Bishkek doesn't ease you in gently. The capital of Kyrgyzstan sits at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains; you can see the snow-capped peaks from the city on a clear day, and it has the slightly unfinished, unselfconscious energy of a place that isn't particularly trying to impress you. Soviet-era boulevards, a proliferation of KFC outlets (often attached to petrol stations, which feels about right), and a population of 80-odd ethnic groups and nationalities living in a country that is officially secular but trending more visibly Islamic than it was a generation ago. Under Soviet rule, religion was state atheism; now the mosques are filling up again, and a new one near the city centre was funded entirely by Turkey to the tune of around $20 million.
The politics are hard to miss if you're paying attention. Kyrgyzstan has had two revolutions in living memory, 2005 and 2010, and our guide noted, with a matter-of-factness that suggested she wasn't entirely joking, that another one was probably overdue. The current president came to power having previously attempted to overthrow the government and carries a significant list of financial crimes to his name. Democracy here is less a settled state than a recurring negotiation.
What grounds it all is the culture. The national epic, the Manas, runs to over a million lines of verse; there are people called Manas-chi who know it in full and can recite it. The hero himself may be partly legendary, his stories accreted over centuries into something vast and not entirely consistent. But the other celebrated figure is very real: a wrestler of towering 220cm tall who, in living memory, carried a horse and defeated Kazakhstan's strongest man. Kyrgyz national identity runs on stories like these.
Sights & Culture
Ala-Too Square
The main square is where you feel the tension between old and new Bishkek most plainly. The Lenin statue that used to dominate it was moved; he now stands at the small park facing the old Soviet parliament building, which is worth knowing before you go looking for him and find a different monument in his place. Marx and Engels have also been relocated, their statue moved from Chingiz Aitmatov Park to face the building that used to house the American University of Central Asia, a detail that feels pointed, intentional or not. The university itself left after the new government tried to raise the rent from a nominal $1 to $6 million; they said no and moved out.
Victory Square
A large arched monument anchors the square, and it's worth noting that in Kyrgyzstan this is always called Victory Square, not a memorial, not a remembrance. The distinction matters to people here.
The new flagpole
At the time of visiting, a 100-metre flagpole was being installed to mark 100 years of the Kyrgyz Republic. The previous one was 40 metres. Our guide's view was succinct: probably not worth it. The new national flag it will fly is also, by most accounts, deeply unpopular.
Bishkek Central Mosque
The mosque near the centre of the city was funded by Turkey at a cost of around $20 million and is one of the more striking buildings in Bishkek. It represents something of a visible marker of the country's shifting relationship with Islam, present but complicated, growing but still broadly non-doctrinaire. Worth a look from the outside at minimum.
Museums & Galleries
State History Museum
The State History Museum sits in between Panfilov Park and Chingiz Aitmatov Park and is the obvious starting point for anyone wanting context on Kyrgyz history, from pre-nomadic cultures through the Soviet period and into independence.
Parks & Gardens
Chingiz Aitmatov Park
The park where the Marx and Engels statue now stands, facing the former American University building, is a reasonable place to orientate yourself and understand the layers of recent history sitting on top of each other in this city.
Restaurants & Bars
Kulikov Coffee Point in TSUM Aichurok
An eight-floor shopping centre that turns out to have a genuinely good coffee spot inside, with cakes that are worth the detour. Not the obvious place to seek out a café, but Central Asian cities often hide their best places in unlikely buildings.
Street drinks
Three things worth trying from street vendors: cold green tea, a bitter, slightly fermented drink that lands somewhere between beer and kvass, and a thick, sour cheese-curd drink. All are cheap, all are an acquired taste, and at least one of them you'll want again. (Hint: it's the green tea. The other two are a lot harder to acclimatise to.)
Shopping
TSUM Aichurok
The eight-floor mall mentioned above is worth knowing about practically, even if you're not there for the shops.
Osh Bazaar
A couple of us headed out to the Osh Bazaar, at least partly to help one of the group stock up on the basics of clothing as whilst she made it to Kyrgyzstan her bag did not. It's clearly more for locals than tourists, which was ideal, and food and clothes and various other stalls lined the tight walkways.
Sports & Activities
Military Institute of the Armed Forces
Bishkek had a flying school that trained pilots from across the Soviet world; Mubarak, future president of Egypt, trained here, as did a number of cosmonauts. It has since closed. Not something you can visit, but the kind of detail that reframes how you look at the city: Bishkek was, for a period, genuinely significant in ways that are easy to miss now.
Hiking access
The Tian Shan range is visible from the city and accessible within a day. The group heads into the Chong-Kemin Valley on day two, but if you're spending extra time in Bishkek before the trip, the mountains are there and worth planning around.