Moynaq, Uzbekistán
Moynaq is a city, surrounded by the desert of western Uzbekistan. At first glance, this seems to be one of the many Soviet cities that fell into decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But upon closer inspection, one can’t help but notice that there is something strange about Moynaq.
All over the city, displays of fish can be seen on murals, mosaics, posters bleached from the sun, and even on the entrance sign of the city. A monument of a fishing boat sits in front of the government building and a number of closed fish cannery factories dot the landscape – but there is not a single body of water in sight.
Moynaq was indeed once an important fishing town, but the water the city was once located on receded a long time ago. It was the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea, which turned this fishing port into a sunbaked town surrounded by the desert. The shrinking of the Aral Sea is considered one of the most severe anthropogenic ecological disasters of all time. Once one of the world’s four largest lakes, the Aral Sea has shrunk to 10 % of its former size since the 1960s.
Epic Uzbekistan Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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