By the end of August 1885, when a political crisis had supervened between Great Britain and Russia, under the orders of the Amir the Mosalla was destroyed; but four minars standing at the corners of the wide plinth still remain to attest to the glorious proportions of the ancient structure, and to exhibit samples of that decorative tilework, which for intricate beauty of design and exquisite taste in the blending of colour still appeals to the memory as unique.
The principal industries are tilework, inlaying with silver wire, and the manufacture of thick-soled yellow slippers, much-esteemed flintlocks, and artistic "towels" used as cape and skirt by Moorish country girls.
The monuments of the type of the Midas tomb are obviously imitated from patterns which were employed in cloth and carpets and probably also in the tilework on the inside of chambers varying slightly according to the material.