The importance of religious tourism in protecting the nature of the Ferghana valley

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy. Tourism and recreation occupy a worthy place in the national economy along with agriculture, industry, transport and other macroeconomic sectors. The Concept of Tourism Development in the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2019 - 2025 (Annex 1 to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 5, 2019 No. UP-5611) to increase its role and share in the economy, to diversify and improve the quality of services and to improve the tourism infrastructure.

According to N.Tokhliev (2006), it is stated that recreation and tourism can benefit the economy in three ways:

• -    First, it ensures the receipt of foreign currency in the country's economy;

• -    Secondly, creating additional jobs and promoting employment;

• -    Thirdly, it promotes the development of service infrastructure in the country. In addition, extensive recreational and tourism development in the country will increase the chances of preserving and using the "unique" nature.

Professional tourism, health, education, religious tourism are very popular in our country. Among these types of tourism is the development of religious tourism in our country in recent years.

Religious tourism is one of the oldest branches of tourism, where people visit holy places, cities, graves and shrines during religious holidays or for visiting. There are several types of travel in religious tourism, depending on their purpose:

• -    pilgrimage (visiting holy places for worship);

• -    study tours (acquaintance with religious culture, history of religion, religious monuments);

• -    Scientific trips (scholars, historians, religious travelers dealing with religious issues and problems), etc.

In addition to the unique and picturesque landscapes and agro-scenery of the Ferghana Valley, there are also significant religious, cultural and historical centers, with an increasing number of visitors. Such places are called "holy places" or "holy places" in Central Asia, especially in the Fergana Valley.

According to the Russian tourist V.P.Nalivkin (1886), the number of such places in the Ferghana Valley has increased since the 16th century. In addition to the role of pilgrimage sites, sacred sites play an important role in the conservation and rational use of nature. By sanctifying unique creations in nature, humans have succeeded in preserving the ecological balance.

The population used religious and legal methods in preserving the nature of mountain territories. During the Samanids (IX-X centuries) sacred places of worship appeared at the beginning of the rivers of the Fergana valley. Rassudova highlights 7 places in the valley (1985). At this stage of study, such peculiar "nature reserves" were forbidden to cut down trees, damage the wildlife, and to plow in some areas. The majority of the population lived at the expense of the donations made by farmers in the lower reaches of the river, and did not need to be over-involved in nature. There are more than 40 "sacred sites" in river basins around the valley.

At this juncture, the Uzbek, Tajik, and Kyrgyz populations have other responsibilities in addition to livestock farming, rain-fed farming, gardening in the forests, and guarding sacred sites. Villagers at the point of the river's steep slopes and plains have also been tasked with regulating river water and informing the population of the lower reaches of the river (Ershov, 1955). When examining the toponymy of such villages, it is worth noting that they were given more names such as castles, fortresses.

In the organization of land use, the interaction between the mountain and the plains, the process of metabolism and energy exchange, that is, the "geoplurality" of the plains. Particular attention is paid to the ecological function of mountainous areas to regulate river regime while maintaining water and humidity.

These areas are reserved for nature protection and recreational purposes (in the form of shrines and shrines). Religious-legal customs and traditions are widely used in nature conservation. At the top of the cones, water distribution facilities have been built, which are allotted for water management, installation of water diversion ditches (Water Land Fund). This allocation of the land fund prevented the increase of production costs by ensuring full utilization of the natural resources of the area, and ensured the rational use of land.

At these stages, employment issues were also addressed based on the specifics of the location. In the fourth place, people were engaged in horticulture, animal husbandry and gardening, while the third place was occupied by professionals engaged in horticulture, mirage, farming, silk, handicraft and trade. The role and place of the markets in the employment of the population were significant.

Although non-agricultural villages are rarely found in the valley, mixed species are common. The villages above the rivers, starting from the mountains around the Fergana Valley, serve as "sacred shrines". The names of the saints and prophets in the toponym of these villages are related to Islam. The second non-agricultural group includes markets and caravans. The population of such villages is more commercial.

Taking into account the geographical location of the Fergana Valley habitats, most of them are in the river basins in the mountainous and hilly areas of the valley. In such areas, deforestation and pollution of the watersheds accelerate the occurrence of shortages of drinking water, processes of floods and slides. Due to the ethnoecological culture of the indigenous population, sacred sites were established in these areas and various natural hazards were prevented.