Photos

In a vain decision to dominate the global cotton market Soviet engineers tamed the elements of the bitter Central Asian plains. By leading water from the mighty Aralskoye More the desert was made to bloom, but the output came at a terrible price.

The oasis of arable land in Qaraqlpakstan dried up and the lake slowly started creeping north. The city of Moynaq, with its fishing industry and modern canning factory was reduced to an inhospitable and forgotten backwater village, home to salty duststorms, poisonous soil and unemployment.

The last remnants of the once proud fishing fleet remain deep in the desert as a testament to the fury unleashed when man decides to play god, whittling away piece by piece until nothing but sand will remain.