At the Teacher Training Institute in Arkhangai

Working on the generator

A family's felt and spinning workshop in a ger

Whispering wishes

We climbed to the temple on a hill at the edge of the city.

At the rock

Rock painting - look closely

Our picnice by the river

Cooking

I woke early and as I left my ger for the bathroom, I saw this rainbow!

The source of the hot springs

This building houses a generator for the ger camp. It is made of bottles! All the necks are visible inside....

A few miscellaneous pictures from the car on our trip there and back....

This is the view of Erdene Zuu monastery from a hill across the way. The turtle below marks one corner of the ancient capital, and the other turtle is at the far back corner of the monastery

Apparently, some young monks were sowing wild oats, so the older monks decided to teach them a lesson. One monk was emasculated and this "monument" was erected to remind all of their vows!

When a favorite horse dies, many bring the head in honor to this special place.

Entering the Erdene Zuu monastery.

Good news - just after I posted the last blog, Oyunaa, with whom I went to Arkhangai, sent me three pictures from her phone! To the left, Oyunaa is riding a yak and the famous rock is in the background.

Above is our picnic by the river. And to the left is Monkhsaikhan and me at our ger camp at the Hot Springs.

At least you can see some of the landscape, and some of my new friends.

Not to worry, I haven't stopped having excellent adventures, but I haven't been able to get my latest pics out of my camera and onto my computer. So, I want to share my latest trip to Arkhangai Aimag, and hopefully, the pics will follow soon.
I was invited to the Teacher Training Institute to deliver several lectures. So, we set out on Thursday morning and stopped on the way at Erdene Zuu Monastery. This monastery sits on the site of Kharkhorin, the ancient capital of Mongolia. Chinggis Khan founded the city to be the capital not just of Mongolia, but of the world! It was a large city, "protected" on four corners by stone turtles (2 remain). The capital eventually moved to Beijing, and later, the Chinese invaded and burned the city. Some few hundred years later, a monstery was built on the site, using the burned bricks of the ancient city. The monastery stands today, with some added, newer, buildings. The monastery is ringed by 108 stupas - each containing precious items. One of the turtles is not far outside the boundary. A wonderful place to visit. We also went up the mountain to a memorial that depicts the comparison of the size of Mongolia at three different times in history, the largest, of course, during Chinggis Khan's reign. We went up the mountain on the other side of the road and saw the 2nd turtle - quite a way off.

Including this stop, we arrived at our destination 12 hours later. Turns out there was no electricity in the area from 7am to 8pm each day! A generator was rounded up, fixed, hooked up and the lectures went off without a hitch all day Friday....in the evening we climbed yet another hill, to yet another temple - wonderful views of this beautiful town set among mountains and forests.

On Saturday, we started with a trip to a rock that comes with several legends - take your pick, but it is actually the last part standing of mountains and it has over 100 ancient rock drawings on it. Then, a picnic next to the river. Then, off to the Hot Springs where we stayed overnight at a ger camp. The camp boasted two pools of naturally hot water. And, a most gorgeous setting.

Good walking on Sunday, and then back to town after lunch....a stroll through town, dinner with new friends.

Monday was the ride back to UB...9 hours. Another great experiences - lots of new friends, and the chance to see another part of Mongolia. Keep your fingers crossed that you'll be able to see the pics from this trip - then you'll see the beauty for yourself!

This morning as I walked to a meeting, I took pictures of the Greening of Mongolia! So different, so lovely - the last slide is the canal just beside my apartment building, now a grazing space for sheep and goats....love to listen to them.

I was invited to go to Dornod Aimag to speak at the Dornod Institute. Dornod is the easternmost aimag / province in Mongolia, and the Institute is affiliated with the Teacher's School. So, of course, I said, "Yes!"

After being picked up at the airport, we went to this memorial to Russian pilots who were killed in the war with Japan. The hill offers a view of Choibalsan, the main city in Dornod. The memorial contains the names of the pilots, and they are, in fact, buried at the base of the hill.

I was greeted by Ariunaa, the Director of the Training Division; Sugi, the Senior Specialist in the Training Division; and the Head of the Math Department.

Batsetseg is an English teacher, provided translation along with Sugi, and gave me a walking tour of the city.

We worked two very full days! Lots of information, but an incredibly attentive audience. Of course, I made them work!!!!

Two highlights in the city are the Youth Park, and the Wrestling Palace. The only other Wrestling Palace in Mongolia is in UB.

On Tuesday evening, after a quick dinner, Odmandakh, the Director of the Institute, took me to the archery park. He is an avid archer, and his group was preparing for a competition. He posed with a now 73-year-old women who is a three-time Mongolian archery champion. She is still sharing her skills with the next generation.