Getting There
Ala-Too Square can be reached:
- By bus No. 4, No. 42 to Ala-Too Square
- Shuttle taxi No. 103, No. 104, No. 108, No. 129 to Ala-Too Square
What to Expect
There is also a bronze figure of Manas the Magnanimous – the hero of the epic “Aikol Manas”, a monument erected in memory of the events of 2010 when people at a peaceful demonstration were shot in Bishkek, and a monument to the writer Chingiz Aitmatov.
In the southern and central parts, there are structures decorated with long rows of arches. Previously, it was a knitwear factory, but after the collapse of the USSR, it was adapted for administrative needs. Near the statue of Manas are the Historical Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts of the Peoples of Central Asia, together with the Assembly, which unites the national diasporas of Kyrgyzstan.
History
From 1984 to 2003, there was a monument to Lenin on the square, which was moved to the Old Square, and in its place was a sculpture of the winged woman Erkindik, personifying freedom. In her hand above her head, she held a tunduk, the round frame of a Kyrgyz yurt. In 2011, instead of it, a monument was erected to the hero of the folk epic “Aikol Manas”, Manas the Magnanimous. His bronze figure reaches 10 m. In the same year, a monument to Chingiz Aymatov was also erected.
On the anniversary of the events of April 2010 and the shooting of a protest in Bishkek in 2002, a black and white memorial was erected (2012).
Facilities Available
Along the Square perimeter are the State Historical Museum, the monument of Friendship of Peoples, the Oak Park with the Open-Air Sculpture Museum and the St. Nicholas Church, the oldest building in the city.
