Ala-Too Square

The main public square of Bishkek and the ceremonial heart of Kyrgyzstan, laid out in the Soviet era and remodelled after independence. It is dominated by a statue of the epic hero Manas and backed by the state history museum, with a changing of the honour guard performed at a nearby flagpole. Broad paving, fountains and flowerbeds make it the setting for national holidays, concerts and demonstrations. The square has been the stage for pivotal moments in the country's modern political history.