Drying Sturgeon, Turkmenistan, 1999

"A Turkmen woman hangs sturgeon steaks to dry on the island of Gyzylsuw. Two hours by slow boat Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan's largest port, Gyzylsuw seems even farther afield: According to the island's governor, photographer Reza was the first foreign visitor in anyone's memory."

—From “The Rise and Fall of the Caspian Sea,” May 1999, National Geographic magazine