Osh, city and administrative center in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, in Osh province, on the eastern edge of the Fergana Valley near the border with Uzbekistan. Osh is about 1290 km (about 800 mi) southwest of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and about 45 km (about 30 mi) from Andijon, Uzbekistan. It is separated from Bishkek by high mountain ranges. Osh sits on a major highway from Bishkek through Dushanbe and Khorugh in Tajikistan, to Afghanistan. Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan after Bishkek. Coal, lead, and zinc mines surround the city, and sheep grazing and wool production are major economic activities.
At 2500 years old, Osh is one of the oldest settlements in Central Asia. It was known as early as the 8th century as a center for silk production along the Silk Road. Since the 10th century, Muslim pilgrims have been visiting a hill in the center of the city, called Takht-i-Suleyman (Solomon's Throne), where it is said the Prophet Muhammad once prayed. Many visitors are childless women who come to pray so that they may be able to have children. There is a sanatorium associated with hot springs just outside of town in the foothills of the Pamiro-Alaya Mountains. About 200 people died in 1990, as riots and street fighting broke out between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz over the division of land and water resources in and around the city. Population (1996 estimate) 220,500.
