Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Understand
Central Asia
CENTRAL ASIA TODAY ......................408
Political repression, regional rivalry and the competition for
massive energy reserves dominate contemporary Central Asia.
HISTORY ..................................410
Continent-spanning empires, Silk Road cultural exchange and
imperial intrigue; Central Asia's history is as colourful as it gets.
THE SILK ROAD ............................431
The international exchange of goods, beliefs and aesthetics
make the Silk Road Central Asia's cultural high point.
PEOPLE & CULTURE ........................435
The lands of Eurasia are a fascinating blend of Turkic and
Persian, settled and nomadic, Russian and Asian.
ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA ....................442
Islam rules here but it's the softer Sui brand that dominates
after 70 years of Soviet atheism.
THE ARTS .................................446
Bukhara carpets, nomadic bards and Persian poets give Central
Asia much of its colour and grace.
ARCHITECTURE ............................451
Remnants of some of the Islamic world's greatest architectural
monuments stand as Central Asia's greatest cultural legacy.
ENVIRONMENT .............................455
Disappearing seas, desertiication and nuclear fallout make for
few feel-good environmental stories here.
