East and West

The view from a hike in the southern mountains
A monument to Soviet courage colored by the traditional blue of ovoos
Maggie circles the pile on our hike in the eastern mountains
A fire in the southern mountains burned for days and caused an eerie haze over the city and hills
Buddha blesses

Mongolia is often referred to as the most European nation in Asia. That's not hard to believe - French cafes, German bakeries and other western delights abound in UB. Maybe it's the lasting Soviet/Russo influence from the past century or the influx of western development aid which flooded the economy after 1991.

The East does prevail in UB, much because of the population's continued faith in Buddhism. About 90% of the nation identifies as Buddhist, while aspects of shamanism are also prevalent in society. We visited the Buddha above on a sunny Saturday, when many families where on hand to pay their respects. The Buddha stands at the foot of a holy mountain range, honored for gifts of courage and heroism to nomads. The tragedy of years of Soviet rule is that many holy relics and monasteries were destroyed in an effort to secularize the nation from 1911 to 1990.


Also pictured above are shaman ovoos, which are rock and ribbon offerings left to local spirits. Ovoos are a constant fixure in the Mongolian countryside and mountains. Tradition states that travelers and herders should toss a rock onto the ovoo as an offering, then walk around the pile three times clockwise while saying a prayer or making a wish. Shamanism became the unofficial religion of Mongolia after Chinggis Khan embraced the power and peace he found in wisdom from local shamans.

Chinggis knew a good thing. Every ovoo we come across feels like another traveler's blessing, urging us to go farther.