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Central Asia is a region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains , vast deserts (Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with the steppes of Eastern Europe as a homogeneous geographical zone known as the Eurasian Steppe.
A depiction of Central Asia in dark-green along with some nearby associated regions in light-green. Greater Central Asia (GCA) is a variously defined region encompassing the area in and around Central Asia, by one definition including Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Xinjiang (in China), and Afghanistan, [1] and by a more expansive definition, excluding Turkey but including Mongolia and parts of India ...
Homo sapiens reached Central Asia by 50,000 to 40,000 years ago. The Tibetan Plateau is thought to have been reached by 38,000 years ago. [7] [8] [9] The currently oldest modern human sample found in northern Central Asia, is a 45,000-year-old remain, which was genetically closest to ancient and modern East Asians, but his lineage died out quite early.
The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has designated 19 World Heritage Sites in six countries (also called "state parties") of Central and North Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Asian part of Russia. [1] The European part of Russia is included in Eastern Europe. [2]
One of the first geographers to mention Central Asia as a distinct region of the world was Alexander von Humboldt. The borders of Central Asia are subject to multiple definitions.
The nations which make up Central Asia are five of the former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which have a total population of about 76 million.
The Silk Road which once brought prosperity to Central Asia in the silk trade is now a highway for drugs from Afghanistan to Russia that has contributed to economic, political and social problems in the region. The drug trade is proliferating in Central Asia because of the weakness of its nation-states and its pivotal geo-strategic location.
Significant Christian communities also found in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. [ 139 ] Islam , which originated in the Hejaz located in modern-day Saudi Arabia, is the second largest and most widely-spread religion in Asia with at least 1 billion Muslims constituting around 23.8% of the total population of Asia. [ 142 ]