Geography+&+History

== ==The main physical features of Central Asia are highlands, deserts, and grassland (unforested). The majority of Central Asia's mountains are located in the south- eastern area. From the western part of the mountain ranges, the elevation decreases, and the land flattens. Central Asia doesn't have much trees; most of the region is made up from grassland. Therefore, the land is too rugged to farm. The two main bodies of water near this region are the Caspian and Aral Seas. Because the climate of Central Asia is dry, they don't have much rivers and lakes. The climate of this area is quite extreme. Winters are long and cold from the cold wind that travels from the Polar Region. The summer is short and hot for the majority of the region (except for the Highlands). There is very little rainfall (except for the mountains); as a result, most of Central Asia is desert-like. ==





== Tian Shan: The Tian Shan is located in the land of the former USSR (Russia) and Eastern China. Geographers often divide it in four parts: Central, Northern, Western, and Inner Tian Shan. The average temperature "at the foot of the mountain" is about 20-25 degrees. The highest peak is known as the Pobeda, or Victory. This peak is very popular among mountaineers and climbers. == == There are about 7,787 glaciers in the mountain ranges. The largest glacier is the South Inglychek glacier, which is about 60km long. The river of the Tian Shan is made up from the melted glaciers. Lake Issy-Kul is very beautiful (it has a greenish-blue colour), and is 702 meters deep. The higher region of the Tian Shan has "alpine meadows and beautiful fir forests." In the lower areas, there are "deciduous forests with walnuts and maples." ==

-Jennifer-




== Kazakh Uplands: The Kazakh Uplands are the hilly area of Eastern Kazakhstan, taking up about one-fifth of the nation. A lot of the region are very high in elevation, while other parts may be very low. Those low areas are known as "pen plains." The pen plains are known to have formed about 245 million years ago. These plains reach the Altai Mountains and the Tarbagatai ranges. ==



== In the Western Siberian Plains and Turgay Plains, there are lots of plateaus in some areas. Shrubs, brush woods, granite, and rock pinewoods are common in the low mountains. They are the habitat for lynx boars, and herds of saiga. > look at the picture below ==

-Insoo-




Kara Kum: The Kara Kum is a desert that can be divided into two parts: Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Because of the lack of rain, not many people live there (harsh weather conditions). Towards the East of this region, you can see the Caspian Sea, and the Aral Sea in the Northern Area. The Armu Darya and Kyzyl lie in the Northeastern part of the desert.

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Most of the time, the animals that you will be able to spot are camels and sheep. They are herded by some farmers who live in the region. In the Kara Kum desert, you can find over 6,000 wells from the Kara Kum canal! The canal was build in 1954 to provide water for those who live there. ======

-Chau-




Hindu Kush: The mountain range in Central Asia. It locates on the north-east Afghanistan and the east Tajikistan.

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There are two theories for the meaning of “Hindu Kush”. The one theory is “Hindu killer” or “Hindu slaughter”, and the other one is “Hindu Mountain”. ======

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It was the way to the Indian subcontinent from the ancient time, so people have used it for invasion or trade from the past. As you go further to south and west, it gets more smaller and lower than north-east. It means, most of the high peaks ( summit) locate in Pakistan, so the Central Asia side has relatively slow curve. ======

-Nao-




Tajikistan: In the very past time, the Tajik people lived within the Persian Empire that was ruled by Darius I. After him, Alexander the Great ruled the Persian Empire in 333 B.C. In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Arabs took over, and brought and spread Islam to the Tajik people. Uzbeks and the Afghans ruled the Tajikistan very successfully, until the Russians colonized Tajikistan.

====About 1860 to 1870, Russian colonized Tajikistan. But during the time of the Revolution of 1917, Russia’s hold of Asia started to weaken. Because of Russian’s colonization, Tajikistan has a lot of civil wars. In 1991, the Soviet Union broke-up,and Tajikistan became an independent country. Tajikistan joined into a group called the Commonwealth of Independent States with other ten former Soviet republics on December 21, 1991. In November 1992, Rahmon Nabiyev became the first person to win the first president election, and became the very first leader of Tajikistan. ====

====After being independent for a while, Tajikistan burst out in a religious civil war. Despite efforts to stop the civil war, people just continued to fight. About 60,000 people lost their homes. Finally, the conflict ended on June 27, 1997 with an agreement of peace that signed in Moscow between the government of President Imomali Rakhmonov and the United Tajik Opposition, the two Islamic group that began the conflict that wasn't necessary. From the day they signed the agreement, the people of Tajikistan lived in peace. ====

