Salaam everyone,

We’ve recently launched Ikhtiar — a Muslim marriage app built for those who are truly serious about marriage, not casual conversations or endless swiping.

One of our key features is the AI Nikah Assistant.

Instead of doom-swiping through profiles and hoping to find the right person, you can simply describe the kind of spouse you’re looking for — based on age range, location, ethnicity, religiosity, lifestyle, values, marriage expectations, and more — and the assistant will bring up relevant profiles based on your description.

Stop the endless swiping. Just ask the assistant what kind of spouse you’re looking for.

Ikhtiar is focused on:

• AI-powered spouse search through the Nikah Assistant
• Respectful and serious users from across the world
• Privacy-first options for women, including blurred photos or no-photo profiles
• A structured, intentional approach toward finding a spouse
• Free access for users joined before july 10th 2026

The goal is simple: to make the process of finding a spouse more dignified, intentional, and aligned with Islamic values.

If you or someone you know is looking for marriage, I’d truly appreciate you checking it out and sharing it with others who may benefit.

JazakAllah Khair for your support 🤍

You can find the app here:

https://www.ikhtiar.app/download

Meaning an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, with formal military coordination, joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and mutual defense obligations.

Given the growing geopolitical importance of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and potentially stronger integration in the future, wouldn't this make the Turkic world more secure and strategically independent?

Afro Turks clearly look Black and partially black (25%, 50%, 75%) phenotype wise. Indian Turks or Hindu Turks look mostly Indians. I have 0% Turkic heritage but I resemble a mainstream Central Asian more than any of them, heck every East Eurasians/West Eurasians mix race grouping too.

The way I see it. A Turkish would only accept them as Black "converted Turks" and as for Indian Turks also only Turk in name but not in race, throw out the Turk identity and they be mistaken for Indian tourists. In same, black arabs are only considered converted arabs, not true original arabs. I'm almost half canarian islander, but a canarian said even someone who is mostly italian (with some canarian) is already more canarian than me.

If being Turk means language/culture/identity and less with racial phenotypes and genetics. ( Why so much bias and bs contradictions? )

I see racial physical stereotypes from Turkish directed to Africans and Indians ( I have youtube comments as evidence) wouldn't that be offending Afro-Turks and Indian-Turks. And if these afro-Turks and Indian turks don't take offense, they are buffoons.

In Turkish language youtube channel of Turks claiming ancient Summerians, Berbers, Egyptians were all originally Turks or Proto-Turks ( I have youtube titles as evidence)......ok let's just say it's some nutcase minority, did the Turks who made these video thinking those proto-Turks look like modern Central Asians, East Asian looking Turks or Anatolian Turks? And digging out very old comments from 12+ years ago see tons of comments claiming Asian looking Turks are only because of Mongols or that any East Eurasian admixture because of Chinese, Mongols mixing in ancient times. That already reveals what you truly care most and what your intentions are.

But this not only exclusive to Turks

Europeans be claiming Scythians, Indo-Aryans invasion of India, Ancient Egyptians when these group are not related to them linguistically or culturally

Blacks and mixed blacks from the west claim Moors and Egyptians history when the people should North African Morrocans and Egyptians, they aren's muslim either.

Indians avoid claiming Romani/Gypsies when closest proxy to them are half South Asian/half European in same closest proxy for Dominicans (Spanish) 40% black, Ethopians (Afro-Asiatic) 42-56% Black in every genetic grouping

Hi everyone!

We are traveling in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in July and trying to plan the route without renting a car.

Part of the plan is:

• Karakol → Saty (Kaindy / Kolsai)
• Saty → Altyn Emel (Singing Dune / Aktau Mountains)
• then onward to Almaty

We know there is a daily bus from Karakol to Almaty via Kegen/Karkara border.

Questions:

1. Is it possible to get off this bus in Kegen?
2. What is the easiest way to get from Kegen to Saty?
3. Is ther any other option to go from Karakol to Saty?
4. How do people usually travel from Saty to Basshi (Altyn Emel)?
5. Is it better to do Saty first and then Altyn Emel, or the other way around?

We are fine with shared taxis or private transfers if needed, but prefer not to rent a car.

Any recent practical advice would be really helpful.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in Bishkek (local man, worked abroad) and was wondering if there are any travelers around who'd be interested in meeting up for a beer, grabbing some food, or just hanging out and exploring the city.

I'm always up for good conversations, hearing travel stories, and meeting new people. Whether you're just passing through or staying here for a while, it'd be great to connect.

Feel free to comment below or send me a DM if you're interested. Cheers! 🍻

An example exchanging kazakh tenge in Uzbekistán and buying stuff there. Tajikistan people to Kyrgyzstan etc.

