HISTORY
The history of Mongolia is dominated by the mythical stature of Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan for the mongols) who has the head of these hordes of wandering tribes reunified under its banner, conquered At the 13th century the vastest empire which the ground ever knew, cutting through has path of blood and fury of the Pacific Ocean to the heart of Europe.

Temudjin, its true name before being proclaimed Chinggis Khan, is quasi has divinity for Mongolian: it brought to them glory, the conquests and has code of conduct and organization. Its image is more than ever present in Mongolia of today although it was presented like has sanguinary barbarian by the official history during Communism. The savage wandering warriors of the steppes durably and painfully marked all the people which knew them closely gold by far, and to their conquering forwardings are reported since the 5th century before JC in the first Chinese writings.

This vast crucible hardware ground of high plateaus was the many tribes and civilizations, whose majority are little known. The last genetic studies thus confirmed that the amérindiens and the tribes of Siberia and the North of Mongolia cuts common origins.

The Mongolian steppes are also the cradle of terrible Huns and to their head Attila the plague of God who sowed panic grass in Christendom, to the fall of the Romain Worsens.

The Mongolian Worsens invincible ace for him will last only two centuries time that the warriors are not assimilated by conquered civilizations. The last three centuries history, less known is that of has Chinese supervision until the independence of 1920, then of has Russian supervision, before the democratization and the opening of the country in 1990.

MARCO POLO’S TRAVELS ALONG THE SILK ROAD
The Byzantine re-conquest of Constantinople in 1261, along with upheavals in the Mongol Empire, may have blocked their way home. Niccolò and Maffeo therefore turned east in order to trade in such things as silk, gems, furs and spices. After spending three years in Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, they were encouraged by a Mongolian embassy to visit Khubilai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, who controlled a huge swath of Asia. Khubilai quizzed them on European affairs and decided to send them on a goodwill mission to the pope. In 1269, the two brothers finally made it back to Venice, where Niccolò and Marco Polo met each other for the first time.

Two years later, Niccolò and Maffeo sailed to Acre in present-day Israel, this time with Marco at their side. At Khubilai Khan’s request, they secured some holy oil from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and then backtracked to Acre to pick up gifts, papal documents and two friars from newly elected Pope Gregory X. The friars quickly abandoned the expedition, but the Polos continued on, possibly by camel, to the Persian port city of Hormuz. Failing to find any boats to their liking, they instead took take a series of overland traders’ routes that, in the 19th century, would become known as the Silk Road. Over the next three years they slowly trekked through deserts, high mountain passes and other rough terrain, meeting people of various religions and cultures along the way. Finally, around 1275, they arrived at Khubilai’s opulent summer palace at Shangdu, or Xanadu, located about 200 miles northwest of his winter quarters in modern Beijing.

Khubilai, who generally relied on foreigners to administer his empire, took Marco Polo into his court, possibly as a tax collector. At one point, the Venetian was sent on official business to the port city of Hangzhou (then called Quinsai), which, like Venice, was built around a series of canals. Marco Polo also purportedly journeyed across inland China and into present-day Myanmar.

After many years of seeking a release from service, the Polos finally secured permission from Khubilai to escort a young princess to her intended husband Arghun, the Mongol ruler of Persia. In 1292 the Polos joined a flotilla of 14 boats that set out from Zaitun (now Quanzhou, China), stopped briefly in Sumatra and then landed in Persia 18 months later, only to find out that Arghun was dead. The princess was made to marry Arghun’s son. The Polos, meanwhile, stayed on with Arghun’s brother for nine months before heading to Venice via Trebizond (now Trabzon, Turkey), Constantinople and Negrepont (now Euboea, Greece). They arrived home in 1295, the year after Khubilai’s death sent the Mongol Empire into an irrevocable decline.

MONGOLIAN NOMADIC LIFESTYLE

For 3 000 years, the people of the steppes have adopted a pastoral way of life moving in the search of best pastures and campsites. They live by and for their livestock, in the forefront of which the horse undoubtedly was the first animal domesticated in these infinite meadows. 

Nomadic life thrives in summer and survives in winter. Considering climatic conditions, especially during winter, such lifestyle may seem to the outside world to be a very hard way of living. However, Mongolians have developed for centuries such qualities as strength and resilience that are essential for survival in this harsh nature, which is their cherished homeland. 

 

The number of nomads has significantly decreased over the last years. Nomads move to the capital city being compelled by the necessity to search for means of subsistence or attracted by city lights and perceived advantages of urban life. 

Traditionally, Mongolian nomads raise 5 species of livestock known as the 5 muzzles: horses, cows or yaks, sheep, goats and camels. Reindeers are raised by the Tsaatan people who live in the northwest areas around the lake Khovsgol bordering the Russian Siberia.

 

MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL DWELLING

Once you have stepped into a ger or yurt, and experienced the freedom of life within its circular space, or enjoyed a night's sleep within one, then you will know what it is like to get a sense of nomadic life, in a portable, highly individual and protective, and ultimately sustainable, ancient form of ecological architecture. 

