Kara-Suu

Kara-Suu Кара-Суу
Kara-Suu Location in Kyrgyzstan
Coordinates: 40°42′N 72°53′E / 40.700°N 72.883°E / 40.700; 72.883Coordinates: 40°42′N 72°53′E / 40.700°N 72.883°E / 40.700; 72.883
Country	Kyrgyzstan
Region	Osh Region
Elevation	744 m (2,442 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	20,862
Time zone	UTC+6

Kara-Suu 'black water' is a town, river and valley in Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley. The town is 23 km northeast of Osh and is the capital of Kara-Suu District.

The Kara-Suu valley is home to two towns with similar names. The first, at N 40.71 E 72.89, is divided by a Soviet-era border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The Kyrgyz town is called Kara-Suu and is a major industrial and trade center, its Uzbek counterpart is called Qorasuv (or Il'ichovsk). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Uzbek authorities destroyed the main bridge across the river, but cross-border trade continued via improvised ropeways that ferried goods and people across.

The Karasuu Bazaar in the Kyrgyz town of Kara-Suu is a highly important center of import of Chinese consumer goods into Southern Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, comparable with Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek (which targets Northern Kyrgyzstan, Kazakh and Russian markets).^[1]

Kara-Suu gained international prominence following the May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan and massacre in nearby Andijan, after which refugees streamed across the border into Kyrgyzstan.

Demographics

The permanent population of Kara-Suu, according to the Population and Housing Census of 2009, was 20,862. The average age is 26.5 years old.

References