82 
THROUGH ASIA 
washed by a naked shampooer. A mystic twilight prevailed 
in these cellar-like crypts, and naked figures with black or 
grey beards flitted about through the steam-laden atmos- 
phere. The Mohammedans often spend half their day in 
the bath, smoking, drinking tea, and sometimes even 
taking dinner. The moral condition of the town is terribly 
degraded ; the female dancers, who perform at weddings 
and other ceremonies, contribute to this in no small degree. 
Instead of driving direct by the post-road to Margelan, 
I chose the detour of two hundred versts { 1 30 miles), by 
way of Chust and Namangan, so as to obtain further 
opportunities of completing my soundings of the river 
Syr-daria. 
After sending my baggage direct to Margelan in a 
couple of arbas (carts), I left Kokand on January 30th 
in my old tarantass, and directed my course northwards 
to Urganchi, a largish kishlak (winter village), where 
the fair was in full swing and the streets full of people. 
The road led through an unbroken succession of villages, 
and on either side of it were ariks or channels, tributaries 
of the irrigation system which waters the oasis of Kokand. 
At the village of Gurum-serai wayfarers are ferried across 
the Syr-daria in a large boat. Thence a miserable road 
leads by way of Pap to the little town of Chust, whose 
only claim to importance lies in its cultivation of cotton, 
rice, and grain. After that the road passed over small 
hills composed of yellow loess and conglomerates. The 
going was now first-rate everywhere, and we made good 
progress. At Tura-kurgan we crossed the stream of 
Kazan-sai, which in summer brings down great quantities 
of water from the Chotkal Mountains; though it never 
attains the volume of the Syr-daria, as the water is dis- 
tributed through a number of ariks, which irrigate the 
rice-fields. 
Namangan is surrounded by villages and gardens, and 
is the residence of a tiyasdny natyalnik (chief of a dis- 
trict). The Seid Kuli Beg, Khoja Ishan, and Serdabi 
madrasas were the only buildings in the town of even 
passing interest to the traveller. The square market- 
