Aqcha (Āqchah)
Aqcha or Akcha (Persian spelling: آقچه), is a city in northern Afghanistan. It is located approximately 50 km east of Sheberghan and 100 km west of Mazar-i-Sharif. It serves as the center of the Aqcha District of Afghanistan's Jowzjan Province. The town is situated a few kilometers north of the main Sheberghan-Mazar-i-Sharif road called Aqyol (meaning White Road in most Turkic languages).
The population of the town is around 50,000 people, the majority of which consists mostly of ethnic Turkmens and Uzbeks.
Aqcha is known for the traditional carpets and rugs that are made in the area. The predominant designs being the Turkmen, Bukhara, and Fil Pah (literally: Elephant's Foot) designs.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Aqcha belonged to Bukhara under Shah Murad, but in 1855 it was recovered by Dost Mohammad Khan, when it became a khanate within the province of Afghan Turkestan. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was protected by a mud wall and a citadel, with an estimated population of 8000 people, chiefly Uzbeks. The Khanate was small, but well watered and populous.
The rivers rising in the southern mountains, which no longer reach the Amu Darya, terminate in vast swamps near Akcha, and the debris of yearly vegetation that springs up on the slopes of the southern hills is washed down into the swamps during floods.
* Jowzjan Province
The population of the town is around 50,000 people, the majority of which consists mostly of ethnic Turkmens and Uzbeks.
Aqcha is known for the traditional carpets and rugs that are made in the area. The predominant designs being the Turkmen, Bukhara, and Fil Pah (literally: Elephant's Foot) designs.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Aqcha belonged to Bukhara under Shah Murad, but in 1855 it was recovered by Dost Mohammad Khan, when it became a khanate within the province of Afghan Turkestan. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was protected by a mud wall and a citadel, with an estimated population of 8000 people, chiefly Uzbeks. The Khanate was small, but well watered and populous.
The rivers rising in the southern mountains, which no longer reach the Amu Darya, terminate in vast swamps near Akcha, and the debris of yearly vegetation that springs up on the slopes of the southern hills is washed down into the swamps during floods.
* Jowzjan Province
Map - Aqcha (Āqchah)
Map
Country - Afghanistan
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| Flag of Afghanistan | |
Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, and the country's strategic location along the historic Silk Road has led it to being described, picturesquely, as the ‘roundabout of the ancient world’. Popularly referred to as the graveyard of empires, the land has historically been home to various peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Maurya Empire, Arab Muslims, the Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and most recently by a US-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as the source from which the Greco-Bactrians and the Mughals, amongst others, rose to form major empires. The various conquests and periods in both the Iranian and Indian cultural spheres made the area a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam throughout history.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFN | Afghan afghani | Ø‹ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| PS | Pashto language |
| FA | Persian language |
| TK | Turkmen language |
| UZ | Uzbek language |