Time Out
Tough and timeless
THOMAS E. KING
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Mongolia’s physical isolation has kept its strong traditions and vibrant culture alive.
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There’s an old adage that “Mongolians are born in the saddle”. It’s only after seeing toddlers trotting on trusted steeds that this saying comes into perspective.
Photos: Thomas E. King
Rugged and beautiful: The Terelj.
YAK! There’s a yak over there. Please stop! Used to such requests even without knowing much English, the driver stomped on the brake pedal of the battered old coach that doubled as a tourist vehicle and the well-worn tyres skidded to a halt in
the middle of a potholed path that doubled as a road. Only after the persistent cloud of dust that had trailed us from the end of the bitumen just outside Ulan Bator caught up and then dissipated did I step out for a close encounter with a treasure of the Terelj, one of the most important nature parks of Mongolia.
This is true wilderness country where yaks meander and stocky Mongolian horses graze. The former are beasts of burden; the latter gallop about the stark but beautiful countryside with riders eager to demonstrate their equestrian prowess.
The national passion
There’s an old adage that “Mongolians are born in the saddle”. It’s only after seeing toddlers trotting on trusted steeds that this saying comes into perspective. Until they reach the “ripe old age” of four or five, young riders may be accompanied by their fathers who ride astride a richly decorated saddle, a possession that could well be the family’s most valued item.
About half of Mongolia’s 2.8 million people lead a nomadic lifestyle. The few possessions they do have, consequently, need to be useful as well as easily transportable to the next site. Even their homes are readily transportable, I discovered, when I saw my first ger, a canvas covered and felt lined circular tent-like dwelling stretched over a collapsible wooden frame. Easily erected and disassembled, this “mobile home” of Mongolia must also be securely affixed to
the ground so that it is not blown away during the occasional gale. It must also be adequately insulated as well to withstand the intense cold of the long Mongolian winter when the mercury can easily plunge to -30C.
Not many foreign visitors arrive to experience the snow and cold during this harsh season. Actually not many tourists arrive during the rest of the year either. This land-locked and little developed Central Asian nation wedged between China and Russia and about half the size of India only received around 3,50,000 visitors last year.
The few who persevere to eventually reach Asia’s fifth largest country and then brave the broken bitumen to the Terelj are keen to wander along paths of wild flowers, watch displays of excellent horsemanship and meet its genuinely hospitable people. The latter is possible if your guide/interpreter (highly recommended as many people do not speak English) has made prior arrangements. A good case in point was an arranged meeting I had with a charming local family.
Lkhamaa, in her sixties, has had very little schooling. Indeed she has never had any formal lessons in cooking or catering. Yet, this woman of the Terelj was a gracious hostess. Her “welcome” included home made pastries with
urum, cream skimmed from the top of milk, aaruul, dried curds, boorstsog, milk tea with salt and the all-time Mongolian favourite airag, fermented mare’s milk. Some say the latter is an
acquired taste but I never acquired it!
Tracking dinosaurs
Unable to eat or drink more and following an inspection of her tidy ger where the only furnishings were a few beds, a couple of small tables, a dusty cupboard and a blackened wood-fired stove, I was ready to track dinosaurs. The col
lection of long neck and life size concrete figures forever “grazing” on a grassy slope off the Terelj-Ulan Bator road may seem out of place but they are in fact an appropriate introduction to the ferocious beasts that once stalked Mongolia.
A cultural performance in Ulan Bator.
In order to learn more about Mongolia’s prehistoric past I visited the National Museum of Natural History just off Sukhbaatar Square and in the heart of the capital. This three storey treasure house of all things Mongolian contains the usual dombos, brass vessels used for serving tea, dels, the brightly coloured robes worn by men and even a Mongolian flag that was taken to the moon by Apollo 13 astronauts.
It was the collection of dinosaur bones and even eggs with the skeletons of unhatched dinosaurs inside, however, which fascinated me the most. The museum has a broad representation of many multi-tonne monsters that lived in Mongolia during the Jurassic Period, some 150 million years ago.
What the museum doesn’t have, however, is an illustrated map showing the kinds of prehistoric creatures that once roamed the land. I bargained for one with a small boy in a big square. Ringed by various government buildings including Government House and the Palace of Culture plus the Opera House, Sukhbaatar Square is really big. Even without the tourist crowds, its proportions still reminded me somewhat of Red Square in distant Moscow.
Locals and the occasional tourist come here to have their photos taken backdropped by an equestrian statue of Sukhbaatar, the founder of modern Mongolia. In 1921 the People’s Revolution led by Sukhbaatar took the country into 70 years of Marxist rule. This form of government lasted for 70 years. During this time there was little contact with the outside world except for strong links with the Soviet Union.
The Russian contribution
The massive square is at the heart of 8,00,000-strong Ulan Bator, a Mongolian word which translates as “Red Hero”. Located at its present site in 1778, the capital is the focal point for science, education, culture, government and industry — what little there is, although the city is responsible for nearly half of the country’s industrial output — in the now independent Mongolia.
During the nearly seven decades that the landlocked country was a self-governing Soviet satellite, Russians built much of the city’s infrastructure. The well-kept and low rise classic-styled buildings around the square are perhaps the best examples of Soviet construction. The uninspiring and deteriorating high rise concrete apartment “boxes” elsewhere in the city are, no doubt, the worst.
Not far from Sukhbaatar Square but predating any of its constructions is the Gandan Monastery, the country’s largest and most important religious complex. Through a haze of incense smoke, I watched red robed lamas at their devotions and listened to them recite their chants, blow their trumpets, crash their cymbals and beat their drums. Outside the ornate building, a white-washed structure which houses the 28 metre high God of Peace, devotees pray and then visit with friends.
Proud of the past
Everything here has the scent, look and aura of the timeless past. The geographic detachment of this country — formerly known as Outer Mongolia — is an important factor that has helped keep its strong traditions alive and its vibrant culture intact. Another factor has been the people. After all, being descendants of Genghis Khan has made them feel very proud and rather special!
Many kingdoms have ascended and declined on the Mongolian plateau. However, it wasn’t until the ruthless soldier, Temujin, united the area’s various warring tribes in the 13th century — an act which resulted in the title of Genghis Khan or “very mighty king” being bestowed on him — that the continent-spanning Mongol Empire began.
At its peak this domain extended from China to Hungary and from the Artic Circle to the Persian Gulf. The only prominent exclusions were Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. While there were 35 subsequent Mongol rulers in a dynasty that lasted until the opening years of the 17th century, it’s the exploits of Genghis Khan that are most remembered.
Visitors aren’t likely to forget him either. His likeness is on the local currency, the Tolgrik, and on the labels of a popular brand of vodka. One of Ulan Bator’s newer hotels is also named after him. And on the top floor of the capital city’s sole department store, carpets and paintings — popular souvenir takeaways — depict the man who is still revered by those living in this still little explored realm of yaks and gers.
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