Mongolia Travel Guide
Mongolia is mainly of interest to the visitor for the rough scenery and wildlife. Horse treks through the country with camping in the traditional tents are a perfect way of discovering the traditional Mongol way of life. Mongolia has a unique and durable traditional culture, centered around the herding lifestyle. Herders remain semi-nomadic, moving their animals with the seasons as they have for centuries. Half of Mongolia's population is rural, and herding remains the backbone of the Mongolian economy.
Despite the popular image of Mongolians as nomadic herders, it is an increasingly urbanized country. More than one quarter of Mongolians live in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. The other major urban centers are Darkhan and Erdenet. In these cities, especially Ulaanbaatar there are still a number of Buddhist sites. Before turning communist this country was profoundly Buddhist.
Traditionally, Buddhist monasteries were centers both of learning and of power in Mongolia. In the 1930s, this power became the focus of a ruthless series of purges that reached a climax in 1937. Most of the country's monasteries were destroyed, and as many as 17,000 monks were killed. Today there just a few old monasteries you can visit and they have very beautiful artifacts, but Mongolia is once again embracing its Buddhist heritage. Monasteries are being restored and are once again crowded with worshippers. The Dalai Lama is an enormously popular figure and has visited the country several times.
Featured Destinations from Europe
Jouxtens-Mézery : Switzerland
Jouxtens-Mézery is a commune in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district and a suburb of Lausanne.
Tel? : Czech Republic
Tel? is a city in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. It contains a castle and a long urban plaza with well-conserved Renaissance houses; since 1992 all of this has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The builder of the castle was Zachariá of Hradec, after whom the plaza was
Ypres : Belgium
Ypres Travel Guide Ypres (locally: Ieper) is a small cosy town in Western Flanders, Belgium's coastal region. Its roots are back in the early middle ages. In those days, Ypres lived from its sheet-weaving industry. The trade was mainly with France, London, Italian States, and also up north with the Hanze.
Roma (Rome) : Italy
Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. It is located on the Tiber and Aniene rivers, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°54? N 12°29? E. The Vatican City, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church
Nitra : Slovakia
Nitra (in German: Neutra, in Hungarian: Nyitra [in the past frequently Nyitria]) is a city in western Slovakia (and the fourth largest urban settlement in Slovakia) situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the Nitra river valley. It is the seat of a region (kraj) or Higher Territorial Unit
Dunshaughlin : Ireland
Dunshaughlin (Domhnach Seachnaill in Irish), is a town in County Meath in Ireland. It is named after St Seachnaill, a contemporary of St Patrick, who established a church there in the 5th century. Dunshaughlin (or more specifically, the townland of Lagore) is famous for an ancient crannog or settlement from
Maków Podhala?ski : Poland
Maków Podhala?ski (before 1930 Maków) is a town in southern Poland. Population: 5710 inhabitants (2002). Since 1999 situated in Sucha Beskidzka county, Lesser Poland Voivodship. Previously (1975-1998) in Bielsko-Biala Voivodship.
Heidelberg: Germany
Heidelberg: Germany Heidelberg (halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2002, there are 140,000 people living on the city's 109 km2. Heidelberg lies on the river Neckar at the point where the Neckar leaves its narrow, steep valley in the Odenwald hills to flow into the
Gmunden : Austria
Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria with 15,075 inhabitants. It lies on the lake Traunsee.
Oviedo : Spain
Oviedo (Asturian, Uviéu; Latin, Ovetus) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. Oviedo is the capital of the Principality of Asturias and is the administrative and commercial centre of the region. The city also hosts the annual Prince of Asturias Awards, held in the Campoamor Theatre.


