Mongolia - The Main Mosque of Ölgii

 

When we had been in Ölgii (Mongolian Өлгий, Kazakh Өлгей) [1], we were also able to visit the main mosque of Ölgii,. I thought at first that the name Bas Mufti (Chief Mufti) had something to do with the mosque, but it's probably the name of a Muslim brotherhood or umbrella organization of which I haven't been able to find more data. Ölgii itself is the capital of the Bayan Ölgii Aimag (Mongolian Баян-Өлгий аймаг, Kazakh Баян-Өлгей аймағы), which is located in the extreme west of Mongolia and borders to both Russia and China. The city is located at an altitude of 1710 m. It also has an airport and, interestingly, there are not only flights to Ulaanbaatar or Ulaangom, but there are also irregular flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan. This has something to do with the fact that mainly Kazakhs live in this aimag and they are usually Muslims, which is why there are also some mosques there.

There used to be a mosque long ago, but not only Buddhism suffered during the Stalin era, Islam fared just as badly. The mosque was destroyed and the imams killed. During this period, Kazakhs were also forbidden to speak Kazakh. Today, in the Bayan-Olgii aimag, Kazakh is the language for everyday communication and Mongolian is used only for inter-ethnic interactions and official communication.

Besides the main mosque there are four more in Ölgii today. The mosque was built in the 1990ies. Women are also welcome in the mosque but should cover their hair. I met a very devout Muslim in the mosque who wanted to convert me right away. The mosque is blue and has slender minarets [2]. Inside it is stylishly designed.

But it still annoys me a bit that I couldn't find out more about the „Mongolian Muslim Societies Federation „Бас Мүфти“ Шашны Байгууллага“ [3].

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96lgii_(city)  Interestingly, the English Wikipedia article says the Kazakh form of Ölgii is Өлке, but I think the German article correctly states this as Өлгей -
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96lgii, also https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajan-%C3%96lgii-Aimag
[2] https://discover-bayanolgii.com/olgii-city/
[3] Searching on Google with БАС МҮФТИ leads to the Kazakh chief mufti.

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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