A Local Destination to Experience Uzbekistan’s Traditional Crafts
Located in eastern Uzbekistan, the Fergana Region is known for its vibrant traditional crafts.
It’s about a 4-5 hour drive from Tashkent, crossing a significant pass to reach the region known for its flourishing traditional crafts scene.
Fergana isn’t typically included in general tours organized by travel agencies, so most visitors explore it independently rather than as part of a guided tour.
While traveling to Fergana from Tashkent involves going in the opposite direction of popular destinations like Samarkand and Bukhara, it’s worth considering if your travel goals include experiencing traditional crafts and shopping for unique items.
Activities in Fergana
The town renowned for its delicate patterns: Pottery Town – Rishton
When you go to Uzbekistan, you’ll invariably come across the blue pottery often seen in souvenir shops. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that the pottery, while appearing similar, has subtly different patterns. These are dishes crafted by artisans in the town of Rishton.
It’s said that Rishton has had access to suitable clay for pottery since ancient times, with the origins of Rishton pottery dating back over a thousand years.
Recently, new artisans have emerged, and you can now find pottery in various colors such as yellow, red, and purple, not just blue. However, when it comes to Rishton pottery, the image of blue is strong.
The beautiful blue color is often attributed to the natural glaze, called Ishqor, extracted from shrubs found in the nearby desert.
In Rishton, you can visit several workshops to see how pottery is made. Choosing Rishton pottery as a souvenir creates a much stronger attachment than selecting pottery from other cities.
Colorful and bright fabric, Margilan’s ikat
In Uzbekistan, there are traditional fabrics known as Suzani, embroidered cloth, and colorful ikat. Margilan is known for its vibrant and colorful ikat fabrics called “Adras” and “Atlas.”
In the past, the upper class wore coats made of silk Atlas or velvet called “Alo baxmal.”
Common people wore Adras, with silk warp and cotton weft.
There’s a legend that weaving artisans presented the king with “Khan-Atlas,” a rainbow-colored silk known for its softness, which is widely used in traditional dance costumes.
You can visit workshops in Margilan to observe the process of weaving Adras.
Also, at Margilan’s bazaar, you can buy ikat fabrics like Adras, and there’s a wider variety available at cheaper prices compared to other cities.
