We had a home-hosted Tajik lunch near Istaravshan on this day. It was in a house in a neighborhood that looked like most of the houses and most of the neighborhoods. You can see our hostess and cook in the first photo. The guy on her right was our local Tajik guide, Farhad.

The second photo shows how our table was set up when we sat down for lunch. There was fresh vegetable salads from their garden, fresh apricots and cherries, breads, dried garbanzo beans and nuts, jams and jellies, cherry juice, fresh cream, and some dessert items.

Our soup is in the third photo. It was fennel, rice, garbanzo beans, meatballs, onion, dill, and yogurt. It was very good soup.

Our main dish was in the fourth photo. It was meat, potatoes, corn, rice, and lots of spices. It was very tasty and very filling.

After lunch, I wandered around her garden. I found many of the fruits and vegetables that we ate for lunch, such as the cherries in the last photo.