The oldest oasis of Uzbekistan, the Fergana valley, keeps many amazing legends and stories. In the Namangan region, where the ancient capital of the Golden valley was located, there is the Chartak district with healing springs (hyperlink to article)
). Here, in the small village Korozkon, there is the grave of Sultan Said — one of the Prophet's (peace upon him) descendants. Old inhabitants are convinced that the water in Chartak appeared thanks to Divine Providence, and has the same power as the water that is brought from Macoraba.
Many centuries ago, brothers pilgrims from Yemen, the Prophet's descendants, came to the old man Bobo Yamanalmulk Sarmat. The old man threw one of them, Amir Yahye, to the pond. He quickly disappeared under the water, and after a few minutes he came out back completely dry. He shook off the edges of his clothes, and the dust, not water, came out.
— I have nothing to teach you, you already know everything. Go to the Issyk Kul lake and teach people there, said the old man.
— What should I do? - the second brother, Said Ahmad Termezi, asked. Bobo Yamanalmulk Sarmat came to the old plane tree, which grew nearby, pulled out its stick and gave the second pilgrim: - Take this staff and follow your nose. Every time before namaz stick it in the ground. If, after ablution and pray, it will start to bloom, stay at that place.
Every day people had to go for the water to the river Naryn several kilometers. The way was difficult, but there were no other options. One day Said Ahmad Termizi went to the Issyk-Kul lake to visit his brother. At the end of their meeting, he told that he lives in a deserted place and that he has difficulties in getting water.
Amir Yahye said: - The water will follow you, but don't look back. Go home and don't worry about anything.
Said Ahmad returned home. He heard a terrible noise behind, but he did not look back. Not far from his house he yielded to the temptation and looked back.
A huge arkhar was following him and was digging the ground with its horns. The water was flowing the arkhar from the Issyk-Kul lake. At the place where Said Ahmad stopped, the arkhar disappeared. And the water source stopped there. So, the river Cartaksay appeared. You can see this place now: it is next to the railway, in the center of Chartak city.
Said Ahmad Termezi thanked for this gift: the water was much nearer now. He had more time to teach people and educate himself. The fame of the humble and pious pilgrim quickly spread among the people. Both ordinary people, and persons of royal lineage came to him to get knowledge. Governors of Akhsikent, Bukhara, Kokand and many others were his disciples.
According to one legend, a daughter of the governor Aulie Karakhan had an unknown disease. No matter what he did, no matter what doctors he addressed for a help, no results appeared. The girl felt bad. Her father went to Said Akhmad Termezi and asked him to pray for his daughter's health
Said Akhmad was young enough compared to some famous doctors, but many people said that he had good endowments. It was father's last chance to save his daughter. Said Akhmad prayed and then the governor took his servants and things and rode back home. Halfway there he met a messenger from his hometown. He brought the good news that the girl felt herself good and was already playing with her friends. In gratitude for saving, Aulie Karakhan married his daughter to a pilgrim.
9 months after the wedding, the young couple had a son. The happy father came to the governor and asked for an advice about the baby's name. Aulie Karakhan said: "The Arabs call the governors Sultans, and the Prophet's (peace upon him) descendants Saids. Let the baby take one part of his name from me - Sultan and the second part of his name from you - Said. Let's give him name Sultan Said".
This child was born with knowledge that neither his peers, nor elder people had. All people around marveled at his extraordinary intelligence and wisdom and called him "laduniy ilim sohibi" (the owner of Divus knowledge). Surviving legends confirm the boy's skills. When Sultan Said was 12 years old, he was returning from the madrasah and saw his parents weeding in the carrot field. The boy asked his father:
- Dad, can't you tell the carrots to stay and the weeds to go away?
Why do you spend so much effort cleaning weeds with your hands?
His father smiled:
- Ok, just try, tell yourself. Let's see what happens.
Sultan Said quoted some Quranic verses and then said: - Carrot, you can stay. Weeds, go away. After a while all the weeds have dried out and the carrots started to grow up healthy. When Said Akhmad Termezi saw this, he said:
- My son has matured and achieved some results.
Many governors gave lands as a gift to the descendants of Sultan Said in gratitude for their educational work and deeds. Certificates, title papers were passed from generation to generation. Kazi kalyans (chief justices) kept chronicles of all generations, made copies and carefully kept these records.
In the second half of the XIX century Jalolhuja Eshon, a descendant of Sultan Said, handed over his documents to the assistant chief of Namangan district Vladimir Nalivkin. 146 certificates and donations confirmed that those lands belonged to the descendants of Sultan Said. The original documents are still stored in the archives of the National Museum of Uzbekistan. And this is a great success, because many artifacts were destroyed in the period of repression: kazi kalyans' books, ancestral chronicles were collected into bags and thrown into the Fergana canal.
Unfortunately, many historical objects of the region have been lost, but there are activists who bit by bit collect legends and facts. Khodjiakbar Akhmedov, a former Match teacher, is one of these activists. Now he teaches modern history of Uzbekistan. His son is the Imam Khatib (who gives the khutbah, or sermon) of the Sultan Said mosque.
Sitting in a wooden arbor next to the tomb, we listened to the story of Khojiakbar about Sultan Said. The teacher is 70 years old, but he looks younger. "Because nature and water in Chartak are healing," our storyteller laughs, narrowing his eyes. There is an ancient cemetery around us. According to tomb plates, the average age of buried people is 70, 80, 90, 100 years.
This is a quiet place in a shade of poplars. The legendary plane tree is staying at the entrance like a guardian. Here you escape from a daily routine and fall into nirvana. No time. No worries. No routine. Just you and Eternity. Chartak is a powerful place, which every traveler should visit.
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