Ground Breaking Ceremony

July 8th, 2011 Nalaikh District Ulaanbaatar






Oyu Tolgoi is set to become one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world. As part of its commitment to becoming a long term employer and contributing to the education, training and development of young Mongolians, Oyu Tolgoi will build 3 vocational training centres across Mongolia, fulfilling its desire to have a workforce where nine out of ten people are Mongolian.  


Today was the ground breaking ceremony for the first and largest of those vocational centres.  We were fortunate enough to be invited to join the festivities. 

Scale model

International guest list!  (Boys' first few days in Mongolia)

VIP tent with the celebratory Ul Boov

Ul Boov is filled with dairy products such as dried yoghurt's, cheese, urum...

Buddhist monk recites prayers over the broken ground

Officials take it in turns to turn the ground

OT's representatives

Getting a special brief.  Thanks Sim!

The ceremony was interspersed with traditional Mongolian dancers, singers and musicians.  As well as the entertainment, the very best brew of airag was flowing in inappreciable quantities!

First sampling of airag.  Definitely, an acquired taste.
(Jono you look like you may have had some already!)

"Khoomi"Thoat Singing: to hear it for the first time is a wonder!

Young dance troupe who performed a dance about the eagle.

The eagle!

The queue for airag never abated

e

Pint-sized talent singing James Blunt's " You're Beautiful"

A rustic stage!

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)

A Weekend in the Countryside

Summertime in Mongolia is short but spectacular.   There are endless expanses of grasslands, low mountain ranges, granite cliffs, fertile valleys, lakes and rivers to enjoy.  It's also the home of 30 million goats, sheep, cows and camels, so there are a lot of encounters with livestock!  It's not at all difficult to understand why during summer there is a mass exodus to the countryside in keeping with nomadic tradition.   It's definitely a welcome relief from the city's congestion.  Last weekend we also joined the ranks  to soak up some fresh air and rural simplicity...  these photos are a good representation of what a weekend spent in the countryside looks like.

Double click on the photos if you want to see them full screen

This is the "highway" out of town-
narrow with tons of hazards like potholes, wandering animals and people who stop to relieve themselves! (not all that different from a city road!)

Our Ger camp exit

The following pictures were taken on our walk.   Ole told us he knew friends living "over the next hill" who we should pay a surprise visit to, but in fact it turned out to be 2 challenging hills!  The scenery made up for the unexpected "hike".  We arrived to find nobody home. A neighbour said they had gone to the "countryside" for the weekend. Had to chuckle, I really thought that's where we were!!

Looks as though this could be a farm scene in any country

Getting higher....

and higher...

...and higher still!  We came from the gers pictured on the right (in the valley).
(the soccer pitch will be seen from another view further on in the blog again)

Ole...waiting for the stragglers

Judy and Col

The view is different again from another perspective.

On our travels, we found a group of people preparing traditional Mongolian Khorkhog which is basically mutton cooked with hot stones. Meat is layered with vegetables and hot rocks in a container which is then closed and put on the stove to simmer.  Apparently they can tell when its ready by the aroma.  I was happy to see all the men doing the preparations!

That's burning dung in the centre of the picture.
 The guy in the foreground is peeling carrots, onions and potatoes

The meat, veges and hot stones will be layered into the milk jug on the right.

Some of the meat...looks quite lean in comparison to what's usually on offer!

Passing cow parade at dusk each night...they seemed to know where they were headed.

...enjoying a pre dinner drink after a long walk

There were some heavy rain showers on Sunday afternoon.
 This is the soccer pitch that was in an earlier picture.

The Flora and Fauna....up close.

A herder who was making good business offering horse and camel rides.

They say dog owners really do look like their pets.
  Could it be the same for camel owners??
I didn't want to be unkind but I couldnt help  comparing this man's face with his camels!

You often see calves with Coca Cola cans hanging off their noses 
(they are used as a weaning aid :(  )

We had to pass this guy as we rounded the fence.  
Although he was timid, he was large and intimidating up close!

The hills were covered in a large variety of wild flowers.

It was quite suprising to see how similar the flora was to our own Australian natives.

It's not difficult to see why Mongolians retreat to the countryside every chance they get. 
I think we'll do the same!

Please feel free to post comment in comment section below, I love hearing from you!  Thanks to everyone who does via email and Facebook,  it's very encourageing to see so much interest in Mongolia.  Susie

Disclaimer:  Although he was also in the countryside, there are no pictures of Dad as he was attending a workshop in a 5 star Hotel!! about 10 km away.