The History of the Sea of Aral: a desert turned into a disaster
We visited the Aral Sea, which really is not a sea. It is a desert that teaches us a true human disaster. Today we move away from the most typical tourist enclaves to visit one of the greatest disasters that man has left behind.
In the past, the Aral Sea had become a very popular tourist destination in the Soviet Union. A few decades ago it was known as the world’s fourth lake. Because of environmental degradation, today it retains just over 6 % of its original size.
However, since 2005, in the part of the Aral Sea that touches Kazakhstan, there is a small hope of recovery of this desolate place. Let’s see it.
What has happened?
In the 60s, when Kazakhstan still belonged to the Soviet Union, the Government approved some works to create immense cotton fields. To do this, it was decided to divert the main rivers that flow into the Aral Sea.
In less two decades Uzbekistan, the neighboring country, became the largest world cotton exporter. The price paid was the complete devastation of the Aral Sea. Today is practically dry and the whole area looks like a ghost of the past.
The Aral Sea dried completely and what remains is a bleak place. The dissolution of the Soviet Union also did not bring solutions to this area.
The fishing industry of the area was ruined. The seabed has become an arid and lifeless landscape and the air is contaminated. Of what were in their day small villages full of life and important points for the economy of the area, only there are enclaves full of misery and unemployment.
Moynaq, in the Uzbequistan part is the most damaged
Moynaq was the most important sea port in the area. It is now located 150 km from the water. The visit to what was the most important enclave of the Aral Sea confirms all of the above. Almost all its buildings are in ruins. A miserable bazaar survives and its streets are practically empty.
From the port of Moynaq the views that should be maritime leave us an immense desert with very hard weather conditions. Next to the port there is a cemetery of ships that still retains a dozen of what are today true marine ghosts.
The oxide has covered the ships and all are stranded as testimony of the tremendous natural disaster that occurred under their helmets. A monument located in Moynaq rose as a memory of the busy port that one day existed there.
Aalsk, in Kazakhstan is another ghost city
In the part of Kazakhstan, the city of Aalsk ran the same fate as Moynaq. This city was the most important fishing center in the former Soviet Union. Today there is an abandoned city, with port and without sea, surrounded by desert and in the middle of the kazaja steppe.
In this city they usually warn that the elderly of the place do not like tourists. But it happens only in some areas and, in general, the people of this city do not have big problems with visitors.
What to see in Aralsk
All tourism in Aalsk is focused on tragedy caused by the huge natural disaster. In the port you can visit a small museum. It shows photos and objects of what was the area before the drought of the Aral Sea.
You can still see the roads through the trains that once maintained a frantic activity from the port to numerous cities. From there the immense desert is contemplated in which his, wonderful sea has become time.
On the other side of the port can also see a huge industrial park, today in ruins and abandoned. It has numerous Soviet symbols and some statues of Lenin, although the entrance is not allowed.
The Aralsk ship cemetery is actually 70 km, in a small town called Zhalash. Despite the distance, it is one of the most appreciated visits, although it only has some ships, since they are being removed little by little by the government.
Aral Sea Recovery
Since 2005 several international organizations created a project for the recovery of the Aral Sea. It has its most hopeful place in Tastubek, a small town 90 kilometers from Aralsk.
In this area, fishing has begun to appear in a very small amounts yet. However, it is enough to have created a small fishing industry around it.
Actually, it is far from resembling the original Sea of Aral. What we find is a small lake, known today as the little Aral. This area is beginning to give signs of recovery and is huge hope for the entire region.
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