Incursions in Central Asia

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Very rarely on the road from an international airport to a capital city do you have to wait for an irate shepherd and his flock to pass. But then Bishkek is no ordinary capital. It's the Big Smoke of Kyrgyzstan — a country that makes up in character what it lacks in vowels.

If the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia were in a beauty contest, Kyrgyzstan would win. This becomes obvious as you rumble down 30 km of tarmac into Bishkek. The snow-capped Tien Shan Mountains rear up like a tsunami. But unlike Nepal or other lauded upland destinations, this country and its capital are still an unknown quantity.

Unknown, at least, to tourists, because they're pretty familiar to the French, Dutch, American and Norwegian troops from the U.S.-led antiterror coalition camped at Manas airport. They head to Bishkek for R. and R. and the city's only department store, TsUM. In sneakers and baseball caps, they make a nice contrast to the Kyrgyz locals in their leather boots and felt hats.

The Russians are here, too. In Bishkek's bars, you can rub shoulders with off-duty troops from the newly opened Russian air base a few score kilometers away as they drink and dance to hard-core Russian techno. And in Fatboys, a popular café, men in suits and dark glasses talk about the region's geopolitical significance.

The youth of Bishkek show little nostalgia for their country's Soviet past. Their yearning for something new is palpable on the streets — in nightclubs such as Soho, Zeppelin or City — and in the old Soviet-style theaters, which nowadays screen dvds of American B movies. Although it's a predominantly Muslim country, Western-style scanty dress can be seen everywhere.

"Over these two to three years our city has changed very fast. Now there are a lot of different bars, restaurants, pubs, casinos and clubs," says tour guide Zamira Imanalieva.

Not that it's in danger of turning into Ibiza any time soon. The fact that Bishkek is the Kyrgyz name for a churn of mare's milk still says a lot about this city of less than a million people. There's greenery everywhere you look, and visitors love Bishkek's walkable dimensions. Just keep an eye out for those wandering shepherds.