Mongolia – Staying in the Ger

 

Typical ger in a ger camp (entrance)

When you want to travel in Mongolia, outside Ulaanbaatar, then you most probably stay in ger camps as there are hardly any hotels. And in even more remote areas you will have to pitch your tent.

Gerhard Wilhelm Robert Kirsch (1925-2020) at about 91 years

Ger is a word with associations for Germans as GER is used in international sports to mark German athletes or teams. Ger is a germanic word for spear, which has survived in names like my father's given name – Gerhard. But in Mongolia ger (гэр) means something most people in the west would call yurt. There are yurts in use all over Central Asia, they differ even in structural aspects, but these differences are likely to be missed by tourists.

Ger for tourists - clearly furnished

Ger in a ger - a model

The biggest yurt is in Turkmenistan, where some strange, oversized buildings or structures may be seen, which have as the main purpose to make the country appear in the Guinness Book of Records. In Ashgabat you may look at a flagpole [1] or the world's largest indoor Ferris wheel [2]. The world's largest yurt may be seen 10 km west of Mary in Turkmenistan [3].

Gers of nomads out in the open landscape

The tradional ger is also different to the ones used as traveller's accommodation. I'll have a much closer look to the ones used by modern nomadic herders, when I'll write about this topic. The ger usually has interior posts supporting the crown to support the roof; this is one of the differences to other kind of yurts. The round form is structured by a latticework of wood to which poles for the roof are attached, ending at the crown. The outside is covered with felt and maybe the roof is covered with canvas. There's also a doorframe and a door, which traditionally points to the south [4]. The north has the family shrine, the west is for males/husband and east for females/wife. In the middle there is a stove, also in the tourist version as even early or late during the season it might get cold. Most people use wood nowadays.

Interior of a ger - details

How is staying in a ger? Much quieter than staying in a hotel as you are far from noisy surroundings. Using public toilets, sinks and showers isn't for everyone. I liked staying at ger camps!

There are also gers in Ulaanbaatar

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/search/label/Turkmenistan The flagpole had to yield honor to appear in the Guinness Book of Records to a flagpole in Baku, Azerbaijan.
[2] https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2014/10/turkmenistan.html  
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt As mentioned under [2] I couldn't see this yurt like structure as travelling to the north with other insights to Turkmenistan. The Wikipedia article has chador for yurt, but chador (2.) means tent, and yurt is yurt (1.) in Farsi, too. Interestingly Hungarians use yurta as a scientific term, but would use sátor for all kinds of tent-like dwellings. I'd like to know the etymologies of the Indo-European chador and the Finno-Ugric sátor.
[4] https://www.theyurtproject.nl/en/is-het-een-ger-or-yurt/   

(1.) یورت
(2.) چادر
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Fußball und Flagge

Hausfront in Köln

Nichts scheint so zusammen zu gehören wie Fußball und Flagge. Ich habe nichts gegen Nationalismus, jedenfalls den normalen, aber das, was sich regelmäßig bei Fußball Weltmeisterschaften zu, missfällt mir doch sehr. Es ist dieser übertriebene Nationalismus. Es sind diese Orgien an Flaggen.

Ich kann dem Fußball sowieso nicht viel abgewinnen. Verglichen mit Handball, Basketball oder Eishockey handelt es sich doch um ein ziemlich lahmes Spiel; noch schlimmer ist nur American Football. Weshalb also der hohe Stellenwert? Weshalb so viele Emotionen? Weshalb so viel Aggression?

Berührt es mich, dass gerade die Nationalmannschaft gegen die Mannschaft aus Mexiko verloren hat? Nein. Die bessere Mannschaft soll gewinnen. War die Mannschaft von Mexiko die bessere? Wahrscheinlich, denn sie hat ja ein Tor geschossen und die deutsche Mannschaft hat kein Tor für sich verbuchen können. Ich hatte ein Buch gelesen, als das Spiel lief, aber später war ich in Köln unterwegs. Die Stimmung sagte schon etwas über das Ergebnis aus. Ist nun Volkstrauer angesagt? Warum lassen sich Millionen Menschen den Abend versauen? Wegen eines Fußballspiels. Und wegen eines falsch verstandenen Nationalismus.

