Qarshi

Qarshi is a significant city located in southern Uzbekistan. It serves as the capital of the Qashqadaryo Region. The city is a district-level urban center. It includes the urban-type settlement of Qashqadaryo. As of a 2021 estimate, the population is 278,300 people. Geographically, it sits about 520 km south-southwest of Tashkent. It is also roughly 335 km north of the border with Afghanistan. The city is a vital hub for natural gas production. It is also famous for making woven flat carpets.

The history of Qarshi spans many different eras and cultures. It was originally known as the Sogdian city of Nakhshab. Some records suggest it may have been called Eucratideia during the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Later, it was the Islamic Uzbek city of Nasaf. It was also known as the Chagatay city of Qarshi. The city served as the second city of the Emirate of Bukhara. It sits in a fertile oasis. This oasis produces wheat, cotton, and silk. The city was a key stop on an 11-day caravan route. This route connected Balkh and Bukhara.

Different rulers left their marks on the landscape of Qarshi. The Mongol Chagataid khans, Kebek and Qazan, built palaces here. They built them on the site of Chinggis Khaan's summer pasture. Both khans used Qarshi as a capital. In 1364, Timur built a fortified palace. This palace had moats and is in the southern part of the city. The modern name "Qarshi" actually means "fort." The city grew steadily from the 14th century. It grew violently during the Sheyban dynasty in the 16th century. By the 18th century, it was the second largest town of the Bukhara Khanate.

Architectural monuments define much of the city's character. The Odina Mosque was built in the 16th century. It sits on the southeast side of the Eski Bazaar. It was built on an older Mongol palace site. This site had previously functioned as a prison. The mosque features an attractive domed exterior. It also contains a sardoba. A sardoba is a domed reservoir. It kept the water supply from evaporating or becoming contaminated. Today, the mosque houses the Qarshi Regional Museum.

Other important religious and educational buildings exist in the city. The Kok Gumbaz Mosque is the Friday Mosque of the region. Its name means "blue dome." Emperor Ulugbek built it in the late 16th century for his father, Shah Rukh. It is architecturally similar to Timurid mosques in Shakhrisabz. Three madrassas sit on the same square. These are the Kalizbek, Bakmir, and Khodjaev Abdul Aziz madrassas. They were built between 1904 and 1915. The Rabiya Madrassah is a female madrassah from the late 19th century. These buildings no longer serve religious functions.

Modern industry is a massive part of the local economy. A major gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant is under construction 40 km south of the city. This plant uses Sasol’s GTL technology. It will have a capacity of 1.4 million metric tons per year. The products will include GTL diesel, kerosene, naphtha, and liquid petroleum gas. The total cost of this project is approximately $4 billion. It is the first high-tech plant of this kind on the Eurasian continent. The project is a joint venture called GTL Uzbekistan. It includes Sasol, Uzbekneftgas, and Malaysian Petronas. It is based on the Shurtan gas and chemical complex.

Infrastructure supports the many people living in this region. In the early 1970s, a major irrigation project was completed. It diverts water from the Amu Darya River in Turkmenistan. This water flows eastward into Uzbekistan to irrigate the land near Qarshi. Most of these irrigated lands are used for cotton. The city is served by the Qarshi Airport. This airport has flights to Tashkent, Navoi, and some Russian cities. The city also has a railway station.

Residents also enjoy sports. The local soccer team, FC Nasaf, was founded in 1986. They play at the Markaziy Stadium, which was built in 2006.