These are made from canvas, felt, and wooden poles; materials that were once readily available locally. The felt, still sheared from a families animals, soaked, dyed, and beaten to bind it together, is the part of the dwelling that originates from the local area. Intricate designs on the doorway, internal supporting posts and roof crown (that the roof poles fit into and hold the structure up) represent ancient Mongolian beliefs -a mixture of ancient Shamanism with Tibetan-style Buddhism, the national religion.

Nomads all over the world have traditionally lived in moveable dwellings that can be assembled and disassembled quickly, stored, and then taken with them as they move their cattle to the next pasture. This ease of movement, lack of rootedness to one particular spot, dependent upon the needs of their animals, created the sense of living lightly upon the earth, having a very low ecological footprint upon it.

 

MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL CLOTHING

The traditional dress of the Mongols has a rich history spanning many centuries. It is closely connected with the Mongolian way of life and the country. The costumes are used in different situations; somebody rides on horseback over the steppe, he sits at home in his ger (yurt - round felt tent), or he dances at a national festival. The conditions of climate excert influence on the kind of dress, the costumes for the seasons of the year. In summer the Mongols wear a light coat or frock, the "Terleg" (deel - summer coat), in spring, autumn and winter a wadded coat (row cotton), the "Khovontei Deel", or a lambskin coat, the "Khurgan Dotortoi Deel", in winter they wear a sheepskin dress reminding of a fur coat, the "Tsagaan Nekhii Deel".

 

The Mongolian national costume is a robe like garment called a deel, that, like the Tibetan robe, has no pockets. The deel is worn with a thin silk sash several yards long tightly wound around the waist. Attached to the sash are essential objects such as the eating set, tinder pouch, snuff bottle, and tobacco and pipe pouches. Mongols, like the nomadic Tibetans and Manchurians, use an ingeniously designed eating set incorporating a sharp knife and a pair of chopsticks, and sometimes also includes a toothpick, ear scratcher, and a tweezer. They are made of precious metals and embellished with semi-precious stones.

 

The dress reflects the age of the wearer. The costumes of elderly people are, as a rule, modest and plain. The female dress shows differences between the attire of the girls and that of married women. The latter is decorated and adorned more splendidly with ornaments and jewelry. The design of the garments, the combination of colours as well as the decorative ornaments speak of an old tradition

The materials from which the dresses were sewn were either produced by the people themselves, such as "leather, wool, and fur", or dresses have been made from silk, cotton, wool, and brocades and were richly decorated with jewelry and ornaments of gold, silver, corals, pearls, and precious stones. Every nationality has its own headdress ( the "Toortsog", "Yuden", and "Zharantai"), hence there are many different kinds of caps and boots. 

 

MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL FOOD

The nomads of Mongolia sustain their lives directly from the products of domesticated animals such as cattle, horses,camels, yaks, sheep, and goats, as well as game.[1] Meat is either cooked, used as an ingredient for soups and dumplings (buuz, khuushuur, bansh, manti), or dried for winter (borts).[1] The Mongolian diet includes a large proportion of animal fat which is necessary for the Mongols to withstand the cold winters and their hard work. Winter temperatures are as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) and outdoor work requires sufficient energy reserves. Milk and cream are used to make a variety of beverages, as well as cheese and similar products.[2]

The nomads on the countryside are self-supporting on principle. Travellers will find gers marked as guanz in regular intervals near the roadside, which operate as simple restaurants. In the ger, which is a portable dwelling structure 

Mongolians usually cook in a cast-iron or aluminum pot on a small stove, using wood or dry animal dung fuel (argal) in the countryside.

The most common rural dish is cooked mutton, often without any other ingredients. In the city, every other local displays a sign saying "buuz". Those are steamed dumplings filled with meat. Other types of dumplings are boiled in water (bansh, manti), or deep fried in mutton fat (khuushuur). Other dishes combine the meat with rice or fresh noodles made into various stews (tsuivan,budaatai huurga) or noodle soups (guriltai shol).

 

BARBEQUE 

The most surprising cooking method is only used on special occasions. In this case, the meat (often together with vegetables) gets cooked with the help of hot stones, which have been preheated in a fire. This either happens with chunks of mutton in a sealed milk can (khorkhog), or within the abdominal cavity of a deboned goat or marmot (boodog).

 

 

 

MILK PRODUCTS

Milk is boiled to separate the cream (öröm, clotted cream). The remaining skimmed milk is processed into cheese ("byaslag"), dried curds (aaruul), yogurt, kefir, and a light milk liquor (shimiin arkhi). The most prominent national beverage is airag, which is fermented mare's milk. 

The everyday beverage is salted milk tea (süütei tsai), which may turn into a robust soup by adding rice, meat, or bansh. 

 

 

 

NOTE: 

We will break misunderstanding about unhealthy diet live only with meat and diary products. Even you are vegetarian, without problem, modern Mongolia much to offer when it comes to food, from non vegetarian to vegetarian.