Ask a quiz table for the capital of Kazakhstan and someone will say Almaty. It's the country's biggest city and was the capital until 1997, but the government now sits in Astana, far to the north on the Ishim River. Central Asia and the Caucasus are full of capitals like that: renamed, moved, or sitting next to a more famous city.
This deck finishes Asia's capitals. Part 1 covered East, South-East and South Asia, and the Middle East has its own deck, so nothing is repeated. Here are the eight countries in between: five in Central Asia and three in the South Caucasus.
Central Asia: the five "-stans"
The ending "-stan" comes from Persian and means "land of" or "place of", so Uzbekistan is roughly "land of the Uzbeks". All five were Soviet republics and became independent in 1991.
- Astana (Kazakhstan). Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country, and a small part of it lies west of the Ural River, which many maps treat as Europe.
- Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Uzbekistan is doubly landlocked: you have to cross two borders to reach the open sea. Liechtenstein is the only other country like that.
- Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), called Frunze from 1926 to 1991.
- Dushanbe (Tajikistan), called Stalinabad from 1929 to 1961. Its name means "Monday", after the Monday market that grew into the city.
- Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), in the south, close to the border with Iran.
Two big bodies of water frame the region. The Caspian Sea, on the west, touches Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The Aral Sea, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, has shrunk to a fraction of its old size since the rivers feeding it were diverted to irrigate crops.
Afghanistan is sometimes counted as Central Asian too; it's in part 1, because the UN groups it with Southern Asia.
The South Caucasus
Between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, south of the Caucasus Mountains:
- Tbilisi (Georgia), known abroad as Tiflis until 1936. Georgians call their country Sakartvelo.
- Yerevan (Armenia). On a clear day Mount Ararat fills the view from the city, but the mountain is in Turkey.
- Baku (Azerbaijan), on the Caspian coast and usually listed as the lowest-lying national capital, below sea level.
Are these three in Europe or Asia? It depends on who's counting. The UN's statistics division puts them in Western Asia. They are also members of the Council of Europe and play in European football competitions, so some lists of European countries include them. This deck keeps them with Asia, and the Europe decks leave them out, so you meet each one once.
Capitals with a catch, and disputed places
- Georgia's parliament moved and came back. It met in Kutaisi from 2012 until it returned to Tbilisi in 2019. Tbilisi stayed the capital throughout.
- Nakhchivan is part of Azerbaijan but cut off from the rest of it by Armenian territory.
- Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia and most countries regard them as part of Georgia. Russia and a few other states recognise them as independent, as they declare themselves to be.
- Nagorno-Karabakh. It is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but for decades an ethnic Armenian administration ran it, backed by Armenia. Azerbaijan took full control in 2023, the breakaway leader signed a decree dissolving its government, and most of the Armenian population left.
Easy ones to mix up
- Astana and Almaty. Capital in the north; biggest city and old capital in the south-east.
- Tashkent and Tbilisi. Both start with T. Tashkent is Uzbekistan; Tbilisi is Georgia.
- Astana and Ashgabat. Both start with A. Astana is Kazakhstan; Ashgabat is Turkmenistan.
- Baku and Yerevan. Neighbours, often swapped. Baku is Azerbaijan, on the Caspian; Yerevan is Armenia, inland.
- Bishkek and Dushanbe. Kyrgyzstan is the northern one; Tajikistan, the more southern one, is Dushanbe.
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Kazakhstan?
Astana. Almaty is the largest city and was the capital until 1997.
What are the five Central Asian countries?
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Is Georgia in Europe or Asia?
Both answers appear. The UN's statistics division places Georgia in Western Asia, while bodies such as the Council of Europe count it as European.
What is the capital of Azerbaijan?
Baku, on the Caspian Sea.
Try it
Cover the answers and say each capital before you flip, then trace the eight countries on a map from Tbilisi and Yerevan in the west to Astana in the north. Where in the world is the capital that looks across the border at Mount Ararat?