After returning to Tashkent, we were supposed to drive east through the Ferghana Valley and into Kyrgyzstan through Osh. As the route was now closed to all traffic our plans had to change. We left Tashkent early in the morning and drove to Kokand. Security on the road was heavy due to the trouble in Osh and we had to stop twice for passport checks. The Ferghana Valley is a more conservative part of the country which becomes apparent when you see the how the women are dressed. After visiting the requisite mosques, museums and palaces in Kokand we headed further east to spend the night in the town of Ferghana.
Next morning we drove to a small town called Margilon to visit a silk ‘factory’. The town has been manufacturing silk products for over 1500 years. We were given a tour through the entire process from the unwinding of the silk from the cocoons (each cocoon is made up of one kilometre of silk!!!), to the dying, spinning and weaving. The factory produces hand-tied silk rugs and hand-made as well as machine-made bolts of multi-coloured silks for scarves and decorative use. The machines used for weaving clanked and clattered like something out of a movie on the industrial revolution.
Silk weaving by hand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v_9p7rj80Q
Silk weaving by machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8SXbY4opzs
Our next stop was the town of Rushtin, famous throughout Central Asia for its ceramics. The clay in this area is so pure that no additives -other than water- are needed. We also stopped by the Rushtin market where we became very popular with several people asking to have their photos taken with us.
Photos from the Ferghana Valley...
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| Fergana Valley |
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