Jibek Jolu means "Silk Road" in Kyrgyz, and this six-lane east-west boulevard runs along the northern edge of the central grid. Once the main thoroughfare in and out of the city, it now carries the bulk of the through-traffic and is lined with markets, mosques (including the central mosque), and large Soviet-era apartment blocks.
Walk a few blocks of Jibek Jolu and you see a different Bishkek from the marble centre: more traders, more headscarves, more buses, more dust.