My wife is a Kazakh city girl, but if someone comes to our house to visit, she's basically pathologic about feeding them. And yes, guest of honor sits at the head of the table as far from the door as possible (warmest place in yurt).

My theory is that in nomad society, if someone visited you, they'd probably ridden a LONG way and would arrive pretty hangry, so you just have to start feeding them. Usually manty, bursak, or beshparmak.

Congrats on learning Kazakh. It's a bitch of a language. Wife speaks Russian, but only understands Kazakh so-so.