ISSYK-KUL

formerly Rybachye, town, Issyk-Kul oblast (province), Kyrgyzstan. It is a port located on the western shore of Lake Issyk-Kul and is linked to Frunze, about 87 miles (140 km) north-northwest. Issyk-Kul's economy centres on a food industry, including meat-packing and cereal processing, and the town serves as a major transportation centre, with a shipyard. Pop. (1979) 33,319. oblast (province), northeastern Kyrgyzstan, with an area of 16,800 square miles (43,500 square km). In the northeast is Lake Issyk-Kul at an elevation of 5,276 feet (1,608 m) and surrounded by ranges rising to 17,100 feet (5,200 m), while in the southeast, on the frontier with China, are the highest peaks of the Tien Shan (mountains), culminating in Victory Peak at 24,406 feet (7,439 m). The climate around Lake Issyk-Kul is relatively mild, but in the mountain valleys of the southeast even the summers are cool. Fine-fleeced sheep and pedigree horses are reared on the oblast's extensive pastures, and grain and potatoes are grown in the eastern part of the Issyk-Kul Basin. The oblast is a major producer of raw opium. Industry is found mainly in Przhevalsk and in Issyk-Kul city. Most of the population live around the lake, which is also a summer resort area, the town of Cholpon-Ata on its north shore being especially popular. Most of the population is Kyrgyz, with a substantial Russian minority. Pop. (1987 est.) 393,000.