Bayan Olgii
The westernmost Aimag in Mongolia is very different from the others. In this province of roughly 100,000 people and about 1.5 million heads of livestock most people are of Kazakh descent, and speak their own language. The culture is quite unlike the rest of Mongolia. Therefore, this Aimag warrants a separate page. I took the pictures on a trip we did through the province in February of 1997.
Khargantiin River, Tsengel Soum
Typical arid landscape in Mongolia's westernmost Soum. To the right is a successful willow plantation, which produces firewood. Although there are some trees, much of the Aimag is treeless.
Road from Olgii to Tsengel
Much of Bayan-Olgii is mountainous. In fact, Mongolia's highest mountain, Khuiten Uul (4374 m), lies on the border of Bayan Olgii and China.
Camels near Tsast Uul
Camels are a common sight in Bayan-Olgii. They are well adapted to the arid climate of the province. Since privatization, herd size has increased significantly. According to Soum officials we spoke to, it was increasing 5% per year in many areas. If the increase is not stemmed, then many areas will be affected by overgrazing soon. Already there are numerous severely overgrazed areas around the country.
Olgii, Aimag capital
With 25,000 people this is a reasonable sized town. It is a typical Mongolian town with apartments and some old industry, long shut down. What sets it apart from the other towns are the absence of gers in town: many of the residents live in traditional flat-roofed twig and mud houses. As a result one'd think that one was in a middle eastern country rather than Mongolia.
Town Square, Olgii
Not much has changed in downtown Olgii since Socialist days. The buildings still look much the same as before 1990, when entering the provincial building (right) you are greeted by the busts of Lenin and Sukhbaatar, and even the socialist slogans along the square are still legible.
Aimag museum, Olgii
The museum in Olgii is well worth a visit. It boasts a wide range of cultural artifacts and pictures of days gone by, as well as a collection of stuffed animals.
Lunch with Protected Area Staff, Tsengel Soum
Much like in middle eastern countries lunch is served
in a communal bowl, from which everyone eats. The food is more middle
eastern too. I had the best bread I ever ate in Mongolia at this meal.
Kazakhs look more Turkish than Mongolian, and they are Muslim rather
than Buddhist. Since 1991 Islam is making a comeback again in Bayan-Olgii.
During the past years many Kazakhs have been moving back to Kazakhstan,
but there the economy is not much better than in Mongolia. Hence quite
a few people have come back to Mongolia again.
Hunter with eagle, Tsengel Soum
Eagle hunting is getting rare, but there are still some hunters who keep eagles. The hunter carries the eagle on a special perch on his horse. Once on the hunting grounds, the eagle is released to catch prey.
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