Our third destination in the Fergana Valley was Andijon. The recent history of this town is horrifying. Andijon is seen as the most spiritual (Islamic) city in the country, and when in 2005 the national government was of the opinion that the city was spiritualizing too much, they arrested a dozen of the religious leaders. Many people went to the streets to demand for their release, and as a result the government used excessive violence to stop the protests. Some people say that almost a thousand people lost their lives. The western world ‘demanded’ for a independent investigation, but Uzbekistan’s powerful president, who doesn’t like democracy or foreign interference, did not comply with this demand. The west decided to boycott Uzbekistan for a while, but eventually lifted all sanctions. Travellers to Andijon aren’t probably noticing any of these fairly recent problems. It seems that there are still some tensions under the surface, but they are unnoticeable for us. It is peaceful now, and let’s hope it will stay this way. Andijon also has a great market. It is called Jahon Bazaar and is located in the outskirts of town.

A short ride took us from Andijon to the Kyrgyz border. For the first time in several months, we didn’t need a pre-arranged visa to enter a country. Kyrgyzstan wants to attract more tourists and for this reason they decided to make it easier to visit the country. Most nationalities can nowadays stay for 60 days without a visa. The formalities at the border went smooth, and an hour later we were in Kyrgyzstan, on our way to nearby Osh. Osh is Kyrgyzstan’s Silk Road city and is a great place to spend a few days (see also the article about Osh). But also the recent history of the second biggest city in Kyrgyzstan isn’t that rosy. This part of Kyrgyzstan inhabits different ethnic groups. The biggest groups are the Uzbeks and the Kyrgyz. It seems that there is some tension between these major groups, and once in a while this leads to violence, like in 1990 and more recent in 2010, when hundreds of people lost their lives. Most people say that it is the result of border politics during the Soviet times. Joseph Stalin redrew the borders in this region several times, just to minimize the power of ethnic groups. The Fergana Valley is nowadays divided between two countries; Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Osh is also part of the Fergana Valley, but is located in Kyrgyzstan. This means that many Uzbeks, who nowadays live in Kyrgyzstan, are ethnically still focussed on the Uzbek part of the Fergana Valley. When we were in Osh the situation was quiet again, but you never know what the future will bring.