Andijan

Understand

The Andijan Region is on the eastern edge of Uzbekistan, but the city is about an hour away from the land border with Kyrgyzstan - Do’stlik. Very roughly speaking, the city is divided in half by the train line which runs parallel to Muqimiy Road and cuts diagonally across the city. The northern part is usually referred to as Eski Shahar (“Old City”), and the southern part is typically thought of as Yangi Bozor (“New Market”). Yangi Bozor also includes the Mikrorayons (“Micro Regions/Districts”) which are numbered neighborhoods made up primarily of apartment buildings where the former Russian influence in the city is still most felt.

Do

Andijan has many karaoke venues, an ice skating rink, roller blade clubs, and amusement parks for children.

Stay safe

Andijan was the site of what many have termed a massacre in May 2005. The story is complicated, but in brief, an armed raid on a local prison, followed by the occupation of a government building where local government officials were held hostage, led to a gathering of several thousand people in the town square. At some point, firing began and the end result was the death of what most believe to be hundreds of innocents, shot down by government troops. The official government version of these events was that the entire event was triggered by Islamic extremists and that only 187 people died - virtually all "extremists", government officials and troops. Eyewitnesses to the tragedy, however, (and there are many who fled the country and have been granted asylum in various countries) say that hundreds of innocent citizens, including women and children, were gunned down in the streets as they tried to flee.

Much of what took place at that time in Andijan may never be fully known. The government of Uzbekistan has refused demands from the West for an impartial investigation and has intimated that the "extremists" who triggered the event were financed by the West.

Andijan is accessible for tourists as any other place in Ferghana Valley. The only special precautions would be not discussing the events of 2005 and respecting the religion, as Ferghana Valley, especially Andijan, is Islamic. Dressing should be modest.

Connect

Andijan and its approach highways have 4G from all Uzbek carriers. As of Sep 2024, 5G has not reached town.

Go next

Osh (Kyrgyzstan) 70 km away through the Do'stlik/Dostyk border crossing. Public transport and shared taxis available on both sides. There are two options. Bus to the border and a bus which go across the border, it depends on you if you wish to wait in the border checkpoints. The bus to Do'stlik leaves from the main Avtovokzal every 20 minutes between 07:00-19:00 and costs 5,000 som per seat. When you have passed the passport control, from the Kyrgyz side you can take a marshrutka (minivan) which waits for passengers just after the border gates on the right side. Avoid taxi drivers who try to mob you, unless you're up for lengthy haggling. From Andijan the taxis to the border leave from Yangi Bozor near the restaurant "Sultan Ahmet" and cost 20,000 per seat. The other ortion is a bus 777 (starting at Andijan Center bus stop, platform 1, buy the ticket before in the ticketing window, 15000 in 2024) which go with you across the both borders. On the Uzbek side, they open one border checkpoint just for the bus; on the Kyrgyz side, you need to be really quick if you want to drive to the new Osh bus terminal, because the driver does not wait. Close to the bus terminal are many exchanges with fair rates from dollars to Uzbek som and one hidden ATM in a shop which accepts just Visa (better to bring the Uzbek som with you and exchange, as the rates are really fair). From new station, trolley no. 2 can take you to the city centre for 10 Kyrgyz som, where all three mobile network provide…