A lesson about the stans

1. Let’s meet the stans…….
The suffix -stan (Persian: ـستان -stān) is Persian
for "place of"or "country".
1) Discuss which stans you
think are real and which are
fake.
2) Write the ones you think
are real on the
whiteboards/ in your book.
There are 5 real ‘stan
countries’ from the list.
Kyrgyzstan
Derkaderkastan
Tazbekistan
Uzbekistan
Kreplachistan
Kazakhstan
Kamistan
Turkmenistan
Franistan
Tajikistan

2. The real ‘stans’ are:-
Uzbekistan-meaning land of genuine men.
Kyrgyzstan –
meaning ‘land of mountaineers’.
Tajikistan- meaning- land of
people with crowns on their
heads.
Turkmenistan- means land
of Turkmen
Kazakhstan- meaning land of the independent
and free in Turkish- a name given by the
Cossack people years ago.

3. Task
1) Map the 5
‘stan’ countries
and their
capital cities.
2)Label the
Caspian sea.
3) Label the
surrounding
countries
The 5 ‘Stan’ countries-
KRYGYZSTAN TAJIKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN UZBEKISTAN
KAZAKHSTAN
The 5 ‘Stan’ capital cities-
BISHKEK TASHKENT
ASTANA DUSHANBE
ASHGABAT
The
neighbouring
countries-
RUSSIA
CHINA
PAKISTAN
IRAN
AZERBAIJAN

4. Major
languages=
Turkmen,
Russian,
Uzbek.
Major languages=
Tajik, Russian,
Uzbek
Major languages=
Kazakh and Russian
Major languages=
Krygyz, Uzbek,
Russian, Dungun.
Major languages=
Uzbek, Russian,
TASK- MATCH THE LANGUAGES TO
THE COUNTRY.
WRITE THEM OUT AND LINK THEM
TO YOUR MAP LIKE THIS:-
ASTANA
CASPIAN
SEA
BISHKEK
TASHKENT
DUSHANBE
ASHGABAT

5. There are 5 ‘stans’:
Until late in the 20th century,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan were all part of
the former Soviet Union.
They all became independent
states (countries) in 1991
when the U.S.S.R. dissolved.
Questions to complete-
1) The 5 stan countries
used to be part of which
country?
2) They all became
independent countries
in which year?

6. Which is the most powerful ‘stan’?
In your group use the cards about each Stan to decide which Stan is the most
powerful!
FIRST!
How to make your decision- use the evidence-
1) Rank each factor according to how useful it is in determining ‘power’ .
1. Population:
2. Area:
3. National dish/food:
4. Literacy rate:
5. Unemployment rate:
6. Population below poverty line:
7. Avg. life expectancy:
8. % malnourished:
9. Income (GDP per capita):
10. NATURAL RESOURCES:
You should be able to
JUSTIFY, give reasons fro
your ranking order.
YOU ARE GOING TO USE YOUR TOP 5 MOST IMPORTANT TO WORK OUT WHO HAS THE
MOST POWER.

7. Instructions
• Write your top 5 Factors into the correct spaces IN
YOUR table (each write it but discuss as a group- all
put the same information into your table).
• Now place the cards in rank order (highest to lowest)
for the first factor, so if your first factor is GDP how
do you rank the ‘stans’?
• The highest GDP ranks 5,
the lowest ranks 1.
MOST IMPORTANT
FACTOR
GDP
SECOND MOST
IMPORTANT
NATURAL
RESOURCES
THIRD MOST
IMPORTANT
FOURTH MOST
IMPORTANT
FIFTH MOST
IMPORTANT
TOTAL FOR COUNTRY
(ADD ALL NUMBERS
FROM ABOVE ROWS
TOGETHER)
If you have non numerical data, think of a
way to turn it into numerical data.
Kazakhstan $14,100
Turkmenistan $9,700
Uzbekistan $3,800
Kyrgyzstan $2,500
Tajikistan $2,300
KAZAKHSTAN KRYGZSTAN TURKMENISTAN UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN
MOST IMPORTANT
FACTOR
5 X5 = 2 X5 = 4 X5 = 3 X5 = 1 X5 =

8. • How could you rank natural resources?
• Count up how many each nation has, the one
with the most gets the highest rank, the least=
lowest rank.
• Can you rank national dish? How?
• You could decide in your group how tasty each
sounds- and award points- highest points =
highest rank.
• Make sure you rank properly- for unemployment
rate and % malnourished lower numbers are
worth higher ranks!!!!

