沙漠中的冰雪宫殿 是异想天开还是挑战自然？
Turkmen leader orders ice palace

President Niyazov of Turkmenistan has ordered the construction of a palace made of ice in the heart of his desert country, one of the hottest on earth.

It is the latest in a series of colossal building projects instigated by the all-powerful president that seem to defy the country's environment.

"Let us build a palace of ice," said President Niyazov, "big and grand enough for 1,000 people."

The palace will stand in the mountains just outside the capital, Ashgabat.

President Niyazov made the announcement in a speech broadcast on Turkmen television, which in effect made it a presidential order.

The idea is to build the palace in the Copa Deg Mountains outside Ashgabat, now baking in the summer heat, with a long cable-car running up from the city.

"Our children can learn to ski," Mr Niyazov enthused, "we can build cafes there, and restaurants."

President Niyazov's extravagant buildings are a hallmark of his idiosyncratic regime.

He is currently building one of the biggest mosques in the world, and has a chain of conventional palaces.

But the latest have a special quality - of challenging Turkmenistan's desert environment.

As well as the ice palace, there is to be a vast aquarium. The projects tend now to be sites of recreation for the people, like a Disney-style theme park instead of state palaces.

That is in keeping with Mr Niyazov's image as a servant of his people, who lays on every sort of amenity for them.

Ice palaces were popular in the Soviet Union, to which Turkmenistan once belonged, but they were built in the freezing cities of the north, far away.

The Turkmen mountains are relatively high, but it is hard to imagine the palace remaining frozen without some sort of technical help.

土库曼斯坦位于沙漠地区，是世界上最炎热的地方之一，而土库曼斯坦总统尼亚佐夫最近却下令在该国中心地区修建一座冰雪宫殿。

尼亚佐夫，这位拥有至高权力的总统似乎在挑战本国的自然环境，他提议建设一系列大型建筑项目，其中包括最近提出的修建"冰宫"的计划。
总统尼亚佐夫说："让我们建造一座能够容纳1000人的巨大而庄严的冰雪宫殿吧。"

宫殿将会建在首都阿什哈巴德城外的山上。

总统尼亚佐夫在土库曼斯坦的电视讲话中宣布了这条消息，实际上这就是总统御令。

这座宫殿将被修建在阿斯噶巴特城外的库帕岱格山上，在夏日的骄阳下，库帕岱格山现在正是一片火热，长长的缆车从城市通往山顶。

尼亚佐夫兴奋地说："我们的儿童可以学滑冰。还可以在那儿建咖啡馆和饭店。"

总统尼亚佐夫修建的奢华建筑反映了他特殊的政治权力。

目前，他正在建造一座清真寺，其规模之大，位居世界前列，他还下令建造了一系列传统宫殿。

但是，最近要修建的这座宫殿有些特殊，它向土库曼斯坦的沙漠气候发出了挑战。

除了冰雪宫殿外，还要建一座巨大的水族馆。这些项目像迪斯尼的主题公园一样，将成为人们消遣娱乐的场所，而不是国家宫殿。

这正符合尼亚佐夫人民公仆的形象。他一直致力于为人民提供各种生活福利。

冰雪宫殿在前苏联非常流行（土库曼斯坦曾属于前苏联），可它们大都建在地冻天寒的遥远的北方城市。

土库曼山的海拔相对来说比较高，但是如果没有一定的技术支持，很难想象宫殿能够一直保持冰冻的状态。