Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-12
Gardens Hidden by High Walls.

The railway station is two and haii
miles from the old towp, and is reached
by long wide street paved with cobbe-
stones shaded with poplars running
streams in both cutters, rows of one
story buildings "whtewashed in vivid
colors-purpte. blue yellow, pink. green
and whatever NEST gratlfles the taste OF
the owner-and gives them COO appear
ancc. Alternating with these houses are
high walls which inclOse gardens ana
groves surrounding the residences of peo-
pie who do not care to live on the street.
The gardens produce in profuSiOn Negeta-
bles of every kind. luscious melons. fruits
and berries as fine as you ever saw, ana
almost everything else that grows from
the soil. 1t is quite surprising sometimes
to see fig trees and apple trees side by
side. laden with ripening fruit.
The residence of the governor general
occupies a densely shaded Enclosure as
dark as a prmeva forest. You cannot
see anything of the house without passing
the gate and walking quite a distance
among the trees. The quarters are COM
Portable and commodious without ostenta-
ton. On two sides of the compound are
trees and trees and trees. growing so
thickly that their boughs are interlaced.
and indeed. the only place in the Rus
sian town which rs not under the shade
is the parade ground and the big Greek
church with five blue-colored domes which
rises from the farther end.
Features of Samarkand.
There is club where the officers Of
the Russian army drink and gamble and
where the younger set give dances in the
winter: an institute where their sons and
daughters are educated, a kindergarten.
primary school. public library. mu-
scum with empty shelves and beautiful
- I'd no DC
cnpied by the Kusso-Chinese Bank. l have
never seen. = financial or business iEstitu-
ton so delightfully."- situated and the man.
ager has the privilege Of living In the Sc
ond story. while business is transacted on
the first floor.
There are cafes, tearooms. ice cream
saloons, BOOK shops, restaurants. drug
stores ieweIry stores, barber shops, pho
tograph galleries, groceries. meat mar
kets and every other modern Improve
ment along the streets OF Russian SRmar-
kand and you can buy the daily papers
of ST. Petersburg and Moscow ten days
old for 20 kopecks, which Is only 10
cents Men go about the streets on mo-
tor cycles. There are two or three gar
ages with wide open doors. and the toot-
toot-toot of the automobiles makes You
lump every now and then while you are
crossing the street. One is reminded OF
home by seeing the advertisements Of an
American product and hearing the sono-
rous voice of the photograph In the back
room of ice cream saloons and cigar
shops, while the telephone Is as common
in Samarkand as 1t is in any town in the
United States.
Meals Served Under the Trees.
There are several good hotels, not large
or pretentious, but comfortable. Where
we are stopping we can eat our breakfast
and dinner under the shade of oak trees,
in the garden, to the music of foun
tain
Most of the rooms at the hotel are now
occupied by Persian pilgrims, evidently
men of wealth and culture, who have
come thousand miles upon a pilgrim
age to the tomb of Daniel the Prophet,
which is supposed to be in the suburbs of
Sar1arkand. They look and act like gen
tlemen, and two of them have children