Celebration meals, Tajik-style

A big celebration coming up is the Eid al-Fitr, the meal at the end of Ramadan. Sadly, we will be traveling then, on our way home, and were unable to accept invitations. But I thought it might still be good to post a bit about our experiences with celebratory meals.

Tajiks prefer sitting on floor cushions, eating from a cloth spread on the floor or a low table.

This is true at home or in restaurants. Here are some students we ran into when we visited Hisor:

In restaurants, people prefer a private room, booth, or pavillion. Here are some customers in a restaurant in Panjakent:

While I was on my trip, Lee had a farewell dinner at Toqi with some of his friends:

Poor guy--it's so hard for him to curl his feet up under him!

When Tajiks host someone for a meal, the table should be completely covered with dishes, as can be seen in the first photo as well as this one:

 The real lunch at the above table was still to follow--soup with stuffed pepper, pot roast, and raspberries & ice cream:

Wow!!