MUYNAK, Uzbekistan (AP) — Weddings, school dances, music festivals — in small pockets along the Aral Sea, there are signs of life.
The Aral has nearly disappeared, and the large communities it once sustained are simply no more.
But a scattering of small towns and villages remain. Some have as few as 10 people. And there, they say, there’s still a bit of life beyond the sea.
A woman relaxes next to a hot spring, in an area that used to be part of the Aral Sea, near Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
New cafes, clothing stores and bodegas boasting imported snacks have popped up. Hand-painted Soviet-era billboards are being replaced by shiny metal signs with fresh paint.
Trains run around the clock, bringing returning residents and first-time visitors. They scribble their names into guestbooks at museums showcasing Aral artifacts.
Streets may be empty during hot, sunny days. But as the sun sets, they fill with children playing soccer, teenagers making videos for social media and old men playing cards. Techno music and the lights of carnival games flash through the night during local festivals.
Reminders of the once-mighty Aral linger. Old fishing nets and buoys rot in backyards. Rundown trucks with broken windshields become makeshift playgrounds for children. Sand-covered murals on buildings depict fishermen, boats and gulls on the sea.
Regular dust storms send people scrambling back into their homes. But when they pass, families return to gather as a community.
Girls eat in a restaurant in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Men enjoy their time in a restaurant in Nukus, Uzbekistan, Friday, June 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
People travel in a train compartment on the way to Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
People visit rusted ships near a museum, outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Friday, July 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
People swim in the Amu Darya River, near Muynak, Uzbekistan, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A man cooks fish caught from the remnants of the Aral Sea in a desert outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A little girl takes care of a child in Aralsk village, near Muynak, Uzbekistan, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Children at the train station welcome a relative who has returned home in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A woman serves beer to customers in her house, which she uses as a shop, in a village far outside of Muynak, Uzbekistan, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A boy rides a bicycle in what used to be the main port of Aralsk, Kazakhstan, before the Aral Sea dried up, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Men work in a yurt camp by the dried-up Aral Sea, outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Sunday, June 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A man poses for a photo on his motorcycle next to his desert home while guarding the lands and destroyed houses that have been abandoned after the drying up of the Aral Sea, outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A girl plays on a worn-out boat along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A couple visits a devastated village and areas near the dried-up Aral Sea, outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A man rides in desert that used to be a bed of the Aral Sea, outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Saturday, June 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A man rides in desert that used to be part of the bed of the Aral Sea, outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, Monday, June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A man and woman dance next to a sand lot filled with ships formerly used on the Aral Sea in Muynak, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Girls pose for a photo at a house in Aralsk village, next to the disappearing Aral Sea, near Muynak, Uzbekistan, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Women bake bread during a party in their house in the village of Shege, next to the disappearing Aral Sea, near Muynak, Uzbekistan, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Residents of Shege village pray for the revival of the Aral Sea near Muynak, Uzbekistan, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
People attend a local concert in a park in Muynak, Uzbekistan, Monday, June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
A child runs in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
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EDITORS’ NOTE: This is the fourth and final piece in an AP series on the once-massive Aral Sea, the lives of those who’ve lived and worked on its shores, and the effects of climate change and restoration efforts in the region. The AP visited both sides of the Aral, in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, to document the changing landscape.
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
