“Bukharan Jews” from the series “Views and Ethnic Groups from Transcaspian”

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Jews living in Russian Central Asia attract the attention of only a few European travellers. In many respects they have assimilated themselves to the surrounding Tajiks and Uzbeks, despite the clothing regulations which are still in force. At home in their own residential quarters, they follow a Jewish lifestyle, although not in public. The Jews purchase the objects of furnishings for their houses from the Muslim craftsmen in the civic bazaars. Muslims are treated by Jewish faith healers. The Bukharan Jews practice their faith discreetly. The name of the city of Bukhara, their spiritual capital, becomes a collective term for the Jews of Central Asia