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Countries of the World: Sultan

The food for the Sultan is cooked by one man and his aids, and none others touch it. It is cooked in silver vessels, and when done each kettle is sealed by a slip of paper and a stamp, and this is broken in the presence of the High Chamberlain, who takes I spoonful of each separate kettle before the Sultan tastes it. This is to prevent the Sultan's being poisoned. The food is almost always served up to the Sultan in the same vessels in which it was cooked, and these are often of gold, but when of baser metal the kettle is set into a rich golden bell-shaped holder, the handle of which is held by a slave while the Sultan eats. Each kettle is a course, and is served with bread and a kind of pancake which is held on a golden tray by another slave. It requires just twice as many slaves as there are courses to serve a dinner to him. He usually sits on a divan near a window, which looks out over the Bosphorous, and takes his ease and comfort in a loose pembazar and gegelik with his sleeves turned up. After he has eaten all he wants, the Sultan takes his coffee and his chibouk, and lies back in an ecstasy of enjoyment and quiet reverie, which he calls taking his keif. The Sultan never uses a plate. He takes all his food direct from the little kettles, never uses a table, and rarely a knife or fork. He sometimes uses a spoon, sometimes dips his bread in the kettle, but generally his fingers serve for knife, fork, and spoon. The whole household is at liberty to take meals where it suits each one best; everyone is served with a small tray, with a spoon, with a great piece of bread, and the higher ones only get the pancakes.