Osh

For over 3,000 years, merchants have traded goods at Osh's bazaar, which still operates in its original location along the Ak-Bura River. In this city, you can climb the five peaks of Sulaiman-Too Mountain, explore its ancient caves with water-dripping ceilings, and watch bakers prepare traditional samsa in clay ovens. The city's streets mix concrete Soviet apartment blocks with wooden Central Asian houses, while the bazaar's narrow lanes buzz with traders selling everything from fresh produce to handwoven textiles.

Walking Sulaiman-Too Mountain

Five peaks make up the UNESCO-listed Sulaiman-Too Mountain in central Osh. You can follow walking paths to reach a reconstructed 16th-century mosque at the summit. Along the way, you'll pass caves where water drops fall from the ceiling - local legend says these are the tears of Prophet Suleyman. Inside the mountain's caves, the National Historical and Archaeological Museum displays regional artifacts and geological specimens from the area.

Shopping at the 2000-Year-Old Bazaar

The bazaar stretches along the Ak-Bura River, following the same paths used by Silk Road traders. You'll walk through covered passages and tin-roofed corridors where merchants display their goods. Local traders spread out fresh vegetables and fruits on wooden tables, hang textiles from metal frames, and stack household items in small shops. Between shopping, you might spot craftspeople fixing items at their workbenches or locals playing ping-pong in the spaces between stalls.

Regional Food and Restaurants

The mixing of Kyrgyz and Uzbek cultures influences Osh's food scene. Local cooks prepare plov using rice grown in nearby fields, adding yellow carrots and lamb. In the bazaar's clay ovens, bakers make Osh samsa - meat-filled pastries with a crispy exterior. Walk through the bazaar's food section to find seasonal fruits, walnuts from local forests, and round loaves of bread. Most restaurants serve both Kyrgyz beshbarmak (noodles with meat) and Uzbek lagman (hand-pulled noodles in broth).

Soviet-Era Architecture and Monuments

As you walk through Osh's streets, you'll see a Lenin statue in the main square with Soviet administrative buildings in the background. The city's residential areas include both concrete apartment complexes from the 1960s and traditional wooden houses with carved window frames. You can visit the Russian Orthodox church, which reopened for services in the 1990s, and compare it to the modern central mosque built in 2012 with its white marble facade.

Day Trips from Osh

Within a few hours of Osh, you can explore several interesting locations. Drive 50 kilometers to Uzgen to see three medieval mausoleums decorated with intricate brick patterns. In Kyrgyz-Ata National Park, hiking trails wind through forests of ancient juniper trees at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 meters. A four-hour drive south takes you to the Alay Valley, where you can reach the Lenin Peak base camp at 3,600 meters and arrange multi-day hiking trips into the mountains.