Manas District

Manas
Манас району
Coat of arms of Manas
CountryKyrgyzstan
RegionTalas Region
Area
 • Total1,198 km2 (463 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total37,505
 • Density31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+6

Manas (Kyrgyz: Манас району) is a district of Talas Region in north-western Kyrgyzstan. Its area is 1,198 square kilometres (463 sq mi),[1] and its resident population was 37,505 in 2021.[2] The administrative seat lies at Pokrovka.[3]

The district is named after the mythical Kyrgyz national hero, Manas, who is said to have been born in the Alatau mountains in the raion. A few kilometers outside Talas lies a mausoleum, supposedly that of Manas, called the Kümböz Manas. However, the inscription on its richly-decorated facade dedicates it to "...the most glorious of women Kenizek-Khatun, the daughter of the Emir Abuka".

The building, known as "Manastin Khumbuzu" or "The Ghumbez of Manas", is thought to have been built in 1334. It now contains a museum dedicated to the epic. A ceremonial mound also lies nearby.

  1. ^ "2009 population and housing census of the Kyrgyz Republic: Talas Region" (PDF) (in Russian). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. 2010. pp. 12, 15.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Classification system of territorial units of the Kyrgyz Republic" (in Kyrgyz). National Statistics Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. May 2021. pp. 65–66.