9. KAZAKHSTAN KRYGZSTAN TURKMENISTAN UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN
MOST IMPORTANT
FACTOR
X5 = X5 = X5 = X5 = X5 =
SECOND MOST
IMPORTANT
X4 = X4 = X4 = X4 = X4 =
THIRD MOST
IMPORTANT
X3= X3= X3= X3= X3=
FOURTH MOST
IMPORTANT
X2= X2= X2= X2= X=
FIFTH MOST
IMPORTANT
X1= X1= X1= X1= X1=
TOTAL FOR COUNTRY
(ADD ALL NUMBERS
FROM ABOVE ROWS
TOGETHER)

10. So which is the best?
• Which stan did each group vote as the most
‘powerful’? Full order?
• Which factors did they use?
• Have any groups got different results?
• Why?
• Write a paragraph in your book to explain your
results.

11. Population: 8 million
Area: 143,100 km²
National dish: qurutob- Cheese, lamb
and rice fried with onions and herbs.
Literacy rate: 99.7%
Unemployment rate: 60%
Population below poverty line: 35.6%
Avg. life expectancy: 67
% malnourished: 15%
Income (GDP per capita): $2,300
NATURAL RESOURCES: hydropower,
some petroleum, uranium, mercury,
brown coal, lead, zinc, tungsten, silver,
gold
Population: 5.1million
Area: 488,100 km²
National dish: Plov- rice fried with
lamb, carrots and onions
Literacy rate: 99.6%
Unemployment rate: 60%
Population below poverty line: 30%
Avg. life expectancy: 69
malnourished: 10.5%
Income (GDP): $9,700
NATURAL RESOURCES: petroleum,
natural gas, sulfur, salt

12. Population: 5.6million
Area:199,900 km²
National dish: Paloo –fried lamb/
mutton/ horse with onions.
Literacy rate: 99.2%
Unemployment rate: 8.6%
Population below poverty line: 33.7%
Avg. life expectancy: 70.6
% malnourished: 2.7%
Income (GDP):$2,500
Natural resources: hydropower; gold,
coal, oil , natural gas, nepheline,
mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc.
Population: 28.9 million
Area: 447,400 km²
National dish: Palov –fried and boiled
meat and rice with onions and
chickpeas and raisins or barberries.
Literacy rate: 99.4%
Unemployment rate: 4.9%
Population below poverty line: 17%
Avg. life expectancy: 73.2
% malnourished: 4.4%
Income (GDP): $3,800
NATURAL RESOURCES: natural gas,
petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver,
copper, lead and zinc, tungsten,
molybdenum

13. Population: 17.9 million
Area: 2,717,300 km²
National dish: Besbarmak- meat and
noodles with sour milk
Literacy rate: 99.7%
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Population below poverty line: 5.3%
Avg. life expectancy: 70.2
% malnourished: 3.7%
Income (GDP): $14,100
NATURAL RESOURCES: petroleum,
natural gas, coal, iron ore,
manganese, chrome ore, nickel,
cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead,
zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium

14. Which is the best Stan to visit?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPTM5lM
nMiM
• Quick video to show the stans

15. The palace of peace and
reconciliation. It expresses the Kazakh
spirit, where cultures, traditions and
representatives of various
nationalities coexist in peace,
harmony and accord.
An unfinished mausoleum in the
Kazakh city of Turkestan.
Constructed between 1389 and
1405- is a UNESCO world heritage
site.
Bayterek- An
observation tower
offering panoramic
views of the capital
Astana, built to mark
the cities transition
to being the capital.
Zenkov Russian orthodox
cathedral, second tallest
wooden building in the world.
Khan Shatyr Entertainment
Centre,
Boasts, swimming areas,
football pitches, concert halls,
shopping malls,
All temperature controlled.
Lake Issyk, beautiful lake
and scenery.

