Under bright blue domes, pilgrims draw close to the tombs of saints to pray. Voices in tangled alleyways reveal a bewildering patchwork of languages and cultures:Tajik, Uzbek, Dari, Farsi, even Russian. Close by, traders barter their wares in bazaars, haggling over everything from spare tyres to pigeons, whilst high in the mountains yak-herding nomads sip chai in warm, felt yurts, much as they have for countless centuries.

There is an exhilarating diversity to Central Asia, a part of the world that truly warrants the description ‘melting pot’. Soldiers, explorers, pilgrims and traders from across the world have passed through here, including Alexander the Great, Ibn Battutah, Marco Polo and the Tsars of Russia. Until quite recently it was impossible to visit here without close ties to Moscow, though now the veil has been lifted and Asia's impressive hinterland has been revealed to the world.

In its architecture is contained a crosssection, in brick and majolica, of the history of Islamic art from the Samanids to the Soviets. For mountain and steppe scenery there is nowhere in the world to compare - countless peaks over 6,000 metres tower over remote grasslands blooming with alpine flowers during the brief months of summer. This is the fabulous diversity of Central Asia, a remote and romantic region long hidden from foreign travellers.