Mongolia: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture (Culture Smart!)

Mongolia: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture (Culture Smart!)

Alan Sanders

Language: English

Pages: 105

ISBN: 2:00357874

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Mongolia is landlocked between its neighbors China and Russia in the heart of Asia. For centuries after the disintegration of Genghis Khan’s empire it was ruled by one or the other, but in 1990 the Mongols embraced democracy. Now, after two centuries of Manchu stagnation and seventy years of Soviet communism, they are rebuilding their national heritage.
 
Rarely in the news but making progress toward a market economy, this resource-rich but infrastructure-poor country is a land of pioneers, and its greatest asset is the Mongol people, who are friendly, cooperative, ambitious, and well educated. English is now the first foreign language and the country’s leaders are forging new partnerships with international investors.
 
Travelers from across the world are drawn to the “land of blue sky” by its picturesque mountains and lakes, flower-carpeted steppes and stony deserts, home to the snow leopard, the wild horse and camel, and the Gobi bear. The broad pasturelands, with herds of grazing livestock, and the traditional lifestyle of the nomads contrast with the busy streets of the capital Ulan Bator, a bustling metropolis of over one million people, modern hotels, apartments, and shops, interspersed with Buddhist monasteries and temples, surrounded by crowded suburbs of traditional felt tents. Mongolia’s many attractions range from dinosaur skeletons and the remains of ancient civilizations to relics and reenactments of the Genghis Khan era, and the traditional sports of wrestling, archery, and horse-racing.
 
Culture Smart! Mongolia provides rare insights into contemporary Mongolian society, and offers practical tips on what to expect and how to conduct yourself in order to get the most out of your visit. Despite the undeniable challenges posed by modernity, these warm, tough, adaptable, and hospitable people welcome visitors and are open to the world.

Time Out New York (Time Out Guides)

China (DK Eyewitness Travel Guide)

Italy

China (12th Edition) (Country Travel Guide)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

top. When not on display it is stored at the Ministry of Defense. Seals The Khan’s seal was inscribed, “By the power of eternal heaven, the conveyed decrees of the Dalai Khan of the Great Mongolian State are to be worshiped and obeyed by all.” On appointment the prime minister and ministers are presented with their seal of office in an ornate box on a blue khadag, usually by their predecessor. Mongolian offices at all levels still attach great importance to seals (stamps), which are applied in

bring bad luck. Internally the ger is divided into the northern quadrant, where religious images and family photos are displayed on a cupboard, and the senior man and honored guests sit on stools at a low wooden table where food and drink are served. The western quadrant, the man’s, is where the herdsman keeps his saddle and tack and where the koumiss (airag) bag of mare’s milk is hung to ferment. The eastern quadrant, the woman’s, is where cooking utensils and household effects are stored. Next

Imperial Russian envoy to the Bogd Khan. chapter four MAKING FRIENDS ATTITUDES TOWARD FOREIGNERS From 1207 the expansion of Genghis Khan’s Mongol state brought the Mongols into conflict with neighboring nations in what is now northern China, including the Tangut (Xixia), Jurchen (Jin), and Qidan (Western Liao). Despite the Chinese names and reign titles from Chinese records, these were mixed tribal and settled peoples of Mongol, Turkish, or Manchu origin. Not being kin of the Mongols, they

taekwondo. Mongolia is proud of its Olympic sportsmen, who won three golds in the Beijing Olympics. There are fitness and sports clubs in the capital. Football (soccer) is popular, but largely non-participatory; fans know about British and European teams and leagues, and follow them in the popular media. The Mongols are proud of their nomadic tradition, even though true nomadism, as once practiced, is now limited to seasonal movements of livestock. Mongolian horses are more the size of ponies,

traditional Mongol clothing, hats, boots, saddles and riding tack, ger parts, and souvenirs. There are some coin and “antique” dealers, too. It’s sometimes very crowded, and thieves abound. ATTRACTIONS IN ULAN BATOR Genghis Khan Square (Chingisiin Talbai) Ulan Bator’s central square is dominated by a seated statue of Genghis Khan, set in the new multi-column south front of the State Palace, which houses the parliament, government, presidency, and the new national museum. At the center of the

Download sample

Download