Central Asia is a mysterious region unfamiliar to most foreigners. For most of the 20th Century it was amalgamated into the Soviet Union until the Republics sought independence in 1991. However they have a deep history reaching back to Ghenghis Khan and Alexander the Great, and have played a vital role in shaping the Empires of Persia, Russia, and India.

The five Ex-Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan are collectively known as 'The Stans'. The word 'Stan' in Indo-Turkic languages actually means 'land of the respective peoples'. The same way in Anglo-Germanic languages we have Eng-land, Scot-land, Ire-land, Fin-land, Pole-land, Deutch-land, Switzer-land, or geographic regions North-Humber-land, Ice-land, Green-land, Nether-land, Rhine-land.

The word 'Stan' should not be pronounced the anglicized way short for Stanley, but should be pronounced 'Staan' with the emphasis on the letter 'a'. It should also be pronounced 'sta' as in 'star' with the 'r' silent.

In addition to the five Central Asian 'Stans' there are also the bordering countries of Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Afghanistan is home to the Afghans but Pakistan is not the home of the 'Pakis' which is actually an offensive racial slur to Pakistanis.

The 'Pak' in Pakistan (pronounced 'paak') is made up of the provinces Punjab, Afghan, Kashmir, with Sindh adding the dual use letter 's'. The work 'paak' also means clean or pure in the Urdu/Hindi language making the name land of the pure or clean.

In addition to the seven countries named above, I have named the 'outer stans'. India is known as Hindustan, a name even used domestically within India to represent the Indian nation with the news show 'Hindustan Today' or the 'Hindustan Times' newspaper. There is even a Bollywood studio complex known as Filmistan.

In Pakistani there is the province of Balochistan home to the Balochi people, and the bordering Chinese province of East Turkestan (which I visited in Xinjiang Province), though use of the name Turkestan is forbidden in China.

Further west of Central Asia there are even three more 'Stans' which are Russian Republics. Tatarstan is home of the ethnic Tatars (another place I want to visit), and there is Bashkortostan, and Dagestan. Even Turkish maps refer to Bulgaria as Bulgaristan.

Locally there are other neighbourhoods in a town that may use the word 'stan' as well as the name for graveyards, Kavarstan, which is land of the dead. Even the central square in Samarkand is called The Registan

Due to Englands growing Muslim population London is sometimes called 'Londonistan' though this is often used in a provocative way by anti-immigration groups playing on the name for Pakistan and not realizing the wider use of the word 'Stan'. However missing the mark completely, the literal translation of 'Londonistan' would actually be 'Land of the Londoners'.

The BBC did a five part travel show "Welcome to The Stans" and there is another documentary "Meet The Stans" both focussing on the five Central Asian Republics

After my first trip to Xinjiang in Western China exploring the origins, legacy, and Arabic influence of The Silk Road, Uzbekistan was my next much anticipated destination

(Click Here for Xinjiang : Silk Road Muslim China Blog in 2011)

Uzbekistan was the heart of The Silk Road whose tentacles reached as far West as Europe, East towards China, South into India, and bordering Russia to the North. Uzbekistan was the crossroads and meeting place of all these regions creating rich market towns, some of the best architecture the world has seen, and playing a pivotal role in shaping regional and world empires.

I will begin my journey in the Capital Tashkent and move to the fortified city of Khiva. From there to the trading town of Bukhara, the birthplace of Timarlane in Shakhrisabz, before reaching the cultural heartland and historical capital of Samarkand. Finally back to Tashkent to explore some of the Soviet era legacy.

Here is the tour I will be doing with a full day in Tashkent added at the end

This is a trip I've wanted to do for years and one of the reasons I came to work in Korea where there are cheaper flights available than if I tried this from back home.

Korea is home to a large Uzbek population. There are Uzbek restaurants, and direct flights on Korean Air, Asiana, and Uzbek Airways giving a choice and price competition on the Seoul to Tashkent route.

There is also a sizeable Korean population in Uzbekistan. Koreans had migrated to Russia and the Soviet Union for more than a century. In 1937 there was a forced deportation to the Central Asian Republics. Today about 198,000 ethnic Koreans live in Uzbekistan which is the largest Korean population of any of the former Soviet states http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koryo-sara m

Rural farmers in Korea unable to find brides try to find women from the Korean diaspora in places like Uzbekistan. I saw street banners all over town mentioning Uzbekistan. Thinking it was a travel agent I asked a teacher to call to ask if they could arrange a visa. To our surprise they said it was a marriage services agency for single men.

Settlement in Central Asia dates back to the 5th Century BC and the ancient Sogdian town just north of modern day Samarkand. Afrosiab as the town was known was conquered by Alexander the Great and flourished until it was destroyed by Ghenghis Khan in 1220.

The region was then absorbed into the Mongol Empire until breaking off into the Chagatai Khanate.

This was later conquered and absorbed into the Empire of Timarlane before breaking into smaller kingdoms. These smaller kingdoms emerged into three predominant ones, Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand.

They would continue until the advance of the Russians at the end of the 19th century who absorbed this into Soviet territory by the early 20th century.

The modern day map of Uzbekistan follows the shapes of the Kingdoms of Khiva and Bukhara, while Kokand is divided up between four of the Central Asian Stans.

Fortunately for Uzbekistan this leaves almost all the historic sites within its present day borders leaving its neighbours with little historical and having to rely on natural tourism.

This was going to be an interesting trip rich in historical treasures. However I was also surprised to find the diverse cultural heritage and impact also left behind by the Soviets which isnt often paid attention to or appreciated.

When people hear the name 'Stan' they associate it with Afghanistan and the Taliban. The Soviet experience has been anything but. People are highly educated from Soviet style schooling, speak a variety of languages, are multi ethnic, and multi religious.

They have a highly developed infrastructure including a metro and high speed train. Furthermore, the Soviets paid a great deal of attention to preserving, restoring, and excavating new archaeological finds

This only adds a further layer to explore in the rich tapestry that is Uzbekistan and Central Asia