Andkhui
Encyclopedia
Andkhoy is a town
and district in northern Afghanistan
, Faryab Province
, is located at 36°57′N 65°07′E, 316 m altitude.The population of the town is 37 100 (2004).The district is located in the northern part of the province.The northern and the northern borders are the national border with Turkmenistan
.
on the edge of the Turkmen
desert. The khanate is of importance as being one of the most northern in Afghanistan, on the Turkmenistan
border. Until 1820 it was subject to Bokhara, but in that year Maxmud of Astrakhan
besieged it for four months, took it by storm and left it a heap of ruins. To preserve himself from utter destruction the khan threw himself into the arms of the Afghans. The tract in which Andkhui stands is fertile, but proverbially unhealthy; the Persians account it "a hell upon earth" by reason of its scorching sands, brackish water, flies and scorpions. The district was allotted to Afghanistan by the Russo-Afghan boundary commission of 1885.Renovation of Andkhoy started in 1959, mainly at the eastern parts of the old town. The original plan of the infrastructure was reconditioned and reduced to half its volume of the developments to take place. The property owners refused to sell their land for further developments and the plan consequently failed. The infrastructure remained poor; for example, in 1973 only 13% of the houses had access to electricity and only at night. Lack of sanitary drinking water remained a major problem. The 15 meter deep wells had salty and awfully bad tasting water and the trenches had only twenty days running water in a month. To counteract this, there were water pools to preserve water for bad days to come every month.
Among them stood the Tomb of Hazrat Baba Wali and its affiliated Madrasa or school that are considered very sacred by the Turkmen and Uzbek people of the region and are a major attraction of local tourists.
and Turkmenistan
does not help Andkhoy economically. The town recently got access to the outside world through the mobile phone thanks to ROSHAN GSM company.
This town is located in a plain at the vicinity of the Shirin Tagab River, which irrigates the town and surrounding areas although there is a constant water problem as the waters are used upstream during the summer. The town itself and its few other villages are always in a severe semi-drought. Although the distance between Sheberghan
and Andkhoy is not more than seventy km, the town is extremely remote and isolated from the mainstream developments of the region, as is Maimana. The roads to either Sheberghan (70 km) or Maimana (130 km) are now in a very good conditions. The road to the border to Turkmenistan is under construction now, too. It is said that there is an airport 4 miles east of the town with gravel runway and access road to all weather highway, however, it is nothing more than some flattened ground in the dasht.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and district in northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Faryab Province
Faryab Province
Fāryāb is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is Maymana. The majority of the population is Uzbek.-History:...
, is located at 36°57′N 65°07′E, 316 m altitude.The population of the town is 37 100 (2004).The district is located in the northern part of the province.The northern and the northern borders are the national border with Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
.
History
The town (founded by Alexander the Great) stands between the northern spurs of the Paropamise and the Oxus; it is 100 m. due west of BalkhBalkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
on the edge of the Turkmen
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
desert. The khanate is of importance as being one of the most northern in Afghanistan, on the Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
border. Until 1820 it was subject to Bokhara, but in that year Maxmud of Astrakhan
Maxmud of Astrakhan
Khan Mäxmüd of Astrakhan was one of Kuchuk Muhammed's sons and a Genghisid who founded the Khanate of Astrakhan in the 1460s.After years of struggle for the throne of the Great Horde against Akhmat Khan, he escaped to Xacitarxan, establishing the independent Khanate of Astrakhan there...
besieged it for four months, took it by storm and left it a heap of ruins. To preserve himself from utter destruction the khan threw himself into the arms of the Afghans. The tract in which Andkhui stands is fertile, but proverbially unhealthy; the Persians account it "a hell upon earth" by reason of its scorching sands, brackish water, flies and scorpions. The district was allotted to Afghanistan by the Russo-Afghan boundary commission of 1885.Renovation of Andkhoy started in 1959, mainly at the eastern parts of the old town. The original plan of the infrastructure was reconditioned and reduced to half its volume of the developments to take place. The property owners refused to sell their land for further developments and the plan consequently failed. The infrastructure remained poor; for example, in 1973 only 13% of the houses had access to electricity and only at night. Lack of sanitary drinking water remained a major problem. The 15 meter deep wells had salty and awfully bad tasting water and the trenches had only twenty days running water in a month. To counteract this, there were water pools to preserve water for bad days to come every month.
Education
There are about 1000 teachers and 40000 students in this small town and the surrounding villages. The first school for boys (Abu Muslim) was founded during the time of King Amanullah while Yuldoz Girls school was start about 50 years ago. Now there are now many schools for girls and boys not only in the town of Andkhoi but also in all the villages in the four districts surrounding Andkhoi. Great changes have been made possible by a German NGO called VUSAF (in Afghanistan) or Afghanistan-Schulen (in Germany. The lady who founded the committee is called Ulla Nölle. The hero who made it possible that the education system in the area improved so much was, unfortunately, shot at sunset in front of his house in February 2007. The people of the area still miss the hero in education Rahmanqul Shaheed. In 2009 Khancharbagh Lycee was given his name in honour of his achievements for the girls and boys of the Andkhoi area.Among them stood the Tomb of Hazrat Baba Wali and its affiliated Madrasa or school that are considered very sacred by the Turkmen and Uzbek people of the region and are a major attraction of local tourists.
Economy and transport
The fact that the town is located on one of the biggest trade routes between the UzbekistanUzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
and Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
does not help Andkhoy economically. The town recently got access to the outside world through the mobile phone thanks to ROSHAN GSM company.
This town is located in a plain at the vicinity of the Shirin Tagab River, which irrigates the town and surrounding areas although there is a constant water problem as the waters are used upstream during the summer. The town itself and its few other villages are always in a severe semi-drought. Although the distance between Sheberghan
Sheberghan
Sheberghān or Shaburghān , also spelled Shebirghan and Shibarghan, is the capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.-Location:...
and Andkhoy is not more than seventy km, the town is extremely remote and isolated from the mainstream developments of the region, as is Maimana. The roads to either Sheberghan (70 km) or Maimana (130 km) are now in a very good conditions. The road to the border to Turkmenistan is under construction now, too. It is said that there is an airport 4 miles east of the town with gravel runway and access road to all weather highway, however, it is nothing more than some flattened ground in the dasht.