Ala-Too Square - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Ala-Too Square (Ала-Тоо аянты) is the main square of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and this camera looks across its wide open space to the State Historical Museum and the statue of the hero Manas.

The square was built in 1984 as Lenin Square, while Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union. After independence in 1991 it was renamed after the Ala-Too mountains, and in 2003 the Lenin statue was moved to a smaller square nearby.

A statue called Erkindik, meaning "freedom," took Lenin's place, but in 2011 it was replaced by Manas. In 2005, the square was the center of the Tulip Revolution, which forced the country's president from power.

Did You Know? Manas is the hero of the Epic of Manas, a Kyrgyz poem passed down by storytellers for centuries and said to be one of the longest poems in the world.

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