This is a kingdom in the midst of Tartary. It lies at the south of the
Caspian Sea. It is not like the rest of Tartary, for it is a sweet green
spot. Travellers have said that it is the most beautiful spot in the
world, but that is not true. The reason that travellers have said so, is
that, after passing through a great desert, they have been charmed at
seeing again running streams, and shady groves.
But though Bokhara is a beautiful place, it is a wicked place.
The king is one of the greatest tyrants in the world. He is called the
Amir.
The city where he dwells is called Bokhara (which is also the name of the
whole country). His palace is on a high mound, in the midst of splendid
mosques, and mansions. Amongst these grand buildings is the prison, a
place of horrible cruelty. There the prisoners lie in the dark, and the
damp. One use of the prison is to keep water cool for the king in summer;
it feels therefore just like a cellar.
But the worst dungeon, is filled with stinging insects, called "ticks,"
reared on purpose to torment prisoners. In order to keep the ticks alive
when no prisoners are there, raw meat is thrown into the place. There is
also a deep pit into which men are let down with ropes; as once the holy
Jeremiah was in Jerusalem.
Once a fortnight the prisoners are judged by the Amir. Even when the
ground is covered with snow they stand with bare feet, waiting for hours
till the Amir appears.
Can so cruel a monarch be happy? No. He lives in constant fear of his
life.
He is afraid of drinking water, lest it should be poisoned. All that he
drinks is brought from the river in skins, and sealed, and guarded by two
officers; it is then taken to the chief counsellor, called the Vizier,
and tasted by him, and his servants; it is then sealed again, and sent to
his majesty.
The Amir's dinner when it is ready, is not placed on the royal table, but
locked up in a box, and taken to the Vizier to be tasted, before it is
served up in the palace.
But it is not the Amir only who is afraid of poison. No one will accept
fruit from another, unless that other tastes it first. It must be very
terrible to live in the midst of such murderers as the people of Bokhara
seem to be.
The Amir is so much afraid of people making plans to destroy him, that he
chooses to see all the letters that are written by his subjects; if a
husband write to his wife, the letter must first be shown to the Amir.
There are boys, too, going about the city listening to all that is said,
that they may let the Amir know, if any one speak against him.
But while the Amir is watching his people, _they_ are watching _him_; for
his chief officers hire men to listen to the Amir's conversation, that
they may know if he intends to kill them. Yet every person _appears_ to
approve all the Amir does, saying on every occasion, "It is the act of a
king; it must be good." They are such people as Jeremiah describes in the
Bible. "Their tongue is as an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit; one
_speaketh_ peaceably to his neighbor, but in his _heart_ he lieth his
wait."--(Jer. ix. 8.)
APPEARANCE.--The people in Bokhara are much handsomer than other
Tartars; their complexions are fairer, and their hair is of a lighter
color. They wear large white turbans, and several dark pelisses with
high-heeled boots. These high heels prevent their walking well, and most
people, both men and women, ride; but the ladies always hide their faces
with a veil of black hair cloth.
The large court of the palace is filled from morning to night with a
crowd of noisy people, most of them mounted on horses and donkeys.
In the midst of the court is the fruit market. It is wonderful to behold
the quantity, and beauty of the fruits. The same fruits grow in Bokhara
as in England, only they are much finer. _Such_ grapes, plums, and
apricots, mulberries, and melons, are never seen in Europe, and they are
made more refreshing by being mixed with chopped ice. Large piles of ice
stand all the summer long in the market-place, and even beggars drink
iced water. But hot tea is preferred before any other drink. In every
corner of the market there are large urns of hot tea, and small bowls of
rich milk, surrounded all day by a thirsty crowd. How much better is this
sight than the gin palaces of London!
But there is one great inconvenience in Bokhara, for which all its fruits
can scarcely make amends. There is bad water. For Bokhara is not built
on the banks of a river, or among running brooks: all the water is
brought by canals, from a small stream near the town, and when the canals
are dried up by the heat, there is no water, except in the tanks where it
is kept. This stagnant water produces a disease called the Guinea worm.
In this complaint the skin is covered with painful swellings, and when
they burst, a little flat worm is discovered in each, which must be drawn
out before the poor sufferer can recover.
RELIGION.--It is the Mahomedan. The Amir is a strict observer of his
religion. Every Friday he may be seen going to prayers in his great
mosque. The Koran is carried before him, and four men with golden staves
accompany him, crying out, "Pray to God that the Commander of the
Faithful may act justly." As he passes by, his people stroke their beards
to show their respect. Bokhara is reckoned by Mahomedans a very religious
city; for in every street there is a mosque; every evening people may be
seen crowding to prayers; and if boys are caught asleep during service,
they are tied together, and driven round the market by an officer, who
beats them all the way with a thick thong.
There is a school, too, in almost every street of Bokhara, and there the
poor boys sit from sunrise, till an hour before sunset, bawling out
their foolish lessons from the Koran; and during all that time they are
never allowed to go home, except once for some bread. They have no time
for play, except in the evening, and no holiday, except on Friday. Seven
years they spend in this manner, learning to read and write. When they
leave school, if they wish to be counted very wise, they go to one of the
colleges; for there are many in Bokhara. Some spend all their lives in
these colleges, living in small cells, and meeting in a large hall to
hear lectures about the Mahomedan religion. It is a happy thing, however,
that in summer the students go out to work in the fields; for how much
better is it to work with the hands, than to fill the head with the
wicked inventions of Mahomed.
The Mahomedans, however, are very proud of their religion, because they
_say_, they do not worship idols; (yet they do worship at Mecca, a black
stone, and other like things in other places). They imagine that _all_
Christians are idolaters, for they know that the Russians bow down to
pictures.
Once the Vizier of Bokhara conversed a long while with two Englishmen
about their religion.