artisans move unhurried through their days. There is no rush here, no curated façade for visitors. Life unfolds at the pace of craft and harvest, shaped by silk threads, sun-ripened fruit, and pottery glazed in cobalt and jade. Tradition is not preserved for admiration; it simply lives, passed down with a devotion so natural that locals often seem unaware of the extraordinary heritage they carry. Hospitality in Fergana rises warm from the clay ovens before you even ask. Tandir bread lands on the table
still breathing heat, its blistered crust offering a smoky perfume that feels like an embrace. Green somsa, filled with herbs and onions, split open into clouds of steam that carry the scent of mountain pastures. And Kokand’s legendary halva — feather-light, layered, almost impossibly delicate — dissolves the moment it touches the tongue, leaving behind only the faintest memory of sweetness. Even plov, ubiquitously “the best” wherever you travel in Uzbekistan, becomes something entirely its own
here. Made exclusively with devzira rice, a flame-hued grain grown only in the valley, Fergana’s plov is deeply aromatic, earthy, and rich — a dish that seems to gather the warmth of the region’s sun and soil into each spoonful. To journey through Fergana is to wander the beating heart of Uzbek craft and culture, a place where mastery is measured not in spectacle but in the quiet assurance of skills honed over centuries. In Margilan, widely regarded as the spiritual home of Uzbek silk,
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EC Magazines | Busan Edition 2025
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