xiv CONTENTS. 



the train— Geok Teppe— A false report— The steppe in spring— 

 Khiva— Merve— The Murgab branch to the Afghan frontier— A 

 desert of sand— The bridge over the Oxus— Reach Bokhara . 163 



CHAPTER XVI. 



BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 



New Bokhara— The fascination of Old Bokhara— Its bazaars— A 

 picture for an artist's brush— A scourge of the East— Monu- 

 ments of the past— The power of the King of Bokhara— The 

 citadel— Its ancient clock— A piteous tale— Violent death— The 

 State prison— Its jailer— The scene inside— Khanikoffs descrip- 

 tion of the lower dungeon— The story of Stoddart and ConoUy- 

 Nasrullah, King of Bokhara— The journey of Dr WolflF— The 

 notorious vermin pit— Bokhara described as it is to-day— Authori- 

 tative writers on Bokhara . . . . . .178 



CHAPTER XVII. 



SAMARKAND. 



Samarkand one of the great cities of Central Asia— The vicissitudes 

 through which it has passed— Timur's capital— Description of 

 Timur— Samarkand taken by the Russians— A brilliant episode 

 —The buildings of Samarkand— The market square— A meal 

 in the bazaar— The tomb of Tamerlane— The mosque of Bibi 

 Khauum— The mosque of "the living king"— Ishak Khan— The 

 end of the railway ....... 192 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ACROSS THE STEPPES OP TURKESTAN. 



Russian capital in Asia — Old Tashkent — Its capture by the 

 Russians— Railway projects— The Tashkent-Orenburg line— The 

 Tomsk-Tashkent line— Advantages of post-roads— Carriages pur- 

 chased—Method of travelling— A post-house— Rate of speed at- 

 tainable—The steppes of Turkestan— The life of the steppe— 

 Tchimkent — The Chinese frontier — Through Semirechensk — 

 The Siberian frontier — Monotony of travel — The character of 

 the steppe borderland— Semipalatinsk— From Semipalatinsk to 

 Barnaul — Reach Barnaul ...... 199 



