Buuz are Mongolian steamed dumplings stuffed with meat, usually mutton. The dough is very chewy and hearty. They are delicious!
Mana pets his golden eagle. Eagles are used to hunt foxes, sheep, and wolves in Western Mongolia by the Kazakh people.
Photo by Lucas Beard.
I landed in Mongolia exactly one year ago today. Today I miss my camel friends.
P.S. Camels are better than you and they know it.
Bjambyn Rinchen was a Mongolian linguist reputed to have spoken 16 different languages. He was sentenced to death during Mongolia’s early communist period for loudly opposing replacing the traditional Mongolian writing system with Russian-style cyrillic. However, because he was well-known internationally, the sentence was never carried out.
He claimed he was once asked if he was God by a small child in Prague. With that beard, I believe it. :)
J. Gerel feels sorry for the 12000 trees that have been removed from Gachuurt Mountain by illegal loggers. He has promised to carve 2500 tree stumps into rabbits so the disappeared trees can express themselves.
According to a recent United States State Department report, the only item American president Barack Obama kept for himself out of $250,000 of gifts given to him by foreign heads of state in 2011 was a copy of this book, which was given to him by Mongolian president Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
The controversial book documents the ideas conquered European lands got from the Mongolian Empire, such as the morin khuur leading to the invention of the violin, Ulugh Begh’s astronomical maps, paper money, roads built for trading, and religious tolerance.
This morin khuur (traditional Mongolian stringed instrument) is made of carved wild goat bone, with horse hair strings. It took B.Altanchimeg over a year to collect and carve the bones.
April 9th, Tsatsral Erdenebileg broke the world record for holding the “Marinelli bend” for two minutes and thirty four seconds, supporting herself with her teeth. My teeth hurt just looking at this.
The previous record, 50 seconds, was held by a different Mongolian contortionist, Oyungerel Luvsandorj. Mongolia has several schools that teach contortion, and it is a well-respected art form there.
