Kyrgyzstan

Mountains fill almost all of Kyrgyzstan. The Tian Shan crosses it from east to west, rising to Jengish Chokusu and the marble pyramid of Khan Tengri, while the Alay and Pamir ranges close the south. Issyk-Kul, a deep, slightly salty lake ringed by snowy ranges, never freezes despite its altitude, and herders drive their flocks to summer pastures around Song-Köl. The Naryn is dammed at Toktogul, and walnut forests at Arslanbob cover the slopes above the Fergana Valley.

Silk Road caravans crossed these valleys. The Burana Tower, near Tokmok, is the stump of a minaret from Balasagun, an eleventh-century Karakhanid city, and the caravanserai of Tash Rabat stands on the road to Kashgar. The Kyrgyz trace their origins to the upper Yenisei, and their epic Manas tells of a hero who united the tribes. Russia absorbed the valleys of the Kokand Khanate by 1876. A revolt in 1916 was crushed and many Kyrgyz fled to China; independence followed Soviet rule in August 1991.

A yurt’s wooden crown, the tunduk, is drawn on the flag. Kok-boru, a rough horseback game played with a goat carcass, and hunting with golden eagles survive from nomad life, as does the shyrdak, a felt carpet of bold mirrored patterns. Chingiz Aitmatov’s novels, among them Jamilia, carried Kyrgyz village life to readers worldwide. Beshbarmak is the feast dish and kymyz, fermented mare’s milk, the summer drink. Gold is mined at Kumtor, and herders raise sheep, horses and yaks.