====In 2005 government elections, the president's governing party received most of the votes; international monitors marked them unequal. President Rakhmonov won a third term election in the November 2006, which were denied to cooperate with the opposition parties. Since he came to power ten years ago, he has shut down the country's independent media and imprisoned the opposition leaders. His government has also been incriminating of laws of human rights of using the government power and dishonesty. ====



===Kazakhstan: According to some people, Kazakhstan is a combination of Turkic. Former Kazakhstan began to form near the sixteenth century. The earliest language from this country was from the year 700-800. They have a lot of poetry that is orally presented. According to some experts, the language was influenced from the Soviet Union. === === Kazakhstan is the largest republic in Central Asia. It is the ninth largest geography area. It has one of the lowest population densities in the world probably because it has a lot of terrain that is not comfortable, and land that is hard to live in. Kazakhstan had a main role of helping the Soviet Union during the world wars. It also played an agriculture role to help the Soviet Union. === === Humans inhabited the land of Kazakhstan from the early Stone Age. During the eighth through ninth century, the southern part of Kazakhstan was invaded by Arabic countries (so Kazakhstan is practically like Korea in a way; it got occupied by a lot of the bigger countries around them and got independence just like Korea). During year 1221, Kazakhstan got occupied by the Mongolians and become the western branch of the empire. In the beginning, Russians traders just began to go in and go out of the country. But when the Mongolian empire fell, they invaded Kazakhstan. ===

-Insoo-




====<span style="color: #266c78; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Afghanistan: Afghanistan is a country located in Central Asia. This country contains many different ancient relics (an object that has survived through many years, usually of historical interest). The most famous relics are two statues of Buddhas “carved into a cliff.” These two statues are located in the Bamiyan region. Why were these statues created in the first place? These statues were created to honor the founder of Buddhism (anyone know who?). The larger one of the two is the tallest statue of Buddha in the world; it’s 175 ft tall! ==== ====<span style="color: #266c78; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Afghanistan has been conquered by many different countries in history. In 500 B.C., Darius I of Babylonia conquered the region. In 329 B.C. Alexander the Great of Macedonia took control of Afghanistan. Also, Genghis Khan conquered the country in the 13th century. Afghanistan had to go through many years of colonization, until they gained their independence in the 17th century. However, in 1870, they were under the Arab rule (this is where Islam kicks in). Around the 19th century, Britain tried to add Afghanistan to their land in order to protect them from Russia. However, they weren’t successful; it ended in “series” of the British-Afghan War (First One: 1838-1842 Second One: 1878-1880 Third One: 1919- 1921). ==== ====<span style="color: #266c78; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Taliban is a powerful religious group in Afghanistan. Their mission is to destroy all of the country's historical statues/monuments, such as the two statues of Buddha (see: first paragraph). The group's leader Mullah Mohammed Omar are using many weapons to destroy things that they believe go against Islamic law. "These statues are there to be worshiped, and, and that is wrong... they should be destroyed so that they are not worshiped now or in the future," Omar said. Many people in the world including the U.N., and Islamic worshipers do not agree, and are urging the Taliban to not destroy them. However, Omar said that they are simply just "breaking stones." The Taliban movement all started from a group of religious students, who call themselves the "seekers of truth," or the Taliban. The Taliban do not allow women to work or go to school, and allow public executions. They eventually gained popularity, and controlled 90% of the country. Their goal is to create the "purest" Islamic society. ====

<span style="color: #710977; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Uzbekistan- THE TIME LINE ====<span style="color: #100de7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">100 BC- <span style="color: #710977; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> The time of Roman Empire, The area that includes present-day Uzbekistan was very important for the overland trade route known as Great Silk Road, the way from China,Middle East, and Rome. ==== ====<span style="color: #0619db; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">7th- 8th centuries- <span style="color: #710977; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Arabs conquered Uzbekistan and taught them about Islam. Ever since the conquest from Arabs, Uzbekistan got conquered from other countries many times. ==== ====<span style="color: #102dea; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">13th-14th centuries- <span style="color: #710977; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Uzbekistan and the other country around Uzbekistan was conquered by Genghis Khan, who was an emperor of Mongolia. ==== ====<span style="color: #0e1ef1; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">18th-19th centuries- <span style="color: #710977; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Uzbekistan became the colony of the independent emirates and khanates of some countries. From middle of the 19th century, Russia conquered the territory of Central Asia, and in the beginning of the twenty century, Uzbekistan became part of “Union of Soviet Socialist Republic” (present-day Russia), and was named “Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic”. This was the latest and most famous colonization in Uzbekistan today.The colonization was continued until Union of Soviet collapsed in 1991.After that, they changed the name into “Uzbekistan”, which is the name that is used now. ==== ====<span style="color: #710977; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States, the political community that is formed by the countries who belong to the Soviet Union. And also Karimov, who supported the opposition group of the Gorbachev (ruler of the Soviet Union) became president in direct elections. ====





