rivers. The banks of the Upper Naryn have on
them only a few Cossack stations; but north of the
confluence of this river with the Kara-daria is built
the town of Namangan, with native manufactories of
cotton stuffs, 1,000 shops, and an annual sale of
300.000 sheep. Here they construct rafts, which,
laden with fruits, skins, and felts, are floated down the
Syr. North-west of Namangan is Kassan, boasting
of being the most ancient town in Ferghana, the Tajik
inhabitants of which M. Ujfalvy pronounced the most
handsome in Turkistan.
Chust is another town north of the Syr-daria, where
they make knives, as famous in their way as those
of Hissar. The waters of the Kara-daria lave several
towns, beginning with Uzgend, situated, at a height of
3,200 feet, at the mouth of one of the defiles of the
Thian Shan. This town has become famous by reason
of a neighbouring tomb, whither pilgrimages are made
in memory of Hoja Yusuf. South of Uzgend, but
2.000 feet higher, is the fortified town of Gulcha,
defending from the Chinese the Terek-davan Pass.
The principal town of East Ferghana is Andijan,
watered by canals from the Kara-daria, and to the
north-east of this are the thermal carbonated and
sulphurous waters of Djalabad-Ayup, much frequented
by the natives.
Osh, to the south-east of Andijan, upon the River
Ak-Bura, is at the mouth of the valley by which one
mounts to the Alai and the Pamir. The town commands
a magnificent view, but the most interesting
object is an isolated rock called Takht-i-Suleiman,
or the Throne of Solomon, spoken of in conflicting
Oriental legends.* T o the west of the Ak-Bura are
* Some pilgrims come only to worship, they say, at the tomb of the
found several important towns in the Ferghana valley,
such as Naukat and Aravan. Marghilan is situated on
the River Shakhimardan, and by reason of its salubrity
a spot near has been chosen by the Russian authorities
for the site of the new capital of the province. According
to local tradition, the “ two-horned Alexander of
Macedón,” whom they speak of as one o f the saints
of Islam ■(!), died here, and the place is accordingly
regarded as sacred. South of Marghilan, higher up the
river, is the town of Shakhimardan, or “ king of men,”
which claims to have in possession (as do other places
in Muhammadan countries) the tomb of the prophet
Ali, and is, consequently, one of the most famous
resorts of Ferghana pilgrims. There are other populated
places in the pretty valley of thé Isfara, and
among them a town of this name, numbering 5,000
inhabitants. I am not aware that any census has been
taken, but of the towns I have named Khokand is said
to possess 60,000 inhabitants, Namangan 50,000, and
Marghilan 40,000, whilst Andijan and Osh are put down
at 20,000 each, and the whole province at 729,690.
For purposes of administration, Ferghana is divided
into seven districts, of which that of Andijan is the
largest, and Marghilan the most important.
vizier of Solomon, others kneel before what they consider the tomb of
the great king himself. Here, say these latter, he was assassinated, and
the hollow places in the flinty soil of the mountain are the hiding-places
of his black dogs. There they drank his blood and ate his body. Into
these holes the sick to be cured plunge their heads.