Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-21

For more than a thousand years Box
| hara was ranked next to Mecca as the
most influential. educational
M0Slem and ecclesiastical center in
| Certer the Mohammedan word. 1t
was famous for the number
| and the grandeur of its mosques. the
scholarship OF It's meddresses-which are
divinity schcols-the piety of its priests
| and for the fanaticism and intolerance
| OF the people. The learning and fame
| OF the faculties who taught In it's schools
attracted scholars and students from IN
Ola, Arabia. Persia, Egypt. Afghanistan.
Morocco and other countries Of Islam.
| and its meddresses were the scenes OF
frequent theological controversies be-
| tween the rival sects.
Bokhara was the headquarters Of the
principal moslem religious orders; its
| streets were thronged with monks and
other zealots. and IL is still the home OF
| a colony OF dervishes who claim to have
| direct descent from Ishmael, the son of
Abraham and Hagar. and they call him
| the first dervish. They wear long hair
| and boards. and live lives of celibacy.
Their costume IL a long cloak OF Gamers
hair of light brown color. with high
| sugar cone. There are two classes OF
| dervishes here-the more intellectual and
| intelligent are supposed to be engaged in
profound theological study and medita-
| ton. while another class, under the d.
rection OF their shefk are sent out
| through the country to beg at the. doors
| Of the houses and In the bazaars, and to
| stand at the street corners to pray that
Allah will shower blessings upon those
| who give them aims. Each of these beg
CARS carries a money box, usually made
| from a gourd, and staff with an iron
| ring attached to the end. which IS used
as a rattle to attract attention. :
. y
There. are said to have been 1877
mosques and 1877 meddresses or Mo-
hammedan colleges in Box
| Numerous hara. but this number has
been reduced more than one
MVs4uos' half by decay and dilapi-
dation. Those which still exist are very
badly out Of repair and have had the
beautiful Persian tiles Transcribed with
texts from the Koran in blue and white
characters torn from the walls by
| vantaIs. Everything about them L. in
q pitiable state. Nothing is whole or
perfect and the famous buildings which
Il R6Ve tho CITY TIC u0HiC VA DShhoA . 49,
Noble are now falling into ruins with
out any attempt on the part OF the
priests, the people or the government to
preserve them.
The most famous mosque In the city Is
called Masjid Baliand, or Kalian, and
when IT was first built it was one OF
the grandest temples In Asia. 1t can &C
commodate 10000 worshippers. 1t dates
back to the tenth century. was restored
IA NlAV In
| Of the fifteenth. and up till the present
generation has been attended by the
Emir every Friday with great ceremony.
but 1t Is now cEumbling to pieces and
| is covered with azure tiles which are
gradually falling of. leaving conspicuous
scars. The condition of these buildings
| is typical Of the religious life and the
morals OF the people.
In 1913 Jengliiz Khan rode an Arabian
stallion into this mosque. and when the
mullahs expostulated with him for the
| profination he threw himself from the
saddle, climbed into the pulpit, cast the
Koran on the floor and shouted to his
soldiers.
''The hay IL cut. give your horses fod-
der!" which was the signal for his saw
age horde to begin a wholesale massacre
and to loot the city Of its boasted wealth.
-.
The great central court Is inciosed by
vaulted cloisters of brick. Heavy arches
support the upper stories
Vaulted and the ponderous roof.
r. The facade. which Is IN
OIolsVeIs' very bad repair. and is rap
idly losing its veneer of porcelain tiles,
which were once Of great beauty. Is one
Of the finest in Asia. In some respects
| It Is thought to surpass those at Samar-
kand, but that can scarcely be possible.
II Is q matter Of taste. however There
is no standard or rule by which compari-
sons may be made. !.
The interior of tthe Masjid Baliand
mosque was formerly lined with tiles
throughout, and they were ornamented
with geometric figures, but they are near
| ly all gone except those In the high places
| and the dark corners. where the weather
| cannot affect them and the hand of van
| dals cannot reach them. They are OF
the same material and pattern as those l
| that this mosque was built by Tamerlane
upon the ruins Of another. and restored
| by Abdullah Khan in the sixteenth CEN
fury. The style of architecture is iden-
tical with other buildings erected by the
great Tartar.
There is an inner court surrounded by
cloisters and cells, which are occupied by
30 mullahs and students. Some Of the
cells are Htteu up III COulIOII oHQ even
| luxury. Others are decorated with con-
| siderable taste. The mullahs attached to
| this mosque have a high reputation for
| scholarship and ability as we'll as for
fanaticism and intolerance. he Emir
| formerly came here to pray every Friday
| when he lived in Bokhara, with q cere-
mony similar to that of the selamik of
the Turkish sultan at Constantinople.
Another important meddress Is called r.
| nazar- Etlchi, in honor OF an ambassador
sent by the Emir OF
| Conscience Bokhara to Catherine
CA the Great at Petersburg
OonsAAOosAon' The story goes that the
empress, who was notorious for her amours
| fell In love with the handsome oriental
envoy. and enjoyed prolonged liason
with him. Upon his departure from the
Russian capital she presented him with
a purse containing $4,000 gold roubles,
and. evidently repenting Of his sin, he
used the money to found this institution
for the education OF Tartars and other
Russian mussulmans
1t would require a large book TO con-