Im Wort Fußballspiel findet sich Spiel. Spielen bedeutet, sich aus Freude an einer Sache zu betätigen. Das geht verloren, wenn aus Spiel Ernst wird.

Ich habe diesem Blogpost eine Flagge vorangestellt. Gigantomanie! Warum nicht gleich ganze Häuser in Flaggen verpacken? Übrigens sind die größten Flaggen in Zentralasien bzw. dem Kaukasus zu sehen. Also mit 2000 m² könnte man schon ein Haus verpacken. Für das Reichstagsgebäude in Berlin benötigte Christo nicht ganz 110.000 m².

Und was ist, wenn die Fußballmannschaft von Deutschland Weltmeister wird? Es hat schon Schlimmeres gegeben.

Flaggenmast in Aschgabat (Turkmenistan),

Höhe 133 m, die Flagge ist 2000 m² groß

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White Wedding in Central Asia

Since a visit to Guangzhou (广州), where I've watched the steady come and go of newly weds with their photographer from sitting at a Starbucks sipping at my coffee, I am interested in the phenomenon. And I've seen people taking white wedding photographs all over the world.

Lining up for photographs

A happy couple waiting for their turn

Doesn't this happy woman make your day?

 Needless to say I looked out, when and where couples were to be seen. Oh, Turkmenistan. I nearly forgot Turkmenistan. It's forbidden in Turkmenistan to take photographs of weddings, at least tourists aren't allowed to take pictures. Besides the streets of Ashgabat are as empty as a ghost town.

But already in Khiva, the first town I've visited in Uzbekistan, I could see, that white weddings are en vogue in Uzbekistan.

Wedding planning in Khiva

Wedding photography near Lyabi Hauz in Bukhara

Then it took a while until I chanced upon a white wedding, but I saw a couple in Tashkent, who was nice enough to let me take the photograph: it had been pitch dark and the flash wasn't as good as needed, I have to admit.

Wedding in Tashkent

In Kyrgyzstan couples go to Freedom Square (commemorating World War II) to place some flowers at the monument have their pictures taken.

Freedom Square with the Yurt

A couple with the photographer taking a video

You will notice that also the white wedding is established in the Muslim world, at least in Central Asia.

Transportation in Central Asia

Central Asia has all the modern forms of transport and I'll also show some of these, but even more interesting are the more traditional form that have survived there. In the West we'll might have to use these again in a few decades.

Trucks and Tractors

You can see all kind of trucks, ultra modern and some that had already seen better days.

And the kind of tractor, you need a traktorist for.

That's a truck in the Kyzyl Kum - good Tyres!

A tractor in Kyrgyzstan

This one is used at a cotton plantation in Uzbekistan

Trains

On several occasions I could see trains. I shouldn’t have taken pictures, but here are some.

Driving through the desert

Guarded railroad crossing en route to Tashkent

Trains in Kazakhstan

Metro

The metros of Tashkent and Almaty resemble the metros in Kiew, Pyongyang and of course Moscow. In Tashkent it's forbidden to take pictures in the underground. In Almaty one cannot take pictures of the ticket (better token) booth, but the young women in there looked like in the song "Lovely Rita" by the The Beatles. I thought it strange that they have to wear uniform to sell tokens.

Deep down below the surface, though not as deep as in a coal mine

To give you an idea on the token sellers

Nice, clean, not much traffic

Interior view

Metro entrance near the university in Tashkent

Trams

Almaty also has a tram service.

Trolleys

Bishkek and Almaty have trolleys.

Donkey carts and horse carts

Donkey carts and horse carts are heavily in use in rural areas.

