September 20 Day 30 Exploring the Northern Aral Sea

 

Our location indicated by the black arrow - Kazakhstan is a huge contry

Today was a perfect day for us. We went off-road in 4WDs to find the receding shores of the North Aral Sea. The whole of the Aral Sea was once considered the 4th largest lake in the world today it is a puddle of its former self. The vast steppe surrounding the North Aral Sea where we were visiting is such an otherworldly place - but not that dissimilar to some areas of outback Australia.  As we drove, we saw evident of wildflowers, but they were mostly at the end of their season. From November to March there is snow covering the ground and little survives except for the Camelthorn bush which is drought-tolerant, cold-hardy, and salt-tolerant and which the camels love. But come Spring and the steppe is carpeted in wildflowers and marsh samphire, a favourite of the camels.

Top L: samphire, R: Salsola, prickly Russian thistle. Bottom: Camelthorn

In the lead car with Janna our guide, seen here communicating with the rest of our convoy.

It was a marvellous day – possibly the best we’d had to date although Kazakhstan seems to deliver in spades everywhere we have visited! But to explain this marvellous day in a bit of a nutshell. First stop was for a ‘restroom’ break in a Jalanash, population 2000. This small town is roughly 70 Km from Aralsk. It was once a bustling harbor village on the shores of the Aral Sea. Following the severe receding of the sea, the shoreline is now kilometres away, leaving the village completely stranded in the desert. It was once famous for the massive, rusting ship hulls stranded in the sand. Later in the day we saw probably one of the last keeled over on its side totally rusted out. The local economy now primarily revolves around camel herding.  As it turns out there are no public toilets in town just a friendly local who allowed us to use his long-drop (one learns quickly not to be squeamish). In his backyard he had a huge beautiful blonde Bactrian camel tethered and after some chatting, we learned that she had a baby. This dear little creature was duly fetched and proudly shown off. His gorgeous pale silver silky hair had us all goo-ing and gah-ing.  Then it was back into the cars (5 in all) for our next stop another small village, Tastubek (pop 200), for lunch. When we pulled us the village children surrounded us. The family with whom we were to eat were so welcoming and has laid out quite a banquet for us - deep fried fish fresh caught that morning, bread, rice, potatoes, onions, tomatoes – finished off with fresh camel milk.  Both husband and wife had degrees from Almaty - she law and him engineering. They had returned to the family home to care for aging parents - it is what is done here.

Definitely an outback dunny!

A beautiful Bactrian mother and her baby

Kids were like kids the world over - curious

Tastubek was once a fishing port

A veritable banquet. On the left is the bucket of camel milk

No indoor plumbing!

The scenery was fascinating – flat and empty as far as the eye could see although sometimes in the distance, we saw the cliffs which once had been the shores of the sea. We were driving along wheel ruts sometimes beside dunes, across the old seabed. We stopped a number of times to wander through arid vegetation and look at the shells embedded in the sand, evidence that the sea once lapped over these areas.  We scattered small herds of sleek horses and majestic camels (mostly Bactrian) as we flew by but of course, we had to get out to take photos of these beautiful creatures - all horse and camels we saw are domesticated but are allowed to roam freely.

The horses were beautiful and sleek 

These two older camels brought up the rear slowly.

The ground was littered with shells

As we approached the sea, we were driving alongside monumental, eroded hills looking a bit like the Utah desert – worthy of a stop to explore and climb.  Wonderful! We saw a few massive Golden Eagles and once we got to the shore, we saw a small flock of flamingos wading in the shallows - and evidence of other wildlife. One of the highlights of the day was that we got to ‘paddle’ in the Aral Sea - that’s possibly an equal first with the Black Sea (2023). 

Most of us clumbed this bute to look out ove the sea - it was extremely windy up there!

A rusted hull evidence of more fecund times

The northern Aral Sea

Before returning to Aralsk – because we didn’t want the day to end, we visited a hot spring and then an abandoned fishing village, Aqespe near the western edge of the former Aral Sea basin.  It was once one of the largest and most active fishing settlements in the area. When the river feeding the Aral sea was diverted the water moved dozens of kms away, destroying the local fishing economy. Massive sandstorms and advancing sand dunes eventually began burying the village, forcing residents to evacuate. It seemed pretty much deserted when we were there, the mud-and-reed structures half-buried and old streets blanketed by desert sand. A ghost town which felt very sad.

