同一星球上 – On The Same Planet

全土耳其最大的內陸湖 – 凡湖中有四個小島，當中最有名的，相信便是當中第二大島阿克達瑪島(Akdamar)  了。

早上我又去到昨天搭黃小巴的車站，坐黃小巴去到離市中心較遠的小巴站，搭另一架白色小巴，車程不用一小時就可以去到凡湖邊的碼頭。這時碼頭已有一兩個旅行團的遊客在等待上船，似乎時間尚早，小島還未開放，於是我找了遊艇公司的職員買了張船票，也加入等船的行列。

等了大約半個小時，遊艇開始載人出發，我坐在船頭，四周是一座座積雪的高山，陣陣「海」吹來，確是醉人。

關於阿克達瑪島這名字，在古老的亞美尼亞故事中，一個居住在這個小島的叫 Tamara 的亞美尼亞公主愛上了一個住在島外的平民，這個青年每晚都會游水到島上和公主幽會，公主也會在漆黑中點起燈光，讓青年可以看到小島的方向。後來這段關係被 Tamara  的父親發現，弄熄了燈光。晚上青衣如常想去小島和公主幽會，但卻沒看到燈光，頓時失去方向，最後淹死在湖中。他的凍僵的屍體被沖上岸時，彷彿在「Akh, Tamara」叫喊情人的名字。 這令我想起伊斯坦堡的少女島。

關於這個故事，亞美尼亞詩人Hovhannes Tumanyan 寫了以下這首詩。(這是英文釋本）

Akhtamar

Beside the laughing lake of Van
A little hamlet lies;
Each night into the waves a man
Leaps under darkened skies.

He cleaves the waves with mightily arm,
Needing no raft or boat,
And swims, disdaining risk and harm,
Towards the isle remote.

On the dark island burns so bright
A piercing, luring ray:
There’s lit a beacon every night
To guide him on his way.

Upon the island is that fire
Lit by Tamar the fair;
Who waits, all burning with desire,
Beneath the shelter there.

The lover’s heart-how doth it beat!
How beat the roaring waves!
But, bold and scorning to retreat,
The elements he braves.

And now Tamar the fair doth hear,
With trembling heart aflame,
The water splashing-oh, so near,
And fire consumes her frame.

All quiet is on the shore around,
And, black,there looms a shade:
The darkness utters not a sound,
The swimmer finds the maid.

The tide-waves ripple, lisp and splash
And murmur, soft and low;
They urge each other, mingle, clash,
As, ebbing out, they go.

Flutter and rustle the dark waves.
And with them every star
Whispers how sinfully behaves
The shameless maid Tamar;

Their whisper shakes her throbbing her
This time, as was before!
The youth into the waves doth dart,
The maiden prays on shore.

But certain villains, full of spite,
Against them did conspire,
And on a hellish, murky night
Put out the guiding fire.

The luckless lover lost his way,
And only from afar
The wind is carrying in his sway
The moans of:"Ah, Tamar!"

And through the night his voice is heard
Upon the craggy shores,
And, though it’s muffled and blurred
By the waves’ rapid roars,

The words fly forward-faint they are-
“Ah, Tamar!"
And in the morn the splashing tide
The hapless youth cast out,

Who,battling with the waters, died
In an unequal bout;
Cold lips are clenched, two words they bar:
“Ah, Tamar!"
And ever since, both near and far,
They call the island Akhtamar

在公元九世紀，亞美尼亞王國國王嘎吉克一世 (Gagik I Artsruni) 將這個小島定為他的行宮之一，當時他在島上大興土木，建了宮殿、碼頭和花園等，但一千多年後只剩下我們眼前的聖十字教堂依然聳立。

聖十字教堂的歷史也是多災多難，在亞美尼亞種族大屠殺時期，土耳其(鄂圖曼帝國)要消滅亞美尼亞人，其文化宗教也是目標之一，阿克達瑪島的聖十字教堂也難以幸免，1915年起，教堂的外牆的浮雕被用作射擊場，內部也受到破壞，而教堂的修士也慘遭殺害。1951年，土耳其政府計畫拆去教堂，幸得土耳其作家Yaşar Kemal 阻止，教堂才得以保存。

經過多災多難的歲月，在2005-2006年間，教堂才被政府重新修復成今天的模樣。教堂四面的外牆刻滿不同聖經故事的精緻浮雕，教堂內牆壁也畫了不同聖人的畫像，中間放置了聖母與聖子畫像，簡單的陳設之下不失莊嚴聖神。

教堂外牆浮雕

有關教堂的更多資料，可以看這網站: https://www.akdamarchurch.gov.tr/