Life in the Countryside
Herders camp near Mt. Otgontenger, Zavhan Aimag
Sheep are Mongolia's most important livestock. Most herders are nomadic and usually move four times a year, once each season. Their staple food is meat, in summer supplemented by a variety of diary products. Vegetables are rare, as the herders usually do not have gardens.
Herder catching a foal with an urga
Horses are as important to Mongolians as they are to North American cowboys. Children learn to ride when they can barely walk.
Khorkhog (Mongolian barbeque), Tuv Aimag
A popular way of cooking meat is putting hot rocks in a large container, adding mutton and some water, and closing it tightly for several hours. The meat, served in large chunks, gets very tender. The fat, which is drunk hot while it is still liquid is for the real mutton fan only... This is the real Mongolian barbeque, a far cry from the so-called Mongolian grill restaurants that have spring up in the west.
Wheat fields in winter, Tuv Aimag
In the Socialist days there were many large State wheat farms in the country. They used a crop rotation system, in which the field was divided into strips; half the strips were planted one year, the other half left fallow. The following year the strips were switched. This technique is often used in Canada too. Still, yields were low and costs high. Many of these farms were not sustainable, and after the fall of communism many collapsed. Now the few farms that remain have to compete against subsidized wheat imports...
Downtown Darvi, Khovd Aimag
Darvi is a Soum centre in Khovd Aimag (province). It used to have electricity, central heating, several stores, and extensive social services such as a hospital and school. But since the collapse of the communist regime in 1990, smaller towns have experienced difficult times. Buildings and roads cannot be maintained, cooperatives have collapsed, and social services have been suspended. If there are still stores, they only carry stock the most basic supplies. In many places electricity and heating have been cut off because local government and/or users could not pay their bills. As a result life outside Ulaanbaatar is hard.
Reminder of past glory - traffic light at Khandgait, Tuv Aimag
Throughout the country you find remnants of the days when Soviet funds kept the country on its feet. Now especially outside Ulaanbaatar there is no money for upkeep, so traffic lights, street lanterns, and even public buildings are left to rust and rot away.
Kindergarten, Zuunmod, Tuv Aimag
Under the Socialist system, education was free, and avaialable to all children, even in the most remote Soums. As a result, literacy reached nearly 100% throughout the country. But since 1990 funds have dried up, so teachers have left, parents could not afford new fees, schools have closed. Now the literacy rate is declining rapidly, as many parents can no longer afford to send their children to school.
Manchirhiid monastery, Tuv Aimag
Before communist times, Mongolia was one of the strongest Lamaist countries in the world. Until early this century, as many as half of all boys were sent to monasteries. However, Stalinist purges in the late 1930s saw most of the monasteries razed, and monks murdered or dragged off to Siberia. Manchirhiid used to be a large monastery, but aside from one small temple now only ruins remain. Since 1990 Bhuddism has experienced a revival, and many monasteries have been restored or rebuilt.
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