Fayzabad, Badakhshan

History

The city was called Jauz Gun until 1680 because of the many walnut ("jauz") farms in the area. The name was changed to Faizabad, which can be roughly translated as "abode of divine bounty, blessing, and charity", when the robe of Prophet Muhammed was delivered to the city. Tradition states that it was brought here by Muhammad Shaykh Ziya and Shaykh Niyaz after Wais Qaran brought it to Balkh.

At that time the city replaced Munjan as the capital of Badakhshan. Later, in 1768, Ahmad Shah Durrani took the robe to Kandahar, and established the Kirka Sharif there. The Sáhibzádas of Samarkand had removed the relic of the prophet from the capital in 1734 (A.D.). His clothing which came from the Turkish Campaign was taken by Timur to Samarkand. While the relic was being conveyed to Hindustan it was captured by Mir Yar Beg who kept it at Fayzabad.

In 1821 the city was destroyed by Mohammad Murad Beg, and the inhabitants removed to Kunduz. But after it was annexed by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1888, the town recovered its former importance and became a considerable place of trade.

Many visitors used to come to a shrine erected in the city. The Khoja community of Badakhshan were made attendants at the shrine. There are seven historical forts in and around the city, several of which are in ruins. These forts were built to help defend the city and the road leading in and out.

In 1979 the town became a hotbed of Afghan mujahideen who sought to repel the Soviet invasion. Fayzabad was taken by Soviet forces in 1980 and became one of their bases in Afghanistan.

Many non-governmental organizations who worked in Badakhshan had made offices and places of residence in the new part of the city. Near the city, Germany was leading the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). Danish and Czech teams had been a part of the PRT but the Czechs left in 2007 and the Danes in 2008. Their camps were based at Fayzabad Airport.

On 11 August 2021, the city was captured by the Taliban amid a rapid advance in the north after a massive offensive.

Geography

Fayzabad is a strategic city that has historically connected Kabul with Kashgar in Xinjiang, China. The city is located on the right bank of the Kokcha River near where the river exits from a gorge and before it reaches a large open plain.

Climate

Fayzabad has a dry-summer continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dsa), closely bordering on a mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa). It has hot summers and cold, moderately wet and snowy winters. Precipitation mostly falls in spring and winter.

| Jan record high C =19.6 | Feb record high C =20.5 | Mar record high C =28.0 | Apr record high C =33.2 | May record high C =37.5 | Jun record high C =41.4 | Jul record high C =42.6 | Aug record high C =41.2 | Sep record high C =36.8 | Oct record high C =34.2 | Nov record high C =29.0 | Dec record high C =21.4 | year record high C =42.6 | Jan record low C =-23.5 | Feb record low C =-24.5 | Mar record low C =-10.5 | Apr record low C =-4.0 | May record low C =1.1 | Jun record low C =6.6 | Jul record low C =9.0 | Aug record low C =8.0 | Sep record low C =2.0 | Oct record low C =-2.9 | Nov record low C =-8.8 | Dec record low C =-17.2 | year record low C =-24.5

|access-date = 7 May 2024 |archive-date = 7 May 2024 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240507183943/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40904.TXT |url-status = dead

Economy

Before the 21st century, Fayzabad has been relatively isolated from other parts of Afghanistan because of the lack of paved roads. There are active bazaars in the city where items as diverse as cotton, cotton cloth and goods, salt, sugar, tea, indigo, and cutlery are traded. It has been several years since a branch of the asphalted Afghanistan Ring Road reached Fayzabad.

Several varieties of cash crops are grown in the vicinity including barley, wheat, and rice and there are a number of gardens and orchards. There has been some success in panning for gold in the vicinity, beryl can be found and there is a salt mine located nearby. The city also has a handicraft industry producing woolen goods and there are flour and rice mills. The Shorabak Dam, which is located several miles to the southeast of Fayzabad, provides 7.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the city.

In recent years a growing number of tourists visit Fayzabad because it serves as the gateway to the Wakhan National Park in Wakhan District. There are several guest houses in the city, Qasre Kokcha Hotel is the best among them which has security, central heating system, electricity and internet. There is also a guest house called Lapis Lazuli for expatriates. There are also plans for establishing direct road trade with China at the Wakhjir Pass in Wakhan District, which could further improve the economy of Fayzabad.

Demographics

Fayzabad has an estimated population of 85,477 people. The majority of them are ethnic Tajiks, while there are also minority communities of ethnic Pashtuns, Pamiris, Uzbeks, Hazaras and Turkmens.

Eleven languages are spoken in the city, including Dari, Pashto, Wakhi, Munji, Ishkashimi, Yazgulyam, Sarikoli, Shughni, Rushani, Uzbek and Turkmen. Multilingualism has become more common in Afghanistan in the last two decades.

Education

There are a number of public and private schools in Fayzabad. A number of public and private universities are also found there. The Badakhshan University is a public university located in the northwestern part of the city.

Healthcare

There is at least one government-run hospital. Other hospitals and clinics may also be found.

Notes

References

References

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