I recently had the chance to travel through Central Asia to all of the other countries that many people in America would have real trouble identifying. From this trip, I was able to gain some valuable knowledge about a couple of things: these Central Asian countries are not just different colored blobs on a map, every Central Asian country is worried about what other Central Asian countries are like, and everyone should take the time to visit this less-visited area of the world.

To start my trip, I drove from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Almaty, Kazakhstan across the Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan land border. For those who have not crossed a land border anytime in their life, it is one of the most time-consuming and annoying things that you can do, especially when crossing between to post-Soviet states with lots of inefficient bureaucracy. We were blessed with good weather as we walked through the border (it would have been miserable in the rain) but had to wait over an hour when we arrived at the Kazakh visa control because all of the workers took a simultaneous lunch break. When we did finally arrive in Almaty, I was greeted by a very modern, globalized, and bustling city. After spending three months in Kyrgyzstan, my eyes were amazed to see such novelties and wonders as Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and roads that were paved without holes! All in all, Almaty felt like the most European of all cities in Central Asia and had some interesting architecture.

Next, I flew into Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and was immediately struck by the humorous presidential propaganda of the country. On the plane ride over (which was about ten percent full) there were little portraits of the current president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. The country is famous for being insular, decked in marble, and filthy rich with gas money. I was not disappointed on any of these fronts and the country ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the trip. The people there were some of the nicest and open people I met in Central Asia and Turkmenistan does seem to have a proud culture that does not rely on measuring itself against other Central Asian countries. I also think I enjoyed Turkmenistan so much because it reminded me of my time in Azerbaijan, since they are very similar in terms of recent history. Turkmen (the official language) is even similar to Azerbaijani, but with a lisp.

Finally, I ended my trip with a visit to three cities in Uzbekistan. The first two cities we stopped by were Bukhara and Samarkand, both famous ancient Silk Road cities. I liked neither city since they were by far the most “touristy” places in Central Asia and Uzbekistan’s idea of authenticity and historical preservation were not the most endearing. They had many ancient madrasas and mosques in these cities, but they were all completely restored, desanctified, and then filled with countless sellers hocking their souvenirs at tourists. Often, the tour guides were even in cahoots with the sellers and would purposefully take us into places to pressure us to by souvenirs. We did have a chance to go to Tashkent, the largest city in Central Asia, which I rather enjoyed. It had very Soviet-influenced architecture and enjoyed attending Easter mass at the largest Catholic cathedral in Central Asia.

My advice is for everybody with a desire for a more alternative trip to look into Central Asia. All the countries I went to had their positives and I highly recommend if you can get a visa to go to Turkmenistan.