Talas is a town in northwestern

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, located in the Talas river valley between two mountain ranges. Its area is , and its resident population was 40,308 in 2021. It is the administrative headquarters of

Talas Region Talas (; ) is a regions of Kyrgyzstan, region (''oblast'') of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Talas, Kyrgyzstan, Talas. It is bordered on the west and north by Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan, on the east by Chüy Region, on the south by Jalal-Abad Region ...

. The town was founded by East Slavic settlers in 1877. To the south is the Besh-Tash (‘five rocks’) valley with the Besh-Tash National Park.

History

In 751, the

Battle of Talas The Battle of Talas (; ) was an armed confrontation between the Abbasid Caliphate along with the Tibetan Empire against the Tang dynasty in 751. In July of that year, the Tang and Abbasid armies clashed at the Talas River over control of the r ...

was fought nearby between armies of the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

against the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. The Abbasids and Tibet defeated the Chinese Empire.

Overview

Its economy has traditionally been oriented towards the ancient city of

Taraz Taraz ( ; also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a populatio ...

(formerly named Talas and Dzhambul) in present day

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. The Talas valley has suffered severely from the imposition of rigid border controls by Kazakhstan following the demise of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, as transport and trade links to the rest of Kyrgyzstan are now constrained by the mountains separating it from the

Chüy Valley The Chüy Valley (; ; ) is a large valley located in northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan, in the northern part of the Tian Shan. It extends from Boom Gorge in the east to Muyunkum Desert in the west. It is long and has an area of about . ...

and

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

. Though much transportation does occur from Bishkek to Talas by transiting through Kazakhstan via the border crossings at Chaldybar in Chüy and then re-crossing into the Talas valley of Kyrgyzstan at Taraz. The only drivable road within the borders of Kyrgyzstan to Bishkek and the rest of the country crosses two mountain passes that rise to heights of more than 3000 meters above sea level over the Ötmök Pass into the Suusamyr Valley and then again the Töö Ashuu Pass before descending to the

and Bishkek.

Population

Climate

Talas has a cold

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Bsk'') bordering on a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

with cold winters and very warm summers.

Manas

Manas, the mythical Kyrgyz national hero, is said to have been born in the Ala Too mountains in Talas oblast. A few kilometres outside Talas lies a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

, supposedly that of Manas, called the Kümböz Manas. However, the

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

on its richly decorated facade dedicates it to "...the most glorious of women Kenizek-Khatun, the daughter of the Emir Abuka". Legend explains that Manas' wife Kanikey ordered a deliberately false inscription in order to mislead her husband's enemies and prevent the desecration of his body. The building, known as Manastin Khumbuzu or The Ghumbez of Manas, is thought to have been built in 1334. It now contains a museum dedicated to the epic. A ceremonial mound also lies nearby.

Sports

The town has a

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

club. * FC Namys-APK, football club

Notable people

* Gulsaira Momunova

References

Bibliography

*Kyzlasov I.L., "Runic Scripts of Eurasian Steppes", Moscow, Eastern Literature, 1994,

External links

Talasmost.kg: A new web site for former Talas residents and anyone interested in the city (in Russian)The web site of the citizen radio Radiomost in Talas (in Russian)1999 Photo Journal of Talas, Kyrgyzstan, by an ACCELS Program Recruiter
{{Authority control Populated places in Talas Region Populated places established in 1877 1877 establishments in the Russian Empire