Aral Sea Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake (one with no outflow) lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda Regions) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the south. The name roughly translates as "Sea of Islands", referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages "aral" means "island, archipelago". The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Iran. Formerly the fourth-largest lake in the world with an area of , the Aral Sea has been shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that
Uzbekistan and Oriental Music Uzbekistan and Oriental Music Uzbekistan and Oriental Music are related because the region exerted a significant influence in oriental music's development. The ancient states of Transoxiana such as Sogdiana, Baktria, Choch played an important role in trade between the East and the West along the Silk Road and in cultural and intellectual exchange between those civilizations. Transoxian craftsmen and merchants exported their goods and took with them musicians, dancers and singers. Artifacts found both in China and Uzbekistan provide clear evidence of such cultural “tours”. The figurines made of clay, bronze and other materials depict men and women with musical