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We stayed at the Anar Ger Camp which is one of a few located beside the Orkhon River that flows past the town. If you walk to the river you'll get some lovely views of it flowing over a long weir.
Written Sep 26, 2008
The views of the town and surrounding countryside are pretty good from the monument as you can see by the photos.
Written Sep 26, 2008
This monument lies on top of a small hill that overlooks the town. It was erected in 2006 to mark the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongol Empire and shows the three main stages of the empires advancement - its uniting of the Mongol people, the invasion into China under Kublai Khan and the invasion into the Middle East.
Written Sep 26, 2008
Erdene Zuu, (meaning "Hundred Treasures"), was the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. The monastery was started in 1586 by Abtai Khaan, but wasn't entirely finished until about 300 years later. It had between 60 and 100 temples, about 300 gers were set up inside the walls and, at its height, up to 1000 monks were in residence.
Like Karakorum, the monastery was abandoned and then vandalised by the invading Manchu’s. Attempts at restoration were made in about 1760 and, again, in 1808 under the direction of the famous architect Manzshir, but then came the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. All but three of the temples in Erdene Zuu were destroyed and an unknown number of monks were either killed or shipped off to Siberia and never heard from again.
However, a surprising number of statues, tsam masks and scroll paintings were saved from the monastery at the time of the purges - possibly with the help of a few sympathetic military officers. These were buried in nearby mountains, or stored in local homes (at great risk to the residents). The monastery remained closed until 1965 when it was permitted to reopen as a museum, but not as a place of worship. It was only with the collapse of communism in 1990 that religious freedom was restored and the monastery became active again. Today, Erdene Zuu still retains much of its former glory and is the largest tourist draw outside Ulaanbaatar.
Written Sep 26, 2008
Website: http://www.erdenezuu.mn
In order to drive to the Erdene Zuu Monastery, we had to drive through the town from our tourist ger camp and so passed by the building in the town. The town itself is pretty bleak, as most towns I saw in Mongolia tend to be, serving more for practicality and function than being aesthetically pleasing on the eye. Virtually every house has a ger and the plot of land is bordered with wooden fence panels. There also, or were, some industrial buildings located on the northern suburbs which are, and indeed some have, falling into disrepair.
Written Sep 26, 2008
Anar Ger Camp: Beside Orkhon River
Willettsworld Says: We stayed at the Anar Ger Camp which is one of a few located beside the Orkhon River that flows past the town. If you walk to the river you'll get some lovely views of it flowing over a long weir. It features the largest shower/toilet block that we came across during out...
This is inside the large restaurant ger on the Anar Ger Camp where I stayed the night in Harhorin. Inside is a huge stove and a large statue of Genghis Khan at one end. I don't remember much about the food we ate here but it was at the same good standards as any other ger camp that we stayed at. In the evening after dinner we watched a musical and contortionist show by the Karakorum Group who played and sung traditional Mongolian songs and music.
Written Sep 26, 2008
In the evening after dinner we watched a musical and contortionist show by the Karakorum Group who played and sung traditional Mongolian songs and music. The songs featured traditional Mongolian instruments and, of course, throat singing. A young, rather too bendy, 12-year old girl performed a contortion act to the music by the group. They were all very good and I think they perform every night whenever tourists are in town. You can by a CD of their music after the show. More photos of them can be found in my travelogues.
Written Sep 26, 2008
Favorite thing: I stayed in Harhorin during the riots that were taking place in UB following the general election and asked my guide if it was possible to access the internet for more information and to email my mum to say that I was OK. She took us into the town and to this Information Centre which featured a few internet PC's and a bank. There's a sign on the wall saying that the PC's were setup by the Government of India in 2005-06, which was nice of them to do!
Written Sep 26, 2008
Harhorin - Modern town next to ancient capital
Harhorin, sometimes known as Kharkhorin, is a town in the centre of Ovorhangay Aimag and is famous for the nearby ruins of the ancient town of Karakorum, which for a short time served as the capital...
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