Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-19
ARK OF B0KHARA
Ancient Citadel the Refuge Of
Unpopular Rulers.
BUILT IN 18TH CENTURY
But Has Played Important Part in
Modern Politics.
BRITISH PRISONERS TORTURED

L 1905 SSSe
The Cases Of Stoddard and Connolly,
Whose Deaths Were Never He
venged by Great Britain.
BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
BOKHARA, Asia, July Is. 1910.
In the center OF the city OF Bokhara. on
| the summit OF an artificial mound about
three hundred feet high and mile or
more in circumference. is q citadel called
| The Ark" within which are the palace
OF the emir, the treasury and other de-
partments Of the government and the
prison. Similar Enclosures are found in
nearly all the oriental capitals. like the
| Forbidden City of Picking and the Krem-
lin of Moscow. and they are intended for
the protection Of unpopular rulers against
the wrath OF their subjects. Most OF
them are needed.
The Ark Of Bokhara was built in the
twelfth century by Alp Arslan. q khan
who reigned at that date. and whose tomb
was described In letter about Khiva
the other day. 1t is surrounded by a high
creneiated mud wall twenty feet thick
and has only one entrance, which is ap-
preached by broad stairway from the
rigistan or market place. and is guarded
by two round towers, pierced with rife
holes.
On either side OF the entrance are
guardhouses occupied by soldiers. and
Il vx-ttI, tn oHAc ~ &c,
platform where the kush-beg or prime
minister. sits as the vicar OF his sovereign
for two HOURS every morning to hear
complaints and receive petitions from
duty to one of his subordinates with the
| consent of his sovereign, but such an
| evasion would make him very unpopular
and result in his downfall IL it occurred
often. Although this is a cruel, corrupt
| and Anticipated government, the public
have q reverence for this ancient GUS
tom. which is common In the east. and
they are not satisfied unless they have
q hearing from the head OF the admins
| tration. In the Old Testament We read
about Daniel and other prime ministers
sitting In the gate OF the king"
Only Clock In the City.
Over the gate to the ark is q large
| clock, the only one in Bokhara. and II
has a tragic history. It Is the only
modern thing about the place. In the
tarly forties Russian nobleman living at
Orenberg. Siberia, and the richest man
in all that country. was in the habit OF
kidnapping men and women and selling
| them as slaves In Samarkand. Bokhara.
| Among his victims was a wandering
Italian named Giovanni Orlando Of Par
ma. who made friends with his master
Nasrullah. at that time the Emil Of Box
AhA ,i0nrA 80 All St> r~k
for centuries. Nasrullah had a passion
for mechanical work. and Orlandi. who
was q clockmaker by trade, offered to
build large clock and place 1t over the
The work was done in a most satisfac-
tory manner, and Orlando became free
man, but the emir was not inclined to
lose 30 valuable an attache OF his court
and kept him busy upon various Jobs.
One day Orlando made the mistake Of
getting drunk and offended the dignity Of
Il the emir by his familiarities. He was
arrested. imprisoned and condemned to
death. but was offered a pardon II he
would rencunce the Roman Catholic re-
ligion and become a Mahommedan. This
he stubbornly refused to do and Nasrul-
lah put him to torture. but the Italian
chung to his faith. even after the execu-
toner had cut the skin around his throat
from ear to ear, with q threat that the
knife would 60 into the flesh I'm the morn
ing IL he did not recant. This did not
move him and the next day he was be-
headed.
Another Italian named Modesto Gavazzi
visited Bokhara In 1853 for the pupose OF
buying silk worm eggs and was i'm
prisoned for thirteen months until he
was released At the time Of the Russian
invasion.
No Foreigner Can Enter.
No foreigner is allowed to enter the
to~ - nn1v ho
obtained through the influence of the
often willing to grant that privilege.
Natives, however. come and 60 at pleas
ure. and there u continuous stream of
employees and visitors passing In and out
Of the gates. When we tried to enter.
the guard stopped US by bringing his
rife TO a horizontal position against our
chest. After a brief pariey he called
the ofncer of the day, who was exceed
lingly courteous. and explained the regu-
lations he was required to enforce. He
suggested that the only way We could
procure a permit was through the Rus
sian agent at kagan, and feared we
would not be able to obtain one because
the Russians were always on the look
out against English spies. We explained
that we were Americans and he con-
scented to refer the matter to the governor
of the citadel, who proved to be an an
cient Bokharoit with a full gray beard. a
tgenial manner and a pleasant face. He
wore the customary dressing gown of
silk IN wide stripes Of the most brilliant
colors-green. yellow. red and purple. a
full white turban and a girdle of scarlet
India null.
He told US, as the captain of the guard
had done, that all foreigners, especially
English, were strictly forbidden to enter
the ark, and while he would live very
much to make an exception in our case,
as we were the first Americans he ever
met, he would undoubtedly be deprived of
his rank and position IL he disobeyed
orders. He asked the privilege of re-
tanning my card as a souvenir OF the only
Americans he had ever seen, and was
polite enough to express a hope that our
visit to Bokhara would be pleasant and
profitable.
| In Fear Of the English.
1t is said that the chief reason why
Englishmen are not permitted to enter
the ark Is not SO much the Russian fear
Of spies. but an apprehension on the
part OF the emirs government lest Great
Britain should finally attempt to retaliate
for his grandfather's treatment Of
Messrs Stoddard and Connolly, two con-
sular agents who were sent upon q
friendly mission to the khans OF central
Asia in 1910 to promote trade. They
visited khiva, Merv and other cities
where they were received with friendly
courtesy, but Nasrullah. at that time the
Emir Of Bokhara. and the same man who
beheaded the Italian. threw them into a
they were confined for several months
/ hal al