Nukus

Nukus, city in western Uzbekistan, capital of the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, in the delta of the Amu Darya River. Nukus is about 1255 km west of Tashkent, and about 230 km south of Muynoq and the former shoreline of the Aral Sea. An increase in upstream irrigation needs reduced the downstream flow of the Amu Darya, contributing to the shrinking of the Aral and the disappearance of its plentiful fish stock. Nukus is a center for the growing and processing of cotton and rice. The local climate has changed with the disappearance of the sea, and Nukus now experiences an average of ten dust and sand storms a year.

The 1989 census indicated that Nukus was the fastest growing city in Uzbekistan as a consequence of the deteriorating environmental conditions in the surrounding countryside. Nukus also has a large museum with an art collection from the Russian avant-garde, a bold group of artists who ushered in modernism at the beginning of the 20th century. Many of those artists fell victim to the purges of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the early 1930s, but the late director of the Nukus Museum collected their work and brought it to Nukus. Nukus became a city in 1932 and succeeded Turtkul as capital of Karakalpakstan in 1939.

Nukus has a wonderfully diverse array of culture, geographic and industrial features. The residents of the city (the capital of autonomous region Karakalpakstan) number Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, Russian, Korean and Tatars. In addition to Uzbek, Karakalpak is an official language here. Local culture is maintained in more that just speech habits -traditional customs surrounding food, clothing and rites of passage have all been maintained to a great extent and the extreme hospitality in this region assures guests many chances to witness these events for themselves.
Nukus� climate is almost as diverse as its population. Seasons range from cold, snowy winters to extraordinary hot summers. Spring brings fresh rain and autumn is comfortably warm.

Despite the desert-like condition much of the year, the local economy is dependent mainly on water-intensive crops like cotton, rise and melons. The long day of sun are responsible for the some of the sweetest melons in the world. New additions to the economy�s mainstay are the international businesses now entering the region. These companies have interest in such fields as agricultural machinery and mining.
Geographically, Nukus is situated near the Amy-Darya River, one of the most important waterway of Central Asian. Nukus is also close to the Aral Sea, and consequently feels the effects of the desiccation of the Sea. More than water breaks up monotony of the landscape. The flats of Nukus change into foothills less than 100 km away in Beruni.