Another day, another border

It's another early start as we have lots to cover today. The next few days are going to be the same, by the time we get home we'll need a holiday 🤣🤣.

Anyway, we start with a bumpy ride for about 2 1/2 hours to the border with Kyrgyzstan. The checkpoint is called Dustlik (friendship) border. And actually it's the quickest one so far, just 18 minutes!! Not sure I noticed it being particularly friendly since the KG guards all had Kalashnikovs but at least we were the only tourists.

Idina, our guide, greets us just after the checkpoint at the border, then we head off for the Silk Road city of Osh - an ancient city in the Fergana Valley; strongly Uzbek influenced. (Not surprising as it's minutes into the city from the border.)

Osh is Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city and one of Central Asia's oldest urban centres, with a history stretching back more than 3,000 years. It has a population of around 350,000 and is located in the fertile Fergana Valley, close to the Uzbek border.

It's main landmark is Sulaiman-Too, a sacred mountain dominating the centre of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That's where we headed straightaway.

And quite a surprise it was too, as it turned into a vigorous walk up the "mountain"! (KG is 96% mountains but we didn't really expect one in the city centre!) It was probably an elevation gain of about 150-200 metres but over about 350 steep steps and slippery, polished rocks. We made it ok but the others were grumbling 🤣🤣.

We stopped at the main lookout with sweeping views of Osh, passed a couple of rocks that you can slide down and it cures back pain (allegedly 😉) and finally stopped at a nice little museum built into existing caves. It was quite atmospheric but there were more steps ( and grumbling 😁).

Eventually we made it off the mountain and went for another plentiful lunch.

Next was a short stop at the orthodox church in Osh. Constructed in the late 19th century for the few non Islam followers in the city, mainly Russian and Ukrainians who had settled there.

Osh was an important stopping point on routes connecting China, Central Asia and the Middle East. Therefore the bazaar is one of the city's highlights, particularly for spices, dried fruit, bread and local produce.
However, recently the city authorities moved it all out of the city so everything could be bought in one place. As a result it's not as atmospheric as others but we wandered part of the non food market. Interesting to see what the locals can buy, and very cheap.

Unfortunately for Birgit we didn't have enough time to spend there as it was back on the minibus within 20 minutes to get the airport for our flight to the capital, Bishkek.

Kyrgyzstan is a lower-middle-income economy in which services, agriculture, construction and mining are important. Gold is particularly significant, while remittances from Kyrgyz citizens working abroad have historically been an important part of the economy. Recent economic growth has been unusually strong: the World Bank reports 11.1% real GDP growth in 2025.

Thus Bishkek is a relatively modern, leafy Soviet-planned city rather than an ancient Silk Road city. Wide boulevards, Soviet architecture, parks and the spectacular snow-capped Ala-Too range provide its character.

We round off the evening with yet another feast in one of Bishkek's ethnic restaurants..Read more