The Manas statue
On horseback.
Kalpaktravel — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bala Biott — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vmenkov (photograph), Khan Tengri (color correction) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zossolino — CC BY-SA 4.0 · t_y_l — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Almanbet Janışev — CC0 · Екатерина Борисова — CC BY-SA 4.0 · litt26 — CC0
Bishkek's central square, built in 1984 for the 60th anniversary of Soviet Kirghizia and known as Lenin Square until independence in 1991. The Lenin statue was moved in 2003 to a smaller square behind the history museum, replaced first by a statue of Erkindik («Freedom») and then, in 2011, for the 20th anniversary of independence, by the hero Manas. Manas, hero of the great Kyrgyz epic, rides his horse on a tall pedestal, with the huge national flagpole behind him and the snowy peaks of the Ala-Too range, which give the square its name, on the horizon. Government buildings and the National History Museum frame the square, with fountains and gardens spreading out from it. It hosts national celebrations and parades, including Nowruz, when traditional yurts are sometimes set up. The square is free and open all day, loveliest in the evening when the fountains run and the buildings are lit. Panfilov Park and shady Erkindik boulevard are an easy walk away.
On horseback.
Mountains behind.
In the evening.
Central Bishkek
Manas, hero of the Kyrgyz epic; his statue went up in 2011, for the 20th anniversary of independence, where Lenin once stood.
