So far, these Mongolian nomadic wanderings have taken me from the crumbling sidewalks of Ulaanbaatar east to the vast and beautifully rolling steppe where the land seems to touch the sky.
Here I was lucky to spot endangered Argali sheep, the largest of all wild sheep, which are threatened by increasingly hostile weather patterns and overgrazing. More rare was the white-naped crane. There are only about 6,000 in THE world with 17 breeding pairs in this small area of Mongolia. Although drought has sharply reduced the population, we were lucky to see two of these on a small pond. Then it was northwest to the area around Lake Hovsgol which contains one of the highest concentrations of deer stones in Asia.
These Bronze Age slabs are beautifully carved with images of antlered deer, hunting tools such as bows, and a few depictions of human beings. It is assumed, but unproven, that the stones mark some sort of burial site. Many were toppled or the heads lopped off by the Soviets. As we know, conquering regimes throughout history have - and do - try to destroy that which is revered by the conquered. How ironic and interesting then that the warriors of the Khans, while fierce, did NOT seek to displace cultures but intentionally allowed them to remain. And not just remain, but actually learned, absorbed and adopted the best traditions and customs for their own.
The blue Lake Hovsgol, which touches the Russian border and holds two percent of the world's fresh water, still had ice floating on it only three weeks ago!! The gentle hills were covered with Siberian Larch trees and wild flowers...and a few ovoos used by shamans which we discovered on horseback.
A shaman site near a wooded ovoo discovered on a meandering horseback ride. Note the mirror image between the old tree trunk and skull.
Now it was south to the Gobi Desert, only a few miles from the Chinese border. Visions of dry and desolate sand, right? No!!
irst sight of the Gobi. Cool, dark, wet and green.
In the world's northern most desert, in a lush green valley carved by an ancient river, a canyon walk (reminiscent of slot canyons in the American West) led us to an ice formation on the river. July 8 in the Gobi Desert and there was ice! (There was also a goat skin neatly laid out on a ledge and held in place by 3 stones. A shaman?)
Subsequent days in the "desert" would bring worn red cliffs, much like we see in the southwest. This is the site where the first dinosaur eggs were discovered and where their bones still lay strewn around among the rocks!
A ridiculously rugged drive took us through a valley that is home to the elusive snow leopard...and, unfortunately, it was its elusive self on that day. After more dusty, rugged, kidney-jarring driving across the steppe, up and down dried river bed embankments, then through the river beds themselves... in the distance we spotted ... snow? Again?!!
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Long shot across the Gobi. Is it a cloud bank? Snow? Sand dunes!!
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Gobi sand dunes
No. Sand dunes. Sixty miles long and 600 feet high!! A great place for a camel.
Yep. Besides climbing about two-thirds up the face of the dune and scrambling down, I did the obligatory ride on a two humped camel. (Good lord but they smell vile. And when they sneeze, all their camel sneeze stuff blows back in your face. One camel ride was plenty for me!)
Is one of us smiling?
Camel herders make their living selling the camel hair as well as transporting goods. According to our driver, a camel can carry a half a ton and can go 81 days without water. (81? Seriously? What happens on the 82nd day??) If you want a touching, informative movie about these nomadic people and their life, watch The Story of The Weeping Camel. Very real depiction.
We stopped briefly at the ger of a nomadic family in the Gobi. The elderly couple were away and the encampment and goats were being looked after by a friend. An older ger (I am starting to notice the small differences), it was actually two gers: one for cooking and one for sleeping. The latter had the beautifully painted wood furniture you see throughout Mongolia.
Traditional ger furniture with hot tea and fried dough set out for guests.
Always asking the questions, I enquired about a plastic bag filled with "stuff", I learned it was cashmere recently trimmed from the goats. The bag held one kilo of hair from two goats. How many sweaters do you get from a kilo???
Near the doorway, I asked about the bristles on what appeared to be a very small broom. Touching it, it seemed very hard and not like any horse/sheep/yak/camel hair I'd been seeing. Twisted and curly and very stiff. The nice nomadic man smiled at me and- translated back - through our guide came my answer: plastic. Silly tourist. After a pit (literally!) stop under the watchful eye of an ovoo, we were on our way.
A loo with a view, Mongolian style. Note the ovoo on the hill.
Finally! The Nadaam Games!!! The reason I chose this particular trip at this particular time.
The Nadaam Games, aka The Three Manly Games, began in the 1600s under the Khans, as a way to keep warriors in shape when they weren't fighting battles. Today, officially, it commemorates the 1921 Revolution when Mongolia declared its independence from China. The Games are not unlike our Fourth of July festivities. Families celebrate together. There are marching bands, colorful traditions, and a recognition of the history that binds a people. The largest and most "produced" Nadaam is in the capital, Ulaanbataar. I chose to see the smaller, more historically authentic celebration in the regional capital of the Gobi Desert. In a town of 15,000, crowds jammed the little local stadium for the ceremonies.
The games today consist of simultaneous contests of wrestling, archery and long distance horse racing - with boy jockeys between the ages of 5 and 12. Hence, today's games are no longer only "manly". Wrestling matches begin with an eagle dance around the nine horse hair banners representing Chinggis Khan's nine generals. This is the sport at which Mongolians excel at the Olympics. Archery contestants, including women, wear traditional deels and use bows made from ibex sheep horn and willow branches. Horse racing involves contests of 100 horses racing 15 to 30 Km. across the step. The top five places win prizes. The last horse wins the "Big Belly" prize! There is betting, but it is mostly among owners and is not widespread.
But the Nadaam I saw was so much more than the games! Young women were stylishly dressed and clearly out to impress. Older men wore traditional Mongolian deels covered with medals recognizing their civil service (most during the socialist era). Children played typical carnival games. Opening ceremonies included a color guard, military parades, traditional dances by children, depictions of local identity such as dinosaurs, camels, sheep. It was a spectacle of color and excitement and history and civic spirit.
Speaking of spirit! Airag, or fermented mare's milk, is part of the Nadaam tradition. Only slightly alcoholic, it is most popular in the summer when horses feed on the sweet and plentiful grasses on the steppe. I had been forewarned: it is disgusting, makes you gag, you'll be sick. Near the archery competition stood a young woman in a traditional deel serving up Airag. At her table was an attractive display of sugared dried curd, apparently Mongolians' favorite munchie. Mostly I think it tastes like a slightly sour colorless chunk that's as hard as a rock! Along side the dried curd sat a verrrry large punch bowl and ladle along with a couple bowls the size of cereal bowls that the Airag was served in. The punch bowl held a watery white liquid: fermented mare's milk.
Hey! It's Nadaam. I'll never pass this way again! I took a tiny sip. Not horrible. Just like a very sour plain yogurt. I nibbled my curd and took another sip. Not great but I could see where people might enjoy it. But no point in pressing my luck so I handed my bowl back to the lady. She smiled, took it, topped off the bowl with more Airag and then passed the bowl directly on to the next Mongolian wanting a sip. AAAGH. it wasn't the Airag that bothered me, it was that I was drinking out of the same bowl as several hundred other people!!! But, as with the Airag itself, there was no problem. All part of Nadaam! Hopefully these few pictures will capture some of the spirit of this two day event.
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As I near the end of my nomadic adventures, I look forward to sharing a few final special memories.