16. Minaret of ancient city of
Balasagan. Near Tokmok.
Altyn Arashan
Beautiful
mountains
and lakes
KRYGYZSTAN
Dungan mosque, Bishkek
Sulayman mountain in OSH- a
world heritage site- once a holy
place for Muslims..
Visit the local Kyrgyz people and
stay with them in their yurt.
Muztagh Ata mountain on border with
China- beautiful scenery.
Issyk Kul, second largest salt
lake in the world.
Tash Rabat, a 15th century silk road
stop off- well preserved.
Russian orthodox cathedral in Bishkek , beautiful building

17. The Dead Sea of Pamir: Lake Karakul,
also know as the 'Black Lake', is a vast
salt lake in the Pamir Mountains in
Tajikistan
Saty with the local
nomads in their
yurt! No
electricity but very
welcoming people
and stunning
views.
The village of Karakul, the
villagers live here in the
winter, when temperatures
can drop to -40, but move
around the pasture land in
the Summer months
where temperatures can
reach +40.
Alauddin Lakes- beautiful
mountain scenery, crystal
clear waters, peace and
quiet.
Visit the botanical gardens and
mountains and lakes at Khorog.

18. The ancient city of
Samarkand- beautiful
buildings and amazing
mosaics. Constructed
as a burial site and
fortress of kings,
between the 11th and
19th centuries.
The ark, a 15th century fortress
in the town. Bukhara
The Tashkent tower,
one of the world’s
tallest.
Xuelian Feng (snow lotus peak) mountain.

19. Turkmen carpet museum- 11 floors dedicated to patterned carpets.
The Parthian city of Nisa, founded in the
second century. A UNESCO world heritage
site.
You can go on horse treks, through
the country- Turkmen horses are
some of the finest looking horses in
the world.
Horses also perform in
circuses
One of many statues of president Turkmenbashi in
the capital Ashgabat ‘city of love’!
Gonur tepe,
ancient
archaeological
site dating
back to 2500
BC.
The Gypjak mosque
The open gas crater, a manmade burning gas hole,
set alight to stop poisonous gases escaping into
atmosphere- its been burning for 35 years.

20. So which stan would we most like to visit?
• Take a class vote (show of hands)
• Keep a tally on the board
• Produce a bar chart to show the results.
Kazakhstan 5
Tajikistan 12
Turkmenistan 4
Kyrgyzstan 9
Uzbekistan 2
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Number of
people
Most popular stan in 8P
Stan name

21. Homework task-
Produce a piece of work that promotes tourism in one of the ‘stan’
countries.
To be achieving level 5 you must:-
1) Show you have used the
websites below to research
the country.
2) Give at least 3 clear reasons
why the stan you have chosen
is a good place to visit
3) Show both physical and
human features of the
country.
4) Talk about where attractions
are located.
To be achieving level 6 you must:-
1) All of level 5 +
2) Give detailed reasons why the
country and at least 5
attractions are a good place to
visit.
3) Include specific details about
places to visit- including
location, heights, pictures.
4) Show why you chose your
chosen ‘stan’ country over the
4 other stans!
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/TravelGuide-
Asia.html virtual tourist website- scroll down the page to find
the stans and click on the one you want information about.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com Then type in your chosen stan
to the search box and explore the country.
To be achieving
level 7 you must:-
1) All of level 5
and 6 +
2) Evidence of
your own
research.
3) Compare at
least 2 ‘stans’
and give
detailed
reasons why
your choice
was made.