Aral Sea Tourism Week

On April 18, within the framework of Aral Tourism Week, the Aral Sea Eco Race and the festival “99 Dishes of the Aral Sea” were held in Muynak.

The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, the Association of Chefs of Karakalpakstan, the Proran running school, environmentalists, schoolchildren and students, eco-activists, tourists, and media representatives.

200 people took part in the race, including students from higher educational institutions in Karakalpakstan and Uzbekistan, schoolchildren, eco-activists, and tourists interested in the history of the Aral Sea. At the same time, the age of the most adult participants was 70 years old, and the youngest participant was 7 years old.

The total distance of the eco-race was 2 km. According to the concept, during the race, the participants, after running the distance, planted a tree seedling before the finish.

At the end, each participant received a medal in the form of a symbolic tree in recognition of his participation in the nature restoration project. According to the results of the race, the six fastest men and women received valuable prizes.

Also, within the framework of Aral Tourism Week, the gastronomic festival “99 dishes of the Aral Sea” was held, where chefs from the cities of Nukus, Turtkul, Beruniysky, Ellikali, Kungrad, Buzatau, Takhtakupyr, Takhiatash, and Karauzyak districts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan took part in the competition for the preparation of the best fish dishes.

According to the results of the festival, the prizes were taken by chefs from the Ellikali, Buzatau, and Beruniy districts who prepared such specialties as Dzhyguri gyrdyk, stuffed fish, and fish on fire.

Photos were shared by Ryan Ettenfield from travel website tourcentralasia.com.

A 42km marathon across the Aral Sea basin is scheduled for June 15th-16th, encouraging international runners to participate. ProRun organizer Andrey Kulikov emphasized the need for a vetting process to ensure the safety and preparedness of runners. He hopes the event will gain global recognition and draw over 1,000 runners next year. More information is available at prorun.uz.

https://eco.gov.uz/en/site/news?id=4079