The Wizard Of OZ

Oyu Tolgoi takes the children of Ulaanbaatar to the circus...

Happy faces of the VIP guests

Last Sunday we attended the circus production of  The Wizard of OZ for the Annual Children's party hosted by a branch of Sim's company.

The entire circus was commissioned to accomodate our little friends from the Fraternite Notre Dame Orphanage (FND), plus the children from three other local orphanages. 

The circus was packed to the rafters with the children and their friends (individuals from  Oyu Tolgoi and the wider expat and Mongolian community who assist them).

Everybody (including the old folk!) had a lot of fun!

Santa's helpers

You can't get by without a few helpers to hand out essentials on arrival...

Everyone was seriously rugged up from the cold outside!

What a gorgeous coat!

And there was more!..balloons, lollipops, hats and glow sticks...

Reserved. The best seats in the house!

the tumblers were once again simply amazing!

Then the after show photo call ...

...then back home for a pizza party!

Ole's "shadow walker"

Uncle Ole with his hands full!

Lastly, some HAPPY SNAPS, by the kids...

The following shots were taken by the children as my camera became the flavour of the moment.   With the help of some artful editing and cropping! and despite the healthy coating of pizza oil on the camera afterwards, they came out just great!

Did you recognise my little "angel" from the April blog?
He's definitely grown older!

it wasn't that easy to handle with small hands!

and my favourite...a portrait shot!?

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??

Sukhbatar Square today 

Sukhbatar Square 1957. The building has a new facade now

Note the pink  Opera House on the left (featured in a previous blog)