Almost every city in the world has a monument that can be called a kind of business card of this place. In Ferghana, such a symbol is the Monument to Ahmad al-Farghani – a medieval astronomer and mathematician who was born in this large and once very rich city, lived for a long time in Baghdad and died in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

Al-Farghani was an outstanding scholar of his time. Being one of the main astronomers of the Abbasid Caliphate – a major scientific center founded in the 9th century by Caliph al-Ma'mun. Together with his colleagues, he was able to do the almost impossible at that time – to measure the diameter of the Earth. They made accurate maps, which were used by sailors for several centuries, as well as learned to predict the weather and solar eclipses.

As a mathematician and engineer, he conducted his research and scientific experiments not only in his homeland. Under the strict guidance of Ahmad al-Farghani, a unique structure, the nilometer, was created near Cairo in 861. Then this huge device measured the water level in the Nile. Today, it is the main attraction in Cairo. Besides, during the construction of the nilometer, al-Farghani had time for other scientific works: he wrote a book on how the most important astronomical instrument of the time, the astrolabe, could be improved.

This enthusiastic scientist was known almost all over the world. His works on astronomy were considered the most accurate and detailed until the 17th century. Handwritten versions of his books have been carefully preserved in the best universities in Europe.

Although he was also revered at home, a monument to this great scientist appeared not so long ago, in the 20th century. And now, it is one of the most beautiful places in Fergana. Hundreds of people, citizens and tourists, come here every day to spend time in a cozy park and admire the monument that glorifies the famous countryman who made Fergana one of the main centers of science development.