Holiday Ayo - Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east. Its capital and largest city are Bishkek.

Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's six million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. The Kyrgyz language is closely related to other Turkic languages, although Russian remains spoke and is a co-official language. Ninety percent of Kyrgyzstan's population are Muslim, with the majority of its population following Sunni Islam.

In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture bears elements of Iranic, Mongolian, and Russian influence.

Kyrgyzstan's history spans a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road and other commercial routes.

Inhabited by a succession of tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under larger domination.

Between periods of self-government it was ruled by Göktürks, the Uyghur Empire, and the Khitan people, before being conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century; it regained independence but was invaded by Kalmyks, Manchus, and Uzbeks.

In 1876, it became part of the Russian Empire, and in 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was formed to become a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Following Mikhail Gorbachev's democratic reforms in the USSR, in 1990 pro-independence candidate Askar Akayev was elected president.

On 31 August 1991, Kyrgyzstan declared independence from Moscow, and a democratic government was established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation-state after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.