Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Take A Once In A Lifetime Journey With Mongolian Tours

By Cornelia Reyes


When people think of Mongolia, aside from the name Ghengis Kahn, few have any real idea what the place is like. The last century has seen it as an isolated nation where few westerners ever went, especially during the Russian occupation. Mongolian tours can open an exotic, fascinating window in the past one will always remember.

The location of Mongolia, a land locked nation nestled between Russia and China, resulted in a history of conflict and many occupations by both neighbors. Mongolia as a nation began with the rule of Genghis Kahn and represented a period when Mongolians ruled. One key to his power and success was getting the many separate clans united for the first time, not always peacefully.

A completely landlocked nation, it is far from any moderating sea and so experiences a brutal continental climate, where the temperature variation can be over 90 degrees in one day. The humidity is almost always very low, in the single digits, except on the rare occasion when it rains. It enjoys sunshine with over 76 percent of cloudless days each year, yet the lengthy cold and high altitude leave little arable land so vegetable are rare.

There are cities throughout the country with the capital, Ulaan Baatar, being by far the largest and most significant. It was given its current name, which means Red Hero, following the communist triumph in 1924. This began the Soviet influence, square buildings and heat infrastructure transmitting steam for heat quiet inefficiently in exposed over-ground pipes.

The major religion is Tibetan Buddhism which was the religion from ancient times, but during the period of Soviet occupation was all but eliminated. The Russians went after practitioners with a passion, and as many as 50,000 people lost their lives, yet they left one monastery open to demonstrate their tolerance. Golden statues of the Buddha were taken back to Russia and melted down.

When the people get together on a number of occasions during the year, they hold festivals, none larger than the summer games called Nadaam. Horse racing, archery and Wrestling are the primary sports, with this style of wrestling being the origin to Japanese Sumo. Not only did Sumo originate here, the highest ranked Sumo wrestlers in Japan have been from Mongolia.

Eating in Mongolia can be interesting, though there are restaurants in the capital, anywhere else one is likely to have access only to mutton and a number of dairy products produced from their animals. Owing to their genetic makeup and the lack of arable land, vegetables are rarely eaten. Although they are quite creative in the products they can make from their herds, meat is dominant.

It is a rare opportunity to visit a nearly unspoiled culture that lives the same today as it has for generations. No country is completely without an impact from the industrial revolution, and the capital city of Mongolia is testament to that, but taking Mongolian tours provides an insight few have gained and the trip will be a memory for a lifetime.




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