A beautiful herb of camels ran alongside us.

Like hot springs everywhere people want to enjoy the water!

The spring is reminiscent of the bore in Burketown NT and like that bore it supportrd wildlife

The sad deserted village of Aqespe slowly being consumed by desert sands

But what a day! We came home exhausted and smiling after a once in a lifetime experience. That evening we found somewhere to buy supplies for the next long leg of our westward journey.  It’s always fascinating exploring local ‘supermarkets’ trying to fathom what things are. There are of course always the usual staples – bread, noodles, cheese, yogurt, fruits and meats. We came away with a plentiful supply. We don’t go hungry!

Tomorrow we would be heading west 2000-odd Kms to Aktau on the coast of the Caspian Sea

September 19 Day 29 Arrive in Aralsk

 

Dawn over Aral region - we was a few dawns from a train window on this trip

Samovers like this were in every carraige. We relied on them for tea/coffee,soup and noodle meals

The train staff were a happy lot - on the whole.

Aralsk is a small city, pop ~250,000, in southwestern Kazakhstan and serves as the administrative centre of Aral District. It was formerly a fishing port and harbour city on the banks of the North Aral Sea and was a major supplier of fish to the neighbouring region. Today the receding sea had left this, and other once thriving, ports marooned in the steppe.  It felt rather like a frontier town.

Before take you touring around Aralsk, I want to tell you a little about the day-to-day reality of travelling across this vast continent. We are now halfway through our 61-day journey and we have had only 10 overnight stretches on trains. The cabins are reasonably comfortable although the beds are usually rather hard and so we don’t sleep well and wake very bleary-eyed and stiff.  But so far Lindsay and I have a cabin to ourselves which is wonderful – and what we expected. These long-distance trains are big beasts some with dining cars, some with a simple cafe counter and others with only people walking up and down the carriages selling all manner of things from knitted garments to cosmetics. At some longish stops people (mostly women) board with an array of ‘goodies’ including fresh-baked bread and smoked fish (which leaves a lingering memory of the sea in their wake!). Always there are people on the platform selling refreshments – and other things. So far, we have managed to be prepared with enough food to last our journeys. But to Aralsk …

Judging from our accommodation, Aralsk is obviously not a popular tourist destination but it was adequate and brought home so clearly how spoilt we have been. Later that day a group of motorbike riders arrived – brilliant place to ride!

I tool no photos of the accommodation but it was perfectly adequate

Aralsk's new museum which they are very proud of

A matriarch and a patriarch meet over a handshake

Our ragtag group of weary travellers

After breakfast and once we were ‘settled in’, we visited the new museum which had only been open a few weeks. While we were there an elder of the town arrived and was introduced to us. She was please to meet Lindsay who was the oldest of our group (we thought!). So of course there were photos taken for posterity. I spotted some camel soap in one of the showcases displaying local products and of course I wanted some.  Our wonderful Janna managed to secure me some but of course as soon as some of the others found out she was getting me some they wanted some too - isn't it always the way?! I didn't get all I ordered because it had to be shared around but there were a few more happy people. After visiting the new museum, we headed off to Aralsk’s old harbour and the excellent Fishermen's Museum.  

This is the Lev Berg Ship which was a research vessel on the Aral 1960-75. It had marvellous displays

The displays were excellent and the museum guide very helpful

Once a busy port, the surrounding lakebed is witness to the environmental tragedy of the Aral Sea

The displays and information kept yours truly rivetted. Lots of history but also geology, envirnonmental as well as floral and fauna information.  I was happy! The Aral Sea is a strange sea for a number of reasons not the least of which is that, unlike other bodies of water, oxygen saurationincreases with the depth of the water.  There are other things but I won't bore you with those. Of some surprise to me was that the Aral Sea has about 1100 islets and 12 large islands.  As the sea has dried out a number of interesting things have been uncovered besides old settlements. They have found the trunks of trees which grew 200-300 year ago before the arrival of the sea water. Archaeological treasures have also emerged as the dea has receded. It was also reassuring to read that and planned series of steps have been taken to restore the sea/lake levels.

Later that day we went exploring to find supplies for the upcoming 24 hour journey to Aktau on the western border of Kazahkstan. Then of coure it was time for the evening feast! and what an extravagant place we dined in. Obviously designed for those huge family celebratory banquets, we were treated no differently. We then waddled back to the hotel under a black sky.

