After that we went over to a statue of a turtle made of soap stone weighing several tons. It was erected at the entrance to Kara Korum in the days of Chinggis Kahn and left behind when Kubla Kahn took the government to Beijing. Now it sits outside the walls of the Erdene Zuu Monastery.

Stone Turtle



From there we were invited by a family near the monestary to have tea. Upon entering the ger we had to walk clockwise around the inside to reach the place where we were going to sit. Here we begin to get a lesson on some of the traditions regarding these dwelling places of the Mongolian people.

The door of the ger always faces south. This is because the winter winds come from the north and also the Chinese live to the south. If they were going to be attacked by the Chineses they would be able to see them coming. Inside the ger toward the back and on the west side is where guests sit. In the back of the ger is where elders sit and the families treasures are kept. On the back wall is the family altar where family photographs and statues or pictures of Buddha are kept.

An old woman was sitting on a bed fingering religious beads. She was probably the mother of the lady of the house. We sat down on wooden chairs that were orange in color with ornate designs painted on them. There was a stove in the middle of the ger and a table with drawers next to it.

When we came in one of the younger girls who was present started taking bowls out of the drawers at the table next to the stove. Then other girls produced tea in thermoses from somewhere. Then they started pouring the tea into the bowls and handing them to us. When recieving tea it is customary to accept it with both hands or with the right hand. Never with the left hand. The tea was milk tea. The taste of it was strange to my pallet. It had the smell of animal. I drank all of it with no complaint. Then we had a little conversation with the lady of the house with Baskar interpreting. I was asked if I had seen the monestary and they wanted to know my opinion of it. I told them that it was very beautiful. A great place.

Before we left I gave them a postcard of my hometown.

The Ger



Inside the Ger



Since our camp was not far away we decided to walk back rather then take the jeeps. On the way I asked Baskar why the people didn't plant gardens since there was plenty of land. He told me that it was inconvienant for these people to have gardens because they were nomads and were constantly moving around. They stay in one place only long enough for their animals to eat all the grass in the area. Then they leave to greener pastures. They never stay long enough in one place to to reap the benefits of growing things.

As we were walking we came across a mother yak with her baby and other animals. Then we came upon a ger. There was a pen of goats outside and a woman with her son were milking them. She would hold the goat between her legs and squeeze the utters to get the milk out. When she was finished milking one her son would get another and put it in front of her. Outside of the pen her other son was shearing wool off of sheep. We watched them for awhile. They smiled and we took pictures. Then we continued down the hill. Baskar pointed out a river in the distance where he said people would catch a large type of fish at certain times of the year. He didn't have the English to explain exactly what kind of fish but I believe he was talking about sturgeon. The same kind of fish that the Russians extract caviar out of.

Woman Milking a Goat