A

Aimag
Aimag is an administrative unit. There are 21 administrative units/aimags/ in Mongolia; Tuv, Arkhangai, Bayan-Ulgii, Bayankhongor, Bulgan, Darkhan-Uul, Dornod, Dornogobi, Dundgobi, Gobi-Altai, Gobisumber, Khentii, Khovd, Khuvsgul, Orkhon, Umnugobi, Uvurkhangai, Selenge, Sukhbaatar, Uvs, Zavkhan.
Aimags are divided into soums, and soums are divided into baghs. Umnugobi/South Gobi/ has got the largest territory /165,4 thous sq km/. Khuvsgul aimag has got the largest population /121,9 thous people/.

Airag (Kumis)
Airag /fermented mare's milk/ is probably the most favorite drink of the Mongolians. Airag is generously served at weddings, big parties and ceremonies. Airag, the fermented mare's milk, has three times more Vitamin C than cow's milk. To make airag from mare's milk, put it into a hohuur (a big leather bag made from cow's skin) and beat it until it gets fermented. It is usually ready next day.
Airag is further fermented to make shimiin arkhi (milk vodka).

Agricultural sector
Animal husbandry and crop farming represent the agricultural sector. Animal husbandry inherited from ancient times is an important sector of the economy.
During the socialist times animal husbandry and crop farming work was conducted by the collective farms and cooperatives that appeared as a result of mass collectivization based on collective property for land and animals.
As a result to a free market economy, almost all livestock farms were privatized in the early 90s, so agriculture has become the fastest growing sector.
The latest livestock census registered 14,681,900 sheep; 11,014,300 goats; 3,715,00 cattle; 3,052,400 horses, and 356,400 camels. In total there are 32,820,000 animals in the country. Mongolia has one of the highest numbers of livestock per capita.
Besides pastoral livestock breeding farms there are crop farms in the northern part of the country. These days 217,600 tons of grains, 41,300 tons of potatoes and 19,500 tons of vegetables are being harvested from 1,321,700 hectares of land. Haymaking, fodder, forage, berry and vegetable growing farms are active.
80 % of the Mongolian territory is used for agricultural activities, out which 97,3 are pasturelands, 1,6 % are used for haymaking and 1,1 % are used for cereals.
Farms to breed pigs, poultry farms, and bee breeding stations are becoming popular among private farmers.

Amarbayasgalant Khiid
The second important monastery in Mongolia is Amarbayasgalant Khiid, on the southern slope of Buren Kaan Uul in Selenge aimag.
The original palace was built in the 17th century for the 2nd Bogd Javzandamba Khutagt Luvsandambiidundid. Later the construction was complemented with several temples where regular religious ceremonies were held, so the ground became a real Monastery.
The 300-year-old khiid buildings have enamel ceilings and functional pillars with special pipes inside for rain drainage.
The 1930s purges were the most diffucult times for the monastery. The Indian Lama Gurdavaa Rembuchi initiated restoration of the monastery. Now it is an important Buddhist center with more than 30 lamas.

Art
Results of scientific researchers and archeological findings prove the ancient roots of the Mongolian art and culture that can go back as far as to the times of prehistoric oral epics or perhaps even farther.
The art and culture of the Mongolians convey the flavor of customs and traditions of nomadic life. If looked at carefully, one will notice there are no half colors in the clothes and things Mongolians use, and if listened to carefully, there are no half tones in the melodies or songs Mongolians sing.
The Mongolians love music, the songs they sing express their feelings and music of their hearts and soul. While herding their livestock in the countryside, while galloping on their horses along the steppes of Central Asia, the Mongolians say they have had a good friend, i.e. a good song.

Architecture
Huge bronze and deer stones /monuments with images of deer and made of rock/ from 2000 B.C are important part of Central Asian nomad's arts and culture. Today more than 500 deer rocks have been found in the territory of Mongolia.
The buildings of the old temples and ruins of stone constructions like Erdene Zuu monastery, Choijin Lama monastery, Khar Bukh Balgas ruins, that survived the historical cataclysms confirm that architecture was highly developed in nomadic Mongolia.

