This morning we were covering some bits of history in Kyrgyztan’s oldest city.

We started at Sulaiman-Too peak, which houses a shrine, that supposedly marks the grave of the Muslim prophet Solomon. The peak itself is a UNESCO world heritage site and according to UNESCO the most complete example of a sacred mountain anywhere in Central Asia, worshipped over several millennia.

We started our visit with a glimpse into the Sulaiman Too Mosque, before making it up the mountain and for the Historical Museum (Исторический музей), located in a set of caves within the mountain. After a guided tour through the museum (much better curated – but probably also better funded – than the other museum downtown) we continued the path along the mountain until we hit the Mauseleum of Babur-Namey.  After a moment to enjoy the views, we made it down again, to meet the van and continue to the Osh’s market.

Given Osh’s position basically straight in the middle of the silk road, it has always in its history been an important market town. This continues today, with Osh housing one of the biggest and vivid market in the whole region.

We made it into the market, spent some time in the food and clothing section (with good photo opportunities) before making it into the souvenir area. The final and most important stop though was at a money changer close to the market, where we had the chance to stock up on Tajik money – in preparation for us leaving the country tomorrow.