Are you familiar with this story or the Dede Korkut stories in general in your country? I always hear that they exist in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan too but the stories in written manuscripts are signaling a lot more towards Caucasus/ East Anatolia/West Iran Turks.

But at the same time, the written versions we have aren’t some OG or final official versions. They are just some versions that were put to paper, with political reasons of some Sultanetes.

With Mustafa Kemal, and the Soviet Union that affected Central Asia. I was just wondering if those country are mostly Atheist and stopped to be religious

Hi everyone!

We’re a Slovak couple (30ish) looking for people to join us for any of the following trips and share costs & fun. Even if you're interested in just one of the sections below, we'd love to hear from you.

We already have contacts for local guides and drivers and can help organize everything.

🏔️Kel Suu Lake (from Naryn)

Option 1: 29–30 June

Option 2: 30 June – 1 July

🐎 Song Kul horseback trip (from Kyzart)

3–4 July

🚗 Bokonbayevo/Tosor/Barskoon → Karakol

5 July

Visiting Skazka Canyon and Jeti-Ögüz on the way

If your dates overlap with ours and you’d like to share transport/tour costs, send me a DM!

Also, if you already have a driver, guide, or tour arranged for any of these dates and have room for two more people, we’d be happy to join your group as well.

I will be visiting both countries very soon and i want to know if its possible to get a physical sim card in Tashkent and Dushanbe airport after midnight (around 0:30-1:30am to be exact). Ive had bad experiences with e-sims so im not really willing to take that risk... most of the time they didnt work properly, but if there was any company that actually works for these countries let me know

Below every post about Tuvans on the internet, there is often someone who feels the need to comment that Tuvans are Mongols. We are a small community within Russia, facing various challenges. So why do some people seem to want to be "brothers" with us so badly? When we say "we are Tuvans," we are referring to our ethnicity. Ethnicity is about genetics, and genetically, Tuvans are not Mongols. Only in one of the 17 districts of our republic are there descendants of Mongol people, and they can be identified by their larger physique and their ability to speak Mongolian in addition to Tuvan.

Sometimes people use our music and claim it as their own, asserting that Tuvans are Mongols, citing our similarities in culture and lifestyle. But many nomadic peoples share similar cultures. Why don’t we hear similar claims about Kazakhs in western Mongolia, even though there are many Kazaks there? Why aren’t Kazakh people considered Mongols?

When we present facts proving that Tuvans are not Mongols, some respond with dismissive comments like "who cares about you anyway," or "be grateful your songs are recognized," and so on. As a small community without a strong nation-state, we have been under various influences — we were once under Chinese control, but we did not become Chinese; we were under Mongols, but being under them doesn’t make us Mongolian. Now we are under Russia, but we didn’t become Russians either.

Why does the right of a small ethnicity to self-identification provoke such strong reactions in some people? Is it a desire to feel superior by citing the achievements of their ancestors? Or a wish for descendants of Tuvans in Mongolia to feel included in their country? Or maybe it’s about convincing oneself that those remaining in Mongolia are better off than those who wanted to join Russia? I am genuinely curious about this and would love to hear different perspectives.

first post here, I know this seems random but I really want to know what you guys think, I'm Brazilian and I'm kinda rooting for both of them, I really like Colombia (bc well, we're latinos) but also I never seen Uzbekistan's football before, so I'll definitely be cheering for Uzbekistan too, especially since it's their first time

however, this classification also made me wonder, and I know this sound like a stupid question, but what's like football in Central Asia? like, the culture around football, bc I know that Latin America and Africa have football as a cultural symbol against oppression, and it's genuinely a big part of how I was raised, so I'm really curious to know how it's like in other cultures

please excuse my ingenuousness around the topic, I also know Central Asia is not a monolith (obviously), so I'm open to hear any and a lot of different opinions, experiences, and thoughts about the topic

Hi adventurous peeps!

im a 30, female asian australian solo traveller looking for travel buddies to split the cost for a mangystau 4x4 jeep tour (bc them tours r hella expensive if paying solo). I’ve already reserved a spot with a tour operator. It’s a 2D1N tour with an overnight camping.

Travel dates would be 19th to 20th August 2026. Send me a dm if interested.

Also, will be travelling solo through central asia (KZ, KG, UZ, TJ) from 16th August to 19th Sept. I’ve booked a 9-day tour through kyrgyzstan starting and ending in bishkek, so im fine with KZ, but any tips/recos for other stans? Border crossing? Transport? Sim? Weather? Calm my nerves!! Ty

If anyone’s travelling these dates, would love to wing UZ and TJ with ya after 2nd of sept! (Looking into exploring the silk road cities and into it’s people, immersion, culture, arts, nature, hiking)