From Alexander the Great to Chinggis (Genghis) Khan to Timur (Tamerlane), Central Asia's page-turning history litters the land at every turn. From the right angle and with one eye closed, the storied oasis caravan stops of Samarkand and Bukhara, with their exotic skylines of minarets and medressas, really do seem to be lifted directly from the age of Marco Polo. Share a round of kebabs with an Uzbek trader or wander an ancient caravanserai and historical romantics will find the past and present begin to blur into one in Central Asia.

For decades – centuries even – much of the world has regarded Central Asia as a blank on the map, synonymous with the middle of nowhere, rather than the heartland of Asia. For a certain type of wanderer, this is all part of the attraction of a land that has been largely off-limits to travellers for the last 2000 years. Head even a little bit off the beaten track and you'll likely have the place to yourself. The region's little-visited oddities, namely Turkmenistan and most of Kazakhstan, are even further removed from the modern world and offer an addictive interest all of their own.