Mongolia on a horse

Road trip en Mongolie

Mongolie : balade équestre chez les Mongols

By Le Figaro Magazine

Journey to Mongolia

Very beautiful and ethereal

Journey to Mongolia from Artyom on Vimeo.

Lost World Mongolia

Incredible time lapse photography... 40 days, 100 000 photos...

Sedentarisation and climate change vs traditional herding

I think about this problem very often. The herders that used to lead a very decent life in the country, move to the city and live in cramped spaces in unsanitary conditions. That's no life.....
Desertification:

NO to mass tourism!

And YES to ecotourism. In my opinion, tourism has more cons than pros, especially in a country like Mongolia, where the ecosystem is very fragile and there are people that lead a lifestyle preserved for thousands of years. I remember reading somewhere that after the premiere of The Story of the Weeping camel, hordes of tourists arrived there to see the family that stars in the film. The family members were extremely tired of receiving a bunch of people in their home, being photographed and observed like some exotic animals. I can only imagine how stressful it was. Plus, because of the traditional hospitality and generosity of the Mongolians, they had to feed all those people and be nice to them , I suppose. So, I am posting this piece of news (in French) that talks about a French tourist agency that does ecotourism. The key to successful tourism is developing responsible tourism. Practice responsible tourism by bringing small groups of people and organizing no more than 1-2 visits to the same family of nomads per week. Respecting the local customs is also very important to preserve the culture. Educate the tourists... So, I wish all the tourist agencies behaved in an ethical manner, because they make money thanks to this culture and nature and if they disappear, so will their income.

This is a very beautiful praise song to Mongolia:

Gobi desert

Travelling with music.

Dancing in the desert. Excellent.....

Goviin Magtaal by Egschiglen. The lyrics of this song invite the listener to visit the desert and while visiting the desert to stay a while in a nomad's ger. Nice.

Camels and other furry creatures

I wanted to post this video, because there aren't enough camels in music videos, I think there should be camels in every video. Well, not really, but they are photogenic in their winter coat, aren't they? Having said that, I remember watching a documentary or something like that a few years ago, that said that after the 90s, the camel population decreased drastically because economically, it was more convenient to sell camel meat than to breed them for wool. People made more money selling camel meat khuushuurs than selling wool! :-/ Well, I hope the situation has changed, because the desert and the steppe wouldn't be the same without these magnificent animals. Speaking of disappearing animals, there are three Mongolian animals that fascinate me: the mazaalai, the khavtgai and the bankhar.
The mazaalai is the only desert bear in the world. It is believed that only 25-30 are left. View some video footage showing the mazaalai here
The khavtgai is the wild camel. An amazing animal that can survive drinking salt water (the domestic camel can't do that). Read about it here
The bankhar is the Mongolian mastiff. Started to disappear when the Russians arrived during the socialist period with thousands of dogs. My aunt had one when I was a kid and he recognized his owner's cattle, separating the cows that didn't belong there. Read about the dogs here
I found the photo on the internet but I don't know who took it.

A changing way of life

This documentary was so beautiful, I had to post it. It's in French, but the photography and scenery are so gorgeous, it's not necessary to understand French to enjoy it. "Rendez vous en terre inconnue", starring actor Bruno Solo who's visiting a nomadic family. In the end, the narrator wonders whether in 10 years, there still be nomads in Mongolia and whether the younger members of the family will resist the temptations of a consumerist society and stay in the country leading a nomadic way of life.

"Rendez vous en terre inconnue" en Mongolie
Cargado por jujumusic

Here are some movies that show the culture and a changing society (if you're into movies with explosions and action, they're not for you):

L'histoire du chameau qui pleure
Cargado por onadarkdeserthighway

The Story of a Weeping camel by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni (2003), my favorite

The Cave of the yellow dog by Byambasuren Davaa (2005) Both films have wonderful music

Khadak by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth

State of Dogs by Peter Brosens and Turmunkh Dorjkhand (1998) A film about reincarnation with harsh images of UB

Perpetuum mobile by Sakhya Byamba (2002) A quiet and minimalist film

Molom, conte de Mongolie by Marie Jaoul de Poncheville (1997)
This one is a beautiful gem of a film

The environment

The nomads have always lived in harmony with their surroundings. Whenever they moved the ger and their cattle to a different place, the custom was to leave the land as they'd found it, the only reminder of the months spent there was just the circular dry patch of land that was hidden under the ger and nothing else. They would protect water sources, since water can sometimes be scarce. They would take from nature only what was necessary. They would praise the land and mountains in songs and imitate the sounds of nature.

View a video about music and culture here
Today, the aggressive mining activity with mining companies drilling indiscriminately all over the place, poaching and illegal wood cutting are damaging the environment beyond repair. It makes me think, in a few years, when Mongolia becomes a country ravaged by desertification (most of the territory is menaced by it), with rivers polluted by toxic waste and wildlife in distress, what will happen to the nomadic culture? What will happen to music that was inspired by pristine nature and immense spaces where fences were non-existent?

Araatan by Altan Urag The phrase in the end reads: "Isn't man the most cruel of all animals?"
Visit the WWF Mongolia website