Mo'ynoq was once a thriving port city on the Aral Sea in western Uzbekistan, famed for its fishing and canning industries. Today, most of Mo'ynoq's visitors come to view its haunting graveyard of ships, lying in the sands where the waters once flowed.


We've written about the recession of the Aral Sea before. In the 1960s, the Soviet government diverted the sea's tributary rivers, causing the formerly freshwater body of water to turn salty and shrink by more than 50 percent — thus removing the sea from Uzbekistan's only port city. Waterfront properties like Mo'ynoq turned to dry dust, and many boat owners failed to transport their boats before the waters receded, leaving behind these monuments to the city's former glory.


All photos by Martijn Munneke.

Mo‘ynaq – Graveyard of Ships in the Desert [Kuriositas]

G/O Media may get a commission LG 75-Inch 8K TV Buy for $2150 from BuyDig Use the promo code ASL250

Advertisement