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In this insightful and entertaining four-part series, journalist Simon Reeve travels to Central Asia to meet the Stans - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
As well as discovering a region teeming with Islamic militants, ruthless tyrants and radioactive wastelands, Simon also finds a more absurd side to these obscure countries including an American military base that sells Soviet knickknacks, a desert full of shipwrecks and a first-rate Beatles tribute band.
Interview: Simon Reeve
BBC Four: A lot of people won't have heard of some these countries. Why do you think they are important?
Simon Reeve: There really is no area of comparable size of which so little is known in the West and there are some special reasons why Central Asia should be of more concern and interest to people in Britain. There's the issue of growing Islamic militancy in the region; there's the vast number of drugs which pass through there on the way to Europe. Ninety percent of the heroin in Europe comes from Afghanistan and a large chunk of that is coming through Central Asia.
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There's also the issue that Central Asia is home to the largest untapped energy reserves on the planet. It certainly has the potential to change the global balance of power if the oil fields are successfully exploited. It's a region at the crossroads between East and West. It's |
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Simon's Kazak guide Bayan in what was once the Aral sea |
also a region with authoritarian regimes which should be of more concern to us. The governments there have really been left alone by the West to oppress the people as much as they want. I don't really see there being sufficient pressure on them to reform and become democratic states. The people in these countries are very angry about that and I think there's a feeling they could turn against the West as a result.
BBC Four: Was there much difference between the countries in terms of how freely the people felt they could speak to you?
SR: They are very distinct countries with individual problems and should be respected for that. In Uzbekistan for instance people feel oppressed and are more careful about what they say. Uzbekistan is the most populous state in Central Asia and it has a government which helps people to disappear - political opponents tend to be lifted off the streets and vanish into these vast jails never to be heard of again. By contrast in Tajikistan and Krygistan the governments seem relatively tolerant of political opposition and people are quite prepared to speak out relatively openly against the governing party.
BBC Four: Your guides in each country were obviously very important.
SR: Our guides were all wonderful. When we missed a train in Kazakhstan because it left half an hour early we were stuck in this little town near the Russian border overnight. Our guide Bayan, who was wonderfully tenacious, went and woke up the local mayor and got him out of bed in his pyjamas to ask him to ensure we had tickets for the next day's train. She would battle away at bureaucracy on our behalf.
BBC Four: One of the things that tie the programmes together is music. Which country was your favourite for music?
SR: Music-wise I would say Tajikistan because the music there was closer to the music of Afghanistan and Pakistan which I love. In Uzbekistan it was slightly more like pop music whereas in Tajikistan it was more traditional.
BBC Four: One the highlights for me is when you met the Kazak Beatles.
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SR: Indeed we did. It was a very bizarre situation. We'd had one of our umpteen punctures on the way to see them in the rather depressed town of Kyzylorda in the middle of the Kazak Steppes and at 2am the Kazak Beatles gave us a little rendition. They were incredible guys - a love of the Beatles was flowing through their veins. It was quite amusing
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Three members of the Kazak Beatles (Ringoski not pictured) |
because they all spoke Russian and no English so they had learnt the words to the Beatles songs off by heart without really understanding the meaning but through the music they understood the rhythm of the songs completely.
BBC Four: What about the food and drink in the different countries?
SR: [Laughs] The food wasn't too bad. I think people imagine that the food was terrible and in some places, frankly, it was. But on the whole it was healthy and organic. There were some local delicacies that I'd stay away from if I was to go there again, namely fermented camel's milk which was particularly disgusting. And they had these sour, goats' milk yoghurt balls which are one of the foulest things I've ever tasted.
BBC Four: But in the programme your guide Shahida seemed to really enjoy them...
SR: She did and that's a mystery to me. You asked about the drink. These are all Muslim countries but they were part of the Soviet Union so there's a curious mix between the two. One of the greatest dangers to us in Central Asia was "vodka terrorism" which is the nickname given to this extraordinary in-your-face style of hospitality in which whenever a bottle of vodka appears, whatever time of day or night, it's not going to go away unfinished. There were numerous situations in which I was forced to drink vast quantities of vodka - out of politeness of course.
BBC Four: One of the other bizarre things about the programmes are these little bits of Western culture that we see...
SR: It was funny because on the whole I think Central Asia is perhaps the one region in the world that is the least affected by Western culture. They don't really have access to it so it's all the more extraordinary when you do see examples encroaching. When we saw people dressed up as the Teletubbies or the KGB colonel in Winnie-the-Pooh socks it was hilarious. But on the whole Western culture hasn't really had an impact. For me that was one of the great joys of the region - you can go away and experience a completely different culture and way of life without seeing a Starbucks on every corner.
BBC Four: I noticed that the Tajikistan Tourism Board has its own website. Would you recommend any of the countries as a holiday destination?
SR: I'd recommend them all - I found them absolutely fascinating. I think in particular for tourists, Uzbekistan, despite its political problems has some extraordinary attractions. The cities of Bukhara and Samarkand were utterly breathtaking. I would go back there again. And perhaps even Tajikistan as well for a completely different culture and amazing landscape.
BBC Four: The programme is titled Holidays in the Danger Zone. Apart from the "vodka terrorism" how dangerous did you find it?
SR: There are a lot of problems there and you do feel that in some parts of the region it's slightly on the edge. For example in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, there's a Wild West feel which no doubt comes from the huge amounts of drug money flowing through there. And of course there are Islamic militants. It's no use denying that they could join with or rival Al-Qaida in some ways. It's a region that's not only at a crossroads between East and West but it's a region that's at a crossroads with itself. It's got to choose a particular path now - whether it's head towards Western-style democracy or whether it heads towards further instability and continues with the existing authoritarian regimes. It might not be everybody's holiday destination but I found it fascinating.
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