Mongolia -- Land Of Milk & Mutton
![A Mongolian tour guide dressed in traditional costume. - Mongolia has sought to build up its tourism industry in the 20 years since it abandoned communism and switched to a market economy. This has led to a proliferation of so-called "tourist camps," where foreign visitors can sleep in yurts, tour the countryside on horse- and camelback, and watch modern-day Mongolian warriors re-enact traditional battles.](https://gdb.rferl.org/481ef066-0bc8-4dda-be9f-5a629b0718a2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Mongolian tour guide dressed in traditional costume. - Mongolia has sought to build up its tourism industry in the 20 years since it abandoned communism and switched to a market economy. This has led to a proliferation of so-called "tourist camps," where foreign visitors can sleep in yurts, tour the countryside on horse- and camelback, and watch modern-day Mongolian warriors re-enact traditional battles.
![A solar panel rests outside a felt ger, or yurt, outside the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator. - Something old, something new. Mongolian nomads have lived for centuries in gers, the felt tents that are easy to dismantle and transport when it's time for a family to move its herds to a new pasture. But modern times are creeping into the old way of life -- many gers have solar panels as a cheap and easy way to generate power for radios, mobile phones, and even televisions.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a84f237f-6599-4804-ba1f-8916190e1783_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A solar panel rests outside a felt ger, or yurt, outside the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator. - Something old, something new. Mongolian nomads have lived for centuries in gers, the felt tents that are easy to dismantle and transport when it's time for a family to move its herds to a new pasture. But modern times are creeping into the old way of life -- many gers have solar panels as a cheap and easy way to generate power for radios, mobile phones, and even televisions.
![A family shrine in a Mongolian ger. - Mongolian nomads keep possessions to a minimum, but every ger includes a small, brightly colored shrine that mixes family photographs with prayer wheels, incense burners, and Buddhist figurines. Life in gers is conducted according to standard rules and traditions. First-time visitors must enter to the left, and only move within the ger in a clockwise direction. Family elders and respected visitors occupy the right side of the ger.](https://gdb.rferl.org/13398d0b-5720-4b3f-a3bc-f8a82263eea6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A family shrine in a Mongolian ger. - Mongolian nomads keep possessions to a minimum, but every ger includes a small, brightly colored shrine that mixes family photographs with prayer wheels, incense burners, and Buddhist figurines. Life in gers is conducted according to standard rules and traditions. First-time visitors must enter to the left, and only move within the ger in a clockwise direction. Family elders and respected visitors occupy the right side of the ger.
![Bowls of vodka, kumiss, and khimiin arkhi, or "milk vodka." - The start of a great evening: Russian vodka; kumiss, the sour, mildly alcoholic drink made from fermented mare's milk, and khimiin arkhi, a mellow, vodka-like drink distilled from milk. Khimiin arkhi is light but potent: Russians living in communist Mongolia called it "khitraya vodka," or "tricky vodka," for its tendency to sneak up on you. Mongolians will often serve alcoholic drinks from a single copper bowl, passed around the table -- a strategy that allows guests to discreetly down as little or as much as they need.](https://gdb.rferl.org/437849d9-ab63-4240-a7ac-023d79107785_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Bowls of vodka, kumiss, and khimiin arkhi, or "milk vodka." - The start of a great evening: Russian vodka; kumiss, the sour, mildly alcoholic drink made from fermented mare's milk, and khimiin arkhi, a mellow, vodka-like drink distilled from milk. Khimiin arkhi is light but potent: Russians living in communist Mongolia called it "khitraya vodka," or "tricky vodka," for its tendency to sneak up on you. Mongolians will often serve alcoholic drinks from a single copper bowl, passed around the table -- a strategy that allows guests to discreetly down as little or as much as they need.
![A bowl of bread and aruul, or dried cheese curds. - No Mongolian home is complete without a bowl of aruul on the table. The tough, sour blocks of curd -- made from cow, yak, or camel milk and slowly dried in the sun -- can be an acquired taste for outsiders. But they are vitamin-rich, long-lasting, and easy to carry -- an essential food for nomads who spend long days outside with no other source of nourishment.](https://gdb.rferl.org/d6a13c9a-e54d-46f0-b1ce-2fa6a4a335c1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A bowl of bread and aruul, or dried cheese curds. - No Mongolian home is complete without a bowl of aruul on the table. The tough, sour blocks of curd -- made from cow, yak, or camel milk and slowly dried in the sun -- can be an acquired taste for outsiders. But they are vitamin-rich, long-lasting, and easy to carry -- an essential food for nomads who spend long days outside with no other source of nourishment.
