Travels with Kathryn

Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan and the unofficial capital of Southern Kyrgyzstan. Its obviously more Muslim with more women covering their hair and has a high Uzbek population. What has been lovely to see, though, is that this is a busy city that makes a big difference from the rather empty feeling I felt in Bishkek.

Today, we had a lie in (whoop!) by a whole 30 minutes before setting off for Sulaiman Too. This is a mountain in the centre of Osh and is historically considered to be the mid-point on the Silk Road. Although I have cheated somewhat, I am excited to make it this far. Sulaiman Too is also the only World Heritage site located within Kyrgyzstan and has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.

We were dropped off in the car park, and it was a bit of an uphill slog to the museum, which is built into a cave in the rock. My big achievement of the day (after having survived this first bit of uphilling) was that I was the only person able to scan a bar code to open the entry turnstile into the museum. A group of men all having tried and failed. I felt very smug.

The museum itself is a collection of religious exhibits which of themselves are a little meh, however, it was interesting to see how the site has been used by various religions over the years both as a place of pilgrimmage as well as a burialsite. Evidence has been found of Zoorastrians, Shammans, Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims muslims.

From the museum, we began to climb up the mountain – I NEARLY DIED. Ok, a slight exaggeration, and actually, the path was fine. It was just rather hot, and I am not one for stairs or heights! However, I would still like you all to be impressed when you see how far up I came:

I was very pleased to have made it up the mountain as at the top there is a small mosque and a lovely view over Osh. This is us at the top (I am there, just taking the photo and hiding my rather sweaty self):

Our next stop was the Osh bazaar, which has been a market since the days of the Silk Road. I suspect some changes have happened since then, but it as obviously a real market, and lots of people were there just doing their weekly shop. I also managed (finally) to buy a tacky fridge magnet (an essential Kathryn travel souviener), and you can tell how un-touristy Krygzystan is as this is only the second place I have seen one.

Over lunch, as we were on the top floor I also managed to catch this shot of a family lunch – this is the typical spread. For everyone who has read that Central Asian food is rubbish and vegetable-free has been completely mislead.

We then popped back to the hotel, and I collected my HUGE bag of laundry, which has all been washed, dried, and smelling delighful for the princely sum of 200som/20p This will probably be the cheapest all trip

After lunch, I wanted to make sure I saw the other listed attractions of Osh:

As my time in Kyrgzystan comes to an end, I have been surprised by how much I have loved my time here. For me, this trip was about doing the Silk Road and really seeing cities like Samarkand. However, I can not recommend Kyrgyzstan highly enough. It’s beautiful, such varied scenery, and the people are so friendly and welcoming (even with the language barrier), and it feels genuine and hasn’t become touristsy. It’s also very, very cheap. I am sad to say goodbye and would recommend everyone come visit.

Tomorrow, Uzbekistan awaits.