TSAGAAN SAR - Mongolian New Year

Tsagaan Sar, signals the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring (although I'm at a complete loss when it comes to recognising any sign of Spring right now!).  It has been one of the most important celebrations of Mongols for centuries along with Naadam, celebrated in July.

We have thoroughly enjoyed all the New Year celebrations and both Sim and I even purchased our own deels, the Mongolian traditional garment worn on both casual and special occasions, in keeping with Mongolian tradition. Of course, it was made even more special to have been able to share the festivities with Ash and his friends.  Not many people will be brave enough to visit us during a Mongolian winter!

Last Saturday, we were very fortunate to be invited to  share Tsaagan Sar festivities with a typical Mongolian family in the Tuv Province. The journey took over an hour and was quite amazing in itself.  At a certain point, which to the untrained eyed was clearly unidentifiable, the bus turned off the road and headed cross country for  quite a distance.  There seem to be no defining features on the terrain that could assure you you were headed in the right direction.  The landscape was visually spectacular wth flat, snow-filled plains and rolling hills against a backdrop of pristine mountains,  bright blue skies and immense nothingness for miles and miles. Totally awe inspiring.  Its hard to put into words or capture on film but here is our pictorial of the day. (Click on any of the images to enlarge)

From whence we came!  (It was the same looking in any direction )

Below: the bus couldn't make it up the last hill so the last 300m was on foot.

I just liked this pic!

.....and as we came over the hill after having been cross country for quite some time now,  there it was!  Our hosts' ger.  A sight for sore eyes ! (I have to admit it was getting a little too remote for my liking). 

Up Close.  The ger which hosted 25 guests!  I love the satelite dish and solar panel.  The door of the ger always faces South.  This is one of my favourite pictures.

The wife effortlessly served copious amounts of steaming buuz and
salt tea alternately from this one pot. 

The head of the ger is in the brown deel.  We were entertained with some folk music played on the morin khuur, one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongolian people.  The layered cake on the table is called il buuv.  The number of layers should be odd. Traditionally grandparents have 7, parents 5 and young couples 3.  To the right (obscured) is the uuts, sheep's back and tail is a must on the table.

The oven sits in the middle of the ger with steaming buuz inside  (meat dumpling with either minced mutton or beef, flavoured with onion, garlic and salt)  Delicious.

Ash and Sim.  They must have just came inside as the ger is warm inside.

A view of the ger construction from the inside and the lamb with its head sitting neatly on top!

Their horses are small but very sturdy.

Luke, Ash and I

The herders can be seen from a distance (middle) homeward bound.

Home. Mongolian herder living at the camp

Ash enjoying scenery from the top of a hill

More stunning views - it's hard to get perspective.

The way home! You can see the tyre tracks left from our inbound trip!

All in all it was an illuminating day and quite unforgettable experience.