The exterior of the Mausoleum “was once covered with polished green and blue tiles,” our guide said, “but they were so beautiful that our communist leaders preferred to take them to their private houses.” Inside the Mausoleum Khalilullah was laid “with head orientated to Mecca according to Muslim traditions, and on his tombstone is a buta. The guide said that buta, in the shape of paisley, was a Zoroastrian symbol: “White buta symbolized Ahura Mazda, and black buta symbolized Ahriman, which are the two opposite super-naturals in Zoroastrianism.” She concluded: “In our funereal rituals you see a symbiosis of bronze age, Zoroastrian, Christian, and Muslim traditions.”