B

Banking
Transition period gave birth to a new form of bank, like the commercial banks in Mongolia.
Thanks to a hard-line monetary policy of Mongol Bank the inflation is kept at a relatively low rate, 53 % in 1996.
About ten commercial banks are operating in the country. 120 branches, 419 centers of Mongol Bank, Trade and Development Bank, Golomt Bank, Agricultural Bank along with others are providing services.
http://www.mgl.bank.com.mn/

Boodog
See Food

Buddhism
Judging from historical documents, there were several different attempts made by china, India and Tibet to introduce Buddhism to Mongolia. In the 16th century Great Khaan, Altan Khaan met an Tibetan, Sonam Gyasto. Thus the Tibetan /Lamaist/ Buddhism entered every ger.
Avtai Sain Khaan on the ruins of the ancient Mognolian capital Kharkhorin built the first Mongolian Buddhist monk /lama/ in 1586.
There were around 700 monasteries and temples in Mongolia before 1921. During the years of the bloody purge in late 30s 17000 lamas were arrested; monasteries and temples were closed, ransacked, and burned.
Today Buddhism is experiencing a phenomenal revival. The Mongolians are enjoying the freedom of religion and rebuilding the old monasteries and temples and opening religious schools. There are 300 monasteries and temples reported to have been restored and open.

C

Capital city
The history of the Mongolian capital is related to Kharakhorin, which is located in the Orkhon river valley.
According to some records, the history of the present capital city started in 1639 when the foundation for the residence of the son of Gombodorj, Zanabazar, proclaimed the Undur Gegeen /the Head Saint/, was called Khutagtyn Urge.
The city was moved from one place to another along the Tuul and Orkhon river valleys more than 20 times. Only in 1778 a new city was built in the present capital city location.
The name of the city was also changed many times. It was Urguu, Nomiin Khuree, Ikh Khuree, Da Khuree, Niislel Khuree, and in 1924 after the People's Revolution it became Ulaanbaatar.
Ulaanbaatar is located in the valley of yhr Tuul River, between the beautiful mountais of Bogd, Bayanzurkh, Songinokhairkhan and Chingeltei at the height of 1351 meters.
Ulaanbaatar occupies 135,800 hectares has 633,9 thousand habitants, and 8 districts in Ulaanbaatar; Bayanzurkh, Bayangol, Songinokhairkhan, Chingeltei, Khan-Uul, Nalaikh and Baganuur.
The capital city is the country's scientific, cultural, political, and economic center. Ulaanbaatar can be called a student's city. More than 100 state and private institutes, universities,90 secondary schools and 100 kindergartens are in Ulaanbaatar.

Chinggis Khaan (1162-1227)
At the beginning of the 12th century, due to various developments in the Mongolian society, several Khanates, or small Kingdoms were formed. Khanates of Khereyids and Naimans were located in the basin of the three rivers and Altai Mountains.
At the age of 20, Temuujin emerged from a power struggle to become the leader of the Borjigon Mongol clan. After 20 Years of internal warfare, he managed to unite most of the Mongol tribes. In 1206 he was given the honorary name Chinggis Khaan, meaning "universal king".
He set up his capital in Kharakhorum (present-day Harhorin) and launched his cavalry against Russia and China. Shortly after he defeated the western Xia, Chinggis felt that he was near his death and headed back to Mongolia, but died en route. By the time of his death in 1227, the Empire extended from Beijing to the Caspian Sea.

Climate
Mongolia is located in the Northern Hemisphere temperature zone. Situated at an average altitude of 1500 m above sea level, separated from the oceans, surrounded by high mountain chains that are blocking the wet winds, Mongolia has an extreme continental climate. Winters are long with temperatures far below the freezing point; hot but short summers are characterized with high temperature fluctuation. The average summer temperature is +20c, in winters it is -20c. The wind is 1,5-4,5 m/s. The average annual precipitation is 200-220 mm. Mongolia is one of the sunniest countries in the world; there are 250 sunny days a year.

Communication
Mongolian telecommunication history started in 1898 when the first telephone communication line was laid to connect Khiakhta with Da Khuree /present Ulaanbaatar/. The first 60-line telephone network was installed in the capital in 1914.
100,000 lines, 100 telephone stations, and 200 stations compile the communication network today.
After privatization, Mongolian telecommunication Company started installing new technological equipment with Korean investment that strives to modernize international communication systems in the country. Today a network of Internet and mobile telephone systems is available.

Customs
See Traditions and customs

D

Dress
The Mongolian dress expresses the peculiar features of the traditional way of life. The Mongolian dress is most suitable with continental weather with bid temperature fluctuations. Depending on the season Mongolians wear different types of deels. In the cold winter Mongolians wear very warm sheepskin deels, in the spring and autumn they wear quilted deels and in the summer light deels.
Mongolian clothes are made of fabric, leather, sheepskin and felt. Color is very important in the traditional clothing. Elderly people wear dark colors, while young people wear quite bright color deels, which are richly decorated.
Dresses of khalkh, buryat, bayad, dorvod, kazak, uriankhai and other ethnic groups differ in colors, model and decorations used. Women's clothes differ from the ones for girls; because women are allowed more decorations.

