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. This is not meant
to be an exhaustive guide to the city but simply a brief
introduction to the city and its history.
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«s 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 .)
|
