Introduction
Namangan is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan (2006 population 432,456). It is the capital of Namangan Province, in the northern edge of Fergana Valley of north-eastern Uzbekistan.
Namangan is about 300 km east of Tashkent, about 65 km west of Andijan, and about 75 km north of Fergana. It is located at 40°59′N 71°35′E / 40.98°N 71.58°E / 40.98; 71.58 1561 feet (476 meters) above sea level.
The Qoradaryo and Naryn Rivers join together to form the Syr Darya just outside the southern edge of the city. As the Iranian name of the city suggests, Namangan was originally a settlement of the native Persian population of Central-Asia.
Namangan was known to have been a settlement in the 15th century and a part of the Khanate of Kokand by the middle of the 18th century. It takes its name from the local salt mines (in Persian: namak kan).
Namangan was a center of Islamic learning, with 20 madrassahs and over 600 mosques.
After accession to the Russia in 1876, cotton production and food processing became the dominant economic activity.
Namangan suffered a destructive earthquake in 1926.
The language of the people of the Namangan district, is still largely Persian of the Tajik dialect, particularly in the Kasan-sai (Kosonsoy) and Akhsikath districts on the Kasan river.
Namangan can be good place to visit. In the city there are the Mulla Kirgiz Madrassa, the Hodja Amin Mausoleum and the Hazrabi Mavian Mosque. Also, Namangan City is the motherland of Bobarakhim Mashrab, the great poet of XVII century.