Officially name: The Kyrgyz Republic
Capital: Bishkek
Largest city: Bishkek
Government: Parliamentary republic
National currency: Kyrgyz Som= 100 tyin. Bank notes are in denominations of Som 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1. And 50, 10 and 1 tyin which hardly can be used. There are no coins in Kyrgyzstan.
Water is a defining feature of Kyrgyzstan. In winter it freezes on glaciers and buries the land deep in snow. In summer it melts into cascading streams, tumbling waterfalls and ferocious torrents which carve their way through jagged cliffs and rocky gorges.