Drink
See Food and Airag

E

Economy
31.1 % of GDP is produced by the country's agricultural sector, 36.6 % is produced by the manufacturing sector, and 32.2 % from other service sectors.

Education
Mongolia had various systems of education to fit its unique lifestyle and life conditions at different stages of historical development.
The biggest change in its education sector took place after 1921. Great achievements were reached during 1930-1980 when the illiteracy problem was eradicated, a new education system was founded, and national cadres were educated.
The present education system consists of pre-school, primary, secondary, special and tertiary level education. In 1998-1999 academic years 447,121 students started their studies in 630 schools throughout the country. The number of tertiary level students has reached 76,922.
The transition to a market economy has given birth to private education on all level.

Erdene zuu
Abtai Sain Khaan og Mongolia built the monastery on the ruins of Kharkhorum, the old capital of the Mongolian empire in 1586. Mongolian architects headed by master Manzshir built Erdene Zuu using old Kharakhorum buildings foundations, stones and blue bricks. Erdene Zuu walls, stupas, temples, statues and sculptures in the temples exemplify high skills of the Mongolian masters.
17640 square meters of land is walled up fot the Erdene Zuu compound. The walls have four big gates symbolizing the four directions and eight points. The walls consist of 108 stupas, 25 on each side and 2 at every corner.
In the middle of compound a big ger 20 meters in diameter called Bat-Ulzii was built in 1658. In front of the ger there was a handmade lake. Water pipes were laid from th eOrkhon river to supply the lake with water.
The two statues of gods in the front of the Zuu soum were devoted to Abtai Sain Khaan and his son Tusheet Khan Gombodorj.
The temples of Erdene Zuu contain an excellent collection of thangkas, tsam masks, wooden and bronze statues, appliques and papier-mache of various gods made by Mongolian masters in the 16th and 18th centuries.

F

Film
The Mongolian filmmaking started in 1936 when the first short documentary with no sound was made. Since that, the Mongolian filmmaking art has developed into an industry that has made hundreds of motion pictures and documentaries.
Various pictures depicting the unique life and heritage of the Mongolians have become an indivisible part of the world fund of the film art. In 1990 the Mongolian filmmakers got a great chance and freedom to work. As a result, they have created and developed new topics and contents in their films.

Fine art
The Mongolian fine art probably started when the first men from the Stone Age drew the first picture on the walls of a cave.
The Mongolian fine art is connected with the central Asian fine art. The Mongolians used mostly paints and materials of natural or animalorigin; animal skin, felt, wool, bones, horns and other natural items.
G. Zanabazar, the direct descendant of Chinggis Khan, the first Mongolian Bogd, and the most famous sculptor of the 17th century, occupies a special position in the history of Mongolian art. Zanabazar is referred to as the most prominent figure of the Mongolian Renaissance. He left a rich legacy of bronze sculptures and paintings, some of which are featured in the Fine Arts museums.
Torgon urlag or appliques is another kind of painting developed in Mongolia and has been perfected for many centuries from the times of the Huns. It has got a specific design, combination of colors and way of painting. Natural paints made of gold, silver, coral, turquoise, pearl, bronze, copper and other minerals were used for Torgon urlag. Besides torgon urlag, religious scroll painting /thangka/ was widely developed in Mongolia.
Mongol zurag is a distinct style of painting that has accumulated many centuries of rich experience of Mongolian artists. The most renowned painter of the Mongol zurag school is B. Sharav. '' One day in Mongolia'' is his most famous painting , depicting every aspect of nomadic people's life in a light humorist way.

Flora and Fauna
Mongolia is sparsely populated country with a comparatively low developed industry. Therefore, its nature has not been severely influenced by human activities and in most parts of the country the nature is still pristine. Indigenous species of animals and plants have formed a unique assemblage.
The northern part of the Central Asian desert and the southernmost edge of Siberian taiga form the ecosystems of Mongolia. It is represented by 3000 species of flowering plants, 875 fungus, 300 species of microorganisms spread across the vast territory of the country.
Now 136 species of mammals, 436 species of birds, 8 amphibians, 75 species of fish and mollusks have been registered in Mongolia.

