Aqcha

Aqcha آقچه
Town
A shop in Aqcha
Aqcha Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 36°54′41″N 66°11′9″E / 36.91139°N 66.18583°E / 36.91139; 66.18583Coordinates: 36°54′41″N 66°11′9″E / 36.91139°N 66.18583°E / 36.91139; 66.18583
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Jowzjan Province
Elevation	283 m (928 ft)
Population
• Total	50,000
Time zone	UTC+4:30

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

Aqcha is known for the traditional carpets and rugs that are made in the area, predominantly in Turkman, Bukhara and Fil Pah (elephant's foot) designs.

The population of the area is mostly Turkman and Uzbek.^[2]

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 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.

References

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Akcha". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.