Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country at the crossroads of the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean.
The Tian Shan mountains, which skirt the ancient caravan route and dominate the country, are home to leopards, lynxes and sheep. In the south, the ancient city of Osh has a huge, bustling bazaar, once an important Silk Road entrepot.
Kyrgyzstan’s history stretches back over 2000 years, spanning a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated because of its mountainous terrain, which has helped preserve its ancient culture, Kyrgyzstan has been placed in the history of several great civilizations. Although inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan periodically fell under foreign rule due to its strategic location, attaining the status of a sovereign state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Ethnically, the country’s population is made up of Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Uyghurs and minorities such as Germans and Ukrainians.
