of the Golden Ganjuur, the Buddhist catechisms. The courses offered by the university, which was established in 1970, include Buddhist Philosophy, Astrology and TMM (Traditional Mongolian Medicine). Currently, a staff of 14 lecturers are available to teach the 210 students.
One artefact remaining from the original Gandan is worth a mention. It is an old wooden beam that survived the wave of destruction that swept through the country in 1937. Mongolian Buddhists still revere this time-witness from the past, today. It is located not far away from the current Megjid Janaraiseg Temple, somewhat removed from the centre of activity.
Das größte Kloster in Ulaanbaatar – Gandantegchinlen Khiid mit der goldenen Janaraiseg-Statue.
The legend: ”White Tara“
When Buddha saw the hard life that the people were living, he started to weep. And the 21 tears he shed turned into the 21 female Taras. The Taras are good spirits for all mankind and they symbolise humanity. Twenty of the Taras sit in an open cross-legged position, so that they can stand up quickly if someone needs their help. Only the White Tara sits in the so-called lotus or closed cross-legged position, as she has eyes in the soles of her feet and in the palms of her hands so that she can observe and protect the people.
Many years ago, there lived an elderly married couple who had just one son. When the father died suddenly, the son set off into the world to study. “Go my son and study while I am still alive,” said his mother. “I will wait for you and when you return, please bring a White Tara with you,” she continued. The young man went to Tibet, and through his studies achieved enlightenment. He lived a contented life and completely forgot about his mother. On his return in autumn, he didn’t know where to look for his mother as she might already have moved into winter quarters. He also didn’t know what she would look like after the long years of his absence. He was worried that he wouldn’t recognise her again. Suddenly, he belatedly remembered his mother’s parting request to him and wondered what he should do. As he didn’t have a White Tara, he picked up a white stone from the ground and wrapped it in a khadag, a blue Mongolian prayer cloth. When he found his mother, she asked him whether he had studied a lot in Tibet and whether he had fulfilled her request. The son replied by telling her that he had studied a great deal abroad and that indeed, he had brought her a White Tara. He asked his mother however not to unwrap it and always to keep it covered by the khadag. For three years, his mother prayed to the white stone in the hope that it was a White Tara. When she reached eighty, she felt that her time had come to die. She begged her son to be allowed to see the White Tara. There was no way out for the young man and he unwrapped the white stone. To his great surprise and relief however, the stone had actually turned into a White Tara, thanks to the firm and devout belief that the mother had had in her son.
The legend: “River Tuul“
The King of Heaven had three extremely beautiful daughters. The oldest of the three was called Kherlen, the middle one was called Onon and the youngest was called Tuul. After the three sisters had grown up and reached adulthood, the king married off his oldest daughter to the Pacific. The middle daughter was married to a foreign sea. The youngest daughter however, remained single and stayed at home with her father. The two elder daughters never paid any attention to their aging father and also never returned to their homeland once they were married. This displeased their father greatly and he said to the two of them that he never wanted to see them again because they were married so far away from home. For that reason, they were forbidden from ever returning home again. Since this time, the rivers Kherlen gol and Onon gol flow out of the country while the river Tuul gol remains in Mongolia.
The Sky Resort is a skiing paradise outside the gates of the city that attracts a lot of visitors in the winter.
Here at the Khar zakh (Black Market), the residents of Ulaanbaatar buy there daily provisions.
Takhis or Przewalski’s Horses
Przewalski was a Russian explorer of Central Asia. In 1878, he visited Mongolia. During his visit, he found bones and skin from a strange horse. After his return, he had his find investigated in St. Petersburg, where it was ascertained that the items must originate from a wild, primordial horse. In 1881, this breed was officially given the name Przewalski’s Horse.
The last example of the animal living freely in Mongolia was observed back in 1969. In 1992, following breeding programmes run by various European zoos, the horses were released back into the wild in Mongolia. One of the game reserves where they can be seen today is the Khustain Nuruu National Park close to Ulaanbaatar.
The takhis or Przewalski horses can be seen not far from Ulaanbaatar in the Khustain Nuruu National Park.
Baigaljav – The Horse Head Fiddle Maker
The master craftsman welcomes us with open arms. In front of us, stands one of the best and most well-known horse head fiddle makers in Mongolia. I look down the narrow passage to his workshop. Baigaljav invites us to follow him as he first takes us into his office. There, we are safe from the noises of the work going on; hammering, drilling, polishing and the whine of an electric saw. Baigaljav grew up in Odmaa’s hometown. He speaks like Odmaa without any appreciable dialect, as all the residents from the South Gobi. As we start to talk, he tells us very kindly that we can take us much time as we want.
He says that it was an unusual experience he had as a child that lead him to his calling. It was predestined for him, which is why he can talk of a calling or a vocation. I can just imagine him as a small child, listening to a musician as he played a Morin Khuur. In the vastness and the loneliness of the desert, the sounds of the instrument must have seemed to him to have been a gift sent from heaven.
Baigaljav trained as an instrument maker in a company run by the socialist state, the only organisation in Mongolia where horse head fiddles were made. In 1989, after the peaceful revolution, he had the chance to set up his own company, Egshiglen Magnai - Musical Instrumental Co. Ltd. It took him two years to make all the preparations but then the founding of the company proceeded as planned, with the active support of his wife. To start with, they made instruments to order for one dealer. Nine years down the line, business is going very well, well enough indeed to open his own shop in Ulaanbaatar. He is now 52 and has a staff of 40 employees.
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