In the morning we depart from Fergana and drive to Margilan. The city is located 12 kms from Fergana and is one of the oldest cities in the Fergana Valley.Since old days Margilan has been famous for its wonderful and fine silk and Ikat fabrics.Via the Great Silk Road traders brought Margilanian silk to Baghdad, Cairo and Athens.The most famous attraction of Margilan is “Yodgorlik’? silk-weaving factory, which considered to be the best enterprise manufacturing handmade silk in Uzbekistan. At the factory you can see the whole silk-making process from cocoons processing to finished product. Here,450 workers, with majority of them being women, weave silk and cotton fabric. They use the traditional technology of making the fabrics by hand – that is the same techniques Fergana weavers used in ancient times. The next stop is Kuva. In the early Middle Ages Kuva was a large trade and craft settlement where such crafts as pottery, art carving and jewellery making were highly developed.
A few years ago, during an archeological expedition in the north of Shahristan, a residential area dating to the 7th century was excavated. A religious complex, including a Buddha temple and statue, were unearthed and opened.
This temple was ruined by the Arabs during their invasion of Central Asia. Today, Kuva is a fresh-looking town, covered in gardens and vineyards, and famous for its tasty pomegranates. After sightseeing the town we shall drive to Andijan, which was an important stop on the Great Silk Road, lying mid-way between Kashgar and Khujand. Already in the first century A.D. the city was part of Kushan’s kingdom.
Destroyed by Genghis Khan, it was rebuilt by his grandson Kaidu Khan in the late 13th century, and became the capital of Fergana for the next three centuries. Andijan is perhaps the best-known as the birthplace of Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur (Babur), who founded the Mughal dynasty that ruled much of today’s India, Pakistan, and South Asia.
In 30 kms from the modern urban area there lies the site of ancient settlement Erish – the capital of ancient Davan state, which was famous for its swift-footed stallions.
It was from here that these fast horses were delivered as a very precious thing to the court of Chinese emperors.
Overnight At The Hotel In Andijan.