Kashgar's old city is a dense quarter of lanes, courtyards and low mud-brick houses on the western edge of the city, and tea is the institution that holds its day together. Teahouses open before the shops do: men come in on the way to work, order a pot, and sit over it for an hour. The tea is usually black, drunk from small bowls and topped up from a pot or a samovar; there is also milk tea, salted, and a herb infusion that is served when someone is feeling unwell. Bread and food come from the kitchen or from a baker next door.
What is eaten with the tea
The staple is naan, baked in a tandoor in a dozen shapes and thicknesses, torn and dipped. Polo - rice cooked with mutton, carrots, onions and raisins - is served from a huge pot in the morning and again at midday, and it is the standard breakfast of the old city. Alongside it there are samsa, the flaky baked pastries filled with mutton and onion; steamed dumplings; yoghurt; and small bowls of pickled vegetables. Nobody rushes. The etiquette is simple: pour for the people around you before yourself, accept the food you are offered, and expect to be asked where you are from.
The music
By mid-morning the older teahouses turn into music rooms. Someone brings out a rawap, the long-necked lute; someone else picks up a dap frame drum; a singer starts on the long narrative songs that are part of the local repertoire, and the room joins in the chorus. It is not a performance for visitors, and there is no ticket - it is simply what happens when a group of men have time and tea. A visitor who sits quietly at the edge and claps at the end will be treated well.
Practical notes
The teahouses are inside the old city, which is walkable and best done on foot in the early morning, before the heat and the tour groups. Ask before photographing people at their tables; a minority will say no and most will not mind. Fridays are busy because of prayers at the Id Kah mosque nearby, and the lanes empty and then fill again around the middle of the day. Bring small change, and be aware that the old city is a working residential quarter rather than a set, so keep out of doorways that are clearly private.
