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Inside Erdene-Zuu Monastery
Mongolia is a land of boundless grassy plains and endless open skies.
Mongolia seems vast.
That’s probably because it is. Once you are outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, the plains and the skies go on forever. The “World Factbook”, published by the CIA, puts it in terms Americans can understand: Mongolia is “more than twice the size of Texas”.
Landlocked between its bigger neighbours China and Russia, Mongolia probably seems even more expansive because it is so sparsely populated. With less than 2 people per square kilometre, it is the least densely populated country in the world.
It is a land of hardy, nomadic people, dotted across a vast, rugged landscape that stretches out under those never-ending skies. Most of the land belongs to the state, and the people – with their herds of cattle, goats, horses, and sheep – wander the steppes in summer, unfettered by fences or property lines. Every Mongolian is entitled to a small plot of land to live on for free for life, so it is not uncommon to see gers (yurts) or modest houses with stone or wooden fences around them, but these plots are dwarfed by the surrounding grasslands that extend – boundless and boundary-less – to the distant mountains.
As immense as it is, the country feels even larger because of the parlous state of the roads. Towns are few and far between, and the roads between them often bear more resemblance to goat tracks or river beds than anything approximating a highway system.
Fortunately, I was travelling with a photographic group organised by Within the Frame, and our local guides G and Segi had fixed us up with Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) four-wheel-drive vehicles. UAZs are not exactly luxurious – or even comfortable – but they (and our drivers) were up to the task of negotiating the bumps and ruts that pass for roadways.
The country’s history and its people are as resilient and rugged as the arid, rocky ground: our last stop after our first day’s driving was the Erdene-Zuu (Hundred Treasures) Monastery, part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape of Central Mongolia. The monastery was built in 1585, just outside the ruins of Kharkhorin (spelling various): that town established in 1220 by the the infamous Chinggis Khaan, and later made the Empire’s capitol by his son, Ögedei Khaan. The capitol was destroyed by Manchu soldiers in 1338; the Buddhist monastery of Erdene-Zuu was largely demolished during the Communist purges of 1939.
In spite of these waves of destruction, the people, the religion, and some of the old buildings and heritage sites, survive.
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The View from the Truck
The Mongolian landscape, as seen from the inside of a Russian UAZ four wheel drive (about the only thing that can reliably navigate the national roads!), consists of miles of grassy plains, extending to a backdrop of mountains. The rugged grasses cling to the arid, rocky ground, which is punctuated everywhere by inordinate amounts of litter. (iPhone6)
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Small-Town Mini-Market
Dusty streets takes us through small towns as we bump-and-rattle southwest. (iPhone6)
Bridge over the River Lün
We make frequent short stops along the way – this one beside the River Lün in Töv Province. (iPhone6)
Lunch Stop
Our next stop was for lunch: the trucks pull onto the hillside just off the road and staff set up our lunch tent while the rest of us wander off in search of rocks to use as toilet shields.
Rocky Hillside
Mongolia is home to more rocks – and more different kinds of rocks – than I have ever seen in my life!
Lunch Stop
From the rocky slope, I have a birds-eye view down over our lunch spot.
Bactrian Camels
Our next stop is in Övörkhangai province, where Mongolian people lope in on their two-humped bactrian camels to offer us rides.
A Boy and his Camel
A Boy and his Camels
Tourist and the Camels
One of the camel-riders farewells her bactrian. In addition to being much hairier in their winter coats than their dromedary cousins, bactrians are all-together better behaved and more comfortable to ride.
Door-Knocker
Erdene-Zuu is probably the oldest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia.
Entry to Erdene Zuu
Lion door-knockers guard the entry to the monastery, …
Inside Erdene-Zuu
… which was built in 1585, using materials recovered from the nearby ruins of Chinggis Khaan’s ancient town of Karakorum (Kharakhorin).
Inside Erdene-Zuu
The original plan was to surround the monastery with 108 stupas, built to resemble a Tibetan Buddhist rosary.
The Temple of the Dalai Lama
At its peak, the monastery was full of temples and housed up to 1000 monks.
Inside Erdene-Zuu
During the 1939 purges, the monastery and many of the other buildings in the compound were destroyed, and the monks were either secularised, interned, or executed.
The Golden Stupa
Built in 1799, the Golden Stupa houses 100,000 different Buddhas. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the stupa or the inner part of the monastery, where some wonderful ancient tapestries – telling the stories of local Buddhas and saints – survive.
Prayer Wheels
A Mahayana Buddhist temple always features prayer wheels. The supplicant circles in a clockwise direction, spinning the wheels and saying prayers.
Buddhist Prayer Ger
Incense Burner
Golden Eagle
Outside the monastery, there is a row of tourist shops. A woman with a photo-booth, complete with well-worn period Mongol clothing and a golden eagle, tries to get our attention. But, it is late, and it has been a long day. The best I can manage is a half-hearted photo of the giant raptor against the monastery wall.
Welcome to my Ger
My first ger experience spoiled me somewhat!
Inside my Ger
It was clean and roomy, with painted wooden furniture (with a horse-hair mattress and a barley pillow) and a rolled-out linoleum floor.
Fixing the Fire
Once the wood-burning furnace was lit, the ger was quite warm and cozy.
I am not as hardy as the average Mongolian; Air China had lost my luggage and I had very little clothing to change into. So, the warmth inside my ger was a most pleasant surprise after an exhausting day.
I fell asleep dreaming of eagles and camels…
… and of a long, bumpy road.
Until next time,
Keep Smiling!
