Mongolia, July 2010
I had wanted to visit Mongolia for years to experience the stunning, unspoilt landscapes and the nomadic way of life. I finally went there in July this year. Out of hundreds of photos, here is a tiny selection of my favourites:
Grazing yak at Jalman Meadows in the Khan Khentii Protected Area beyond the Terelj National Park, northern Mongolia.
Many wrestling matches take place simultaneously in the stadium. The aim is to make your opponent's upper body, knee or elbow touch the ground. There is no division into weight category, so generally the bigger the wrestler, the better his chances of winning.
Women do in fact participate in two of the 'three manly sports'. Not the wrestling though - supposedly the reason why wrestlers must wear chest-exposing jackets (known as jodag) is because a female wrestler once beat all the men. There were many colourfully-dressed lady archers. Archers shoot at pots on the ground rather than circular targets.
The 5-year old horse race. Some of the jockeys probably weren't much older than 5 years old either. The riders are all children (male and female) and they ride about 30 km over the steppe to a finish line is about 40 km outside Ulaan Baatar. The 5-year old horse race is the most popular of all the races - being covered in dust from one of the race horses is said to bring good luck for a year.
The Gobi desert. In fact most of the Gobi is semi-desert rather than real desert. The vastness of the landscapes in Mongolia puts things into perspective.
The Red Cliffs in the Gobi are not only spectacular but a treasure trove of fossils. The first dinosaur eggs in Central Asia were discovered here.
Meditation on the nature of existence Part II.
Mongolian traditional music. This band played traditional instruments, sang folk songs and performed throat singing (khuumi), The man on the left is playing a horsehead fiddle (morin khuur). The strings are made from horse hair and the sound of the instrument is said to be expansive and unrestrained, like a wild horse neighing, or a breeze in the grasslands. After the performance I had a go playing the instruments and managed to produce some reasonably musical sounds.
Detail of a temple at Kharkorin (ancient Karakorum). The Erdene-Zu monastery was Mongolia's first Buddhist centre, established in 1586. Karakorum was also the capital city in the days of Genghis Khan (who is, incidentally, a national hero and has many things, including beer and vodka, named after him).
Another scenic picture of Jalman Meadows.
Grazing yak at Jalman Meadows in the Khan Khentii Protected Area beyond the Terelj National Park, northern Mongolia. 
Nomads posing for the camera in Jalman Meadows. Mongolia is six times the size of the UK but has a population of just 2.75 million. Almost a third of the population are herders.
Nomad woman milking a yak in Jalman Meadows. This family moves their camp to Jalman Meadows every summer. It looks beautiful now, but Mongolia's summer is very short and temperatures can reach -50 C in the winter. Harsh conditions in winter 2009 killed a fifth of Mongolia's livestock. Many people moved to the capital Ulaan Baatar in search of work.
Inside the nomads' yurt (ger in Mongolian). These are the nomad lady's grandchildren (the one on the right is actually a boy). We were offered traditional salty milk tea, dairy snacks made of curd and dried yoghurt and yoghurt vodka. We weren't offered airag, the traditional fermented mare's milk, although I did try some at a market later (it was tangy, not unpleasant had a few unidentified black bits floating in it).
The Naadam festival is Mongolia's annual national sporting festival, featuring the 'three manly sports' of wrestling, archery and horse racing (plus ankle-bone shooting). The opening ceremony in Ulaan Baatar was amazing, with spectacular parades and people parachuting into the stadium . Here are some wrestlers performing the 'eagle dance', which victorious wrestlers do after winning a fight. The man in the middle is one of the referees.
Many wrestling matches take place simultaneously in the stadium. The aim is to make your opponent's upper body, knee or elbow touch the ground. There is no division into weight category, so generally the bigger the wrestler, the better his chances of winning.
Women do in fact participate in two of the 'three manly sports'. Not the wrestling though - supposedly the reason why wrestlers must wear chest-exposing jackets (known as jodag) is because a female wrestler once beat all the men. There were many colourfully-dressed lady archers. Archers shoot at pots on the ground rather than circular targets.
The 5-year old horse race. Some of the jockeys probably weren't much older than 5 years old either. The riders are all children (male and female) and they ride about 30 km over the steppe to a finish line is about 40 km outside Ulaan Baatar. The 5-year old horse race is the most popular of all the races - being covered in dust from one of the race horses is said to bring good luck for a year.
The Gobi desert. In fact most of the Gobi is semi-desert rather than real desert. The vastness of the landscapes in Mongolia puts things into perspective.
The Yol Valley is a gorge in the Gobi desert which receives so little sunlight that there is still ice at the bottom left over from winter, even in July.
The Red Cliffs in the Gobi are not only spectacular but a treasure trove of fossils. The first dinosaur eggs in Central Asia were discovered here.
Meditation on the nature of existence Part I.
The awe-inspiring scenery is certainly worth more than a moment's pause for contemplation.
Meditation on the nature of existence Part II.
Sand dune with skull of horse/cow/camel/goat (not sure which). It was quite common to come across skulls and bones in the Gobi and elsewhere in Mongolia, especially as many livestock perished during the winter of 2009.
The road to nowhere. Most roads in Mongolia are quite like this, just dirt tracks. This one is in pretty good shape actually, no pot holes.
Vultures and buzzards are a common sight all over Mongolia. This vulture was eating a carcass (not shown).
Mongolian traditional music. This band played traditional instruments, sang folk songs and performed throat singing (khuumi), The man on the left is playing a horsehead fiddle (morin khuur). The strings are made from horse hair and the sound of the instrument is said to be expansive and unrestrained, like a wild horse neighing, or a breeze in the grasslands. After the performance I had a go playing the instruments and managed to produce some reasonably musical sounds.
Detail of a temple at Kharkorin (ancient Karakorum). The Erdene-Zu monastery was Mongolia's first Buddhist centre, established in 1586. Karakorum was also the capital city in the days of Genghis Khan (who is, incidentally, a national hero and has many things, including beer and vodka, named after him).
Another scenic picture of Jalman Meadows.
posted by Baron Samedi at 12:37 pm
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