Travelling through Central Asia reveals a striking tension between two vastly different legacies — the faded grandeur of the Silk Road and the lingering imprint of the Soviet era.

In one moment, you're standing beneath intricate mosaics and crumbling caravanserais, reminders of a time when these lands were central to global trade, culture, and learning. In the next, you’re walking through stark Soviet apartment blocks, relics of a system that tried to modernise — and homogenise — the region under a different kind of empire.

Below is a selection of photographs that capture the quiet, often unexpected intersections of these worlds.