June 1st was National Children’s Day, a public holiday. It seemed like every child in Mongolia was out having fun that day. They were all dressed up, many of them like this little girl in traditional costume. The main square and Children’s Park resembled a huge carnival with rides for the kids and vendors selling toys and sweets.
We were watching the festivities when these two guys came racing down the main street on their horses, right through the crowd.
This is definitely not Mongolia, but a great picture of our sailboat Sundancer II out for a�sail in Semiahmoo Bay recently. Thanks Mike and Sally for keeping her in such great shape.
These immaculately turned out soldiers in the red and blue uniforms of the special battalion of the Mongolian Honour Guard were on parade at an Army Graduation Ceremony in Sukhbaatar Square.
Great photo opportunites everywhere
We see this guy and his eagle sitting by the road almost every day during the tourist season. For 1000 Tugrugs (about $1) you can hold the bird and take pictures.
“The Four Yakmen of the metropolis” We saw these men riding along the highway just outside the city on our way to Terelj - not your average morning commute.
There are lots of statues around the city, many of them of Russian heros from the Communist era, but this has to be the most unusual. We’re told that the building behind it is a Womens Clinic, how appropriate!
Today we went over to the Naadam stadium and watched the traditional archers, practicing and competing in the weeks prior to the big Naadam festival.
Note the jovial look on the archers firing……………. now look at the second picture, these guys are standing at the targets judging and then picking up the arrows. This has got to be the most unsought after job in Mongolia.
Like horse racing, the sport of archery originates from the warring era, starting from around the 11th century.
Archers use a bent composite bow made of layered horn, bark and wood. Usually, arrows are made from willows and the feathers are from vultures and other birds of prey.
Traditionally dressed male archers stand 75m from the target, while women archers stand 60m from it. The target is a line of up to 360-round gray, red and/or yellow leather rings (known as sur) on the ground. Usually there are only about 20 or 30 rings. After each shot, special judges who stand near the target (but miraculously never get injured) emit a short cry called a uukhai, and raise their hands in the air to indicate the quality of the shot. The winner who hits the targets the most times is declared the best archer, or mergen.
This is our construction project, taken about a month ago. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Harris). The group of gers situated on the roof of the building to the left of the picture, close to the river is “Camp Kiwi” - our on-site accomodation.
The aerial photo below was taken in the summer of 2004 (Photo by L. Chinbat). Its from a different angle but a comparison shows some of the old buildings demolished and new wings added. This picture was taken mid summer when the countryside turns a lush green for a few short months.
Many people here can’t afford cellphones, and this is the solution. The phoneset that the lady is holding contains a cellphone, on which people can make their calls for a fee. These phone ladies can be seen all over the city, in all kinds of weather, and appear to do a brisk trade.
A couple of weeks ago we were out for a walk in Sukhbaatar Square - UB’s equivalent of Red Square, and came across a wedding party. This picture shows the beautiful pearl trimmed hat and lavish brocade costume which are typical of the national dress.
Powered by WordPress
