“And so, my boy, I began my activities in the capacity of a physician-hypnotist, as I have already told you, in the center of the continent Asia, in various towns of Turkestan. BTG XXXIII

“I was first in the town of that part of Turkestan which later came to be called ‘Chinese Turkestan’ in contradistinction to that part of it which, from the time of its conquest by beings belonging to the large community Russia, has been called ‘Russian Turkestan’. BTG XXXIII

“There was a very great need in the towns of Chinese Turkestan for such a physician as I then became, because among the three-brained beings breeding on this part of the surface of this planet of yours there was developed at that period more strongly than usual two forms of their most pernicious what are called ‘organic habits’, which also had become proper to be acquired in the presences of the beings of that ill-fated planet. BTG XXXIII

“As I have just said, at this period of my activities, my existence passed at first chiefly in various towns of Chinese Turkestan, but circumstances so fell out, that later I preferred to be in the towns of Russian Turkestan. BTG XXXIII

“Here among the beings of Russian Turkestan, one of the said ‘pernicious habits’ or as they themselves call them ‘vices’, namely, the smoking of opium, was very rare, and the chewing of anasha was even rarer, but on the other hand, the use of what is called ‘Russian vodka’ flourished luxuriantly there. BTG XXXIII

“Well then, while I existed as a physician there among the beings breeding in the towns of Turkestan, I had to work so hard, especially towards the end, that certain functions of my planetary body began to get out of order, and I began to consider therefore how to manage to have the possibility at least for a certain time of doing nothing but only rest. BTG XXXIII

“But to remain in this Turkestan and to organize my existence there in such a way as to have the full possibility of giving my planetary body the required rest I could not, in any way, because in almost all the beings there on that part of the surface of your planet, breeding in both Chinese and Russian Turkestan, there had already been crystallized, either through personal perceptions or from the descriptions of others, data for recognizing my appearance; at the same time, each of the ordinary beings of this country wished to speak with me concerning either himself personally or his nearest on account of one of the vices in the deliverance from which I had chanced to become there such an unparalleled specialist. BTG XXXIII

“What I then devised and carried out to escape from this situation was the reason why Turkestan — concerning which place there are and will be preserved in my common presence the data then fixed for pleasant memories — ceased to be for me the place of my permanent existence on your planet at the period of this last stay of mine; and thereafter the cities of the ‘famous’ Europe with their cafes with the ‘black liquid’ — made of nobody knows what — replaced the towns of Turkestan with their ‘Tchaikanas’ and their delicious fragrant teas. BTG XXXIII

“I failed to have a thorough rest in this Egypt because of circumstances which soon led me to depart from there; and the circumstances that led to my premature departure from Egypt were, strictly speaking, the reason why the towns of dear Turkestan with their pleasant ‘Tchai-kanas’ were replaced as I have already told you by the cities of their famous contemporary cultured continent Europe with the not less famous ‘cafe-restaurants’, in which, as I have already told you, instead of fragrant teas the offer you a black liquid consisting of nobody knows what”. BTG XXXIII

“‘At the time when we first moved here, there was not far from here a certain holy place called the “holy cave” to which various “pilgrims” and “devotees” from all over Turkestan used to throng. BTG XLI

“‘For instance, the species of donkey breeding in the Caucasus is called “Karabaghian”; and precisely the same kind of donkey breeding in Turkestan is cailed “Khorassanian”. ‘ BTG XLIII

“During the last two centuries such special honored favorite places were the cities Mecca and Medina in Arabia, the city Meshed in the locality called Bagdad, the environs of Yeninishlak in Turkestan, and several others. BTG XLIII