For most other Asians, Central Asia – the ‘Stans – conjure up a blurred image of steppes and deserts, harsh climates, oppressive, autocratic post-Soviet regimes, quarreling ethnic groups and Muslim fundamentalists. This imprecise region, which extends roughly from northeast Iran and the Caspian sea to the eastern border of Xinjiang, from the Hindu Kush and the valley of the Amu Darya (Oxus) river to the foothills of the Urals has scant association with progress or tourist attractions.