The role, which food played during the reign of the last Emir of Bukhara and that of his immediate forefathers, is often overlooked in view of the political events and the fine crafts that came out of Bukhara.

The Emir's day pretty much revolved around his meals and head positions in his entourage had to do with the food he ate.

The immediate staff of those in charge of food preparation, such as the head chef, Nanatchi the food taster, the Maitre D, were appointed by a committee consisting of the Khosh Begi, the Devon Begi and a number of other Wazirs (ministers). The Food & Beverage staff reported directly to the Begi, the Prime Minister and held the Emir's full trust. They were appointed for life, with the prospect of a nice pension after their retirement. It should not be forgotten that political action by poisoning was never outside the realm of possibilities so it was important to keep ones allies loyal. The prospect of a secure future was an effective measure to prevent any kind of stratagems to eliminate the Emir.

BREAKFAST
Coffee and Croissants was not the thing at the beginning of last century. At least not at the Ark. Meat was de rigeur for breakfast, lots of meat. Breakfast was thus a hefty affair, a solid breakfast lay the foundation for the day. Other than Tavtoni, a soft lepyoshka round bread made with milk and baked in the tandir oven, the key dish was a bouillon of a rather complex recipes. The bouillon was based on calf meet and once it had bubbled softly for a while, two entire cocks were added, presumably for the fabled powers they would add to the soup, and just to add that culminating tickle of the taste buds, fowls were added towards the end of the cooking process.

The clear bouillon thus obtained, was served without vegetables, without potatoes, without any further ado, dispensed to those who were held in the Emir's highest esteem, his closest advisors. Another popular item on the breakfast menu was milk rice with cinnamon, which was much favored by Muzzafar Khan. Raisins were an absolute must, no breakfast without those sweet dried grapes, white and dark, dark blue, of which the finest still today are grown exclusively in Central Asia.

CHAI TEA TIME
In these latitudes It is quite unthinkable to receive guests and not to serve tea.This throughout the day, at any hour. Since a large part of the Emir's day was spent playing host to a wide range of visitors, these could be the local aristocracy as well as foreign dignitaries, or of course ministers and government representatives.
The variety of teas served was impressive. The Emir knew exactly who of his close ones liked which tea and he played the gourmet tea card so to speak whenever he needed to.

SHAH CHAl BUKHARIAN STYLE
Tea was brewed with milk and melted butter, in the manner of the Samanids and was said to cleanse the body . With Bukhara being an oasis town, surrounded by steppes and the narrow lanes of the old town and the Ark all being really mud lanes, people were never the less health conscious. So much dust in the air, whirled up by busy trades people in their long coats, by camels heading for the Caravansarai.

CHAl KHAZAK STYLE
Cold milk is poured into black tea and a bit of sugar is added, all ready mixed in the kitchen and thus served poured hot milk to their own liking, said to be a recipe handed down from AmirTemur.

SAMARKAND STYLE MANGIT CHAl
A 50:50 green tea and black tea mix into which guests poured hot milk to their own liking, said to be a recipe handed down from Amir Temur.

CULINARY POETRY
The Emir was a gourmet. He was often himself in charge of the Menu, decided what he would eat, was involved in banquet menus. He made one exception though, and that was lunch. The Midday Meal, just before a siesta which could stretch into the late afternoon, was generally served and taken in the harem with one of his 8 wives.

The ethnic diversity of Bukhara brought with it that the Wazirs were of different ethnicities. The emir's wives were mainly chosen from among the beautiful daughters of his Wazirs, so each brought her culinary background to her very quarters in the harem. Caucasian Plov, the Georgian Plov, the Azeri Plov, the Armenian plov the Kazak Plov and so on where much cherished by the Emir upon his extended luncheons.

During these very private luncheons, very private conversations took place between husband and wife. Food served as epithets for love and love's delights. We can only imagine the verbal exchange that went on while wife served husband his favorite food, her very own, very special dish, with the Emir praising the virtues of the dish in the highest notes, elaborating on the physical effect this very dish generated in a man, the feelings it evoked in his heart, the strength and sustenance he would obtain from it and how just as in our imagination of 1001 nights, the Emir was handfed the sweetest grapes, the juiciest pomegranate kernels, the softest figs, the most sugary melons.

While studying in St. Petersburg as a young man, at the Military Academy, Said Alim Khan, the last Emir of Bukhara, had been introduced to a young beautiful German visitor at the Winter Palace. They fell in love and Said Alim Khan brought her home to Bukhara where they were wed.

To please his wife and make her feel at home, Alim Khan sent for a German chef from St. Petersburg, who introduced German culinary delights to the court's menu. Wulf, so the saying goes, had to consent to submit to an operation, preventing him from having any uncouth dealings with the Emir's wife, for lack of putting it differently.

Upon a visit by a German doctor, the Emir* was strongly advised to change his regime if he wanted to live healthy. The Emir's traditionally claimed to follow the rules set by Avicenna, Ibn AM Abu Sino, the medieval scientist who had written the ultimate canon on health. It may well be that the different captions were interpreted in different ways.

The reign of the last Emir of Bukhara is a time not so long gone. In 1920 together with his court and his entourage, Said Alim Khan left for Afghanistan, where he settled in Kabul and a whole new era dawned in Bukhara.