Said Akhmad Khoja Madrasah, Margilan

In the centre of Margilan, a short walk from the town's main bazaar, the Said Akhmad Khoja Madrasah is a modest building with an unusual second life. It was built at the end of the 19th century as a religious college around a courtyard of student cells, the hujras, and its architecture is typical of the Fergana Valley: brick walls on a timber frame, carved wooden columns and a simple portal rather than the vast tiled façades of Bukhara.

Like most madrasahs in the region, it was closed in the Soviet period, and one source records that it served for a time as a prison. After independence it was returned to the community and restored, with a major reconstruction completed in 2007.

A courtyard of workshops

Today its greatest interest for visitors is what goes on in the cells. Around two dozen former student rooms have been given to local craftspeople, and on a typical day you may find woodcarvers shaping panels and boxes, embroiderers working on suzani and gold-thread caps, metalworkers chasing copper, and weavers with a small loom. It is a good place to see Fergana Valley crafts at the scale of a single workshop, after the industrial rhythm of the Yodgorlik factory.

The masters sell their work directly, and prices are generally fair. Conversation is part of the visit: ask about the patterns and the tools, and your guide can translate. Not every workshop is staffed every day, so the mix of crafts you find varies.

Visiting

The madrasah fits easily into a Margilan day: Yodgorlik in the morning, Kumtepa on a Thursday or Sunday, and the madrasah and the central bazaar in the afternoon. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. It is a religious building as well as a craft centre, so dress modestly and keep voices low in the courtyard. Entrance is usually free.