10 Interesting facts about Mongolia
- Mongolia ruled the largest empire in the world called Ikh Mongol between the 13th and 14th centuries: Yuan Dynasty, Golden Horde, Il Khanate, and Chagaatai Khanate.
- The First Mongolian Bogd Khaan, Undur Gegeen Zanabazar (1635-1723) was an amazing artist and scholar. He is known in the Western Buddhist Art Community as the Asian Michelangelo.
- In 1921 Mongolia became one of the socialist countries.
- In 1990, Mongolia opened its door to the West and embraced the more democratic society with a market driven economy.
- Mongolia has more animals than human beings. It has over 60 million livestock and 3.2 million people.
- Mongolian nomads have developed a number of unique dairy products “white food” (tsagaan idee), which includes different types of yoghurt (tarag, aarts); cottage cheese (byaslag); dried curds (aaruul); and fermented mare’s milk (airag).
- A Mongolian traditional home is called a yurt or ger and can be built in just two hours.
- Mongolia is home to the horse fiddle, long song, throat singing, bielgee dance, and folk tales that can continue for a day.
- Mongolia produces 30% of the world’s cashmere wool.
- Hakuho, from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is known for his strength in the ring and his ability to anticipate his opponents’ moves: he is one of the top 12 Japanese Sumo wrestlers in the history.
Dawn in Mongolia was an amazing thing. In one instant, the horizon became a faint line suspended in the darkness, and then the line was drawn upward, higher and higher. It was as if a giant hand had stretched down from the sky and slowly lifted the curtain of night from the face of the earth. It was a magnificent sight, far greater in scale…than anything that I, with my limited human faculties, could fully comprehend.
― Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle