The Memoirs of Bābur 903.2.6

903.2.6

Samarkand has good districts and _tūmāns_. Its largest district, and one that is its equal, is Bukhārā, 25 _yīghāch_[394] to the west. Bukhārā in its turn, has several _tūmāns_; it is a fine town; its fruits are many and good, its melons excellent; none in Mā warā'u'n-nahr matching them for quality and quantity. Although the Mīr Tīmūrī melon of Akhsī[395] is sweeter and more delicate than any Bukhārā melon, still in Bukhārā many kinds of melon are good and plentiful. The Bukhārā plum is famous; no other equals it. They skin it,[396] dry it and [Sidenote: Fol. 49.] carry it from land to land with rarities (_tabarrūklār bīla_); it is an excellent laxative medicine. Fowls and geese are much looked after (_parwārī_) in Bukhārā. Bukhārā wine is the strongest made in Mā warā'u'n-nahr; it was what I drank when drinking in those countries at Samarkand.[397]