Buddhism is the major religion in Mongolia, with strong ties to Tibetan Buddhism. The last few days have seen us go and visit some of the major Buddhist temples in the country, including one that sits at the city that was the heart of the Mongol empire.
Firstly, we were off to the Ongi monastery, which sits in the hills above the Ongi river, running in the south of the Gobi desert. It doesn't sound, or look, very desert-like, but our trip along the way showed us more of what we might have expected if the weather hadn't been so wet everywhere for the last couple of years. Naturally, we had to take some pictures to prove that the Gobi is really a desert!
Plus, we wanted to show an example of the "choose your own adventure" roads - if you don't like the path your own, choose (or make) another one!
The Ongi monastery used to house over 1000 monks, up until the onset of communism in Mongolia. The result of which was explosive charges and widespread destruction of temples around the country. The whole complex was pretty much destroyed, although the original entrance gates still stand. Doorways are an incredibly important part of Mongolian culture, and apparently the destruction of the temples on the site was manageable, but the soldiers jacked up at blowing up the gates on Ongi. There is a (slow) rebuilding plan, with some progress, but being far away and thus low in priority, it will take a long time before the site is returned to any semblance of its former glory. The pictures give an idea of how extensive the complex was, and having seen similar temples across Asia, it is a great shame that this one was wiped out.
The next day saw us at Kharkhorin which is the site of the ancient Mongolian capital of Karakorum. While there is not much left of the ancient city (just an archaeological dig), the Erdene Zuu temple complex there (which was part of the city) still exists. Although it is a similar story again, with large parts of it destroyed during the Communist era, although this time leaving several of the significant structures in place. It is a hugely popular attraction for both locals and tourists, with a large number of devout people visiting the temples for prayer and contemplation. The size of the area gives hints as to how impressive the complex was in its heyday, and it, in turn, formed a small part of the city of Karakorum.
The little museum there was fantastic, outlining the history of the Mongolian region from right back in the Stone Age. It also brought up a whole bunch of new places we want to go and see, which will sadly have to wait for another time. If you feel inclined, look up "deer stones", these are super interesting. The city was the centre of the Eurasian world for a period of time, and famous for its tolerant approach to all people and religions - it included mosques and Christian churches. There was also a fountain, made of silver and shaped as a tree with four spouts pouring mead, vodka, airag (fermented mare's milk), and wine. There were diplomatic envoys and relations with all the major countries/empires in the Eurasian world, and there's an amusing letter from Güyük Khan demanding Pope Innocent IV 's submission. Which he pretty much got.
Back in Ulaanbatur, we also visited the Gandan Tegchenling monastery, which is the home of Buddhism in Mongolia. Another impressive complex, which due to its size and location in the city was mostly converted to an army barracks during Communist rule, thus escaping the worst of the destruction visited on other sites. Not that there was no destruction there - most of the artifacts were taken and destroyed. It now has a modern temple, which is very impressive, along with several older structures, forming a Buddhist university, where students study different Buddhist practices. Gillian sneaked a forbidden photo inside one of the temples containing a massive statue of Buddha over 25 metres high. It was clearly an active place of worship with tour groups (and other tourist like us) clearly outnumbered by the devout who had come to pray.
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