Fergana Valley
The attraction is related to the countries:UzbekistanUzbekistan , KyrgyzstanTajikistanFergana Valley is a fertile and densely populated region in Central Asia, divided between three states: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The ancient cities located in the valley have preserved many ancient monuments, ancient architectural structures that attract tourists from all over the world. The major centers of the region have international airports, hotels, entertainment centers and famous oriental bazaars await travelers.
Video: Ferghana Valley
Contents- Highlights
- History of Ferghana Valley
- Modernity
- Geography
- Climate and weather
Ferghana Valley Attractions - Shopping
- Local cuisine
Where to stay - Beach resorts
- Transportation
- How to get there
Highlights
Most of the cities and towns of the Ferghana Valley emerged on the trade trails of the Great Silk Road. The cities of Andijan, Fergana, Namangan, Margilan and Kokand (Uzbekistan), Osh (Kyrgyzstan), Khujand (Tajikistan) belong to the historical centers of culture, trade and handicrafts of the region.
.Some outstanding architectural monuments, historical locations and natural wonders of the Fergana Valley have been nominated for inclusion in the registers of World Heritage Sites. And yet, here you will not find such majestic monuments of architecture as you can see in the museum cities of Samarkand, Bukhara or Khiva.
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Travelers note that the original oriental charm of the Ferghana Valley is clearly felt not only in the busy centers of tourism, but also in the colorful small towns and villages that do not claim to be widely known.
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History of Fergana Valley
Since ancient times, the Fergana Valley has been the main route of the Great Silk Road caravans traveling from the Chinese region of Xinjiang to Samarkand and on to Persia, Afghanistan, India, the Caucasus and the Middle East. Many cities of the region can boast a history of 1500-2000 years and more. They emerged in oases where tired caravan drivers stopped for the night to sell part of their camels’ load at local markets in the morning and replenish their cargo with new goods. The distance between the towns is small – 25-30 kilometers, which corresponds to a day’s passage of the caravan.
.The history of the Ferghana Valley is full of dramatic events. In the middle of the first millennium BC, the region belonged to the vast area known as Sogdiana, inhabited by Iranian-speaking peoples. During this period, the Persian king Cyrus the Great annexed Sogdiana to his empire.
.In 328 BC, the Ferghana Valley was conquered by the troops of Alexander the Great, who founded here, on the banks of the Syr Darya, the fortified city of Alexandria Eschata. Historians believe that the citadel was located in the area of modern Khujand. Several subsequent centuries the rulers of the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom ruled here, and in the beginning of our era the Turkic Kaganate established itself in the region.
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Chinese geographers called the Ferghana Valley the “Land of Dayuan” and noted that there were 70 trading cities with powerful walls and towers. Gold, copper, and iron were mined in the mountain mines. Local craftsmen were famous for their fine ceramics, fabrics, carpets, and magnificent cold weapons. But the most valuable object of trade were horses of Fergana breed, which the Chinese nicknamed “heavenly horses”. Military conflicts broke out over the possession of herds of magnificent Ferghana horses. Padishahs, emirs and Chinese emperors were proud of even a pair of slender and fast-footed “Ferghans” standing in the royal stables.
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In the early Middle Ages Arab Muslims came here, and by the ninth century Islam had established itself in the Ferghana Valley. The grim 13th century was marked by the invasion of Genghis Khan’s hordes, which destroyed the flourishing cities of Ferghana. But it was followed by centuries of revival of culture and arts. From the fourteenth century, almost all of Central Asia was subjugated to Tamerlane and his enlightened descendants, who ruled a vast empire from Samarkand.
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Since the 16th century, the Ferghana Valley was part of the domains of the Emir of Bukhara, and then of the dynasty of the Kokand khans. In the second half of the 19th century, most of Central Asia was conquered by the Russian Empire, which established a new province here – Turkestan Province.
Modernity
In recent years, however, a certain stability has been established in the multi-ethnic region. Government commissions of neighboring states are slowly correcting the errors of political geography. Despite all the differences, the peoples of neighboring countries are united by two powerful factors – Islam and the Turkic language with elements of Persian Farsi. Its dialects are spoken here by everyone – Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and other ethnic groups.
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Geography
The Ferghana Valley is a deep intermountain depression of 22,000 km² between the Tien Shan, Hissar and Alai mountain ranges. In the north and north-west are the Chatkal and Kuramin mountains, in the south the Alai and Turkestan ranges rush into the sky, their peaks exceeding 5000 meters. The Fergana mountain system closes the eastern end of the valley. Only in the west there is a narrow passage called Khujand Gate.
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At the western end of the valley, near the Khujand Gate, two rivers – the Naryn and the Karadarya – merge to form the full-flowing Syr Darya. Its ancient name is Yaksart. In the 1950s, the dam of the Kairakkum hydroelectric power plant was built here, creating a vast reservoir of the same name, also known as the Tajik Sea (Bakhri Tochik). The artificial sea spills over 56 km from west to east and 15-20 km from north to south. Its area reaches 523 km².
. Over the years, the sediment brought by the river has heavily silted up the mouth of the reservoir. In the western part of the reservoir there appeared shallow waters, islets and swampy lakes overgrown with reeds, tamarisk and willows. Thousands of waterfowl and other feathered birds have settled here. This area has been declared an ornithological reserve..
On the banks of the reservoir is built a city of energy workers Guliston, there is a large carpet factory. On the coast of the Kairakkum reservoir resort hotels, beach vacation homes are built.
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Numerous rivers and streams flowing down from the mountains irrigate vast cotton fields, vineyards, orchards, melons and vegetable plantations. In addition, the arid valley is crossed by many irrigation canals that divert water to the fields from mountain rivers and from the Syr Darya River channel heading to the Aral Sea. The main man-made artery is the Big Fergana Canal, which stretches 270 km from west to east. The canal, built in 1939, feeds about 40% of the agricultural land in the Fergana Valley with water through hundreds of hydraulic structures. However, excessive water withdrawals from the Syr Darya had already led to a catastrophic shallowing of the Aral Sea by the early 1960s.
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Climate and weather
The Fergana Valley, surrounded by mountain ranges, has developed a special type of dry continental climate. The winter months bring moderate cold, but the thermometer columns rarely fall below zero. In January and February in the region usually +1…+3 °С, but sometimes frosty air breaks into the valley, and the temperature briefly falls to -20 °С.
.Spring comes early, already in March peaches, cherries, apricots and other fruit trees blossom. The hot, arid summer comes rapidly. By the middle of May air temperature in Fergana valley exceeds +20 °С, and in the beginning of June it reaches +25 °С. The hottest period is from July to August, when it is +27…+33 °С. The recorded temperature record was +42,2 °С. There are few precipitations.
.In mid-summer, hot air currents formed over the deserts of Central Asia often penetrate into the valley through the Khujand gate. When the weather is clear, a dry hot wind suddenly appears, carrying grains of sand. Tajiks call it “khushksoli” and Kyrgyz call it “kerimsel”. Such wind is characteristic of the western and central part of the Fergana Valley.
.Sights of the Fergana Valley
If all the sights of the Ferghana Valley were to be marked as points on the map of the region, it would be covered with a fanciful pattern stretching from mountain villages to the Syr Darya riverbed in the lowlands and thickening at the names of ancient cities and towns.
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Tourists will be interested to walk through the quarters of the century before last, built in the Russian colonial style. Capital brick buildings of the governor’s residence and the officers’ assembly remind that once there was the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Corps of Troops of the Russian Empire. Until 1924, the military town was named after the military commander and was called Skobelev.
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Fergana has no monuments of gray antiquity, because the city was founded only at the end of the century before last. However, in the park on Murabbilar Street it is worth visiting the Museum of Local History, which presents the history of the Fergana Valley since ancient times. A special building was built to display the museum collections, which number more than 80,000 items. Archeological artifacts exhibited in the showcases testify that the intermountain valley was inhabited already in the era of primitive people. The expositions devoted to the Great Silk Road and the conquests of Alexander the Great attract attention. The halls display collections of coins, samples of weapons and armor of warriors of Tamerlane’s epoch. The museum is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday is a day off.
.You can plunge into the authentic antiquity in ancient Margilan, which is 10 kilometers north of Fergana. The city, founded more than 2000 years ago, has preserved ancient religious buildings – mosques and madrassas of XVI-XIX centuries. The central square is decorated with a monument to the philosopher and Muslim theologian Burhan al-Marginani, who was born in Margilan in 1135
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Since ancient times, the weavers of Margilan have mastered the art of creating natural silk. There are two silk factories operating here, and the production facilities are open for tours. Colorful fabrics are also created by private weavers working on ancient looms. Margilan Bazaar, the largest in the Fergana Valley, is located 5 km from the city center.
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At 55 kilometers south of Fergana, on the slopes of the Alay Mountains is the village of Shakhimardan. This is one of the Uzbek enclaves on the territory of the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan. Here, at an altitude of 1550 meters, the turbulent rivers Kok-Su and Dub-Su flow through the mountain forests. From the settlement hiking trips are organized to the high-mountain lake Kulikubbon, formed as a result of an earthquake that occurred in 1766. The collapse of rocks blocked the riverbeds with a stone dam. There is a ropeway to the blue water body.
