Rusting ships
On the seabed.
Martijn Munneke from Netherlands — CC BY 2.0 · THORSTEN — CC BY-SA 4.0 · MarjonaKhidirova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aleksandr Zykov from Russia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Aleksandr Zykov from Russia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · MarjonaKhidirova — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ташова Ширин — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aleksandr Zykov from Russia — CC BY-SA 2.0
A line of rusting Soviet fishing boats in the sands of Muynak, once Uzbekistan's only port on the Aral Sea and now in the Aralkum Desert, some 150 km from the water. The Aral was once the world's fourth-largest lake, and Muynak a busy fishing town of tens of thousands. But diverting the Amu Darya and Syr Darya to irrigate cotton from the 1960s dried the sea and left what remained ever saltier; the shore retreated far away, stranding the boats on a dry seabed. The ships have been gathered near a memorial overlooking the old seabed, and a one-room museum in town tells the story of its fishing past. Since 2018 the Stihia electronic music festival has been held here every year; the 2019 edition drew about 10,000 people. The site is open ground, and the drive from Nukus takes about three hours. Spring and autumn are best: summers here are very hot, winters very cold, and dust storms can blow.
On the seabed.
Over the old sea.
In town.
Muynak, about 200 km north of Nukus
About 150 km, after the Amu Darya and Syr Darya were diverted for cotton from the 1960s.