<span style="color: #ff5e00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #f34b16; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">From Tajikistan: Kurtob (or Kurtab) There are different types of Kurtobs. Some have noodles, some don't. The one we will teach you to make is a simple and quick one to make. This is a really simple dish that will be good for you when the weather is hot and you need something to refresh yourself. Also, it's really easy to make it! The ingredients that you will need are: Bread, yogurt (any kind, but plain is the best), onions, tomatoes (try to find small ones; they work better than the big ones), coriander or parsley (if you don't have coriander), a bowl, and cooking utensils. The amount depends on how many people you will be serving. The steps that you will need to take are: <span style="color: #ff5e00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1) Slice the bread (one or two) into half by the length and place them in a bowl. 2) Using a knife, cut all of your tomatoes (about 10) into halves, and place them in a bowl. Make sure you wash them first! 3) Using a knife, cut your onions how ever you want, and place them in the bowl as well. 4) Spread your yogurt onto the mixture that was made. 5) Using a knife, dice the coriander or parsley really small, and spread it onto the mixture. You're done! Enjoy :) -Chau-
 * <span style="color: #ff5e00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reminder: This is not a salad, so please don't mix them. Just follow the instructions..

<span style="color: #13a035; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">From Uzbekistan: Cucumber Yogurt Sauce This is a simple food as above; it includes yogurt too! Also, this is quick to make, and is usually eaten with lamb meat.

The ingredients you will need are:

Cucumber, whole cumin seeds (they are hard to find in Korea, so you don't have to add it if it's not available), hot green chillies, corn, plain yogurt, 1/4 c vegetable oil, garlic (diced), salt (optional), a skillet if you have cumin seeds, a bowl, and cooking utensils.

The steps you need to take are:

1) Using a knife, cut the cucumber into pieces (like you do with those cucumbers that you put on your face). 2) If you have cumin seeds, toast them in a small heavy skillet until they turn brown, and chill them for an hour. 3) Using a knife, cut the hot green chillies in any shape you want. 4) Using a knife, dice your garlic. 5) Place your vegetables and cumin seeds in a bowl. Add your corn (not a whole big one, but in the small individual ones). Add 1/4 cup of yogurt (plain is the best) and mix them together. 6) Add 1.4 cup of vegetable oil and stir. 7) Add salt if you want. You're done! Enjoy :D -Nao-

<span style="color: #c922a2; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">From Kazakhstan: Baursaki (fried doughnuts) These doughnuts are handed out during the big feast after the Ramadan (fast-breaking). Kazakh Muslims go to their friends to hand out a little treat. It's traditional to do this.

The ingredients you need are:

Flour, yeast, water, milk, eggs, butter or margarine, sugar, vegetable oil, salt, bowl, paper towels, and cooking utensils.

The steps you need to take are:

1) Mix all the ingredients into a bowl to make a dough. Work the dough on a surface and put it back in a mixing bowl. 2) Cover the bowl with a towel for about 30 minutes. 3) Use the dough to make balls the size of a tablespoon. Afterward, press them down gently and put them in oil and fry them until they turn golden brown. 4) Dry the fried dough on some paper towels.

-Insoo-
 * If you want to make it sweet, sprinkle sugar all around the food.

<span style="color: #cd5e1d; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Notes

Jennifer couldn't choose a type of food from Afghanistan because they required lamb meat and a special type of spice that is extremely hard to find. But she helped editing and researching. Sorry!

The amount of ingredients (example: instead of saying: 4 cups of flour, we said: flour) was not included on purpose. If you want to take a look in depth, then you can go below to check the websites, or go to the citation page.

= Geography =

= History =