262 People and Places
HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE IN CENTRAL ASIA?
In the grasslands of central Asia, many people breed
animals and move from place to place searching for
fresh pasture. In Afghanistan, for example, sheep
herders are nomadic. They live in tents with very few
belongings, surviving on their animals’ milk, meat,
and wool and selling the excess in towns and cities.WHICH ANCIENT CITY IN UZBEKISTAN
IS ON THE SILK ROAD?
The ancient Islamic city of Samarkand lies
on the Silk Road, an ancient trading route
that linked China with central Asia, the
Middle East, and Europe. Samarkand was
once the centre for China’s silk trade, and
the manufacture of silk and cotton textiles
is still the city’s main industry.1 REGISTAN SQUARE, SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN
Samarkand contains some outstanding examples of 14th-century
Islamic architecture, such as this beautiful, mosaic-covered building,
which is a Muslim school for training clerics.1 AFGHAN CARPET SELLERS
Carpet-makers from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and northern
Afghanistan use the fine wool from karakul sheep to hand-knot and
weave distinctive carpets in shades of red, brown, and maroon.The Asian part of the Russian Federation is a
land of bleak, frozen tundra and cold, coniferous
forest. To the south and west are windswept
grasslands known as the steppes, rugged,
mountainous plateau, and arid deserts.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
and Central Asia Russian Federation
4 NOMADS, KYRGYZSTAN
The Kyrgyz people of Kyrgyzstan are nomads. They live in
felt tents called yurts and move around in search of
mountain pasture. Here, a woman cooks a meal outside.Russian
Federation