A STUDY OF RICE-CULTURE IN WEST ASIA AND MEDITERRAENAN REGION

日本人一直认为，最重要的水稻是生长在东亚或东南亚的季风天气。他们认为日本出产的大米是世界上最好的大米之一。我们不应该强调大米只能产自季风区。大米作为主食，在世界各地以多种方式和方式消费。我们开始研究西非地区的湿地水稻栽培，那里的土地非常干燥，与季风区截然相反，一直到地中海地区和西非。第一年，我们研究了土耳其欧洲的梅里克河地区、安纳托利亚中部的克齐利尔马克河地区、意大利的波河地区、西班牙东北部的埃布罗河地区和突尼斯北部的湿地水稻和饮食习惯。第二年，我们在土耳其、埃及、葡萄牙、西非、加纳、科特迪瓦和塞拉利昂工作。结果，我们发现了一条从土耳其到地中海东部到西非的宽阔的大米之路。我们被告知，水稻种植始于中国，然后转移到了印度。有必要进一步研究这两种联系。第三年，我们沿着北部的水稻种植道路，从帕米尔向西，到中亚，到高加索，沿着土耳其的黑海地区。我们访问了哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦。在被称为世界屋脊的帕米尔高原上，两条大河——锡尔达里亚河和阿姆达里亚河——从该地区的北部发源于此。沿着这两条大河种植水稻。特别是在乌兹别克斯坦东部的费尔干纳盆地的锡尔达里亚河上游，粳稻是利用河水种植的。这个地区的人们称大米或麸皮为沙利。在上游的费尔干纳盆地，吉尔吉斯斯坦的乌兹根人种植红水稻。乌兹根大米非常珍贵，售价是其他大米的两倍。乌兹根米团与伊朗的米团、土耳其的米团和西班牙的海鲜饭非常相似。

Japanese people have always thought that the most important rice was grown in East Asia or South east Asia in the Monsoon weather. They believed that Japan produced one of the best kinds of rice in the world. We should not emphasize that rice should come from only the Monsoon area. Rice is consumed as staple but in many ways and styles around the world. We started studying wet-land rice culture in the area of West Africa where the land is very dry, quite opposite from Monsoon area, along toward the Mediterranean area and to west Africa.In the first year, we studied wet-land rice and eating habits in the area of the Meric River in European Turkey, on the Kizilirmak river in the middle of Anatolia, on the Po river of Italy, on the Ebro river in the northeast of Spain and in North Tunisia. In the second year, we worked in Turkey, Egypt, Portugal, West Africa, Ghana, Cote d'lvore and Sierra Leone. As result, we found a kind of wide Rice Road from Turkey towards the eastern Mediterranean to west Africa.We were told that the rice cultivation started in China and moved to India. It is necessary to further study those two connections. In the third year, we followed the northern rice cultivation road from Pamir to the west, toward middle Asia, to the Caucasus along the Black Sea area of Turkey. We visited Kazakistan, Kirgistan and Uzbekistan.In the so called roof of the world, the Pamir plateau, the two big rivers, Sirdairiya and Amdariya, start to the north of the area. Along these two big rivers rice is cultivated. Particularly, along the upper stream of the Sirdariya east of Uzbekistan in the Fergana basin, Japonica rice is cultivated using river water. People in this area call rice or bran shali. In the upper stream Fergana basin the Uzgen of Kirgistan cultivate red rice. Uzgen rice is very precious and it is sold at twice the price of other rice. The Uzgen rice polof is very similar to the polou of Iran, the pilav of Turkey and the paella of Spain.