Kokand 1871

From Kokand: the journey across the Kokand Khanate I

Alexei Pavlovich Fedchenko book's original title is: Iz Kokana: svedeniya o puteshestvii po Kokanskomu Khanstvu.  Its first edition appeared in 1871.

The book presents Fedchenko’s account of his journey to the Khanate of Kokand, an expedition he undertook after roaming through Turkestan in the late 1860s.  Let us start from his description of Khujand:

‘Khujand has drawn my attention. This is the city of important manufacturing: sericulture, cotton, dyeing and weaving. In addition, there are all the necessary conditions for the further development of these industries: good climate, hard-working and smart Tadjik population, easy access to coal, neighbouring rich Kokand and the location on the Syr-Darya river.

The Kokand Khanate was established in 1709 in the Ferghana Valley but the legend surrounding the history of its rulers dates much earlier back in history. The Kokand khans were said to have been the descendants of Babur who – in his journey from Samarkand to Afghanistan, had to live one of his new-born sons in Ferghana. The baby was raised by the local inhabitants and named Altun-Bishik (the Golden Cradle) after a richly decorated cradle he had been left in.

Syr Darya, 21st century

Khujand, 21st century

About the Images of Central Asia blog



Toktogul reservoir

Chai in Kochkor-Ata, Kyrgyzstan

The Images of Central Asia blog is an invitation to travel through the landscape of past and present Central Asia. The journey does not start at any particular point, nor does it have a final destination. It is meant to be the appreciation of Central Asia’s past and present through its images and historical travel and exploration literature.

Since the blog presents historic travel literature, most posts are concerned with Central Asian history. Their illustration with present-day photographs is to suggest neither that time stopped nor that little has changes. This juxtaposition of literary and photographic images is simply an approach to getting to know Central Asia a little bit more.  These are just images of past and present.




E010, Kyrgyzstan

‘Once you have become the companion of the road, it calls you and calls you again. (Stephen Graham,1916, Through Russian Central Asia, p.1)