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In the village restored the ancient mosque and mausoleums of the righteous, destroyed under Soviet rule. The medieval mosque was built in honor of Caliph Hazrat-Ali, a close relative of the Prophet Muhammad, who visited these lands. Muslim pilgrims can be found here. Another attraction of the village is the museum of Uzbek poet Hamza Hakim-zade Niyazi. There is a monument to the poet in the square near the museum building.
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Another famous archaeological location in the Fergana Valley is in the city of Pap, which is 45 km north of Kokand and 2 km from the banks of the Syr Darya. More than 2000 years ago the city was a big trading center on the caravan routes. Remains of brick defense walls, foundations of buildings, ruins of a bath complex, an ancient water supply system with ceramic pipes have been excavated here. Among the most interesting finds – medieval craft workshops with inventory, necropolis VII-VIII centuries, a hoard of 36 copper coins minted by the rulers of Bukhara and Samarkand in the early X century.
.If you find it difficult to choose a route, contact local tour bureaus that organize 2-4-day excursions to the most popular cities of the Fergana Valley. Tour groups usually start from Tashkent, where there is a large international airport that receives guests from foreign countries. Group tours are offered by train or sightseeing bus with overnight accommodation in hotels. The cost of traveling through the Fergana Valley starts at $200.
.Shopping
There are shopping centers in the larger cities of the region, but they sell mostly Chinese-made goods. For authentic Ferghana souvenirs, you should hunt for local markets.
The most famous bazaar in the region, Kum Tepa Bozori, is located in the city of Margilan. The choice of authentic goods here is extremely wide: from colorful carpets and silk outfits to painted ceramic dishes and carved wooden boxes. In jewelry salons, women are drawn to fine jewelry. Connoisseurs pick up jewelry leisurely, and the salon owners are sure to offer buyers tea or coffee with cookies.
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The market has specialty pavilions of local silk producers, where you can buy not only fabrics, but also dressy clothes. The bazaar also offers products of Ferghana villagers – seasonal vegetables and fruits, dairy products. The market is open from 04:00 to 18:00 on Sundays and Thursdays.
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As souvenirs in bazaars and stores tourists buy oriental sweets. Sweet tooths will be especially pleased with the wonderful Kokand halva, nuts in grape sugar, kush-lili cookies.
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As a gift from the Ferghana Valley you can also buy a good local wine, it is sold in stores under the brand Ferghana France. But it is best to combine the purchase with an excursion to the winery in the city of Ferghana (Okibat Street, 1-A). Here you can taste the drinks, and then buy in the brand store favorite wine or brandy in a gift box.
.Local cuisine
The cuisine of the Fergana Valley combines the culinary achievements of all the peoples inhabiting this fertile land. Ingredients of dishes are quite diverse – different varieties of rice, local vegetables and fruits, meat and poultry, a wide range of herbs and spices. Cottonseed oil and sheep fat are used for frying. Wheat is used for baking round breads (tandyr-non), samsa, making noodles, flour is added to sauces and sweets. Ferghans are no strangers to borrowing from the recipes of their neighbors – Chinese, Iranians, Arabs, Indians, Turks. The exquisite dishes of Bukhara cuisine, which has spread here since the times of Bukhara emirs’ rule, are incredibly delicious. It is an amazing synthesis of culinary art of Persian, Jewish and Uzbek cooks.
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Fans of charcoal grill will find 12-15 types of shashlik in local restaurants – the traditional skewer of lamb or beef loin, as well as barbecue of chicken and sazan, liver and even steppe quail marinated in lemon juice and cognac. Various sauces, spicy herbs, vegetable salads are served with meat. Try Arabian kebabs. They are made of veal brisket chops, in which minced meat and a thin plate of fat for juiciness are wrapped. A generous portion of kebab on a spit costs $1.8-3.5.
.River fish dishes are rarely offered in restaurants in the central and eastern parts of the Fergana Valley, but in the west, where the Kairakkum reservoir has been created, you will be served stuffed pike, fried Amu Darya trout, and boiled crayfish.
.In fashionable restaurants a dense lunch without alcohol will cost 15-20 $, which will amount to three-digit sums in local currencies. The main dish on the table will be pilaf, and it is served with shakarob, a vegetable salad. Plov may well be replaced by a tasty alternative – kazan-kabob, meat stewed in a cauldron with potatoes under a fatty spicy sauce. As an appetizer, order dolma – miniature stuffed cabbage made of grape leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice; try slices of spicy horse sausage – kazy.
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Coziness and good service await guests in another new hotel of the unofficial capital of the region – Grand Fergana Hotel 4*, at 15 Yangi Turon Street. Spacious rooms are decorated in European style, the rooms are equipped with large TVs, mini-bars, air conditioners. European and Uzbek cuisine is served in the restaurant. Accommodation costs from $92. Breakfast is included (buffet).
.In Namangan you can stay at the hotel Shedevr Plaza (8-B Bobur Street). There is a summer bar by the pool, and the restaurant serves national cuisine. As a bonus, free bicycles are offered to hotel guests. The price range for accommodation is $55-62.
.The best hotel in Andijan is Chinor Hotel 4*, it is located near the airport, on Chinabad Street, 1. A room can be rented for $80.
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Karvon-Saroy Hotel 3* on Boburshokh Street, 1 competes with Chinor Hotel. Its yard is decorated with an orchard, a swimming pool, a sauna and a restaurant are at guests’ disposal. Tables are set in the hall and on the open terrace. The hotel has a mini-market, an ATM, a store of souvenirs and gifts. The cost of accommodation is $46. Breakfast is included.
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Among the hotels of medium price category tourists praise Hotel Uvaysiy (Margilan, $36/day), Silk Road Hotel (Kokand, $52/day), Tantana Hotel (Fergana, $48-65/day).
.Traveling through the Kyrgyz part of the Fergana Valley you can spend the night in the town of Kadamzhai, located south of Fergana, in a gorge near the Ak-Suu River flowing into the Syr Darya. Here, on Severnaya Street, 22, is the Lux Hotel. A room will cost 15-20 $.
.Unpretentious tourists stay in inexpensive guest houses and tidy hostels, where you can expect to pay no more than $17-25 per night. In Fergana, look for the Megi Guest House (11 T. Kadyrov St.), the Bal Hotel Tabassum (66 Alisher Navoi St.), or the Sakura Inn, a mini-hotel on 89 Yuksalish St.
.In Margilan, budget travelers will find a room at Farovon Hostel (66 Marginon Kukhchasi Street). The cost of a night’s stay is $24.
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Beach resorts
In the city of Guliston, located near the Tajik Sea, several resort hotels have been erected. Among the best hotels is the Firuz Plaza, built right on the sandy beach. The four-storey building houses comfortable rooms and apartments, a restaurant, sauna, billiard salon. On the territory there are swimming pools for adults and children. Fishing from a boat is offered to those who wish. The cost of daily accommodation – 54-69 $, apartments with a living room and panoramic terrace will cost 149 $. Breakfast is included.
.Recreation by the water is offered in the hotel complex of the National Bank of Tajikistan. At the guests’ disposal are a conference hall, a restaurant, a bar, two saunas with swimming pools. On the territory of the complex there are gazebos with barbecues. Catamarans and jet skis can be rented on the beach. Recreational boats depart from the pier. Daily cost of rooms – from 18 to 59 $, for accommodation in suites you need to pay 79 $. If desired, guests pay for lunch and dinner.
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In the resort area is located sanatorium “Bakhoriston”. In the park erected 5 hotel buildings, mud treatment buildings and a medical center. On the territory there is a soccer field, tennis court, volleyball court, sauna and billiard pavilion. The price includes three meals a day in the restaurant. Range of prices for accommodation – from 45 to 87 $, VIP-apartments will cost 158 $. In the park area near the beach you can rent a separate cottage for 4-6 people, the daily cost of rent – from 149 to 496 $.
.Cheaper rooms are offered in the sanatorium “Shifo”. Double room with three meals a day and medical procedures here can be rented for $ 15, houses on the coast are rented for 18-24 $.
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On the beaches of the reservoir scattered tent camping, summer houses for fishermen with recreation areas.
.Transportation
The main transportation hub of the region is the city of Fergana. It is served by airlines and railroads, highways. From Fergana one can get to any corner of the Fergana Valley by trains, shuttle buses or cabs. Travel is inexpensive.
.How to get there
Fergana International Airport operates in the city of Fergana, Uzbekistan. This air harbor is most convenient for travelers who have decided to explore the main attractions of the Fergana Valley.
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Airliners from foreign countries are received by the international airports of Osh (Kyrgyzstan) and Khujand (Tajikistan). The valley can also be reached by rail and by regional airlines from the capitals of Central Asian countries – Tashkent, Dushanbe, Bishkek.
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