Central Asia
Central Asia is a part of the world that has long drawn travellers and explorers. Home to the fabled cities of the Silk Road like Samarkand and Bokhara, the history of Central Asia is tangible, with superb architecture, the ruins of ancient empires, and numerous monuments and sites that you'll see nowhere else. Stretching from Siberia to the borders of Persia, there are a wealth of cultures to be explored, whether you are drinking fermented horse milk with a Kyrgyz nomad or shots of vodka on the Trans-Mongolian Express.
Armenia claims to be one of the oldest Christian countries on earth, and the sense of history is palpable. Over the years this tiny country has produced a huge diaspora, and there are Armenian…
Georgia spans the geographical faultline between Asia and Europe, set in the Caucasus region, and the mountains dominate not just the landscape but also the culture. Georgia is famed for its wines,…
A vast country of surreal landscapes and endless steppe, Kazakhstan was under Soviet rule for most of the 20th century, becoming independent in 1991. An Islamic country, Kazakhstan has a…
Kyrgyzstan is rugged even by Central Asian standards, with a serrated backbone of mountains that have shaped the culture of a fiercely independent people known for their hospitality. The terrain…
The name Mongolia conjures up images of Genghis Khan's army sweeping across the steppes, destroying everything in its wake. Mongolia's most famous son might do a double take at the modern city of…
If there was an award for the strangest country on earth, Turkmenistan would be near the top of the list. Mostly desert, Turkmenistan has a particularly extreme climate, with searingly hot summers…
Uzbekistan lies along the route of the ancient Silk Road, home to the legendary city of Samarkand, full of enormous monuments constructed by Timur and possessing some of the most spectacular…
