Naryn

Naryn (Kyrgyz: Нарын) is the provincial administrative center of the Naryn Province in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population of 34,822 (2009 Census). It is situated on both banks of the Naryn River (one of the main head waters of the Syr Darya), which cuts a picturesque gorge through the town. The city has two regional museums and some hotels, but is otherwise residential.

From Naryn, the main road (one of the branches of the ancient Silk Road) runs south through the sparsely settled central Kyrgyz highlands to the Torugart Pass and China. At present, this is the main transport link from Kyrgyzstan to China. Naryn hosts one of three campuses of the University of Central Asia (UCA). The University was founded in 2000 by the governments of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, and His Highness the Aga Khan. It is the world’s first internationally chartered institution of higher education. The UCA currently operates a School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE), with a School of Undergraduate Studies and a Graduate School of Development in the process of being established.

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