 Urgench is a crossroads when traveling towards Khiva. Beyond this asset, the city has no particular appeal.

Asia

Assalomu alaykum! Welcome to Uzbekistan, an epicentre for many civilisations, a place steeped in world history and tradition, and home to rare, untainted landscapes. Once a witness to the grandeur and decadence of the Mongol and Persian Empires and a privileged step of the Silk Road, Uzbekistan still has countless treasures from its multicultural past. From the Bukhara Madrasas to the gems of Timurid architecture, we come to the Khanate of Khiva in the heart of the desert, which seems almost timeless . You can feel the weight of history pervading the whole area. The country also offers great excursions, on foot and by camel, and the opportunity to discover wildlife which, despite the drought, remains as varied as it is exotic. During walks in the steppes and mountains, you will have the opportunity to observe gazelles, scorpions, lynx, mountain sheep and even snow leopards in their natural habitats.

Uzbekistan

Urgench

Khiva is a small, fortified town located in the middle of the Uzbek desert. The town is an open-air museum with an enormous number of Islamic religious monuments that are open to visitors.

Khiva

 Bukhara is considered to be the holiest city in Central Asia. It's a key stop on a  trip to Uzbekistan between mosques, madrassas (Islamic schools), and even mausoleums that have been here for thousands of years. 

Bukhara

Tashkent is a nice city to visit - Uzbekistan has some economic development here, far from the traditions of the East and very touristy cities of the West.

Tashkent

A former port on the Aral Sea, Mo'ynoq is now a city in the middle of the desert due to the recession of the lake.

Moynaq

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Without any hesitation Mo'ynoq could qualify to compete for the title of the most depressing town in the world. Formerly a thriving port along the Aral Sea, today the town is located more than 200 km from the sea. Accordingly, the city of Mo'ynoq looks like a ghost town now. Most residents have long since left the place, populated with elderly and young nomads, the boats rust under the blazing sun and the desert sands cover the city during the numerous storms... Therefore, it's both a fascinating and depressing place. It's fascinating in that it tells the absurdity and the ecological, human disaster of the Aral Sea's recession. It's depressing, because only despair seems to survive today at Mo'ynoq, which in my opinion remains a <a href="/uzbekistan/">must see in Uzbekistan</a>.

A former port on the Aral Sea, Mo'ynoq is now a city in the middle of the desert due to the recession of the lake.

The city is a ghost town, quite unlike Uzbekistan's tourist destinations, in a dry landscape where virtually nothing grows. It's impossible to find the museum. The rusty hulks of old boats are gathered below a monument that very briefly described the recent history of the Aral Sea. For all these reasons, I don't think that the city is worth seeing unless pressing on toward the Aral Sea (which is still more than 200 km away). On the other hand, after crossing the cotton fields of the Ferghana Valley, it is interesting to see and contemplate more clearly the consequences of this intensive monoculture. Once I had arrived I tried, together with a Swiss traveler who had picked me up in her 4×4 while I was hitch-hiking, to find a guide who could take us on toward what remains of the Aral Sea. Two hours later, having attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate, we returned to Kungrad. Make your arrangemetns at Nukus if you want to have a chance of seeing the Aral Sea.

With a lunar landscape that creates an atmosphere like that of an old western film set, where hulks of rusty old boats decay in what was once the largest port on the Aral Sea, Moynaq makes a strange impression on visitors.

Moynaq Vacations

Moynaq: How to get there?

Moynaq: See when to go ?

Moynaq: For how long?

Moynaq: What to see nearby?