Glossary
The encyclopedia of the tourist
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Naryn. Naryn is the provincial administrative
center of the Naryn Oblasty in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population
of 40049 (1999). It is located at situated on both banks of the Naryn
River, one of the main head waters of the Syr Darya, which cuts a picturesque
gorge through the town. The city has a regional museum and a hotel, but
is otherwise residential.
The population of Naryn oblast is 98% Kyrgyz, discounting
the Russian army presence along the border. The economy of Naryn oblast
is dominated by animal herding (sheep, horses, yaks), with wool and
meat as the main products. Mining of various minerals developed during
the Soviet era has largely been abandoned as uneconomical. Today the
oblast is considered to be the poorest region in the country. It does,
however, boast beautiful mountains, alpine pastures and Son-Kul lake which
during summer months attracts large herds of sheep and horses with their
herders and their yurts.
From Naryn, the main road (one of the branches of the ancient
Silk Road) through the sparsely settled, central Kyrgyz highlands
leads to Torugart Pass and China. At present, this is the main transport
link from Kyrgyzstan to China.
Naryn hosts one of three campuses of the University of Central
Asia (UCA). The University was founded in 2000 by the governments of
Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, and His Highness the Aga
Khan. It is the world’s first internationally chartered institution of
higher education. The UCA currently operates a School of Professional and
Continuing Education (SPCE), with a School of Undergraduate Studies and
a Graduate School of Development in the process of being established.Top
Naryn, river. Impetuous and violent, the largest river
in the country, the 600 km long Naryn, flows unrestrainedly down the mountain
canyons. It got it's name after the junction of the Big and Small Naryn rivers,
44 km. from Naryn itself, at a place called Eki-Naryn, at an altitude of
2250 m. Nature itself created the original green oasis with luxuriant vegetation,
which draws the tourist's attention like a magnet. Top
Nusket: To the East of Kara Balta,
archaelogists have discovered the remains of an ancient settlement,
dating from between the 6th and the 12th century. Top
