evidence: Today Fergana valley is one of the prosperous regions of Uzbekistan. Fertile oases enclose the region. Along the northern boundary f the valley there flows the Syr Darya River, which is formed by the confluence of two smaller rivers - the Karadarya and the Naryn. Their waters feed three main canals - the Big Fergana Canal, the Southern Fergana Canal and the Northern Fergana Canal - the first nation-wide constructions of the twentieth century. The big cities - Fergana, Kokand, Andijan and Namangan are located in the oases of the valley. In the rural area there prevails the cultivated landscape - vast cotton fields, green spots of gardens, melon and gourd plantations and vineyards cut with lines of irrigation ditches. Rows of poplar trees and mulberry trees, plane trees and elms run along the highways. [...] For a long time Kokand was the main city of Fergana valley. The first written evidence about the town of Khavikand can be found in the 10th century chronicles where it was mentioned as a town located on the Great Silk Road and famous for its crafts. In 18-19th centuries it was the capital of powerful Kokand khanate, the state that dominated most of the territory of modern Uzbekistan and contiguous states. Kokand was a big religious center. In the years of its prosperity there were 35 madrassahs and 100 mosques here. Unfortunately, the majority of them were ruined in the course of time or as a result of earthquakes, or by the Soviet power. [...] Fergana valley - the vast prosperous oasis with the most fertile lands in Central Asia and the finest climate - is rightly called Golden Valley.