Moynaq, a former fishing port on the Aral Sea, once one of the sea's two major fishing ports, it now stands some 25 miles from the water. (The Aral Sea is receding). Moynaq's fishing industry is decimated. The town's efforts were futile to keep channels open to the receding water. The town's shrunken population of 2000 now suffers the full force of the Aral Sea disaster, with hotter summers, colder winters, debilitating sand, salt and dust storms, and a gamut of health problems.
The town remains a tragic example to the conscious environmental havoc wreaked by the Soviet Union's policies in Central Asia. Moynaq is 130 miles north of Nukus - take a taxi or a bus between the two towns. To get to Nukus, take a daily train or bus from Tashkent.
