| Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan - reputedly 3000 years old. Archaeologists have found artifacts dating back to about the fifth century B. C. One claim that is often heard is that Osh is "Older than Rome". There are several legends about the origin of the city - including claims to having been founded by Solomon or Alexander the Great.
Even if such a grand personage did not establish Osh, it"s position at a crossroads along the ancient trading routes that became known as the Silk Road almost guaranteed that it would become a major settlement. In the period betweem the 10th and the 12th centuries it was the third city of the Ferghana Valley, and in 1762 it joined the Khanate of Kokand and became on of the six trading centres with the Khanate. Assimilated into Tsarist Russia, the city expanded onto the left bank of the river and European style houses started to appear.
Osh is mentioned in the greatest epic of the Kyrgyz People - Manas - where the wiseman Oshpur was a tutor of Manas. The city is the administrative center of the Osh oblast, at the head of the Ferghana valley and lies close to the border with Uzbekistan. A large number of travelers along the Silk Road use the nearby Dostuk border crossing.
The mountain ranges that criss-cross the country effectively divide the North from the South and many say that the Kyrgyz in the South are quite different from those in the North - more independent and proud than those they as Russified Northerners.
There are really only two North-South routes - the main Bishkek Osh road and the Bishkek-Torugart road. This fact, the proximity of the city to the border and the large number of ethnic Uzbeks in the local population means that sometimes this area is more attuned to it"s neighbour than to Kyrgyzstan itself. The differences between the two nationalities came to a head in 1990 when riots in a village not far from the city left over 300 dead, many more injured, and considerable damage to property.
There are several flights a day between Bishkek and Osh - but the timetable can sometimes appear to be more wishful thinking than actual fact. There is also the spectacular Bishkek-Osh highway - currently undergoing repairs that can cause havoc to plans as parts of the road can close to allow maintenance work to continue at odd times. The road may be spectacular - but it can also be dangerous with many accidents (and fatalities) each year. In 2001 - a number of people died from fumes in the Tuu Ashu tunnel after a car broke down halting traffic.
The Tuu Ashu pass (actually Ashu means "pass" in Kyrgyz) is the highest point on the road at 3586m - and the gorge to Kara Balta is well worth the journey in itself. The other side of the pass is the plain of Suusamir - and then continues past the Toktogul reservoir and hydroelectric power station that is featured on the 100-som note. Travelling on South and then East to skirt around the Uzbek part of the Ferghana valley, the road passes the turn off to Arslan Bob - where there are groves of ancient Walnut trees and it is from here that Alexander the Great is supposed to have sent samples of the tees back to Macedonia - and eventually comes to Djalal Abad. A bit further on is Uzgen where there are some archaeological ruins (mausoleums and a tower - minaret - that are featured on the 50-som note.
Not far from Osh are the Caves of Chil Ustin and the petroglyphs of Avaran. The Ak-Buura river runs through the city North to South, and to the west is Sulaiman Too ("Solomon"s mountain"), which dominates the city. Some Muslims consider it sacred and make a pilgrimage to the site where Muhammad is supposed to have once prayed. For some reason (apparently, in profile some people think it resembles a pregnant woman) it is also revered by many women who have been unable to bear children.
At the top of a short (30 minute climb) is a flagpole and a mosque built in 1947 by the 14 year old Babur who had been recently crowned the King of the Ferghana Valley - and later went on to become the founder of the Mogul dynasty in India - destroyed and rebuilt twice it is another center for pilgrimage. There is also a small archaeological-cultural museum here with many of the ancient artifacts discovered in the city environs. An historical-ethnographic museum called the Great Silk Road Museum, on Kurmanjan Datka, has well-done exhibitions which focus on South Kyrgyzstan and cover the Silk Road days; Kyrgyz immigration from South Siberia; the Kokand khanate; Russian annexation in 1865 and the Bolshevik takeover after 1917. One interesting exhibit is a map dating from 1953 that shows the different Kyrgyz tribes and clans (still a very important factor in Kyrgyz society today).
In the city there is a statue of Kurmanjan Dakta - the "Queen of the South" who opposed Russian expansion in the region and is featured on the 50-som note. There is also a statue of Lenin. Nearby is a war memorial that bears the inscription (in Russian and Kyrgyz) "No One is Forgotten - Nothing is Forgotten".
Most guidebooks refer to the bazaar as one of the most picturesque in all of Asia, stretching for about a kilometer along the bank of the river. Also worth visiting are the Rabat Abdul Khan Mosque - but apparently only if you are a suitably dressed man and the Russian Orthodox Church. Some way from the city are some spectacular caves and the Parmir mountains … however since 1999 most embassies warn their nationals that it is best not to travel South and West of Osh because of incursions by armed guerillas in the far South West of the country where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan meet. In Osh there are several guesthouses and hotels and a number of local tour companies can offer services in the neighbourhood.
Osh is a very ancient town on the Great Silk Road, and celebrated its 3000 years anniversary just some years ago. The architecture of the town is completely different from the one of Bishkek, as there are much less Soviet buildings, and the biggest part of the houses are low privte houses, mainly in uzbek style with wooden ornaments. The only thing that is really similar to Bishkek, are the boulevards and parks with lots of trees.
The town is especially famous for its bazar, which is about 2000 years old and ever since has been on the same place on the two sides of Syr-Darya river. There you find just everything, from the vegetables, fruits and nuts the Ferghana valley is so famous for, over meat and other food, to clothes, household, souvenirs and so on. Just go searching!
The main sight of the town is the Suleiman Gora, the mountain or throne of Solomon. There are several legends ranking around the town, that are the best to be listened to when walking up the small path. On the way, you pass the Historical Museum that was still built in Soviet times (and also looks like that). There you can learn about the regions religions that were practiced before Islam arrived and also about Fauna and Flora and some traditional clothes.
Going up the hill, you reach Baburs house on the top. This is a small oriental style house that was built by the Central Asian emperor Babur, who reigned in Osh. It is said that he loved the mountain so much, that he went up there every day in the morning and down every evening, although in those times no path went up there and he had to climb up. So in the end he decided to build himself a little house on top. Nowadays, people go there praying, as the hill has always been a pilgrimage place, and especially for people of the region it is something like the "Little Mecca", as it is sometimes called.
When going down and after wards turn to the left, you come to a mosque from the 16th century, the mosque of Rabat Abdullah Khan, which is one of the main mosques and knows about 1000 constant visitors.
Osh is definitely a town where you could walk around for hours, without too much of sightseeing, but just to get to know the culture and try to feel it yourself. | 
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