املياه عن مصر بدأت قبل ‪ 800‬عام‬
‫كشف الكاتب الصحفي الكبير محمد حسنين هيكل في حديث مع قناة «سي‬
‫بي سي» أمس أن محاوَّلت قطع مياه النيل عن مصر بدأت قبل «‪ 800‬سنة»‬
‫عندما أمر البابا ألكسندر السادس بابا روما‪ ،‬في ذلك الوقت‪ ،‬الرحالة البرتغالي‬
‫فاسكو دا جاما‪ ،‬بالتوجه إلى الحبشة وأن يطلب من ملكها يوحنا أن يجد طريقة‬
‫لتحويل مياه النيل من أجل القضاء على مصر نهائياً‪ ،‬باعتبارها العقبة الرئيسية‬
‫في المنطقة‪ .‬وقال إن القمة اَّلقتصادية أكدت عودة مصر ألمتها واحتضان‬
‫العرب لها‪ ،‬وأظهرت قدرتها على اإلنجاز عندما تريد ذلك‪.‬‬
‫قطع المياه عن مصر ‪ Cutting off water‬يوحنا‬
‫‪John / Johannes‬‬
‫‪ supplies to Egypt‬تحويل‬
‫‪diversion‬‬
‫‪ 800 years ago‬القضاء على مصر نهائيا ً‬
‫قبل ‪ 800‬عام‬
‫يكشف‬
‫‪reveal‬‬
‫البابا ألكسندر السادس‬
‫‪for the final destruction of Egypt‬‬
‫العقبة الرئيسية‬
‫‪major obstacle‬‬
‫‪ Pope Alexander VI‬القمة االقتصادية ‪The economic summit‬‬
‫الرحالة البرتغالي ‪ Portugese navigator‬يحتضن‬
‫فاسكو دا جاما‬
‫‪ Vasco da Gama‬قدرة على اإلنجاز‬
‫الحبشة‬
‫‪Ethiopia‬‬
‫‪embrace‬‬
‫‪capacity for achievement‬‬
‫‪To The Teacher:‬‬
‫‪The main purpose of this unit is to acquaint the student with a‬‬
‫‪few foreign names which he or she is unlikely to come across‬‬
‫‪elsewhere. Vasco da Gama was the Portugese navigator (1460‬‬‫‪1524) who discovered the maritime route around Africa (from‬‬
English-Arabic & Arabic- English Translation Manual (Level IV)
129
Europe to Asia), first in 1497-1494 then in (1502-1503). The
details of Haykal’s interview do not explain why Pope John of
Ethiopia considered Egypt to be a major obstacle – or to what was
it an obstacle at all. You may like to explain to the students that
the maritime route did help remove the perceived obstacle by
liberating European trade with Asia from the Egyptian route with
its heavy tax burden. Up till the turn of the 16th century all trade
between Europe and Asia had to pass by Egypt, then under the
oppressive rule of Mamelukes. If a ship carrying ‘oriental’ goods
from say, India was bound for Europe, all the goods had to be
transported by sea to the city of Suez, then carried mainly on
camel-back to Cairo, then shipped again in the Nile to Damietta,
thence across the Mediterranean to Europe. At Suez, the
Mamelukes collected taxes called ‘commercium’ in Latin, that is
what we call custom duties (‫[ )جمرك‬the Arabic ‘Gomroc’ is a
corruption of the Latin word, according to professor Ahmad alSaid Sulayman] then more taxes in Damietta. This sometimes
doubled the prices of goods – European and Asian. And this is
why the land route – and Egypt – were considered an obstacle to
trade. The longer route around the Cape of Good Hope ( ‫رأس الرجاء‬
‫[ )الصالح‬today’s Cape Town] was, for all the sea hazards involved,
a liberation in purely financial terms. The Mamelukes had
eventually to try to stop the rot by engaging the Portugese fleet in
battle, but were defeated in the Indian Ocean.