CENTRAL ASIA

The five post-Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, plus Afghanistan and western China encompass the core of the region known today as Central Asia. In the public forum, this region's geo-strategic position often eclipses the depth of its historical, cultural and social importance. Central Asia has lain at the crossroads of civilization for millennia. As a result, the native culture has absorbed a multitude of outside influences from the Greek culture of Alexander the Great, the Islam of seventh century Arab crusaders, the nomadic cultures of the steppe, to the enveloping embrace of Tsarist Russia and the ever-expanding realm of modern China.

Samarkand, Bukhara, Marv, Balkh, Turkestan, the Oxus: these names resonate through time but Central Asia is much more than the sum of its romantic parts. Subscribe to Steppe today to discover a fascinating world at once removed and yet related to your own.