Folk dance
Mongolians have developed their own unique style of dancing. From the old oral and written monuments one can find facts about various kinds of Mongolian dancing from dances of warriors, dances depicting everyday life activities, ceremonial palace dances, religious ritual dances, to dances describing animal behavior and human characters.
The bielgee is a classical form of a Mongolian dance. The bielgee is performed in a ger or in a circle of people, in other words, in limlted small space, and accompanied by melodies of the morin khuur. Plastic movements of the dancer's hands and torso express everything in the dance

Food
The Mongolian diet is dictated by their way of life; it has got a lot of dairy products and meat served in various styles.
The main drinks are tea, milk, airag/fermented mare's milk/ and vodka. Guests always served tea first. The Mongolians drink milk tea with salt. Sometimes the tea is cooked with rice, dumplings and flour. Traditional Mongolian food has got many kinds of dairy products; aaruul /dried curd/, cheese, cottage cheese and others.
To make aaruul-dried curd, milk is boiled with some fermented cheese, and then the mass is cut into pieces or put into forms and dried on special plates. There is different technology to make Mongolian cheese and yogurt.
Meat has always been an important ingredient of the Mongolian food. In order to keep the meat for long period of time, it is smoked by keeping the meat above the smoke of burning dried dung. Meat is also dried in the open air and then used for cooking.
There are several kinds of meat dishes. For instance, depending on the part of the animal body the meat is taken from, the meat is called turag makh /the meat of the animal body/, dotor meat /the meat from heart, stomach, kidney and lungs of an animal/, tolgoi and shiir.
Meat is served in different styles; it can be filling for dumplings, the main ingredient of soup, or it can just be boiled and served.
Boodog is one of the delicacies. For making boodog the goat meat or mutton is cut into pieces and cooked in an animal skin from the inside out, by placing hot rocks inside.

G

Ger [Yurt]
Scholars believe the Mongolian ger has a 2500-3000 year history. This dwelling of nomads is collapsible, easy to erect and transport. The ger furniture is also relatively light, easy to carry, and small to fit the size of a ger.
The ger consists of uni (poles), toono (a wooden ring to put), Hana (walls), and haalga (a door). The wooden carcass is covered with felt layers made from animal wool and tied with ropes made from animal hair. The ger can have 4,5,6,8,10 and 12 wall sections.

For the majority of Mongolians, ger is not normally used as hotel's, they are permanent home's.

Geographical location
Mongolia is located in Asia occupying 1,566,500 sq.km. The territory of Mongolia is larger than territories of Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy together. The frontiers are 8158 km, out of which 3485 km are with Russian Federation, and 4673 km run along the border with China.
Foreign relations
Mongolia has diplomatic and cultural relations with 140 countries in the world, and Mongolian embassies and consulates are operating in 28 countries.
Russian Federation, China, the USA, Japan, Germany, South Korea are the main partners. Mongolia is also actively developing its relations and cooperating with members of the European Union, East Europe and Asia.
Since the transition to a market oriented economy international relations with Mongolia is widening, cooperation with international organizations in political, economic and cultural spheres is expanding, and investment of foreign companies and corporations is increasing.
106 foreign investment companies have been registered in Mongolia today.

H

Health
Mongolia has a rich heritage of traditional medicine that is connected with nomadic way of life Mongolians have been following for centuries. Herbal medicine, acupuncture, cauterization, massage and bone setting have been popular for many years.
The history of modern medicine started in 1925 when the Russian doctor Shastin initiated and founded when the first ''People's hospital'' with 15 beds.
During the socialist period, the policy to develop a network of medical organizations with trained staff and required equipment had been successfully implemented.
The health sector of the country is represented by Medical schools of all levels; the Center for hygiene and epidemiologist; medical research institutes; Mother and Child Care Center; Central clinical hospitals; Medicine supply agency; Pharmaceutical factory; Agency for Quality Assurance of Drugs; Biopreparations and Medical Care; aimag and soum center hospitals; and many other medical institutions and agencies.
Political and economical changes that are taking place in the country have led to transformation in the structure of the health sector. As a result of those, many new private and state clinics, hospitals and health centers are being opened.

I

Industry
Mongolia has been an agricultural country with pastoral livestock breeding so the country has not got a highly developed industrial sector.
Considerable steppes towards industrialization were made during the old regime including energy, fuel, chemistry, and construction materials production and mining sectors.
Small and medium size factories of light industry to process meat, wool, cashmere, and leather felt as well as carpet making factories, have been operating using raw materials produced by the traditional livestock sector. Small timber and furniture production is conducted in the northern part of the country.
Recently the light industry has been experiencing a noticeable growth and a number of small and medium enterprises with foreign investment keep increasing.
Mongolian factories have the capacity to process 2,600 tons of cashmere, and 17,00 tons of sheep and camel wool a year. The cashmere and wool processing industry makes 11,5 % of GDP.

