Mongolia - Erdene Khambiin Khiid or Erdene Khamba Monastery in Khogno Khan National Park

There is little reliable information about the Erdene Khamba Monastery or Erdene Khambiin Khiid (Эрдэнэ хамбын хийд), also known as Ovgon-Khiid (Өвгон хийд), and certainly there is no entry on Wikipedia [1]. The remains of the monastery are located at the foot of the Khögnö Khan Mountains and belong to the Khogno Khan National Park (Хөгнө Хан) [2], about 60 km east of Kharkhorin (Хархорин) or 240 km west of Ulaanbaatar. It makes sense to look at this site on Google Maps, look up the link [3], because only a few buildings have been rebuilt, some ruins can be visited and you can also see the foundations of other buildings. The main monastery was supposed to be in another valley, but I couldn't find any foundations there. To the east and south-east are ger camps across the hills and then very large areas of agricultural land.

Zanabazar had the monastery built in honor of his teacher, the Lama Erdene. I don't think Lama Erdene was also the eponym for Erdene Zuu (Эрдэнэ Зуу хийд; own topic). Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar (өндөр гэгээн Занабазар) lived from 1635 to 1723 and was the religious leader of Lamaism, more specifically of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia [4], and he also has been the secular leader. Zanabazar is known for his bronze sculptures or the development of the Soyombo script [5]; overall he was a prodigious sculptor, painter, architect, poet, costume designer, scholar and linguist. Zanabazar did not want to submit to the Manchu, so a war broke out in which this monastery, like others, was destroyed in 1688. So far the older history. It was rebuilt and monks lived there again. In 1937, as part of Stalinist purges, the monastery was destroyed again and 20 monks were executed.

However, one of the lay monks survived and, before his death, made his wife promise to rebuild the monastery. Wife, then daughter and now granddaughter have taken this promise seriously and repaired some buildings. They did it with great affection and attention to detail. Erdene Khamba Monastery had two sections: the lower one called the Zaluu Khiid (Залуу хийд), and the upper one called the Ovgun Khiid (Өвгон хийд) [6]. Both can be visited and photographed inside. The path to the upper section is steep and to say it requires a little mountaineering experience is more than the German „schrittsicher“ means. It's worth while getting there, but be careful where you put your feet.

Links and Annotations:
[1] As of 14.09.2022!
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khogno_Khan_National_Park
[3] https://www.google.de/maps/search/Khogno-Khan/@47.4259295,103.6947647,625m/data=!3m1!1e3
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanabazar  
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyombo_script You can see the script on the Mongolian flag.
[6] http://www.touristinfocenter.mn/en/cate1_more.aspx?ItemID=72

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