Maxim Menshikov, archaeologist and the expedition director, operates a motorboat as divers get ready for a plunge in the waters of Lake Issyk-Kul to explore the underwater site of what is identified by researchers as a submerged medieval city in the settlement of Toru-Aygyr in Kyrgyzstan on September 23, 2026. (Photo by Vyacheslav OSELEDKO / AFP via Getty Images)