Tatar peasant homes were often built into the sides of hills. Here a man and a small boy stand on a terrace looking into the distance.
Demidov trains his Orientalizing gaze on the interior and exterior of the "typical" Tatar home, describing the scent of aromatic herbs, the comforts of the divan, and the significance of the terrace, where the family would spend countless hours grinding flour, drying everything from fruit to laundry, and passing news through the open air. "The terrace is, in a word, the observatory - the watch tower of the family." From here one listens to the call of the ombashchi. This elevated ground is the Tatar's public - and at times even a political - space. (42)