Even in bigger cities!

Odds and ends

There are some means of transportation, that shouldn't be omitted.

Stretch limos are in use!

A tricart

Porters with carts at the bazaar

It doesn't seem to be very heavy

Burial and Memorial of the Dead

While looking at my pictures from the trip through Central Asia, I was thinking about the many forms of burials and honouring the dead that I had seen.

There were burial mounds, all kinds of graves, sarcophagus, mausoleums, and even more, if you differentiate between certain kind of burial practices. One form is the second burial; after decomposition the bones are put into an ossuarium or small bone coffins. Burial mound are typical for the Neolithic Period and Early Bronze Age; I was able to see some kurgans. And the balbals, and so on.

My first encounter has been watching the pilrims at Seyit Jamal Addin in Anau, Turkmenistan.

Pilgrims praying at Seyit Jamal Addin

Pilgrims walking around the coffin like structure

Please look here for more on Seyit Jamal Addin:

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2014/10/seyit-jamal-addin-in-anau.html

In Khiva I've visited the Sayid Alauddin Mausoleum, which is small and unobtrusive. It dates back to 1310.

The tiles of the sarcophagus are of the 19th century. There is an imam praying on request, who alwqays overlooks the scene, but still people throw money into the closed area for good fortune, which they shouldn't do.

  

The imam prays or better recites verses from the quran over the bread, which is supposed to absorb the good energy and is eaten later.

As I have seen quite a lot of mausoleums, I won't show all of them. But it would be a shame not to mention the Ismail Samani Mausoleum. It is the oldest building of Bukhara, having been erected in 905. It is made of terracotta and the walls two meters thick at the base. Ismail Samani was the founder of the Samanid dynasty (AD 819-999), who reigned from 892-907. This form of mausoleum is also called türbe. Its' architecture recalls the Zoroastrian fire temple or chanar taq.

Ismail Samani Mausoleum

Exterior details

Interior details

Samarkand has the Shah-i-Zinda, the avenue of mausoleums. It would be worth while to linger on the the different mausoleums as there are lots of stories concerned.

Some details of an entrance 

A view at the more open stretch of the avenue

I couldn't refrain from taking this lady's picture, who seems to have found the right dress matching the tiles.

Details of the magnificent tile work

Tiles have to be constantly replaced - somehow like cells in the human body

Another overview

View of the modern cemetry of Samarkand

And now to something completely different - a cemetry of a German community in Kyrgyzstan. The community used to be Mennonites, but joint the Baptists as the number of people was dwindling after they were allowed to move to Germany.

Some grave of the Mennonite community

Love cries, believe comforts.

Near the Burana tower in Kyrgyzstan (near the small town Tokmok) one can look at the field covered with balbals, totem-like stone markers of graves. Balbal means grandfather or father. These balbals were made around the 6th to 10th century.

In the museum one can see terracotta coffins for bones, also called ossuaries. The Sogsians also had a word for ossuary: tanbar. After decomposition the bones were places in the ossuary and then stored or disinterred.

Balbal

Balbals

Terracotta coffin for bones / Ossuary

I also could a mordern graveyard along the road to Karakol at Issyk Kol. You can see more elaborated tombs and yurt-like structures. Tombs are thought to house and protect the dead.You can also see the influence of shamanism despite Islam being the acccepted religion. Shamans still play an important role in the rural/seminomatic communities.

Kyrgyz graveyard

Another gave - the star points to military.

Further along the road I was able to see a kurgan in a lonely region. The Kurgans were a seminomadic pastoralist culture, who buried their dead in deep shafts within artificial burial mounds, also called barrows.

Kurgan

A lonely herdsman approaching

At Tamgaly in Kazakhstan I saw the typical graves, where people have been buried in the fetal position.

More on Tamgaly, lplease look here: http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2014/10/petroglyphs-at-tamgaly.html

Graves at Tamgaly