K

Khar balgas
Orkhon or the uigar capital ruins are located on the eastern bank of the Orkhon river in the territory of Khoton soum, Arkhangai aimag. The ruins clearly depict that the capital citu of the Uigurs was expanding, and more and more constructions were built outside the city walls. There are also remains of a water drainage system there. Khar balgas is an important place connected with ancient history of the Mongolians.

Khoomii
Mongolia is home of the '' khoomii'', throat singing, which is a kind of singing found nowhere else in the world. The khoomii is the art when a skillful singer who produces several notes at once from deep in the throat. The khoomii is widely used for describing sounds of nature, singing praises and folk songs.

Khushuu Tsaaidam
These monuments devoted to the Orkhon Turkic Khaan and his brother General Kultegen are in Khashaat soum, Arkhangai aimag. The 6-7th centuries A.D were the time of glories victories of the Turkic states. The 3,3 meter high and 1,3 meter wide stone monument khown as the Orkhon Bichig /letter/ is a letter with 68 lines. There used to be a whole monumental complex, but now only one gerelt Khushuuu is left.

Khuvsguk Lake
Khuvsgul lake and Siberian taiga in Khuvshul have become one of the most popular tourist sites in the country. Lake Khuvsgul is 136 km long, 36 km wide, 262 in deep, and it is located at an altitude of 1645 in above sea level.
It is the second largest fresh waster lake in Central Asia,. It is inhabited by nine species of fish including the Siberian grayling and lenok. Fishing and sport fishing are becoming popular in the lake area.
Taiga fauna and flora, taiga forest dwellers, Tsaatan, practicing deer breeding are the main attractions for tourists.

L

Landscape
The average attitude is 1500 meters above sea. The largest Mongolian mountain range, the Altai Mountains, is located in the western part of the country. This range of mountains stretches for 1500 km. The highest point of the country, Mount Kuiten /4374 m above sea level/ is in the western Altai Mountains; the lowest point, Kukh Nuur /560 m above sea level/ is in Dornod /Eastern / aimag. Vast steppe areas dominate the southern and eastern part of the country, the largest one is called Menengiin Tal /250,00 sq km/.

Lakes and rivers
Though the annual precipitation is low, there are quite enough water resources fed by rain and snow falling in the high mountains. There are 3500 fresh water an salt lakes, 3811 rivers and streams and 187 glaciers in Mongolia. Wetlands, including marshlands, occupy 1,5 mil hectares of land. The total length of all the rivers is around 50,000 km. The large lakes cover 436,7 sq km. The total surface area of water is 13,630 sq km.
The largest lake in Mongolia is Uvs Lake/3350 km2/ and the deepest one is Khuvsgul Lake /262 km/. The Selenge /992 km long/ is the largest river out go the 4000 rivers in the country.

Language
The Mongolian language belongs to the Turkic group and Altaic family of languages. Today more than 10 million people speak Mongolian. They live in China, Shingjan and Gansu regions of China, Tibet and a few people living in the state of New Jersey, the USA>
The history of the Mongolian language is divided into old, middle and modern Mongolian periods. The old Mongolian continued from ancient times till XII century. Historical documents of the period are the letters inscribed onto stone monuments for Turk generals Bileg, Tonyukuk and Kultegen.
The middle Mongolian period is from the 12th to 16th centuries. That is the time when the ''Secret History of Mongolia', Arab-Mongolian dictionary, Persian-Mongolian dictionary and important documents including H'Phags-pa square letter document composed in 1269.
The modern Mongolian period started in the 17th century. The beginning of the period is characterized by the development of the standard written Mongolian language and book printing that is used wooden printing blocks.
Mongolians have invented and used about 10 different kinds of scripts, letters and characters; square, tod and soyombo letters made a significant contribution to the development of the Mongolian language.

Literature
Heroic epics represented the Mongolian literature for many centuries were put to writing over 800 years ago. The most notable text of Mongolian literature of the 12-13th centuries 'The secret history of the Mongols' was written in 1240. However, the author remains unknown. Such literature monuments like 'The Story of the Golden Orde 'and' Altan Tovch also represent those centuries. From the 14th century the Mongolians started making translations of various Buddhist literature, and later developed their own Buddhist literature with thousands of sutras /Buddhist saying/, subtle treatises on meditation, history, philosophy and meaning of life.
During the 17th and 18th centuries when the Manchus had been repressing the Mongolian art and literature, the Mongolian poet and write, Tsogt khuntaij, historian Luvsandanzan, and Zay bandid Namkhaijamts of the Oirads, had been protecting the Mongolian art and culture and developing their own creations.
By the 19th century Mongolian literature a wide spectrum of genres covering a broad range of topics. The writers and poets were using different forms of literature to create their works; verses, prose and legends were widely used in their endeavors. V. Injinash, a distinguished representative of the period, wrote his historical novel 'Khukh Sudar' /the Blue Sutra/ 1870-1892.
D. Natsagdorj, the master of both prose and poetry, is known as the founder of social realism in the new Mongolian literature. His writing meticulously describes the real life of ordinary people and the intricate social life of the period with its conflicts and concerns.
The present Mongolian literature is a huge heritage of the Mongols with enormous range of works in all genres; and it is with no doubt an integral part of the world literature. The best pieces of Mongolian literature have been translated into 80 languages.

