Holiday in Central Asia (1): introduction
Throughout my life, I have been fortunate to have had many opportunities to travel and I have visited a total of 80 countries all around the world. But this trip – organised by the travel company Voyages Jules Verne (VJV) – is different. It is not my furthest or my longest trip: that would be the one to Australia and New Zealand in 2013 when I was away for 31 days. But, given the location (Central Asia), the length (26 days) and my age (I am now 74), it is probably going to be the most challenging.
As the travel company puts it, the region is: “Perhaps amongst some of the world’s least visited and least well-known destinations, making this a true journey of discovery”. The briefing refers to “remote and, in part, unsophisticated destinations”, hotels that may be “simple and unpretentious”, occasional “water or electricity shortages”, food that “can be repetitive”, and “some long journeys, some on uneven roads with only limited opportunities for comfort breaks”. And, of course, you cannot drink the water anywhere.
We will be away 26 days and make 9 flights. We will stay in 18 hotels: 12 of them for one night only and 6 for all of two nights. Although VJV has been operating in the region for many years, this is the company’s first five-nation tour. Sounds like fun, huh?
We are going to visit five ‘stans’ (the word ‘stan’ means country): Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The only one that I have visited before is Uzbekistan in 2006 so, by the end of this trip, the total number of countries that I have visited will be 84. Visas are not required for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan but are necessary for Tajikistan (payment in advance of £50 to VJV) and Turkmenistan (payment at the border of $100).
All five of these ‘stans’ were previously members of the USSR but, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, each became an independent state. All of them are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, economically underdeveloped, and politically illiberal. But, of course, each is different.
Kazakhstan is an enormous country, the ninth largest in the world and over 10 times the size of the UK. It is the largest landlocked country on earth and the world’s largest Muslim-majority country by land area. Yet it has a population of only 19M and therefore one of the lowest population densities in the world. Since 1997, the capital – which used to be Almaty – has been Astana which in 2019 was renamed Nur-Sultan. It is rich in oil, gas and mineral resources which makes it the most economically advanced of the ‘stans’. Officially it is a democracy but it has an authoritarian government with a poor human rights record.
Kyrgyzstan is a similar size to the UK but with a much smaller population of just 6M. The capital is Bishkek. The country is probably the most democratic in the region, following the Tulip Revolution of 2005 which overthrew Askar Akayev. it has a semi-presidential political system with a free news media and an active political opposition.
Tajikistan is smaller than the UK and has a much smaller population of about 10M. The capital is Dushanbe. Mountains cover more than 90% of the country which has minimal resources. Following a civil war from 1991-1997, it has had peaceful elections but the same president since 1994 and one party holding the vast majority of seats in the parliament. A major source of income is remittances from abroad.
Turkmenistan is twice the size of the UK but the population is a mere 6M, the lowest of the Central Asian republics. The capital is Ashgabat. Since independence, the country has been ruled by three repressive totalitarian regimes with poor human rights records. The country possesses the world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources. It is the least-visited of the ‘stans’.
Uzbekistan is almost twice the size of the UK with a population 35M (about half that of the UK but almost as large as the other four ‘stans’ combined). it is one of only two double landlocked nations on earth (the other is tiny Liechtenstein). The capital is Tashkent. Following the death of the totalitarian leader Islam Karimov in 2016, the country has embarked on political reforms which have improved relations with neighbouring nations . The country is a major producer and exporter of cotton. It is the most-visited of the ‘stans’.