Everything you need to know about Mongolia: news, reviews, in-depth analysis, opinion and more

Mongolia: Landlocked Asian Country and Land of the Mongols

Mongolia gained notoriety during the reign of the mighty Genghis Khan in the 13th Century. The conquests of Genghis Khan made Mongolia a powerful and huge Eurasian empire. In the 14th century after his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states. In the beginning of 17th century Mongolia became the part of Chinese Empire and gained independence in 1921 with help from Russian troops. In 1989 a pro-democracy revolution led by Sanjaasurengiyn Zorig led to ushering in a democratic era in Mongolia and the first multi-party elections were held in 1990.

· National Name: Republic of Mongolia
· Capital: Ulan Bator
· Total area: 1.56 million sq km (603,909 sq miles)
· Population: 2.7 million (UN, 2008)
· Currency: Togrog
· Languages: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
· Ethnicity/ Races: Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)
· Religion: Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, none 40% (2004)
· GDP (Per Capita): $3,300 (2008 est.)
· Life Expectancy: Male: 64.92 years, Female: 69.84 years (2008 est.)
· Literacy Rate: Male: 98%, Female: 97.5% (2000 census)

Culture, Cuisine and Tradition of Mongolia:
The culture of Mongolia is amalgamation of traditional elements with centuries old heritage and with growing modern elements. Until the 20th century Mongolia did not possess a cohesive culture. Only a few remnants of ancient cultures exist, including Stone Age campsites and Mongolia’s traditional folklore. The Republic of Mongolia has established national culture and sponsored drama, art schools and state theater of music and drama in order to propagate national culture. Mongolian literature is rich and epic in form. The heroic epics, legends, tales, yurol, and magtaa are the some of the aspects of Mongolian literature.

The Mongolian cuisine is simple due to use of less spice and other ingredients. Due to hard and long winters Mongolians cannot cultivate crop and vegetables so their meals are mostly based on meats, mutton, marmot, horsemeat, yak milk and horse milk. The mutton is either boiled or filled with various ingredients. It is stewed and cooked with oil and flour or prepared with noodles.

Economy of Mongolia:
Economic activity in Mongolia is based on herding and agriculture. Mongolia has rich mineral deposits of copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold. The tourism sector has long remained unexplored but the Mongolian government is planning to convert Mongolia’s vast tourism potential into an economic asset.

Tourist Attractions of Mongolia:
Mongolia is a land of scenery, wildlife, and historic and cultural sites. The historical saga of the great warrior Genghis Khan and the associated places remain the center of attraction for the tourists. The main festival is Naadam, which has been organized for centuries and consists of traditional Mongolian sports; archery, and horseracing.

Gandan Monastery: is the largest and most significant monastery in Mongolia and one of Ulan Bator 's most interesting sights. Built in the mid 19th century, it is the only monastery where Buddhism continued to flourish even during the communist rule.

The Zanabazar Fine Arts Museum: is a fine collection of art works by artists, sculptors and painters of Mongolia from the ancient times till present. The museum has number of rock inscriptions, graphic arts, Buddhist tankas, embroideries and unique Tsam dancing costumes.

· Bogd Khan Palace Museum
· Choijin Lama Monastery
· Sukhbaatar Square
· Natural History Museum
· Ulaanbaatar