Sulaiman-Too

Sulaiman-Too is the landmark of the lovely city of Osh. It is a mostly relict cultural landscape of a sacred mountain – so much was destroyed during the Soviet-communist period of Kyrgyzstan, that really only the caves and the legends remain. A few recently revived or added Islamic buildings can be found at the foot of the mountain, outside the gates, including the pretty, Arab-sponsored Sulaiman-Too Mosque dating from 2012.

Accurate information on how to visit the mountain is surprisingly rare to find. One can actually enter from two sides: where the English language sources seem to steer you to the steep stairs from Kurmanjan Datka Street, the locals generally use the winding way up from Gapar Aytiev. A handy overview map and a larger car parking can be found at that entrance. 

There’s a fence fully encircling the mountain, I guess to avoid rough sleepers. A 20 Som entrance fee is only levied from 9 a.m. onwards: there’s a ticket kiosk at either entrance. I entered at 8.45 and found the gate open. I also encountered people coming from the other side, they must have been on their way from around 8. So I guess opening hours are between 8 a.m. and sunset.

Local people seem to do this walk along the ridge of the mountain as a daily exercise. The easy path has an iron railing and is largely made of cement. Here and there you can still see the original pilgrim's path: worn, marble-like …

Site visited April 2014. Osh was the last stop on my tour in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In Osh I wanted to see what the Sulaiman-Too or Sulayman Mountain is all about. In retrospect, one of the most memorable things on this whole tour was the actual journey from Bishkek to Osh. It is also one of my fondest travel memories.

In Bishkek I hopped on a Osh bound marshrutka. At first I waited for two hours for minivan to get full. The driver told that the journey would last nine hours but it ended to be an excruciating 13 hours. There were stunning views when we drove through the passes and up to the mountains. It was exiting to travel with six Kyrgyz who didn't share any common language with me. Along the road we stopped in some restaurants and also in one home. In the middle of the night the driver played music on car stereo so loud that I couldn’t sleep at all. But the music didn’t seem to bother a Kyrgyz granny who snored on the front seat. After a sleepless night it was a relief when I saw Sulaiman-Too in the horizon at six o’clock in the morning.

I had one whole day in Osh and that was a good one. Despite of being somewhat Sovietized, Osh is a city with a real Central Asian feel with its lively atmosphere and bustling bazaars. Sacred Mountain is the centerpiece of this old Silk Road city. It is …

Visited during a sunny day in April.

The site is located in city Osh not far from the border with Uzbekistan. The site in fact are five linked hills in the middle of the city. The city is located in a flat area so the Sulaiman-too is visible from far away.

The hills itself are quite steep, so you have to climb a bit.

This hill is sacred and it is still used as a place of worship on various places in the area. Most famous is a stone where you have to slide down if you want to heal your back. There are various places for other healing - arms, eyes and other illnesses

Beneath the hill is a huge mosque and an Islamic cemetery. On the top of the hill there is a small mosque linked to first Mughal - Babur.

The petroglyphs are in danger by the people who are covering them by graffiti.

There are various caves, which can be visited.

I visited two museums in site - both are interesting, majority of the descriptions are in russian.

It was a nice experience to visit the site, as it is a living site with full of pilgrims or people seeking healing.

I enjoyed the stay, as well to see the city of Osh with its bazaar.