The heartland of Uzbekistan, as the valley of Ferghana is known, is the densely populated part of the country with a majority of ethnic Uzbeks. Ferghana is the most fertile part of Uzbekistan, with large agricultural output. The Chatkal range of the Tian Shan in the north surrounds the valley, with the Pamir-Alai in the south from where the Syr Darya River starts flowing through the valley. So the region looks like a huge bowl. Ferghana valley is considered to be a big blossoming oasis of Central Asia. That’s why Ferghana Valley is called “The Golden Valley”.
The valley of Ferghana is a home for several historical towns as follows:Marghilan: it is known for the best of Silk factory - Yodgorlik weaving the traditional methods.
Rishtan: is the pottery town for the traditional blue glazed floral designs.Andijan: the city of Babur, his birthplace -the museum and house of Ark Icchi and the grand bazaar of Andijan.Kokand: is the seat of Khanate - Palace of the last ruler Khudayar Khan.

Ferghana City is the administrative centre of Ferghana region. Its territory is 70 square km and the population is 230,000 people. The history of the city dates back to 1877. It was decided to build a new city 12 km from the old town of Marghilan. Initially it was named as new Marghilan, later Skobelev. In 1924 the city was named as Ferghana. At present Ferghana is an important industrial centre of Uzbekistan. Regarding the capacity of production Ferghana stands on the second place in Uzbekistan after Tashkent.

Marghilan Since old days Marghilan has been famous for its wonderful and fine silk. Via the Great Silk Road traders brought Margilanian silk to Baghdad, Cairo and Athens.
Nowadays the population of Marghilan is 165,000 people with the territory of 50 square km. Marghilan is the silk production center of Uzbekistan.

 

Rishton is 50 km to the west of Ferghana City. Since ancient times Rishton was famous for its ceramics. There are deposits of red clay, natural minerals and abundance of mountainous vegetation that is needed for painting process. Rishton artisans became famous all over the world for their technology of ceramic production.

 

Kokand City is situated in the western part of the Ferghana Valley and it was its capital from 1709 to 1876. The Great Silk Road had played a major role in the development of the city.
The territory of the Kokand Khanate included eastern part of present-day Uzbekistan. There were 29 khans in the history of the Khanate. The most outstanding ruler was its last khan – Khudoyar. From 1845 to1876, just before the annexation of the Kokand Khanate to Russia, Khudoyar-Khan was the ruler of the state.