M

Mass media
One of the important achievements of the Mongolian democracy is free press and freedom of word. A number of newspapers, TV and radio channels have appeared thanks to this freedom.
Today 501 newspapers and around 120 magazines are being published. People are getting information from several state and private television transmissions. Mongol television, Ulaanbaatar Broadcasting System/UBS/, Eagle TV, Channel MN 25 and several other cable TV stations are a few examples. Mongolian radio continues its traditional transmissions in English, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. FM radio stations started transmitting their music and information programs again thanks to the democratic changes.

Meat
See Food

Mineral resources
Mongolia is quite rich in mineral resources. As an example one can name large deposits of copper, gold, iron, uranium, lead, molybdenum, spar and chalk. Presently more than 3000 deposits of 80 kinds of minerals have been identified.
Gold deposits are found mostly in Khentii, Khangai Mountains, Orkhon, Selenge river basins are famous for copper and molybdenum deposits; and Khuvsgul is the land of phosphorus.
The fuel industry consists of oil and coal. Mongolia is estimated to have 27 billion tons of coal resources as for metals, iron ores, chrome, spar, vanadium, wolfram and molybdenum ores have been discovered. Precious metals like gold, silver and platinum are also found in quantities, particularly a wide spread of gold deposits.
Precious and semi-precious stones, such as crystals, topaz, lazurite, garnet, chrisolite, amethyst, turquoise and jade, are easily found.

Monument of Tonyukuk
Monument of Tonyukuk is located in the Tuul river basin near the small town of Nalaikh. It was made in 744 and devoted to the wise minister Tonyukuk of the orkhon Turkic State that was prospering in the 4-7th centuries A.D. The ancient Turkic State had been fighting with others and aiding the Tang rulers of China. In wars and peace great was the deed of General Tonyukuk who devoted all his life to the wellbeing of his state. So the monument was built to commemorate him.

Morin khuur
See Musical instruments

Musical instruments
The Italian traveler Marco Polo and others documented that tens of young women were dancing accompanied by a big orchestra of 300 musicians, and were performing in the Great Khan's palace in Khara Khorum. The orchestra consisted of woodwinds, strings, brass percussion.
The main and most musical instruments of the Mongolians is the Morin Khuur, a two-string horse-head violin. There is a legend about the morin khuur.
‚' Once upon a time there was a young man. He had a wonderful steed. The horse was a special one; it was faster than a bird and could instantaneously cover great distances. When the steed perished the young man decided to preserve the memory of his steed. He cut a bough and carved his steed's head at one end, covered the other end with leather made from the steed's skin and made two strings from the tail. He started playing the morin khuur describing his beloved steed's steps, gallop, hurdle, trotting and neighing''. Thus goes the ancient legend of the Mongolians about the origin of the morin khuur. The morin khuur is most suitable to accompany the traditional long and short songs, and melodies to regale the beauty of the country. Moreover, today the Mongolian musicians play classical music with the morin khuur and get a high appraisal from listeners and specialists from any countries.
There are other original and diverse instruments such as tsuur, bure, byalag bishguur, aman khurr, tovshuur, dungereg and havtgai hengereg.
The most notable one is the yatga /Chinese cheng, Japanese koto/, which has a long, wooden, rectangular body with a slightly curved soundboard over which 10 or 14 strings are stretched across movable bridges; the yoochin or dulcimer /Chinese yang-ch'in/ in which 14 double metal courses are stretched over a flat trapeziform body and are struck with two hummers. The best khown wind instrument is the bamboo limbe /traverse flute/, a simple straight tube which has at least 8 holes.

