Insight Guides Silk Road by Guides Insight

Author:Guides, Insight [Guides, Insight]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: APA
Published: 2017-04-01T04:00:00+00:00

An illustration of the traditional art of paper-making.

Public domain

Bishkek’s physical centre is Ala-Too Square , where locals gather to picnic and have their photos taken amongst the flowers and fountains, or to protest in more trying times. The central Lenin statue is gone, replaced by a statue of Erkindik (Freedom), but the capital has seen little of the mass-scale whitewashing of the Soviet era that is so apparent in neighbouring Uzbekistan. Lenin is still hanging around, after all; he’s just been demoted to the back of the building, a short skip away from fellow ideologue Karl Marx.

Facing the square to the north is the State Historical Museum (Tue–Sun 10am–3pm; charge), worth a visit as an introduction to Kyrgyz culture and also for the mural of an American cowboy riding astride a Pershing missile. Fans of Lenin will not be disappointed – this was once the Lenin Museum, and many of the original exhibits remain. On the west side of the square is the Kyrgyz government building known as the White House, from where snipers shot protestors during the 2010 coup.

The defining battle

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