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A night in Jalal-Abad gives way to a cold beer at the end of a long days ride . It ’ s welcomed and surprisingly , not frowned upon , in this predominantly Islamic city in what is a majority Muslim nation . The Kyrgyz people are open , religious traditions are witnessed , yet not forced upon . Freedoms are respected , and whilst there have been cultural disputes in the near past , religion doesn ’ t seem to be the antagonist .
Further south the ride skirts the Uzbek border to reach the city of Osh . The second largest city in Kyrgyzstan and also said to be the oldest . Osh was first settled 3,000 years ago , it ’ s hard to see a reason why it wouldn ’ t be considered the oldest . Two thousand years ago a bazaar was created and soon became the crossroads of four major Silk Road routes . This bazaar , a great place to spend a day off the bikes , more traditional than that in Bishkek yet still selling everything a Kyrgyz householder could need .
Osh is also home to Kyrgyzstan ’ s only UNESCO World Heritage site . Sulayman
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