You'll know when you've arrived by the number of American military aircraft lining the runway. Located 25 km north of the capital Bishkek, the U.S. air base at Manas — Kyrgyzstan's main airport — briefly hit international headlines after the Kyrgyz parliament, under pressure from Russia and China, voted to shut it down in 2009. The U.S government's offer to pay much higher rent meant that the base (now officially called a Transit Center in deference to local sensibilities) survived the threat of closure. It remains today as an embarkation point for troops bound for Afghanistan, and a reminder of the Great Game in which Kyrgyzstan is ensnared.
FRIDAY
The local Hyatt, tel: (996-312) 66 12 34, is hard to beat for either comfort or location. But when hunger strikes, skip the hotel's anodyne Mediterranean restaurant and instead head out in search of local fare. You're never far from some family-run enterprise serving such local favorites as lagman (a hearty noodle stew), plov (rice with fried meat, onions and carrots) and kebabs. The Bakit Restaurant, at 214 Sovietskaya Street, is one of the best. With stomach well lined, move on to Fatboys on Chuy Avenue, tel: (996-312) 62 31 28, for a welcoming shot of vodka and rub shoulders with the diverse clientele of locals, NGO workers and American GIs.
SATURDAY
Take a morning stroll round central Bishkek, a time capsule of Soviet-era architecture. Half close your eyes in the vast Ala-Too Square and picture the Red Army parading through the plaza in Stalin's day. History buffs should visit the Frunze House Museum, tel: (996-312) 66 06 07, a thatched cottage once home to Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, the Bolshevik general who led his forces to victory against the region's basmachi (Muslim guerillas) in 1920. The State Historical Museum, tel: (996-312) 62 61 05, with its outlandish shrine to Lenin, is a must-see too.
Lunch on local rabbit specialties in the underground burrow of Café Mazai, at 199 Sovietskaya Street, tel: (996-312) 66 50 81. Then haggle with a taxi driver for the out-of-town journey to Burana Tower. Take in the breathtaking views from atop this ruined 11th century minaret, and experience twilight descending over the steppe. After dark, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, tel: (996-312) 66 18 41, showcases Western and local productions for as little as $5.
SUNDAY
Catch Kyrgyzstan's national sport, ulak tartysh, at the hippodrome on the west side of town. Teams of riders vie to grab the corpse of a headless goat from the ground at full gallop and heave it into a vat. The big contests are held during the Nooruz Festival (March 21) and Kyrgyz Independence Day (Aug. 31), but smaller events take place at other times.
After the excitement, head to the nearby Osh Bazaar for some retail therapy. There, traders from the conservative south of the country, as well as neighboring Uzbekistan, sell fake Armani T-shirts, cell phones and pirated DVDs, as well as carpets, the occasional komuz (a guitar-like instrument) and rows of kolpak (traditional felt hats).
If you didn't refuel at one of the market's food stalls, head back to the city center for a meal at Chaikhana Jalal-Abad, tel: (996-312) 61 00 83, which deals in southern Kyrgyz cuisine and offers fine larzuro (beef and vegetables) as well as unsurpassed people-watching. Order a pot of tea, settle back on your tapchan — the perfect combination of bed and dinner table — and let the world go by. Later in the evening, swing by the Stari (Old) Edgar jazz bar in Dubovy Park for free-flowing booze and blues until the early hours.
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