Aqcha

{{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{Distinguish | Akçe}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Aqcha |other_name = |native_name = آقچه |nickname = |settlement_type = Town |motto =  |image_skyline = Great honey melons in Aqcha.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = A shop in Aqcha |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |image_blank_emblem = |blank_emblem_type = |blank_emblem_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = Afghanistan |pushpin_label_position =bottom |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Afghanistan  |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{flag|Afghanistan}} |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Jowzjan Province |subdivision_type2 = |subdivision_name2 = |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 =  |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 =  |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title =  |established_date = |established_title2 =  |established_date2 = |established_title3 =  |established_date3 =  |area_magnitude = |unit_pref = Metric  |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 =  |area_land_km2 =  |area_water_km2 = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_blank1_title = |area_blank1_km2 =  |population_as_of = |population_note = |population_total = 1012000 |population_footnotes = {{citation needed|date=October 2014}} |population_density_km2 = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_blank1_title =Ethnicities |population_blank1 = |population_blank2_title =Religions |population_blank2 = |population_density_blank1_km2 =  |timezone = UTC+4:30 |utc_offset = |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = {{coord|36|54|41|N|66|11|9|E|region:AF|display=inline,title}} |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 283  |postal_code_type =  |postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = }}

'''Aqcha''' or '''Akcha''' (Pashto; Dari: آقچه), is a city in northern Afghanistan.<ref name="about">{{cite web|url=http://www.about-afghanistan.com/aqcha.html|title=Aqcha Village...A Step Back in Time...|publisher=about-afghanistan.com|accessdate=2 May 2011}}</ref> It is located approximately {{convert|50|km}} east of Sheberghan and {{convert|100|km}} west of Mazar-i-Sharif. It serves as the center of the Aqcha District of Afghanistan's Jowzjan Province. The town is situated a few kilometers north of the main '''Sheberghan'''-'''Mazar-i-Sharif''' road called ''Aqyol'' (meaning ''White Road'' in most Turkic languages).

The population of the town is around 1,012,000 people, the majority of which consists mostly of ethnic Turkmens and Uzbeks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6aab050.html|title=Afghanistan: Situation in, or around, Aqcha (Jawzjan province) including predominant tribal/ethnic group and who is currently in control|date=1 February 1999|work=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|accessdate=2 May 2011}}</ref>

Aqcha is known for the traditional carpets and rugs that are made in the area. The predominant designs being the Turkmen, Bukhara, and Fil Pah ({{langx|fa|فیل پا}}; literally: Elephant's Foot) designs.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Aqcha belonged to Bukhara under Shah Murad, but in 1855 it was recovered by Dost Mohammad Khan, when it became a khanate within the province of Afghan Turkestan.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Afghan Turkestan|volume=1|page=319|first=Thomas Hungerford|last=Holdich|authorlink=Thomas Holdich}}</ref> 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.<ref name="EB1911_2">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Akcha|volume=1|page=454}}</ref>

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.<ref name="EB1911"/>

==See also== * Jowzjan Province

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Populated places in Jowzjan Province