Namangan — Uzbekistan
Highlights
Aksikent
The ruins of an ancient fortress about 22km outside the city, inhabited since the 1st century AD — Namangan itself was resettled here after Aksikent's original site was largely destroyed, and the site was once the Fergana Valley's main city in the 9th and 10th centuries, tied to local legends of "blood-sweating horses" recorded by early travelers through the region.
An Easy Night in Namangan
We reached Namangan late by shared taxi and stayed at the Leora Hotel — a genuinely comfortable place with a pool and a good breakfast. Dinner was a shared spread of shawarma, chicken wings, and a mojito I loved (93,000 so'm between us). Afterward, on a short walk past the railway line, a man selling ayran waved me over and insisted I try half a glass — no money, no expectation, just a small kindness in sign language. I worked on this very website from the hotel until about 3 a.m., then swam before checkout the next day.
Practical Tips
- Namangan is a reasonable base for the wider Fergana Valley loop — regular shared taxis connect it to Andijan, Margilan, and Fergana city.