Kishlak or qishlaq is a rural settlement

Rural settlement

The definition of a rural settlement depends on the country. In some countries, a rural settlement is any settlement in the areas defined as rural by a governmental office, e.g., by the national census bureau. This may include even rural towns...

 of semi-nomad

Nomad

Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...

is Turkic peoples

Turkic peoples

The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...

 of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 (Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

, Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

, Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

), in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, and in other places. The meaning of the term is "wintering place" in Turkic languages

Turkic languages

The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...

 (derives from Turkic qış - winter).

Traditionally a clay/mud fence (dewal, duval) surrounds a kishlak.

The term may be seen in the toponyms, such as Afgan-Kishlak (Uzbekistan), Yangi-Kishlak (Turkmenistan), Qışlaq

Qislaq

Qışlaq or Kishlag or Kyshlak or Gishlagh or Ghshlagh may refer to:*Zhdanov, Lori, Armenia*Qışlaq Abbas, Azerbaijan*Qışlaq, Jabrayil, Azerbaijan*Qişlaq, Khojali, Azerbaijan*Qışlaq, Lachin , several places in Azerbaijan...

 (Azerbaijan) or Qeshlaq in Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 (such as Qeshlaq

Qeshlaq

-References:*...

, Qareh Qeshlaq

Qareh Qeshlaq

-References:*...

, and Qeshlaq Khas

Qeshlaq Khas

-External links:*...

).