{"id":2233,"date":"2026-06-21T21:35:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondcatastrophe.com\/?post_type=story&p=2233"},"modified":"2026-06-21T23:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:38:08","slug":"","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondcatastrophe.com\/ru\/story\/water-on-the-silk-roads-maymester-photoessays\/","title":{"rendered":"","raw":""},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false,"raw":""},"author":6,"featured_media":2248,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_en_post_content":"\n
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As part of the Water on the Silk Roads Maymester<\/a>, five US-based students spent a week in the Aral Sea region (Khorazm and the Republic of Karakalpakstan). One of their assignments: to create mini photo essays (originally published on Instagram) to tell the story of the place in a nuanced way without being orientalizing\/exoticizing or catastrophizing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Day 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Water On Silk Roads Maymester traveled from Bukhara to Khiva today! Along the way we stopped at a rest stop that had camels and a donkey. Bactrian camels are native to Central Asia, and often found along the Silk Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While driving, it started to rain. Late May is typically a very dry period, so it is unusual to see rain at this time of the year. However, we have been told by our guides that spring-like weather has lasted longer this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After we arrived in Khiva we rested and then went to dinner. We ate a few dishes traditional to Khiva, including: shivit oshi, green noodles with beef stew and yogurt, as well as yumurta barak, egg dumplings eaten with yogurt. We also had pumpkin, beef, and spinach dumplings. It was delicious!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Angie Zamora<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Day 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Today, our journey to the Aral Sea through Uzbekistan cities continues, and we are in Khiva!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khiva is an ancient city (over 2,500 years old!) in the Khorazm Region. Throughout its history, it held the status of a capital of science and religion, and later, of the Khiva Khanate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, most of the highlights are located within the Walls of the historic part of the city, a walkable area with a bazaar with locally produced souvenirs, the mausoleum of Pahlavon Mahmud, the Juma mosque, and multiple minarets, including the famous unfinished minaret Kaltaminor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also visited a unique agricultural site that implements ecological knowledge in practice, and ripens seeds for their own waste-free production of oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Salavat Giniiatov<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Day 3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Today we traveled to Nukus! On the way, we passed through Ellikkala, or \u201c50 fortresses.\u201d We visited Ayez-kala, Toprak-kala, and Chilpik-kala and could still see the layout of the 4,000 BCE fortresses.
A local professor told us the landscape looked vastly different ten thousand years ago. The fortress hills were volcanoes and the Amu Darya flowed here. There are lion and antelope bones, which supports the idea this was a savannah ten thousand years ago.
Our final stop before Nukus was the Lower Amu Darya State Biosphere Reserve. We saw Amu Darya\u2019s growing banks due to exploitative irrigation practices. This reserve houses the greatest variety in species of flora in the country and their main preservation focuses are on the Turang\u2019a (Euphrates Poplar) and Bukhara deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Shannen Alack<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Day 4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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