
Ryn Desert
The Ryn, also known as the Naryn Sands, is Kazakhstan’s westernmost desert. It spans for over 350km between the Volga and Ural Rivers, and over
North of Golubaya Bay is a dirt road running along the edge of the plateau and coastline to Saura Canyon, which has an abandoned Soviet-era fishing village of the same name. Keep an eye out for the remains of old wheeled-cart tracks cut into the plateau’s soft limestone, which were created by centuries-old fishmongers travelling up and down the coastline between Aktau and Fort Shevchenko.
The canyon starts 2.5km inland, runs south-west towards the Caspian Sea and ends in front of the abandoned Soviet-era fishing village of Saura. Half a kilometre to the west is Karakul, an oasis-like lake in a smaller side canyon of the same name. It’s also home to a large population of marsh turtles, which are found nowhere else in south-west Kazakhstan.
Upstream of the lake is the Bronze Age Saurin fortress, however, its exact location remains elusive. According to Mangystau’s Department of Culture, which also has 360-degree videos of Saura Canyon, all that remains of the fortress is a 30-metre-long stone wall built across a tributary canyon. Excavations revealed several finds, such as flint objects, copper ore, the remains of an Iron Age skeleton, an iron knife, clay vessels, beads, and a red-coloured geometric figure painted on a rock slab.
Saura Necropolis (Saura Qorymy/Некрополь Саура): 44.2303, 50.8078
Saura Abandoned Fishing Village: 44.2245, 50.8136
Karakul (Qaraköl/Озеро Каракуль): 44.2317, 50.8031
Saura Canyon (Saura Joly/Урочище Саура): 44.2292, 50.8213
1:200k map of Saura Canyon, shown in the middle of the crescent-shaped bay in the bottom-right corner’s top edge.
The Ryn, also known as the Naryn Sands, is Kazakhstan’s westernmost desert. It spans for over 350km between the Volga and Ural Rivers, and over
Kapamsay Canyon is a few kilometres south-west of Shakpak Ata. When approaching it from afar, you’ll see the white-sided walls of the chasm peeking up
Oral is a lively city nestled on the banks of the Ural River. Like Atyrau city, it marks the geographical divide between Europe and Asia.
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