Sary-Tash

Sary-Tash
Kyrgyz: Сары-Таш
Sary Tash village with the Pamir Mountains
Sary Tash village with the Pamir Mountains
Sary-Tash is located in Kyrgyzstan
Sary-Tash
Sary-Tash
Coordinates: 39°43′48″N 73°15′00″E / 39.73000°N 73.25000°E / 39.73000; 73.25000
CountryKyrgyzstan
RegionOsh Region
DistrictAlay District
Established1950
Elevation
3,170 m (10,400 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
2,337
Time zoneUTC+6 (KGT)
Houses in Sary Tash

Sary-Tash (Kyrgyz: Сары-Таш) is a village and major crossroads in the Alay Valley of Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 2,337 in 2021.[1] Until 2012 it was an urban-type settlement.[2] Nearby towns and villages to the north include Ak-Bosogo (8 km or 5 mi) and Chagyr (14 km or 9 mi).

Although this remote village has only some shop-cafes, a petrol station and five guest houses (March 2016), it is an important road junction connecting China, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Its name is derived from Turkic roots and means "yellow-stone".[3]

To the north, M41 goes over the Taldyk Pass to Gülchö and Osh in the Ferghana Valley. To the south, after leaving the Alay Valley the M41 rises to the 4280m Kyzylart Pass into Tajikistan as part of the Pamir Highway. 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the east on A371 is the Irkestam pass to Kashgar, Xinjiang province, China. To the west, the A372 leads down the Alay Valley. The pass at the west end (towards Dushanbe, Tajikistan) is a bilateral border crossing closed to foreigners.[4]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1970870—    
19791,072+2.35%
19891,278+1.77%
19991,502+1.63%
20091,427−0.51%
20212,337+4.20%
Note: resident population; Sources:[5][1]

History

Sary-Tash was visited in 1894 by Swedish traveller Sven Hedin, who wrote his caravan before his mountaineering ascent "fell on their knees in the snow, offering Allah a prayer for a happy pass through the dangerous Kyzyl-Art, where sudden disastrous storms often occur." Exploring the pass, he saw a pile of stones piled in a heap, decorated with "tutami", a type of poles, which were hung with fur pendants, colorful rags of fabric, horns of mountain goats and rams.

Climate

Climate data for Sary-Tash (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) −15.5
(4.1)
−13.5
(7.7)
−7.9
(17.8)
−0.8
(30.6)
4.2
(39.6)
7.5
(45.5)
10.2
(50.4)
10.1
(50.2)
6.3
(43.3)
−0.3
(31.5)
−7.3
(18.9)
−13.3
(8.1)
−1.7
(29.0)
Source: NOAA[6]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Population of regions, districts, towns, urban-type settlements, rural communities and villages of Kyrgyz Republic" (XLS) (in Russian). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2021. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021.
  2. ^ Law 27 September 2012 No. 168 on the transformation of individual urban settlements of the Kyrgyz Republic and relating them to the category of village or city
  3. ^ Taylor, Isaac (1898). Names and their histories: a handbook of historical geography and topographical nomenclature (2nd ed.). Rivingtons. p. 317.
  4. ^ "Kyrgyzstan border crossings". Caravanistan.
  5. ^ "2009 population and housing census of the Kyrgyz Republic: Osh Region" (PDF) (in Russian). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2010. p. 201.
  6. ^ "Climate Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 1 November 2023.