What is the capital of Kyrgyzstan?

Bishkek sits on a plain at the northern foot of the Tian Shan mountains, close to the Kazakh border, where meltwater from the ranges makes irrigation possible. It began as a fortified caravan post and was taken by the Russian empire in the nineteenth century, after which it was rebuilt as a garrison town called Pishpek and laid out on the grid of tree-lined streets and irrigation channels that still defines the centre. Under Soviet rule it was renamed Frunze after a commander born there and developed as the administrative and industrial capital of the Kirghiz republic, gaining the squares, ministries and monuments typical of that period. It took its present name after independence in 1991. The mountains rising immediately to the south are so close and so high that they are visible down the length of the main avenues on a clear day.

Most of Kyrgyzstan lies above two thousand metres, and the alpine lake Issyk-Kul is one of the largest mountain lakes anywhere.