What is "turkistan"

Turkistan (, تٷركئستان), formerly known as Turkestan (; , Туркистон, توركىستان) is a city in the South Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan, near the Syr Darya river. It is situated north-west of Shymkent on the Trans-Aral Railway between Kyzylorda to the north and Tashkent to the south. Its population has increased within ten years from to