I
in
M U H AM M A D A N A N D J E W I S H S AM A R K A N D . 587
it has minarets, and two stories of windows in front,
whilst the interior is in a better state of preservation
than either of the two just described. Here we were
taken to the mosque on the left-hand side of the court,
and our attention was drawn to the carved woodwork
steps of the gilded marble pulpit, on which the
moulding approached very nearly to the dog-tooth
carving of the Gothic style. Greater pains and art
seem to have been bestowed on this medresse than
on the,others, and more gold is seen in the ornamentation.
The wall of the kibleh, or niche, where is supposed
to be the Imaum (or image, called Mikhrab, that presents
itself to the Moslem mind in prayer), is gilded,
and bears the inscription, “ There is no God but God,
and Muhammad is His Prophet.” *
Opposite the Shir-Dar in the Rhigistan our attention
* A ll these medresses, and, in fact, the religious buildings generally
of Central Asia, are ornamented with enamel work of the following
kinds : first, bricks with a smooth surface covered with a coat of self-
coloured enamel. The pieces I obtained from Tamerlane’ s tomb were
a ll of this character, nor did I see there any other. Secondly, the same,
but with two shades of one colour in the same brick. Thirdly, minute
pieces of brick about half an inch thick, coated with self-coloured
enamel, fitting one into the other, and arranged in mosaic in a bed of
plaster. Of this I secured a specimen 10 inches long by 7 broad, the
colours of the pieces being of dark blue, light green, two shades of
brownish-yellow, and white. Fourthly, bricks with open work, moulded
or embossed on the surface, and covered with a coating of enamel of
one or more colours. These I saw only at the Shah-Zindeh, where I
was fortunate in finding a mullah, who, in his ardour to oblige me, ran
and fetched a ladder, climbed to a loose brick we had espied (though
not of open-work) and brought it down in triumph. Fifthly, bricks flat or
rounded, with smooth surface, covered with various designs, writing, or
tracery. The piece secured by the mullah just alluded to is of diamond
shape, 9 inches long, and an inch and a quarter thick, with a design
in five colours, but of rather coarse workmanship. Another piece of
the same class, but of finer workmanship, obtained from the Tillah-
Kari, and measuring 5 inches by 4, has remains of the gold visible,
and besides two shades of blue, light green, red, and white, has what
looks like part of a plum-coloured flower. A third specimen of the