Fergana 1082761 223612244 2008-07-04T21:49:36Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{dablink|"Farghana" redirects here. For the Islamic educational institute in Britain, see [[Al Farghana Institute]].}} [[Image:Fergana EN.PNG|thumb|350px|''Fergana'']] '''Fergana''' or '''Farghana''' ([[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]: '''Farg'ona''' ['''''Фарғона'''''], [[Russian language|Russian]]: '''Фергана''') is a city (1999 population: 182,800), the capital of [[Fergana Province]] in eastern [[Uzbekistan]], at the southern edge of the [[Fergana Valley]] in southern [[Central Asia]], cutting across the borders of [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], and Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of [[Tashkent]], and about 75 km west of [[Andijan]]. It is located at {{coor at dms|40|23|11|N|71|47|11|E|type:city}}. == History == Passing through Fergana is the ancient [[North Silk Road]], the northernmost route of the [[Silk Road]]s with about 2600 kilometres in length, which connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xian to the west over the [[Wushao Ling Pass]] to [[Wuwei]] and emerging in [[Kashgar]] before linking to ancient [[Parthia]].<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18006 C. Michael Hogan, ''Silk Road, North China'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham, 2007]</ref> [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] literature identifies the area as the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] homeland. Fergana also played a central role in the history of the [[Mughal]] dynasty of [[South Asia]] in that Omar Sheikh Mirza, chieftain of Farghana, was the father of Zahiruddin Muhammad [[Babur]] (1483-1530), founder of the Mughal dynasty in [[India]]. At Mirza's death in 1498, Babur became chief although he was still a minor. During the expansion of [[Russia]] in the nineteenth century the Russians invaded [[Turkistan]], gradually taking it over between 1855 and 1884. They took the capital of the [[Kokand Khanate]] in 1873 and included it within what was named the Fergana province of the [[Russian empire]]. Modern Fergana city was founded in 1876 as a [[garrison]] town and colonial appendage to [[Margelan]] (13.5 miles to the northwest) by the Russians. It was initially named '''New Margelan''' (Новый Маргелан), then renamed [[Mikhail Skobelev|Skobelev]] (Скобелев) in 1910 after the first Russian military governor of Fergana Valley. In 1924, after the [[Bolshevik]] reconquest of the region in 1918–1920, the name was changed to '''Fergana''', after the province of which it was the centre.<ref>[Dates of renaming taken from Adrian Room, ''Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historical Sites'', McFarland, 1997, ISBN 0-7864-1814-1 (pbk) p.124 </ref> The Fergana [[canal]] was constructed in the 1930s.<ref>[http://www.orexca.com/fergana_uzbekistan.shtml Fergana: History]</ref> The third chapter of the Chinese chronicle of Bejshu (from the beginning of the VII c.) mentions Ferghana under the name of '''Bokhan'''. == Architecture == Fergana’s wide, orderly tree-shaded avenues and attractive blue-washed 19th century tsarist [[colonial style|colonial-style]] houses are said to mimic the appearance of pre-modern and pre-earthquake Tashkent. There is a high proportion of [[Russians|Russian]], [[Koryo-saram|Korean]] and [[Tatars|Tatar]] inhabitants compared to other Fergana Valley cities. With Russian as the dominant language, the city has a distinctly different feel from most Uzbek cities. It retains an air of [[Soviet]]-era, pre-independence Uzbekistan. == Oil production == Fergana has been a center for oil production in the Fergana Valley since the region's first [[oil refinery]] was built near the city in 1908. Since then, more refineries have been added, and Fergana is one of the most important centers of oil refining in Uzbekistan. [[Natural gas]] from western Uzbekistan is transported by [[pipeline]] to the valley, where it is used to manufacture [[fertilizer]]. The '''Great Fergana Canal''', built almost entirely by hand during the 1930s, passes through the northern part of the city. With a western loan Fergana is able to modernize its refinery and also reduce [[air pollution]]<ref>[http://www.ebrd.com/new/pressrel/1997/03jan20x.htm Uzbekistan's Fergana Refinery is upgraded with EBRD finance 1997</ref> emissions. == Tourist locations == * Museum of Local Studies – with displays of natural history, photographs, and local handicrafts * Regional Theatre – in 1877 the house of General [[Mikhail Skobelev|Mikhail “Old Bloody Eyes” Skobelev]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} == See also == * [[Babur]] * [[FK Neftchy Farg'ona]] ==External links== * [http://ferghana.ru portal on Ferghana and Central Asia] * [http://fergart.com Fine arts of Fergana and Uzbekistan] [[Category:Cities, towns and villages in Uzbekistan]] [[bg:Фергана]] [[de:Fargʻona]] [[es:Fergana]] [[fr:Ferghana]] [[ko:페르가나]] [[it:Fergana (città)]] [[ja:フェルガナ]] [[no:Fergana]] [[uz:Farg`ona]] [[pl:Fergana]] [[pt:Fergana]] [[ru:Фергана]] [[fi:Fergana]] [[sv:Fergana]] [[tg:Фарғона]] [[tr:Fergana]]