BISHKEK
Bishkek cannot claim to be one of the major
cities of the world, like London, Paris or New York.
It is, however, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan
and does have a number of important and interesting
buildings, monuments, parks, museums, galleries, theatres
and other places worth seeing or visiting.
Situated in the central Chui valley, on an inclined
plain rising from 700m to 900 meters above sea level
at the foot of the Kyrgyz range of the Ala-Too
mountains, which rise to a height of 4894m,
covered with juniper, pine, blue spruce, birch, poplar, elm
and willow. Tulips, irises and especially poppies grow on the
foothills giving a colourful hue in Spring. Cannabis
indica grows wild in various parts. Wildlife includes
deer, wild boar, ibex, snow leopard, wolves, pheasant, hawks
and eagles. To the North are the Jalanash hills in Kazakhstan.
The mountains protect the city from extreme heat in summer
and cold in winter. The mountains dominate the skyline
to the South. Local often describe directions as âåðõ
(«verk» — up) or âíèç —
(«veneze» down).
The city lies on a latitude 42°50" north —
similar to that of Istanbul, Madrid and New York —
longitude of 74°35" east — similar to that
of New Delhi and at an altitude of 750m. The area
covered by the city is about 124 square kilometres, but
you can walk around the city centre where most of the important sights
are very easily. With a population of about 700000 it forms
the most densely populated part of this mountainous country —
major nationalities include:- Kyrgyz, Russians, Dungan Chinese, Tartars,
Ukranians, Uighurs, Uzbeks, and Germans.
Like Kyrgyzstan generally, the climate is Continental — which
means hot summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature is -1°C. The
atmosphere is generally dry with the rainfall occurring mostly in April.
There are an average of 322 days of sunshine per year.
There are two rivers flowing through the city — Alamedin, Ala-Archa — both tributaries of the River Chu. Also, the Grand Chu Canal flows through the city. The city is said to be the greenest in Central Asia with more trees per head of population than any other.
It is a manufacturing centre, it is factories produce
about half of Kyrgyzstan"s output, and specialise in textiles,
footwear, and heavy engineering (a particular legacy of WWII
when a number of factories were transferred from European Russia
to escape the approaching German Armies — The most famous
being the Lenin works on Prospect Mira .)
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