Just a few decades ago, this was the fourth-largest inland sea on Earth, a vast body of water that sustained thriving fishing towns and drew visitors to its coastal resorts. The Aral Sea, once spanning parts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, has now almost entirely vanished, leaving behind an expanse of desert where ships rust in the sand. For centuries, this sea played a crucial role in regional trade and ecology, but human intervention changed its fate. Massive Soviet irrigation projects diverted its waters for agriculture, causing the sea to shrink at an alarming rate. Today, most of what remains is dry, salty terrain, with only small sections of water surviving due to restoration efforts. The abandoned ships, now stranded miles from any shoreline, serve as eerie reminders of a lost industry and an environmental disaster still unfolding. #drthehistories