Gobi on a glance

In 2009 we've done a 'big trip': continuous travel for 5 months, highly recommended to anyone! :)
Of those 5 months we spent 3,5 weeks in Mongolia, and 1 week in de Gobi desert.

To give a brief factual introduction, Mongolia (wedged between China and Russia) is :

• the 19th biggest country in the world;
• while it's population at the 140th place:very few countries are as sparcely populated with about 1,6 persons per square kilometer;
• 40% of the population live in the capital UlaanBaataar;
• 30% of the population is nomadic or semi nomadic.

Most of the country is, specially through my Western eyes, incredibly empty. The vastness and emptyness of the country was overwhelming.

It's hard to describe our desert week, because it was impressive on so many different levels. We went into the Gobi in a minivan with driver and tour guide and a total of 6 tourists a visited different sites. We covered approx. 1600km, of which 100km were paved.

Sturdy minivan, only one flat tire.

In the Gobi we hardly found anything that we thought even remotely resembled a road. Thank god for our knowledgeable driver! The Mongols of course do travel through te Gobi, as they have for centuries. As a remnant you find ovoos all over the 'routes'. An ovoo is a type of shamanistic cairn, usually made from rocks or from wood. Ovoos are often found at the top of mountains and in high places, like mountain passes. They serve mainly as religious sites, used in worship of the mountains and the sky as well as in Buddhist ceremonies, but often are also landmarks.
When travelling, it is custom to stop and circle an ovoo three times in clockwise direction, in order to have a safer journey. Usually, rocks are picked up from the ground and added to the pile. Also, one may leave offerings in the form of sweets, money, milk, or vodka.
 

Sunset over an ovoo

In another post I'll tell a bit more about specific places we've visited. But Bayanzag is on of the most impressive sites.  In English the site is known as the 'Flaming cliffs'. Bayanzag became known because the world first fossilized dinosour eggs were found here.
Fun Fact: Bayanzag was named by the American American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews. Some say Indiana Jones was based on Andrews....
 

Bayanzag