Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar (U.B.)

I had been to Ulaanbaatar in February of 2004 where it was 20 degrees below zero. This time, May, it was 60 degrees above.  The day I arrived, many of the young people were wearing shorts and tee shirts due to the summer like weather.

The Great Khan - Chinggis Khan. ( The Mongolians prefer this spelling )  Chinggis lived from approximately 1162 - 1227.  His armies conquered Asia and at one point they were at the gates of Vienna, anticipating that Europe would soon be their next conquest.

The gateway to the Khan monument.

The great man himself.

Somehow the monument looks better in this photo.

Inside the monument are two museums and displays such as this.  The boot, as they proudly point out, is the largest boot in the world. Also shown is the Khan's horse whip.

For Mongols, finding a horse whip was the sign of great luck, Chinggis  found such a whip before his first great battle and as they say the rest was history.

Right below the monument was a gher camp. The gher is the Mongol traditional house, actually a large tent. It could be broken down and put on the back of a mule or horse to allow the ancient Mongols to continue their nomad ways.

These camps are used by the many tourists who have recently "discovered" Mongolia.  I met a couple,  in their late sixties,  part of a two bus convoy of folks in their late sixties, , who would stay at three different gher camps over their two week stay in different parts of the country.

Many Mongolians, outside the city,  now live in actual houses but still keep a gher next to the house.

Not all tourists were ready for the two week immersion trip into Mongolian culture. Like me, this guy was there for a day trip.

These tourists were on their way to the monument also and stopped to take photos.

Inside the city, Mongolians live in apartment houses and condos.  There are many new and  beautiful buildings in UB but I did not get a chance to photo in the newer part of the city. The reason: terrible traffic jams  that can turn a fifteen minute trip into a forty-five minute one.  Many new cars and new road construction to handle the increase cause  the problem.