Fergana (Uzbekistan)

Fergana is the largest city in the Ferghana Valley. It is located in its southern part on the border with Kyrgyzstan. Fergana was founded in the second half of the 19th century, when the valley became part of the Russian Empire.

The sights of the city include its numerous parks and gardens, the monument to Ahmad Al Fergani, the great astronomer of the 10th century, and the Museum of Local Lore. In total, the funds of the Ferghana Museum have over 80 thousand exhibits. These are archaeological finds, and works of arts and crafts, and a collection of paintings, and collections of local ceramics, chasing, jewelry and embroidery. Chimion balneological resort is located 32 km south of Ferghana in the foothills of the Alay Range at an altitude of 450 m.. The resort is surrounded by orchards. In addition to the main residential building, the health resort has a palace of culture with a cinema, a dance hall, a billiard room, a library, a sports ground and a hairdresser. The resort specializes in the treatment of diseases of the circulatory system, nervous system, movement organs, gynecological and urological diseases. Treatment is based on hydrogen sulfide mineral waters of various mineralization, low-mineralized sulfate-hydrocarbonate-sodium water and silt mud from Lake Balkly. A little higher on the northern slope of the Alai Range is the mountain climatic resort Khamzaabad.

According to Loverists.com, 15 km north of Ferghana is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia – Margilan. The city appeared about 2000 years ago. It stood on the Great Silk Road and was known for its craftsmen – weavers of cotton and silk. Today Margilan is also famous for its silk production. Buildings of the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved in the city: the Pir Siddik complex (18th century), the Khoja Magiz mausoleum (18th century), the Chakar mosque, the Said Ahmad-Khoja madrasah (19th century) and the Toron-bazaar mosque (19th century). Also in Margilan it is worth visiting the Yodgorlik silk factory, which was founded in 1972. During a tour of the factory, you can get acquainted with the process of silk production and purchase products from it. Rishtan

village is located 35 km north of Margilan. The village is famous for its pottery, which has been produced here for over 1000 years. Ceramics are made from local varieties of red clay and glaze from natural mineral dyes and ash from mountain plants. The city of Kokand is interesting 88 km west of Fergana. For the first time these places are mentioned in the Chinese chronicles of the 2nd century BC. At that time, the state of Davan extended here. The first mention of the city of Kokand itself dates back to the 10th century AD. Kokand stood on the caravan route between India in China. In the 12th century, the city was destroyed by the Mongols, it was revived only in the first half of the 18th century, when the founder of the dynasty of Kokand khans founded the Eski-Kurgan fortress in its vicinity. From that time until the end of the 19th century, Kokand was the capital of the Kokand Khanate. The palace of its last ruler Khudoyerkhan – Urda reminds of the former greatness of Kokand, built in 1871 on an area of 4 hectares. Initially, the palace complex consisted of 7 buildings, of which only 2 have survived to this day. The facade of the palace is very beautiful, it is decorated with multi-colored mosaics. The interior of the palace is also impressive with its richness and magnificent decorations, which include brick mosaics, frescoes and wood carvings. The most beautiful room in the palace is the throne room of Khudoyerkhan. Today it houses the local history museum, which tells about the history and culture of the city. The museum funds include about 30,000 exhibits, including archaeological finds, manuscripts and rare lithographic publications made on Kokand silk paper, and works of art by masters of Western Europe, Russia and Uzbekistan. Also interesting in Kokand are the tomb of the Kokand khans of the early 19th century, the Friday Mosque (Jami) of the early 19th century, the Emir Madrasah and the Norbutabi Madrasah (both of the late 18th century).