It was a searing 43℃ in the shade, but Dawit, my young Ethiopian guide, told me that I was lucky, as temperatures here in the Danakil can top 50℃.

在树荫下，灼热的温度高达43摄氏度，但是我年轻的埃塞俄比亚向导达维特告诉我我很幸运，因为达纳基尔这里的温度可以高达50摄氏度。

One of the more remote spots on the planet, northeastern Ethiopia's Danakil Depression holds the title as the hottest inhabited place on Earth, with an average year round temperature of 34℃, and, as Dawit informed me, is more commonly known as "The Gateway¹ to Hell".

作为地球上最远的地方之一，位于埃塞尔比亚东北部的达纳基尔凹地正如标题所说，是世界上最热的居住地。就如Dawit告诉我的，这里每年平均气温34摄氏度，俗称"地狱之门"。

You'd think that the harsh landscape would leave it devoid² of visitors, let alone human habitation, but this is the surprising home of a disappearing cultural tradition: the camel caravans³ that carry salt through the brutal⁴ desert, led by the nomadic⁵ Afar tribe.

你可能会认为，很少会有游客光顾这粗糙的地貌，更不用说居住人类了，但是，这是一种正在消失的文化传统的惊人之乡：远处的游牧部落，带领着驼盐的骆驼商队穿过荒蛮的沙漠。

The Danakil Depression, formed by the collision of several tectonic plates on the Ethiopian, Eritrean and Djibouti border, is not only a sizzling cauldron but also a place of stunning⁶ geological wonders.

达纳基尔凹地是由位于埃塞俄比亚、吉布提和厄立特里亚的几个地质板块碰撞形成的，它不仅仅是一个极热的蒸锅，也是一个充满惊人地理奇观的地方。

The majority of travellers who come here do so to visit Erta Ale, a 600m-high and highly active volcano that contains the largest living lava⁷ lake in the world.

来这里的大部分游客都会游览尔塔阿雷火山，这座600米高的火山相当活跃，拥有世界上最大的活体溶岩湖。

The volcanic⁸ lunar landscape resembles a surrealist painting, with sulphurous hot springs, lava beds, hypothermal pools, and a mix of sulphates, iron oxides and salt deposits all combining to create a hallucinogenic palette of otherworldly formations and colours.

火山月球景观就像一幅超现实绘画，拥有硫磺温泉，岩溶床，低温地和硫酸盐，铁氧氧化物以及盐混合的沉积物，所有这些混合创造出一个超凡脱俗的调色板。

The tribal⁹ Afar people have inhabited this arid¹⁰ moonscape for centuries, eking¹¹ out a living by extracting salt from the mineral-laden lakes that dot the Danakil and transporting it across the desert by camel caravans.

数百年来，游牧部落的人生活在这个干旱的月球表面上，通过从点缀在达纳基尔其间的富含矿物质的湖中提取盐并且用骆驼商队带出沙漠勉强为生。

Similar to the Kurds, they inhabit an area spanning several countries, yet have no political rights or borders they can call their own.

如同库尔德人一样，他们跨越数个世纪生活在这片区域上，却没有政治权利或者称之为自己的边境。

Although these traditional nomadic herders are pastoralists, they are notorious for being fierce, proud, independent, and not exactly hospitable¹² – perhaps mirroring the unforgiving terrain¹³ that surrounds them.

尽管这些传统的游牧牧民是爱国主义者，他们却因为凶残，自傲，独立以及并不友好而臭名昭著，也许这也映照出环绕着他们的严峻的地形。

Dawit navigated¹⁴ us via a four-wheel drive jeep to Lake Assal in the east of the Danakil Depression, where a team of Afar were just finishing loading their camels.

Dawit开着四轮驱动的吉普车带我们到了达纳基尔凹地东部的阿萨勒湖，在这儿，一队商人刚刚给骆驼卸完货。

The salt trade here is taxing, with workers using basic picks and axes to chop and cut the bricks of salt while standing¹⁵ out in the extreme heat for just 150 Ethiopian birr per day.

这里的盐类贸易正在征税，工人使用基本的镐和斧头切盐块。而在烈日下站立一天的他们，每天只有150埃塞俄比亚比尔的收入。