Things to do in Qo‘qon, UZ

Jummi Mosque (right), a Friday mosque built in 1800-1812, and reopened in 1989, it can hold 10,000 worshipers. Amin Beg Madrassah, built in 1813. Dakhma-I-Shokhon, a necropolis of the Kokand Khans from the 1830s.

Without a shadow of doubt, Kokand's most impressive sight is the Khudyar Khan Palace (2 Istiqlol str; 553 6046; http://museum.dinosoft.uz; 09.00-18.00 Mon-Sat; foreigners US$1), one of the most glittering royal residences in central Asia and a structure that would make fairytale princesses jump up and down for joy.

Kokand has existed since at least the 10th century, under the name of Khavakand, and was frequently mentioned in traveler’s accounts of the caravan route between India and China. The Han Dynasty of China conquered the entire city in the 1st Century B.C.