Margilan

a city in Fergana Oblast, Uzbek SSR, located in the southeastern part of the Fergana Valley, in the foothills of the Alai Range, near the Margilan railroad station (on the Andizhan-Kokand line). It is a highway junction. Population, 106,-000 in 1973 (36,500 in 1897, 44,000 in 1926, 68,000 in 1959, and 95,000 in 1970). Margilan is one of the old cities in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, having been known since the eighth century. It was captured by Russian troops in 1875. During the years of Soviet power the city was transformed into a large center of the silk-processing industry. Margilan has a silk combine; the Atlas firm; a factory producing clothing of artistic value; mechanical repair, tractor repair, and wood-products plants; an iron foundry; and a dairy.

Margilan is an old center of traditional weaving by hand, famous for its khanatlas (silks with flowing iridescent designs) and printed fabrics. It is also known for its embroidery, produced both by hand and by machine, and architectural carving on wood andganch (a binding material used in plastering). The city has a research institute of the silk industry and the general engineering department of the Tashkent Institute of Textiles and Light Industry. There are evening textile, construction, accounting and credit, and economic planning technicums and preschool pedagogical and medical schools. The Iu. Akhunbabaev Memorial Museum is also in Margilan.