The turquoise glaze on Rishton pottery is made from ash of the ishkor plant, which only grows in a specific band of Fergana Valley soil. Every attempt to reproduce the exact colour anywhere else on Earth has failed. The mineral chemistry of Rishton's specific ground is the missing ingredient.

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Fergana Valley: history, cities, crafts and facts

Uzbekistan's fertile eastern bowl — home to Margilan silk, Rishton ceramics, Chust knives, and more than a third of the country's population.

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Fergana Valley

Silk, ceramics, hand-forged knives, and a quarter of Central Asia's people