Aqcha

Aqcha
آقچه
—  Town  —
Aqcha
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates:
Country  Afghanistan
Province Jowzjan Province
Elevation 283 m (928 ft)
Population
 • Total 50,000
Time zone UTC+4:30

Aqcha (formerly Akcha) is a city in northern Afghanistan[1] approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) east from Sheberghan and 100 kilometres (62 mi) west from Mazar-i-Sharif. It is the center of the Aqcha District in Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan. The population is more than 50,000 people.[2] It is situated a few kilometers north of the main Sheberghan—Mazar-i-Sharif road called Aqyol (white road).

The city is well known for the traditional carpets and rugs made in the area, predominantly in Turkoman, Bokhara and Fil Pah (elephant's foot) designs.

Both people of the Turkoman and the Uzbek ethnic group live in Aqcha.[3]

Akcha also used to be a khanate 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 Oxus River, 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.

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