Marhamat District

Overview

Marhamat District was created in 1926. In 1932–1933 its centre, the village of Russkoye Selo, was renamed Marhamat; the district was later merged with its neighbours several times before being re-formed on 7 December 1970. It borders the Asaka and Buloqboshi districts, Kyrgyzstan's Aravan District and Fergana Region's Kuva District.

The north and north-east are flat, while the rest climbs into the foothills of the Alay Range, where 1,500-metre Ulugtog and the Tuyamoyin hills enclose the Oyim–Marhamat–Khojaobod basin. Fields are watered by the South Fergana Canal and the Aravansoy.

What it's known for

On the eastern edge of Marhamat lies Mingtepa, one of the largest ancient city sites in the Fergana Valley, which many archaeologists identify with Ershi, the Dayuan capital of the Chinese chronicles. Other archaeological sites include Alitepa and Kashkartepa. The People's Poet of Uzbekistan Muhammad Yusuf (1954–2001) was born in the district.