This irregularly shaped nation is longer (west to east) than tall, and contains a deep bite in its west. The entire country is within the Tien Mountains(3) and inter-range valleys. The tallest peak is Pobedy on the Chinese border; it is nearly seven and a half thousand meters high. The greatest valley is filled by Lake Issyk-Kul', Asia's fifth largest. The widest land valley is shared with Almati, Kazakhstan Province, and contains the headwaters of the Chu River. Another northern valley is along the Talas River, which flows into Kazakhstan. The Naryn River flows through the center of the country; it is the longest headwater of the Syrdar'ya, Asia's ninth longest river. The other source, the Karadar'ya flows across the narrow south-center of Kyrgyzstan and into Uzbekistan. The edges of the nation--inside the western 'bite'--surround Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley.
About five million people live there. There is no linguistic majority, although Kyrgyz speakers come close: adding in a few other Western Turkic languages accounts for a majority. The second most important language is Russian, the mother tongue of more than one in four. Third comes Uzbek, an Eastern Turkic language, with nearly one in seven speakers. A miscellany of languages adds up to about one in ten.
The country is mostly Sunni Moslim--about seven in ten. Most of the rest are culturally Russian Orthodox Christians, although only a fraction of them are religious.
The largest city is the capital, Biskek(4), but it has less than a million residents. It was founded as a fortress by the 19th century khanate of Kokand but was soon conquered by Russia.
The Kirgiz moved into the area from the northeast, probably early in the last millenium when they were forced out of Mongolia. Chagatai speakers were probably already there, having been displaced from Mongolia by the Kirgiz. Chagatai became the administrative language of the Mongol khanate that lasted until the 19th century; during this period Chagatai evolved locally into Uzbek. Russia conquered the khanate in the 19th century, introducing their language and Christianity.
It is unclear when the area became Islamic, probably about the same time the Kirgiz arrived. The Chagatai may have been Buddhist before the Kirgiz invasions, and Zoroastrians even farther back.
There may have been Scythians (Shakas) before the Chagatai invaded. They would have been Zoroastrians.
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(1) Also transliterated as Kyrgyzston or Qyrgyzston.
(2) Also transliterated as Uzbekiston.
(3) Tien is sometimes spelled Tyan. 'Mountains' in transliterated Chinese is 'shan'.
(4) Also spelled Bishkek, formerly Frunze or Pishpek.