From April 21 to 30, 2025, Uzbekistan is hosting the international scientific expedition “Ethnocultural Tourism: Fergana Heritage – 2025.” Scholars from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan are participating in the project, reports Karavan Info.
According to the Information Center of the Scientific and Educational Center for Altaic Studies and Turkology “Greater Altai” of Altai State University (Russia), the expedition is a unique event: similar interdisciplinary and international research in Uzbekistan is being conducted for the first time in the past 35–40 years.
The aim of the project is a comprehensive study of the region’s historical and cultural heritage with a view to creating ethnographic tourism routes. Special attention is being given to documenting the ethnocultural characteristics of the Fergana Valley, including traditional livelihoods, rituals, folk crafts, architecture, and culinary heritage.
One of the key focuses of the expedition will be a comparative study of the cultural traits of the Uzbek population with other Turkic- and Iranian-speaking peoples of the region.
The expedition is organized by:
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The Research Institute for Tourism Development under the Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Uzbekistan,
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The Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan,
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The Scientific and Educational Center for Altaic Studies and Turkology “Greater Altai” (Russia).
The research team also includes specialists from the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology named after B. Jamgyrchinov of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic and the National Archaeological Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The Fergana Valley is one of the most ethnically and culturally rich regions of Central Asia. It holds a wealth of cultural heritage: unique architectural monuments, traditional ways of life and crafts, many of which are still preserved and passed down through generations. Studying these features not only contributes to the preservation of the cultural code but also opens new horizons for the development of ethnocultural tourism in the region.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
April 22, 2025