Monument to Manas the Great

At the Monument to Manas the Great, a prominently positioned monument in Ala-Too Square, you can admire the majestic statue of the national symbol. The statue, which was erected in 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the country's independence, depicts the main protagonist of a national epic written in an 18th-century Persian manuscript. The 17 m (55 ft) tall equestrian sculpture, sculpted by Bazarbai Sydykov and cast in Moscow, wields a sheathed sword in his left hand. The statue replaced the previous 12 m (39 ft) tall Erkindik, a woman representing liberty, which had replaced a Lenin statue in 1999. According to the artist, the visage recalls that of late Kyrgyz actor Suimenkul Chokmorov.

The epos "Manas" is said to be one of the Kyrgyz people's most important cultural treasures. This is the world's largest epic, with almost 500 thousand lyrical lines. Aikol Manas, or Manas is the work's principal hero. The monument is placed on Ala-Too Square in the centre of Bishkek. The monument's unveiling (August 31, 2011) coincided with Kyrgyzstan's 20th anniversary of independence. Monument to Manas the Great is considered one of the most beautiful historical sites in Kyrgyzstan.

Address: Ala-Too Square, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan