6S4 
THROUGH ASIA 
filled with clear crystal water. A sheep was killed, and 
with his own hand the aksakal prepared an ash or pillau 
according to the most approved recipe of the culinary art. 
You take the best pieces of the meat, especially the breast 
and the kidneys, cut them up fine, fry them in butter in 
a pan over the fire, thereafter fill the pan with well-washed 
pure white rice, and add onions to flavour. This dish, 
when properly prepared, is excellent. 
An aksakal is a sort of consular agent. The subjects 
of the Russian empire have their aksakal in each of the 
larger towns of East Turkestan. All these officers were 
STREET IN A 'J'OWN OF CENTRAL ASIA 
subordinate to Consul - General Petrovsky in Kashgar. 
My friend Mohammed Emin, the aksakal in Ak-su, was 
one of the best Mohammedans I have met, a cheerful 
and worthy man of about sixty, with a white beard ; he 
had an intimate knowledge of East Turkestan, and was 
able to give me much valuable information. Even before 
I reached the town, he had done me a service. He made 
inquiries on all the roads leading into Ak-su from the 
south after the thief who had, as we suspected, stolen the 
camel we lost; though without any result. Now he did 
me an even greater service. He declared his willing- 
ness to accompany me to Kashgar, a road he had travelled 
scores of times. I was very glad of this, for I knew he 
