Uighur - Settlements

In Kazakhstan, the Uighur have settled an area that forms an almost uninterrupted belt in the Alma-Ata Oblast. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the Uighur live in scattered areas interspersed among the indigenous populations. In the Soviet period, Uighur kolkhoz settlements, often several hundred farmsteads, tended to cluster together according to original Uighur residence patterns, and quarters or villages were modeled after former settlements in China's Xinjiang Province. Although original village boundaries were retained, Uighur kolkhozy have been internally restructured. Formerly, mosques and bazaars dominated the center of town or village. Now administrative buildings, along with farmsteads, clubs, agricultural stores, schools, and other cultural establishments line the streets.