. Russia's railway advance into Central Asia; . he door of the prison. All the build-ing and walls, like the houses everywhere around,seemed made of dried mud and clay, supportedby wooden beams and frames. We were firsttaken into a small uncovered yard with two orthree patches of garden and a large tomb halfsheltered by a shed with open front. At the headof the stone were laid a pair of fine rams horns,and three tall bent poles were fixed in theground, with rags and horsehair dangling fromtheir tops, reminding one of the distant gibbetsin some of Gustave Dores illustrations of were t
. Russia's railway advance into Central Asia; . he door of the prison. All the build-ing and walls, like the houses everywhere around,seemed made of dried mud and clay, supportedby wooden beams and frames. We were firsttaken into a small uncovered yard with two orthree patches of garden and a large tomb halfsheltered by a shed with open front. At the headof the stone were laid a pair of fine rams horns,and three tall bent poles were fixed in theground, with rags and horsehair dangling fromtheir tops, reminding one of the distant gibbetsin some of Gustave Dores illustrations of were told that this was the tomb of Kusk-Kara-ta, the protector of shepherds, thoughwhy he was buried in this prison yard we couldnot understand. A small iron-barred door of alow building, surmounted by a dome at one end,like the top of a Turkish bath at Constantinople,Avas then unlocked, and we all peered in, but thedarkness was so great in contrast with the glareof the sun outside that at first we could seenothing. We then bent down, and went just. A STREET IN BOKHAHA. The City of Bokhara. 255 inside ; and as soon as our eyes had got accus-tomed to the gloom, we discerned a number ofmen standing round close together against allthe four walls, except just near the doorway-through which we had entered. The room wasnot more than fifteen feet long by ten feet broad,with a low ceiling that we nearly touched withour heads. In this den were crammed no fewerthan twenty-five half-naked, dirty prisoners, withfilthy rags littering the earthen floor, and a fewshelves on the walls with gourd water-bottles,pieces of bread, and other odds and was no ventilation or light. A few chainswere hanging round the walls, but none of themen appeared to be in irons, and all were free tosit down when we had gone. I subsequentlyascertained that their gyves and manacles hadbeen removed in anticipation of our small door was then unlocked in theright-hand wall of this chamber, and we loo
Size: 1361px × 1837px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1890
