If you’re reading this, there is a chance you’re already familiar with the topic. There is also a significant chance that if you haven’t already travelled to Central Asia, you probably want to, and part of travelling to Central Asia is noticing several companies, including of course Saiga Tours, offer “5 Stan Tours” .
But wait a minute, I can hear many of you saying, aren’t there more than five countries in the world with the suffix ‘Stan’ in the name? You’re right. In English, these are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and then Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are also several regions and provinces and autonomous republics with the suffix, such as Tatarstan (a republic in Russia) and Balochistan (a region of Pakistan).
It gets even more confusing because in many languages the word just means ‘land of’ and therefore in various languages around the world there are actually dozens of countries with the suffix Stan. Examples of this include the Arabic names for Georgia – Gorjistan, Serbia – Serbestan, India – Hindustan, and England – Englestan (not a country obviously).
What does Stan mean?
The suffix Stan means ‘land of’, no different to England, the land of the English, or Scotland, the land of the Scots. Its literal meaning is ‘a place abounding in’. It is a suffix shared by Arabic, Persian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Turkish, Azeri and Uighur, just to name a few. The word originally comes from Greek and was borrowed by Arabic, Persian and the Turkic languages.
So why aren’t Afghanistan and Pakistan part of the Stans?
This is where the discussion gets heated. The 5 Stans of Central Asia are a social, economic and geo-political concept. The five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan share a common history as they were all part of the Russian Empire and subsequently the Soviet Union.
Four of the Stans share linguistics and ethnicity, being Turkic languages and people, while Tajikistan is the outlier, speaking Persian. However, they all have Russian as their main form of communication, a hangover from their Russian and Soviet heritage.
This is not something Afghanistan and Pakistan experienced. Due to the Soviet experiment, the countries of Central Asia have taken on unique cultures that are distinctive and separate from their origins. With the influx of people from all corners of the Soviet Union, such as Lithuania, Georgia, Belarus and of course Russia, the culture, music and cuisine borrowed elements to create a Soviet melting pot.
Religion is a big point of difference as well. While Afghanistan and Pakistan are conservative Islamic countries, the five Central Asian Stans are relatively progressive open societies, with equal rights for women in the public domain, even if there are still issues in the home. Religion was discouraged during the Soviet Union, and it’s normal to see Central Asians drinking shots of vodka while eating pieces of pork.
Would grouping all Lands together make sense?
The equivalent of assuming all countries with the same suffix should be grouped as one destination is the same as saying all countries with Land should be grouped together on one trip. England, New Zealand, Holland, Iceland, Greenland, Poland and Thailand. Deutschland could be included as well if you allowed other languages.
This is why 7 Stans tours aren’t offered; because they are very different experiences.
Travelling to the Stans
The fact that the 5 Stans are a distinctly unique bloc with little connection to Afghanistan and Pakistan is most evident in logistical connections. There are no logical routes between the five Central Asian republics and the two South Asian countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Trains and flights are impossible while land border crossing options are limited and not encouraged.
Very little trade occurs between Central Asia and South Asia as the Central Asian Stans naturally look north to Russia and west to Europe, while Afghanistan and Pakistan look to South Asia and the Middle East.
Central Asian Stans or Afghanistan/Pakistan?
Luckily you don’t need to make that choice because we’ve got you covered. We offer multiple 5 Stans tours per year as well as great tours to Pakistan and Afghanistan .
