Photo of the day
Pareidolia
The Zhumbaktas (in Kazakh: Mysterious Stone) is a oddly shaped sandstone rock that rises up right in the middle of the Lake Burabay in northern Kazakhstan. [...]
The Nights of Registan
The Registan, located in the heart of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, is one of the most magnificent architectural ensembles in the world. The word ‘Registan’ means ‘sandy place’ or… [...]
An eagerly-awaited meeting
Ilima is an enthusiastic French-speaking Kyrgyz who loves to welcome tourists and show them around her country. En route to the town of Naryn, they were lucky enough to come… [...]
Ahmed Yasavi Museum
The town of Turkestan, Kazakhstan, has been turned upside down by the extensive work being carried out to transform pilgrims into religious tourists. While… [...]
Janpik Kala
Less well known than other fortresses in the Kyzylkum desert of Karakalpakstan, such as Ayaz-Kala or Toprak-Kala, the clay fortress of… [...]
Support Novastan, the European Central Asia magazine
By supporting Novastan, you are supporting the only English, French and German-language media specialising in Central Asia. We're independent and we need your help to stay that way!Floodwaters
An inconspicuous latrine stands on the brown floodwaters of the Panj River near Kozidech, between Khorog and Ishkoshim, Tajikistan. Credits : Joachim Bohndorf (Germany) Find… [...]
In the dragon’s belly
To the south of Lake Issyk-Kul lies a fairytale valley: Skazka or Fairytale canyon. This enchanting place has certainly stimulated the imagination of mystics and dreamers. In… [...]
Magic City
Opening in 2021, Magic City in Tashkent, spread over 21 hectares of a former Soviet park, is a fusion of a shopping centre and a theme park… [...]
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
The mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a 12th-century Sufi poet and mystic, is remarkable for several reasons. An important place of pilgrimage, its presence conferred on the… [...]
Traffic jam on Pamir Highway
Like small rocks in the vastness of the Pamir mountains, the lorries using the M41 road between Tajikistan, China and Kyrgyzstan are blocked by roadworks near… [...]
First harvest of the season
Kamila Rustambekova is a documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, born in 1998. Her work focuses on the complexities of modern Uzbek society, exploring the working and living… [...]
Contemporary standard
Wedged between two ultra-modern facades and an Anglicised sign (ironically, Highvill could be transliterated as ‘high mountain village’), this sunset over Astana (Kazakhstan) is no less sumptuous. Credits : Isabelle… [...]