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Show BOKHARA: STRATEGIC -CENTER OF TRANS-CASPIAN TRANS-CASPIAN REGION of tlTnri,C(! 1nerv0USI's on tho part Ion, Z TCM undcr Sovl,f instltu- rata. ti rcR'0n u tl,u Census. i,'11' l whether similar hnrf '?"V"ny,10t be present In .llok- ; , . "Cross tll CnsP' sen, i )0iS n",, eoun,cr Plots have .1 ,rh .e'.. T "noU,er Iwwlldcrlnnly during the lust few years. Hokhnra, dusty nnd tnwny In tone, a nevertheless a colorful city becnuso hi .'?. Klrlk, costumes ot the mnlo "linbltai.ts. The women, clad In som-her som-her tones nnd h,iinB their faces bo-inml bo-inml horsehair veils which resembld window screening, nvnlt themselves of n protective coloration which enables them to move like shadows about tho mic ent city. Hut tho llokharn male, uc he Usbeg. Surt, Persian, or Tajik, utilizes all the colors nnd tints of the fcolar spectrum tn his costume. Hokhnra Is nn Important religious center. It hns !1G1 mosques. With n practically unknown railway running south to the Afghan frontier. Its location lo-cation In the midst of Central Asia gives it a strategic Importance thnt Is little appreciated. The Khnnnto of Uokhnrn has an area about equal to that of Utah, but with four times the populntlon. Since the outbreak of tho war, Its fortunes have varied. Part of tho time It has been an Independent khanate, Bhowlng Its prerogative by taking up tho rails of tho Trans-Caspian railway whlfh passed through Its territory. Several times It hns been undcr the control of tho Ilblshevlk forces. Tho Amir hnd n picturesque army of about 11,000 soldiers, sol-diers, many of whom carelessly lounged along tho stone passageway which leads up to tho Ark, or caBtlc. . On this Incline, ln froht of tho ruynl residence, formerly thcro was enacted every Friday morning a ceremony Impressive Im-pressive In Its dignity nnd dazzling In Its color effects. Hundreds of solemn sol-emn mullahs, clad In bright silk robes of stick candy stripes or gorgeous golden gol-den suns on purple Holds, belted with silver, and with buckles ns largo' as salad plates, gathered here In Impressive Impres-sive rows, each with a priceless prayer rug beneath his feet. These were not the dashing types which once made Mohammedanism n power from Mecca to Gibraltar but the ceremonlallsts whoso religion Is n thing of dignity nnd prosperity, founded on trade rather thnn n life In tho saddle. In unison they bow low so that only broad bncks can bo seen, but a moment later all are erect with their spotless white turbans the most prominent feature In c sceno so colorful that only nn Oriental sun could harmonize It. nokhnrn Is architecturally unlmpres-slve unlmpres-slve but nowhere are there more attractive at-tractive Oriental bazaars. ISrnss-smiths ISrnss-smiths vie with goldsmiths to ndd tho pllnt of glowing metal to the half light of tho covered souks and there the makers of peculiar llokhara cups display their brightly colored wares, the edges glistening with soft furs from Siberia. M |