15 minutes after crossing the border from Uzbekistan, we were in the city of Osh, the second largest in Kyrgyzstan, which stood on the Great Silk Road, being the crossing point of caravan routes from India and China to Europe.
Our first stop was at the Sulaiman Too Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which dominates the city. A 15-minute walk up a very steep slope took us to the Sulaiman-Too National Historical and Archaeological Museum, built into a cave and dedicated to the region’s nature and history. Our guided tour finished on a balcony with views of the town below, and the national flag flying on the top of the mountain above us. My heart sank when I heard the latter was our next destination. The path was relatively good, with steps, some ups and downs and a little clambering. What made it more difficult was the heat, over 30 degrees, which meant the metal handrail was too hot to be of use. However, local ladies hiking up in their finery and flip flops, made me determined to reach the top. The mountain has always been sacred to the local people and there were several shrines on route. One cave had running water, said to cure all ills, another helped infertile women, whilst sliding down a specific rock would cure a bad back. Personally, we thought it would be more likely to give you one. Having reached the top, we admired the city views once we’d caught our breath, and then took a more direct, but steeper staircase down the back.
We then drove to the attractive Russian Orthodox church, Archangel Michael of God, which was painted in pale blue and white and built between 1904 and 1910. During the Soviet Union’s peak, it acted as a cultural centre, until it was recommissioned as a church in 1992. The Patriarchal crosses which were new to me, had a smaller crossbar placed above the main one, and a short, slanted crosspiece near its foot. The floor was strewn with green pleasant-smelling foliage due to a forthcoming festival, but unfortunately, photographs were not allowed inside.
Our second museum of the day was the Osh Regional Museum, but fortunately the museum guide who would have given us a more in-depth tour than I wanted, was off, and so it was relatively painless. There was an eclectic mix of items, and information about the Soviet era and their involvement in WWII including details of the numbers participating, numbers killed and those awarded the status of national hero. I liked the display of traditional dresses with the women wearing white turbans which were used to hide their valuables, whilst pieces of the material could be cut off to swaddle newborn babies or create a shroud.
Our final stop at the end of a very long, hot day was the Jayma Bazaar, which was very similar to our local Walthamstow Market – clothes, toys, electrical good etc, but nothing we wanted. Unfortunately, our guide and driver got lost in the myriad of stalls and struggled to find where the vehicle had been left. Despite asking several stall holders, we kept seeing the same place repeatedly until after 40 minutes of aimless wandering, we found the car. At this stage, we were in desperate need of showers and a G&T, only to find the Grand Hotel Chavo was alcohol free.
