the globe says
Uzbekistan
Fly Tashkent to Nukus in Karakalpakstan, then two hours north to a port town the sea abandoned.
Nukus hotels, homestays in Moynaq, or a yurt camp on the former seabed cliff edge.
The 20th century's greatest environmental catastrophe made visible: a fleet of rusting ships on desert sand, the sea 150 kilometers away, and in Nukus the Savitsky Museum — a hoard of banned Soviet avant-garde art hidden here on purpose.
The ship graveyard at golden hour, then the Savitsky collection — the strangest great museum on Earth, precisely because of where it is.
April to June, September to October
Rahmet — thank you, in Karakalpak.
The Devil and the Disappearing Sea by Rob Ferguson — the Aral story from inside.
Ayaz-Kala desert fortresses — 2,000-year-old Khorezmian citadels rising from the sand en route.
Summer on the seabed exceeds 45°C and dust storms carry salt and old agricultural chemicals — shoulder seasons only.