Көканд қаласы: тарих, мәдениет және қолөнер орталығы

City in Fergana Region, eastern Uzbekistan
the city

Kokand (, ; Кока́нд; خوقند; ; ; ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district level city, that includes the urban type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand as of 2022 was approximately 259,700.

The Palace of Khudayar Khan was built between 1863 and 1874 by ruler Muhammad Khudayar Khan. American diplomat Eugene Schulyer described it as being "much larger and more magnificent than any other [palace] in Central Asia.”

Khudayar Khan commissioned architect Mir Ubaydullo to build him a royal residence with 114 rooms set around seven courtyards. The ruler wanted his mother to live in one of the palace's grand buildings, but she refused and set up her yurt in a courtyard. Although intended to be Kokand's main place of worship, the Juma Mosque remained shut for most of the 20th century. It then reopened after much needed restoration in 1989 and now houses a small museum of applied arts with displays of embroideries and ceramics. Today, the building houses a small museum and a shop, but the tiles and the carved wooden columns are still impressive to look at.

Built in 1989, the Hamza Museum is named after Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi, a Soviet hero who was born in Kokand. Hamza was Uzbekistan's first national poet and the founder of Uzbek social realism, and the museum was opened to commemorate the centenary of his birth. The Narbutabey Madrassah was built in the 1790s. Its graveyard includes the tomb of Muhammad Umar Khan and his wife, the famous Uzbek poet Nodira. Known as the Modari Khan Mausoleum, it is ornately decorated with glazed blue mosaic tiles. Unlike the other madrassahs in Kokand which were closed by the Soviets, the Narbutabey Madrassah remained active as a place of Quranic study until 2016. The first International Handicrafters Festival took place in Kokand in September 2019. It was hosted by the Uzbekistan Handicraft Association, and the guest of honour was Rosy Greenlees, President of the World Crafts Council. More than 600 creatives from 70 countries participated. The festival was created to enable artisans from around the world to demonstrate and sell their products, as well as to network and further develop their skills. The festival included conference sessions dedicated to developing hand craftsmanship. The crafts on display included musical instruments, painting, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, and woodwork. It is planned that the festival will be a biennial event, and it will next take place in 2021.

The black market provides nearly 75% of the income generated in the borders of the city. This includes retail, groceries, employment, money exchange, agriculture and manufacturing of many goods. A large part of the population works as small business owners in outdoor markets. Kokand is a center for the manufacture of fertilizers, chemicals, machinery, and cotton and food products. Over the last two decades, new districts and public buildings have been created in the city as well as many houses, shops, cafes, restaurants and other private sector ventures. Kokand is an education center with one institute, nine colleges and lyceums, and numerous museums.