![A woman selling homemade pickles in an Ulan Bator market. - Mongolians have picked up a few culinary preferences from neighboring Russia over the years, including a taste for sour homemade pickles. Numerous women at markets can be spotted wearing cabbage leaves on their heads, which are believed to relieve headaches caused by high blood pressure.](https://gdb.rferl.org/61b47d9b-5d1f-47d7-9544-49a9bfbbec27_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman selling homemade pickles in an Ulan Bator market. - Mongolians have picked up a few culinary preferences from neighboring Russia over the years, including a taste for sour homemade pickles. Numerous women at markets can be spotted wearing cabbage leaves on their heads, which are believed to relieve headaches caused by high blood pressure.
![An open-air market in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator. - Mongolians are dedicated meat-and-dairy eaters, but occasionally let a few vegetables onto their plate. Many of the vegetables sold at markets are imported from China, although some are locally grown. A kilo of potatoes can sell for 700 tugrik, or 50 U.S. cents.](https://gdb.rferl.org/9909f4ed-e5b5-40ad-bc5a-62f6d41ddd9c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An open-air market in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator. - Mongolians are dedicated meat-and-dairy eaters, but occasionally let a few vegetables onto their plate. Many of the vegetables sold at markets are imported from China, although some are locally grown. A kilo of potatoes can sell for 700 tugrik, or 50 U.S. cents.
![A sheep sale under way in a suburban district of Ulan Bator. - Mongolia has more sheep than people. Sheep are valued for their wool, milk, meat, and even their bones. A large, healthy sheep -- judged by the plumpness under their tail -- can sell for 55,000 tugrik, or approximately $38.](https://gdb.rferl.org/dc0916b1-3b55-4cad-a1cf-87d5bb966fd2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A sheep sale under way in a suburban district of Ulan Bator. - Mongolia has more sheep than people. Sheep are valued for their wool, milk, meat, and even their bones. A large, healthy sheep -- judged by the plumpness under their tail -- can sell for 55,000 tugrik, or approximately $38.
![A sheep is killed and butchered on the outskirts of Ulan Bator. - A single sheep can feed a family of four for a month in Mongolia. Residents of Ulan Bator will drive to the city outskirts, where streetside vendors offer one-stop shopping for people looking to buy and butcher a sheep. Mongolians have a deep respect for animals, and typically kill sheep not by slitting their throats but by making a small incision in their chest and gently squeezing the pulmonary veins until the sheep collapses, usually without a struggle.](https://gdb.rferl.org/8cbf033c-5bff-490c-8f08-0ab116f69657_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A sheep is killed and butchered on the outskirts of Ulan Bator. - A single sheep can feed a family of four for a month in Mongolia. Residents of Ulan Bator will drive to the city outskirts, where streetside vendors offer one-stop shopping for people looking to buy and butcher a sheep. Mongolians have a deep respect for animals, and typically kill sheep not by slitting their throats but by making a small incision in their chest and gently squeezing the pulmonary veins until the sheep collapses, usually without a struggle.
![Brainteaser, Mongolian-style. A puzzle crafted from sheep bones. - Mongolians have a vast array of games and mind-bending puzzles, all presumably designed with the aim of whiling away long winter nights on the steppe. Many of the games are crafted from sheep bones -- particularly ankle bones, which are tossed, dice-like, or laced onto a string for puzzles like these. (Photographs by Daisy Sindelar)](https://gdb.rferl.org/d1f811e1-b365-48d0-b8d4-a245b7a95c36_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Brainteaser, Mongolian-style. A puzzle crafted from sheep bones. - Mongolians have a vast array of games and mind-bending puzzles, all presumably designed with the aim of whiling away long winter nights on the steppe. Many of the games are crafted from sheep bones -- particularly ankle bones, which are tossed, dice-like, or laced onto a string for puzzles like these.
(Photographs by Daisy Sindelar)