Uyghur men praying
The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia, inhabiting the Xinjiang region of northwestern China. 80% of Uyghurs live in the Tarim Basin region, and significant populations inhabit other Central Asian countries. Historically, the Uyghurs mostly followed Buddhism, but the Kara-Khanids of the Oghuz Turks converted the Uyghurs to Sunni Islam, the enduring faith of the people. Around 15,000,000 Uyghurs live in China, 223,100 in Kazakhstan, 55,220 in Uzbekistan, 49,000 in Kyrgyzstan, 45,800-900,000 in Turkey, 3,696 in Russia, 50,000+ in Europe, 50,000 in Saudi Arabia, and 3,000 in Syria. As a Turkic people, Uyghurs have many appearances, including the typical East Asian appearance (light tan skin, almond-shaped eyes), a European appearance (blond hair and blue eyes), or a Turkic appearance (a mixture of the two appearances).