Fergana Valley Tour: Silk Road Crafts and Culture

Many travellers come to Uzbekistan for its monuments; the Fergana Valley is the place to see the hands behind them. Weavers, dyers and potters here work with techniques passed from parent to child, in workshops that welcome visitors. This guide follows the crafts of a Fergana Valley tour — silk, ceramics and the decorative art of Kokand — and explains what to look for, so that a workshop visit becomes more than a shopping stop.

Key facts

• Craft towns: Margilan (silk), Rishtan (ceramics), Kokand (palace and mosque decoration).
• Workshops on our tour: the Yodgorlik silk factory and the Said Akhmad-Khoja madrasah in Margilan; the house and workshop of the ceramic master Rustam Usmanov in Rishtan (tour data).
• Recognition: the Margilan Crafts Development Centre's work to safeguard atlas and adras weaving was added to UNESCO's Register of Good Safeguarding Practices in 2017.
• Time needed: 2 days from Tashkent.
• Good for: travellers interested in textiles, ceramics, design and living traditions.
• Prices: depend on group size and season — see the Fergana Valley tour or contact us.

Margilan: the silk town

From cocoon to thread

Silk production in Margilan starts with silkworms fed on mulberry leaves. At the Yodgorlik factory you follow the whole process: cocoons are boiled to loosen the filament, and fine threads are drawn from several cocoons at once and wound onto reels. It is slow, wet, skilled work, and the room where it happens is one of the most memorable places of the tour.

Ikat: atlas and adras

The Fergana Valley is known for ikat — fabrics in which the threads are tied and dyed in sections before weaving, so the pattern appears as the cloth grows on the loom. Atlas is the shimmering all-silk version; adras mixes silk with cotton and is heavier. Dyes are made from natural minerals and plants, and the blurred edges of the motifs are a sign of the hand-tied method. In 2017 UNESCO recognised the Margilan Crafts Development Centre, founded in 2007 to revive these techniques, as a model of good safeguarding practice.

The madrasah of craftsmen

The Said Akhmad-Khoja madrasah in Margilan is no longer a school; its cells house craftsmen who weave carpets and silk. It shows how historic buildings in the valley are still part of working life.

Rishtan: blue and turquoise ceramics

Rishtan, a small town between Kokand and Fergana, is Uzbekistan's most famous ceramic centre. Two things define its pottery. The first is the local red clay. The second is ishkor, a glaze traditionally made from the ash of mountain plants, which gives Rishtan ware its deep blue and turquoise colours. Patterns are mostly floral and geometric, painted by hand before the final firing.

On our tour you visit the house of Rustam Usmanov, a ceramic master whose works have been shown at international exhibitions. You see the wheel and the painting, and his family's collection of local ceramics. Take time to ask about the glazes and how a design is built up; potters here like to explain their work.

Kokand: the craft of the khans

Kokand, the capital of the Kokand Khanate until the 19th century, shows the valley's crafts on a grand scale. The palace of Khudoyar Khan, completed in 1871, is covered in glazed tiles and decorated inside with painted wood and carved plaster. At the Jami Mosque, a long aivan rests on rows of slender wooden columns. Seen after the workshops, these buildings make it clear how tile makers, woodcarvers and painters worked together for royal patrons. For the history and layout of the town, see our Fergana Valley guide.

Bazaars: crafts in everyday use

Crafts in the valley are not museum pieces. In the traditional market of Margilan you see ikat in dresses, ceramics in kitchens and knives, caps and embroidery on sale for local customers. If your tour falls on a Thursday or Sunday, the Kumtepa bazaar near Margilan, the largest market in the Fergana Valley, adds a lively morning to the trip.

Buying crafts: what to know

• Buy in the workshop when you can: you see the maker and know where the piece comes from.
• Hand-tied ikat has softly blurred pattern edges; printed imitations have sharp ones.
• Real silk feels cool and smooth; ask to see the fibre if you are unsure.
• Wrap ceramics in clothes and carry them in hand luggage.
• Ask the seller whether an export certificate is needed for older items such as antique carpets or suzani.
• Bring cash in local currency; small workshops may not take cards.

Plan it with TravelBliss

Our 2-day Fergana Valley tour from Tashkent links all these places: Kokand and Rishtan on the first day, Margilan's madrasah, market and silk factory on the second, with a night in Fergana. We arrange the train or a car over the Kamchik Pass, the guide and driver, and the workshop visits. If you want to see paper and carpet making near Samarkand as well, look at our Konigil and Urgut crafts guide. Prices depend on the number of travellers and the season — see the tour page or contact us.