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To retrace a thousand years of Turkish culture and a civilization stretching from Central Asia to the Balkans, one need only step inside London's Royal Academy of Arts. "Turks," the institute's latest extravaganza (through April 12), draws visitors into a souk of dimly lit, treasure-filled galleries. Following a timespan from 600 to 1600 A.D., from the nomadic Uighur people of Chinese Central Asia to the Ottoman splendor of Sultan Mehmed III in Istanbul, "Turks" illustrates how successive groups learned from the cultures they encountered and sometimes conquered. It's a tale of assimilation and adaptation in the exotic landscapes crossed by the Silk Road, the ancient network of trade routes between Asia and Europe.

Although the exhibition has been drawn together from collections in 11 countries, most of the more than 370 items on display are usually found in Istanbul, in the Topkapi Palace Museum and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. Many are appearing for the first time outside Turkey, including a set of drawings commonly attributed to "Mohammad of the Black Pen." These kinetic images depicting nomads, Sufi dervishes and demons and dating from 14th and 15th century Central Asia are not, in fact, by a single artist. They "must be the earliest surviving examples in the Turkic world of pictures made for display during recitals of stories," says Filiz Çagman, one of the show's curators and director of the Topkapi Palace Museum.

Among several stunning carpets in the exhibition is a beautifully preserved woolen one from 13th century Konya. The carpet came from the mausoleum of the Anatolian Seljuk ruler Sultan Ala'al-Din Kay Qubad, who died in 1237, and is unique in its simple composition and color scheme. Simplicity was not an effect sought or achieved by the imperial architect Sinan, who designed the magnificent 16th century doors on display. Fashioned from walnut and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ebony and ivory, these were made for Sultan Murad III's pavilion in the harem area of the Topkapi Palace. A synthesis of art and architecture dates to the Timurid-Turkmen period (1370-1506). Timur, known in the West as Tamerlane, came from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and went on to conquer near Eastern and Central Asian areas. The earliest known architectural scroll from the period "reflects the application of geometry in the Islamic tradition," according to "Turks" catalog editor David J. Roxburgh, a Harvard professor of history of art and architecture.

The Ottomans took over in 1299, conquering neighbors, absorbing artistic styles, and creating a new, recognizable visual idiom. Objects from the first 150 years of their long rule — which ended in the early 20th century — are represented by the gold-decorated ceremonial sword of Süleyman I ("the Magnificent"), its hilt of walrus ivory missing the precious stones it once held; colorful caftans belonging to Mehmed II ("the Conqueror"), as well as the sketchbook he may have carried to lessons as a young prince. "Turks" ends with a flourish: the opulent peak of Ottoman influence more than four centuries ago, when the rulers subsidized a wide range of decorative but practical objects, including bronze lamps, candlesticks and ceramics.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is eager to capitalize on the resonances of the past. The exhibition is opening, he writes in a foreword for the show's catalog, at "a most propitious time, as Turkey's aspirations toward membership of the European family of nations in the European Union are center stage." If the Turkish delights on offer in London help boost Turkey's chances in Europe, the Turkish people will have extended their influence even further West.

• MARYANN BIRD | London
• East meets West in London, where a new show tracks the rich cultural span from Asia to the Balkans