N

Naadam
Naadam is one of the public holidays and ceremonies of Mongolia. Mongols refer to their National Holiday as Naadam, or the Three Manly Games. The Three Manly Games include wrestling, archery and horse racing, which are the sports of wisdom, courage and strength. There are also other games and performances during these days. Naadam is celebrated on the 11th of July.
Every year 512 wrestlers compete in the national Naadam and a wrestler who won the nine rounds becomes a ner. By the rules of Mongolian wrestling, a wrestler who lost in one round is dismissed. It is a great honor to wrestle in the national Naadam, and Mongolian wrestlers train hard during the year. The winner is called "Turuu bukh" and "uzuur bukh" is the one who won the second place.
In horseracing horses of six different ages groups participate beginning from 2 to 6. Six horse races are held separately, according to the age of horses. Racetracks wary according to the horses age: 6 miles (10 km) for two year old colts, 17 miles (28 km) for stallions. In some races, more than 700 horses take part. Young children, of ages 6 to 8 participate in the horserace.

Names
Before the 1921 revolution, most Mongolian had Tibetan names. After the revolution, Mongolians were encouraged to drop the "feudal" names and adopt "modern" names. This has be down with a vengeance - half the men must reckon they're revolutionary heroes, because they attach the suffix baatar (hero) to their names. Every male who is not a baatar seems to be bat (solid or strong). Many are both strong and heroic (Batbaatar). The woman have adopted Russian naming customs, most being named after shiny or pretty things: Gerlee (light), Tsetsgee (flower), Naraa (sun), Saraa (moon) and Galt (fire).
Mongolian surnames come before the given name, but are usually reduced to a single initial, so you get something like L.Batbaatar. This creates much confusion since there are plenty of people in Mongolia whit exactly the same name. Now that religious freedom has been restored and more people are rediscovering Buddhism, Tibetan names are starting to regain popularity.

O

Old Mongolian script
The script is known as ' old Mongolian' or 'Uighur Mongolian' script. The 'old Mongolian script written from top to bottom, originated from Finic letters.
The old Mongolian script has been used for centuries. It can depict phonological peculiarities of many local dialects.
In 1941 the 35 character Cyrillic alphabet was introduced replacing the old Mongolian script. Since that all documents and intellectual creations have been written in Cyrillic.
In 1990 the old Mongolian was re-introduced into primary and secondary school programs. Today several newspapers, magazines and some books are being published in the old Mongolian.

Ovoo worship
Ovoo worship ceremony originates from Mongolians' traditional respect and worship of Nature. It has probably been held for thousands of years in Mongolia. You will see ovoo in any part of the country wherever you go. An ovoo is a pyramid-shaped pile of stones, bones, woods and some other stuff placed on top of a hill or mountain. Ovoo are sacred, and whenever you go by an ovoo you should walk around in three times to pray and make a wish.
At the ovoo-worship ceremony generous offerings in the form of milk, cheese and/or other dairy products are made, then people ask the spirits for peace, happiness, and plentiful natural riches.

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Population
Today the population of Mongolia is 2,419,600. Population density is one person per 1,4 sq km. 67,4 % of the total population are young people under 30. The average life expectancy is 65.
The majority of the population is khalkh. There are other ethnic groups called bayad, durvud, kazakh, uriankhai and uzumchin among others.

Political structure
As a result of democratic movements and renovations Mongolia has moved to a new system of political freedom. Various amendments to the old constitution allowed democratic elections to be held with participation of multiple political parties in 1991. The Ikh Khural passed and adopted the new constitution in January 1992. According to the new constitution, Mongolia has become a democratic parliamentary state. The new constitution made a distinct division of power between the legislative /Ikh Khural/, executing /the President and the Government of Mongolia/, and judicial bodies /State Court/.
The country's President has been elected through direct elections since 1992.
The Ikh Khural, the highest legislative body, has one chamber with 76 members.
There are a lot of political parties in Mongolia. The main parties are; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Mongolian National Democratic Party and Mongolian Social Democratic Party.

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Shamanism
There are no specially built places, religious books or even a divine being to associate whit shamanism. The nomads must live in conformity whit nature and environment, and shamanism, that which worships the spirit of earth and mother-nature, ideally fits their way of life and their traditions and culture. Shamanism has peacefully coexisted with Buddhism for many centuries among the nomads. Idolization of the eternally blue sky as the divine source of the rule of Chingiss Khaan played a prominent role making it the official state religion at the initial stage of the Mongol Empire. There was a single Head Shaman, who always decided the matters connected whit the court rituals and ceremonies, gradually rose to eminence. Such a shaman was Hohho, who was the Head Shaman during Chingis Khaan's rule. Today shamanism is practiced by Uriankhai, Darkhad and Tsaatan (reindeer people).
A shaman (a boo if male and udgan if female), in order to help people goes into a trance. When in a trance, the boo or udgan's soul leaves the body and meets the souls of ancestors to find the solutions to problems from them. Shamans wear special clothes for their ceremonies.

