The Savitsky State Museum of Art (abbreviated as Karakalpak State Museum of Art, Nukus Art Museum) is one of the largest museums in Uzbekistan. The museum collection is recognized as the second in the world in importance and volume among the collections of the Russian avant-garde works, as well as the best art collection in the Asian region.

The modern collection of the museum contains more than 90,000 different exhibits. Among them are works of Russian avant-garde, paintings by Uzbek artists, as well as items of folk-applied art of Karakalpakstan and the art of Ancient Khorezm. In the collection there are several copies of the exhibits of the Louvre.

Specialists of the collection of the State Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after IV Savitsky are recognized as the world’s second largest collection of Russian avant-garde works after the collection of the Russian Museum (St. Petersburg) and one of the best collections in the Asian region.

 

Ayaz-Kala

Ayaz-Kala – remains of fortified fortifications of the Kushan culture period (III-II centuries BC), 200 km from the Aral Sea, on the right bank of the Amudarya, in the territory of modern Karakalpakstan. For the first time they were investigated in 1939-1940 by the Khorezm archaeological expedition under the direction of SP Tolstov). Among the large group of settlements, three stand out. The first of them is the strengthening of Ayaz-Kala-3, with minarets and labyrinths, fenced with a powerful wall. Inside the fortress the remains of a spacious palace have been preserved. In the north-west is the fortification Ayaz-Kala-2, built in the Kushan era and completed in the V-VII centuries. n. e. The Ayaz-Kala-1 fortification is located on the Ayaz-Kala hill, not far from Lake Ayazkol, well preserved. It was established that Ayaz-Kala-1 was a military fortification that protected part of the borders of the Kushan kingdom. During the excavations found iron daggers, knives, spearheads and arrows, bronze and gold products.

 

Cemetery of ships

In the 1960s, the construction of meliorative canals started from the Amu Darya for irrigation of cotton, water began to flow into the Aral Sea less and it began to grow smaller. In the 1980s, to not close the fish cannery in Muynak, frozen fish from Russia were brought here. In the early 1990s, the fish cannery was closed, unemployment began, residents began to leave their homes and leave for Nukus, Kungrad and other cities. The frequency of dust-salt storms, diseases of the population (eye diseases, gastrointestinal tract diseases, skin diseases) became more frequent. The level of groundwater has fallen, the process of desertification of the terrain has accelerated. The remaining springs are not suitable for drinking because of the high content of pesticides (which were washed off the cotton fields in the Amu Darya). The port turned into a cemetery of ships.

As of 2011, from Muynak about 100 km to the western (deep) part of the Southern Aral Sea and about 180 km to the eastern (shallow) part. The eastern part of the sea (due to its relatively shallow depths) most quickly receded from Muynak: in the mid-1990s it was 45 km from the city, and in the early 2000s – at a distance of 100 km.

In 2008, Petro Alliance carried out exploration work to find oil and gas on the former bottom of the Aral Sea; the result was positive. The gas here is of high quality, with a minimum content of hydrogen sulphide.

January 20-21, 2017 ShavkatMirziyoyev started the construction of the water supply network Kungrad-Muynak. Construction of the building costing 26.6 billion soums and a length of 101 km was conducted for five months. More than 25 thousand people are now provided with clean drinking water. The Muynak-Uchsai water pipeline will be extended by 1.51 km.

 

The fortress of Toprak Kala.

Toprak-kala (Uzbek Tuproqqal’a) is an ancient settlement of more than 120 hectares, located on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is believed that Toprak-kala was an ancient Khorezmian capital in the era of antiquity.

Toprak-kala was the capital of Khorezm under the rule of the Afrigid dynasty.

During the excavations, the remains of the palace with 150 rooms and rooms, richly decorated with monumental paintings and sculptures, were found. The height of the palace reached 40 meters. The entire archaeological complex of Toprak-kala included several palaces, as well as the city – residential buildings.

The core of the Toprak-kala palace was the Throne Room, where ceremonies took place. The walls of the palace were festively decorated, painted. The main sanctuary was a hall of dancing masks, the Anahita temple, on the walls of which there were 16 bas-relief panels depicting dancing women and men. The hall of soldiers is interesting, with images of mutton horns numerous figures of kings on tops of mountains where in a New Year a fire were kindled were put. There was also the Reindeer Hall, whose walls were adorned with a beautiful painting depicting deer and griffins. There was also a hall of kings, a hall of victories, etc.

During the excavations a palace archive of the Khorezm rulers was found.

At the beginning of the IV. The walls of the city were rebuilt, the palace turned into a citadel. By the fifth century, Toprak-kala became a place for a while where ordinary people settled, and then it was abandoned.

The archaeological monument of Toprak-kala is nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.