Abdumomunova Street
The Silk Road Lodge
Abdumonuova Street, (on which our hotel, the Silk Road Lodge, is located), runs West from Almatinskaya, as far as Pavlov (past Molodaya Gvardia) but is not continuous as many parks, open spaces and buildings (such as the Hyatt Regency Hotel) cross it’s path.
Along the central part of the street’s route through the city are several of Bishkek’s main sights.
The street was known as Kirov Street until 1992. It was named after Sergei Kirov, the Bolshevik revolutionary whose assasination in 1934 led to the “great purge” in which such characters as Kamenev and Zinoviev were arrested … although many suspect that it was Stalin who ordered the murder.
In 1992 it received it’s current name after Toktobolot Abdumomunov, a famous Kyrgyz writer who died in 1989. Abdumomunov was born in the village of Dzhany Alish in the Kemin region, and his first works were published in 1945. His portfolio included stories, plays (including the award winning “Love and Hope” and ”Conscience does not forgive”) and works for children.
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East |
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North – Away from the Mountains |
South – Towards the Mountains |
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The Hyatt Regency hotel. |
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Sovietskaya |
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| Offices of the Vecherniy Bishkek (Evening Bishkek) newspaper, Slovo Kyrgyzstan and other newspapers. The home of the first newspapers in Bishkek. | The Museum of Fine Arts. Dedicated to Kyrgyz folk and applied arts; Russian and Soviet Art – the museum began as the State Picture Gallery and was located in the St Nicholas Church in Oak Park. The church now houses the Gallery of the Artists’ Union. The present building was built in 1974 as one of the projects in the grand scheme for improving the capital and features a yurt and a permanent exhibition of shyrdaks and other traditional crafts. The full collection numbers some 17500 works of art: paintings, drawings, sculptures and examples of traditional decorative and applied art. There are also several galleries of paintings from the soviet period, a room of replicas of Egyptian, Greek and classical Western sculptures, and a collection of linocuts based on the Manas epic by Hertzen. The museum also houses temporary exhibits. |
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Tynystanova Street |
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| the Semetei Youth Center, which stands on the site of the original Circus – a wooden building which burnt down and was replaced with this complex which includes a theatre auditorium and various other facilities.Building of The State Property Fund. The building now houses some of the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. | Oak Park: (previously called Dzerzhinsky Square) between Prospect Chui and Abdumomunova, West of Sovietskaya – began as a grove of Oaks planted by Alexei Fetisov in 1890 and home to the Open Air Museum of Sculpture - proposed by the Kyrgyz monumental sculptor and established in 1984. On both sides, right and left, there are examples of sculptures placed in this unique, open-air, museum come art gallery. A total of 188 works were placed here by 87 sculptors. The eighty-odd bronze sculptures which were placed here, such as the bust of Yuri Gargarin, have long since disappeared – stolen for their scrap metal value. |
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Prospect Erkindik A dual Carriageway separated by a large, tree lined, central reservation Statue of Djumabek Ibraimov who was Mayor of Bishkek between 1993 and 1995, and Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic between 1998 and 1999. He died in office of stomach cancer and is buried in Ala Archa cemetery. |
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| On the corner of Abdumomunova and Erkindik is the house of Terentiev, the first Mayor of Pishpek. It now houses the offices of UNICEF in Bishkek. | |
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The Central Square |
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| The building that now houses the American University was built in 1957 used to be the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. It was also known as the “Council of Ministers” building. (Behind the American University, on Frunze Street, is the Frunze Museum.) | In the North Western corner of the square is a small two storey building, which is currently part of the American University – but at one time Housed the city’s Children’s Library.There is a statue of Marx and Engels, sitting on a bench, deep in conversation. |
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Razzakova Street |
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| The Parliament building was built in 1936 and served as the Government House – until the current Government House (The White House) was built in 1984. In 1964 it underwent a considerable renovation following a visit by the then General Secretary, Nikita Kruschev, who declared that the building was in a bad state of repair and did not a suitable building to house the government of one of the republics of the Soviet Union. It has undergone further renovation also in recent years. | In the center of the square stands the statue of Lenin – which used to stand the other side of the Historical Museum, pointing towards the mountains. It was relocated here in 2002 after the Kyrgyz Statue of Liberty (Erkindik) replaced it as a symbol of the changing times.Flanking Lenin, to the East and West, are two steles with medallions which used to be part of the Monument which once stood on the spot where Lenin now stands. |
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Orozbekova Street |
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| An open park area where, in summertime, people often stroll, sit or play chess. | The Kyrgyz Drama Theater. This plans for this building were also used later to erect an identical building in Osh.An avenue of trees runs between the central square and Panfilov Park. |
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Panfilov Street |
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| Panfilov Park – behind the White House – this was once called Red Star Park because of the pattern made by its network of pathways, but renamed in honour of the war hero whose statue can be found at the Eastern end of the park. The park is filled with amusement rides for children and a small ferris wheel. | |
| The Spartak Stadium – the main sports arena in the city and can accommodate 23000 spectators. It is used to host not only sporting events, such as football, athletics and even American Football, but also festivals, dog shows and pop concerts. The Turnstiles are rarely used. | |
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Togolok Moldo |
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| The building with the rectangular flying buttresses is the headquarters of the Bank “Kyrgyzstan”, one of the country’s biggest banks.On the corner with Koenkozava – is The Silk Road Lodge. | The representative office in the Kyrgyz Republic of the European Union. |
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Koenkozeva Street |
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Isanova |
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| The office of the Bishkek City Prosecutor. | |
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Prospect Manas |
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| Building of the Kyrgyz State National University (at the time of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) this served as a Hotel) Outside the main entrance is a statue of Djusup Balasugin – the 11th century philosopher and poet born in the city of Balasugin(where the Burana Tower now stands) and is featured on the 1000 som banknote.Boulevard to the Philharmonia and the building in the distance if the Bishkek Marie (Town Hall) on Prsopect Chui. | |
Bishkek