Osh

關於Osh

Osh is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country. It is often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country (estimated by UNESCO to be more than 3,000 years old) and has served as the administrative center of Osh Region since 1939. The city has an ethnically mixed population of 322,164 in 2021, comprising Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Koreans, and other smaller ethnic groups.

Osh has an important outdoor activity bazaar which has been taking place on the same spot for the past 2,000 years and was a major market along the Silk Road. The bazaar, along the Ak-Buura River, was demolished by the city in 2025 and moved to a modern facility a few kilometers north. The city's industrial base, established during the Soviet period, largely collapsed after the break-up of the Soviet Union and has only recently started to revive.

The proximity of the Uzbekistan border, which cuts through historically linked territories and settlements, deprives Osh of much of its former hinterland and presents a serious...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.