Moynaq

Introducing Moynaq

Moynaq, 210km north of Nukus, encapsulates more visibly than anywhere the absurd tragedy of the Aral Sea. Once one of the sea’s two major fishing ports, it now stands more than 150km from the water. What remains of Moynaq’s fishing fleet lies rusting on the sand, beside depressions marking the town’s last futile efforts in the early 1980s to keep channels open to the shore.

Moynaq used to be on an isthmus connecting the Ush Say (Tiger’s Tail) peninsula to the shore. You can appreciate this on the approach to the town, where the road is raised above the surrounding land. The former shore is about 3km north.

Moynaq’s shrinking populace suffers the full force of the Aral Sea disaster, with hotter summers, colder winters, debilitating sand-salt-dust storms, and a gamut of health problems. Not surprisingly, the mostly Kazakh residents are deserting the town.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009