Immense Mongolia — the country is amazing. The once ferocious nomads from these lands terrified all the surroundings, but today Mongolia is a peaceful agrarian state. In summer it is unbearably hot here, in winter — it is terribly cold, but modern Mongols cope well with the vagaries of nature.
Interesting facts about Mongolia
- This is one of the largest states in the world that does not have its own sea coast. Of all landlocked countries, only Kazakhstan is larger than it (interesting facts about Kazakhstan).
- The name of Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, is translated as “red hero”. This is the coldest administrative center of the state in the world due to cool summers and harsh winters, much more frosty than in the capitals of Russia or Finland (interesting facts about Ulaanbaatar).
- On the territory of Ulaanbaatar there is a sacred a mountain at the foot of which Genghis Khan was gaining strength before the next victorious campaign. According to legend, he forbade logging and hunting on this peak, turning it into a kind of reserve, and then hid his belongings and weapons here.
- The Mongol Empire, founded by Genghis Khan, was the largest empire in the history of mankind, spread over one continent. This superpower occupied 22% of the earth’s land surface.
- In Mongolia, Genghis Khan’s birthday is celebrated annually – this holiday falls on the first day of the first month of winter according to the lunar calendar.
- The statue of Genghis Khan near the Mongolian capital is the largest equestrian monument ever created in the world. The height of this statue without a pedestal is 40 meters. The two-story pedestal of the monument houses a museum, a conference hall, an art gallery, restaurants and a billiard room, and the head of the Great Khan’s horse is so large that it has been equipped with an observation deck.
- In Mongolia, every year they celebrate the national holiday Naadam, which continues for several days. As part of the celebrations, horse races, competitions in Mongolian wrestling and archery are held.
- In Mongolian wrestling there is no division into weight categories, space restrictions, and earlier there were no time frames either. The first player to touch the ground with any part of the body other than the feet or hands loses. The victor of the bout must perform the eagle dance.
- The Mongols made great strides in sumo wrestling, Japan’s sacred sport. There are currently 42 wrestlers in the top division, 12 of whom are natives of Mongolia.
- There are no street names or house numbers in Mongolian settlements – each object has its own code of letters and numbers, assigned based on its current position on the ground, because there are still many nomads in the country.
- The Netherlands could be located on the territory of Mongolia 37 times (interesting facts about the Netherlands).
- The population density in this country is exceptionally low. There are less than 2 people per square kilometer, and in many parts of the country there are no people at all.
- 25% of all snow leopards inhabiting the Earth live in Mongolia.
- Ancient people settled modern Mongolian lands in about 85,000 BC
- Genghis Khan conquered more land in a quarter of a century than the Romans did in four centuries.
- Genghis Khan’s burial place is unknown. According to Mongolian legend, all the people who came to the funeral were either killed or committed suicide in order to take this secret with them to the grave.
- The Mongolian Gobi Desert — the third largest on Earth (interesting facts about deserts).
- There are special schools for children whose parents adhere to a nomadic lifestyle. Thanks to this literacy, 98% of the country’s population is educated.
- In Mongolia, shooting stars are considered the news of someone’s death.