We walked past little bands of people painstakingly sweeping the streets - its a desert region

Lots of salads started our feast followed by platters of succulent meats and mountains of vegetables 

September 18 Day 28 Turkistan

 Today we spend the day exploring more of the splendours of Turkistan including the impressive Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our guide is excellent, very knowledgeable and passionate about her country, a country which has a rich and intriguing as well as a blood past.  But our first stop was 45 min drive out of Turkistan to the ancient, fortressed city of Sauron, the region’s largest city in medieval times.  Sauran, founded in the C6, was once the biggest city in Kazakhstan with seven concentric wall and at one time was a major node on the Silk Road. Today it is an inviting expanse of ruins partially hidden in grass, earth mounds and incomplete excavations. History has it that as empires waxed and waned, Sauran adapted, becoming among other things a Mongol capital, and later, a military fortress under Tamerlane. In the end, people gradually abandoned it in C18 as the city of Turkistan rose in prominence – and also possibly because of a lack of water.

A small part of the wall that once surrounded the ancient settlement of Sauran

Generous locals. I suspect this was probably their lunch

It was a bit of a walk into the site but as we approached, we could see quite large sections of wall a little reminiscent of places we had seen in Turkmenistan in 2018. Before we entered the site a group of men arrived, presumably excavators, and insisted that we share their bread. Generosity marks these people.  We were able to wander as we wished and over the hour or more that we were there, we discovered pieces of broken pottery and ceramics, evidence of excavations and reconstructions.  It was a quiet and quite fascinating place and, apart from the workmen who we didn’t see again, we were the only people there. We could have lingered longer but we had to get back to town. 

Amazing that these walls or at least part of them hve withstood the ravages of time and weather

The once mighty gate have been 'restored' to welcome visitors

Some of our group were looking for lost treasur on parts of the wall that had been covered in sand

Painstaking reconstruction

We found so many broken shard of pottery and ceramic. 

Part of this vast settlement

Outside the walls. On the left is what I think was one of the ramparts  

Before we left, I was intrigued by a story about a magnificent madrasa with two shaking minarets. Dating back to the golden era of Sauran as a major trading hub on the Silk Road, the madrasa reflected the architectural and educational traditions of the Kazakh steppe. Built beside the madrasa were two very tall ‘shaking’ or ‘swinging’ minarets – they were considered a world wonder. Unfortunately, the minarets are no longer standing but we saw where they had been. By the late C19, the last of the weakened brick towers completely collapsed but I found a photograph of them taken in 1866 by a Russian photographer.  I also found reference to them in the writings of a Persian historian.

“Two high minarets of extraordinary height and extreme nobility were placed on the shoulders of aivan. A chain is attached to the guldast of those minarets, and a log (forelock) is attached under the domes (kubba) of each minaret so that someone forces the log to move, the chain hesitates, and to the one in the opposite minaret, it seems that the minaret will collapse , and this is one of the wonders of the world" Persian historian Wasifi. 1514 - 1515.

Part of the old madrassa in front of which the 'shaking minarets' stood

Taken by Capt Mikhail Priorov (1842–1916), a Russian military photographer

There were a few platters like this and plenty of salads - delicious

I love the name of the restaurant where we ate! 

After another sumptuous lunch we headed to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. It is massive and very grand – and is a key tourist attraction. As such there is a market in the corridors leading to it! The Mausoleum was built between 1389 and 1405, by order of Timur to honour Khoja Ahmed Yaswi, a distinguished Sufi master of the C12. Construction of the building was halted in 1405, with the death of Timur, and was never completed. The ceramic tiles are quite stunning. The mausoleum stands within a former citadel and the archaeological area of the medieval town of Yasi, now called Turkestan. Close by there are some archaeological digs which have uncovered a number of ancient sites.

Entrance through the reconstructed citadel walls

Rstoration is ongoing 

Stunning tile work

This is unfinished. I wonder hwo big it would have been had it been completed

A pair of Batrian camels patiently waited for torist to ride or photograph 

Part ot the archaeologial site adjoing the mausaleum 

By this time, we were a bit ‘archaeologied’ out so wandered back to our hotel through some beautiful gardens to pack; this evening we were to board the train to travel 1300 or so km northwest to Aralsk, 14-odd hours away. So we boarded with food for the journey.

All the gardens were glorious with many water features

Turkestan station where we had a longish wait for the train to huff and puff in

This darling man caught my eye

This monster sighed its way to eventually stop.