...from our ger: 999 Horse Head Fiddles...

Celebrations are well underway for Mongolia's most important festival of the year, Naadam.

This year marks the 805th Anniversary of the Great Mongol Empire and the 90th Anniversary of the People's Revolution.

As we lead up to the "big three"; horse racing, wrestling and archery, we will be treated to a prolific schedule of events including military parades, musical concerts, dancing, cultural events and many rounds of Shagai (sheep ankle bone shooting!)

Today it was the 999 Horse Head Fiddle (morin khuur) orchestra. The morin khuur usually accompanies traditional Mongolian performance arts and is considered a symbol of the Mongolian nation.

Quite a sight!

The musicians looked dazzling in their yellow and white costumes. And it was with much anticipation we waited, and waited and waited...for the event to start. VIPs and ministers were predictably (and overly) late and as time went on it seemed like there was little much to do except to try "hold your ground" in the expanding crowd and do a recount of the orchestra!

so regal...

Mongolians definitely know how to dress for special occasions in their striking head gear and costumes in brilliant shades of red, blue and violet. (It'd be nice to have that vantage spot (below) when taking photos).

And while we waited and waited...
some got comfortable,
whilst others slept ...

some made calls...

and others looked a little fed up!

Finally, about an hour after the scheduled time, Sukhbaatar Square rang out to the sound of 999 fiddles playing in unison. Bizarrely, it was accompanied by a hyperactive pop/techno backing track which kind of killed the majesty of the fiddle.

What made them think 999 horse fiddles wasn't enough??