Along the main drag, Chui street, many government building (including the White House) and the national history museum. Here is the view of enormous Ala-Too square from the front steps of the museum, done up in true Soviet neo-brutalist style.
Inside, the glorious exhibits are dedicated mostly to Lenin. Hardly any explanation, much less any in English makes our visit amusing and confusing.
Lunch was at a chaikhana or teahouse, where we tried a trio of delicious meat dishes, including the national specialty, besh barmak: rich, minced horse meat on a bed of homemade noodles. Multiple pots of tea and a jug of fermented wheat drink that's popular in summer kept us hydrated in the sweltering 100 degree day.
From lunch we went on to the Osh bazaar. This was easily the best I had ever been to. It started lightly with t shirts and cheap toys, then evolved into felt handicrafts, bedding, hardware, and military surplus. That was only the first block complete!
We re-emerged into the oppressive heat to quench our thirst at one of the ubiquitous stalls selling drinks out of large Gatorade-looking insulated plast jugs. Adam picked a yogurt drink, Aaron picked a sweet lemon tea, and I went with more of the wheat drink which was starting to grow on me. Aaron won for picking the best flavor though, and along the walk back to the hotel we stopped multiple more times for more tea.
We finished the trip through the bazaar complex by checking out the butcher's building. Nothing was refrigerated, and the smell of beef fat permeated everything. Nevertheless nothing ever seemed off and the meat all looked extremely fresh. Lastly we went to the dry fruit markets with their light, sweet aroma. We picked out some of the freshest, best dried apricots, almonds, and golden raisins I've ever tasted.
We made our way back for dinner at Turkish kebab restaurant. All the meat ingested on this trip so far has been expertly prepared and seasoned. It may actually be relatively easy to go back to a lower-meat diet when I get back since all the food here has been peerless.
Late night grabbing beers at Blonder Pub with a woman Adam met in the Istanbul airport. The three of us, plus her and her three friends, had a great time comparing cultural notes across the world. The craft beer brewed onsite was good too.
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