Song
The Mongolian long song / Urtyn-duu / accompanied with a Morin khuur is a unique style of traditional singing. Mongolian long song is a perfected kind of art that demands a high class of performance and acute skills of a singer. The long song singers see long song as an art of breathing, because this singing involves incredibly complicated drawn-out vocal sounds. Long song performers can breathe with their stomachs and breasts and can hold their breath for a long time. Anyone who listens to a Mongolian long song will experience another significant feature of a Mongolian long song; colorful images of the beautiful mountains, endless steppes, Gobi deserts, and forests of the Khangai, inevitably arise in one's mind.
Mongolian short song has wise verses and wonderfully matching melodies.

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Terelj
Located nor far from Ulaanbaatar, Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is the most visited natural touriast sight. The National Park is a popular place for trekking, horse-back riding and rafting tours. There are many children's summer camps and tourist ger-camps in Terelj.=

Theater
Traditional Mongolian theater was based on the performance of folk tales, epics and folk songs.
Modern Mongolian theater started in 1931 with opening the National Theater and a school of theater. Later, the Mongolian circus and Folk dance and song ensemble were founded.
Today there are several art centers and theaters in Mongolia; they consist of the classical art theater, folk dance and song ensemble, drama theater, theater of comedy, puppetry theater, youth and children'

Trade
Foreign trade is important sector of the country's economy. The main partners for export and import are the USA, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Russia, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Singapore and others.
Copper and molybdenum, copper and spar concentrates, animals and animal products, wool and wool products, cashmere and cashmere products represent the main export commodities. Some food items, diesel, petroleum products, and industrial equipment are imported.

Traditions and Customs
The nomadic civilization of Mongolia has gone through many centuries and has got its own unique features.
Traditional Mongolian way if life is connected with pastoral livestock husbandry, where people have to be flexible and mobile following their livestock along the vast steppes in search of better pasture and water.
The Mongolians raise five kinds of animals; horse, cattle, camel, goat and sheep.
The Mongolians have always been veru fond of their horses. Mongolian horses are small, but strong and well adapted to severe continental climate.
In the mountainous part of the country yaks are widely used as a pack of animal or for riding. Yak milk is very rich, it has got twice as much fat as cow's milk. Everything yaks produce such as wool, milk, nomads for living use skin.
The two-hump /Bactrian/ camel is big and string, produce a lot of wool and can cover many kilometers with 250 kg luggage.
The Mongolian herders get everythi8ng for their life from the five kinds of animals they raise.

Transport
Auto- transport
The length of the Mongolian roads is 46,7000 km, of which only 1,300 kilometers are improved roads. The present freight turnover is 154,4 million tons Pkm, and passenger turnover is 425 million person pkm.
Railway transport
The Trans-Siberian railway connecting /1815 km/ Russia and China plays an important role in Mongolian railway development. The passenger turnover reached 3,5 million tons, and freight turnover became 8,000 tons in the last year. The railways go to Moscow, Naushki, and Irkutsk to the north, and to Beijing, Erlian and Khukh Khot to the south. In-country network connects Ulaanbaatar with Sukhbaatar, Zamyn-Uud, Baganuur, Darkhan, Erdenet, Zuun-Bayan and Choibalsan.
Airways
According to the latest statistical data, 400,000 passengers and 3,600 tons of freight have been transport by the airways.
MIAT /Mongolian Airlines/ is the main air carrier. Today MIAT has direct flights to 21 aimags in the country, plus flights to Moscow, Beijing, Khukh Khot, Seoul, Istanbul, Osaka, Berlin and Frankfurt.

Tsagaan sar
Tsagaan sar or White month is a huge celebration of the Lunar New Year, the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Tsagaan sar is called the white month, because white for the Mongolians is the color symbolizing purity and happiness.
On bituun, the last day of the old year, Lunar New Year Eve, families are gathered around richly served tables and have dinner. The main items on the Bituun menu are steamed dump0lings / buuz/, boiled meat, and a lot of dairy products.
Early in the morning on the first day of the lunar new year everybody wears their best clothes and goes to visit the oldest person in the family or neighboring family to greet them, give respect, and wish the best.
Tsagaan sar is also the time for national games and horse races.

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Visa
Mongolian visas are easily available from Mongolian embassies or consulates. You can also obtain an entry and exit visa for 30 days at the Buyant-Ukhaa, international airport or at Sukhbaatar and Zamiin Uud border. Visa fees are between $20-$50. Visa fee will vary depending on the terms of your stay from $30 to $100. If you are planning to stay in Mongolia more than a month, you will need an official invitation from a travel agent.
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