Mongolia #19 Day 9 of the Trek (04/10/15 )

More competitions were organised for the Eagle Festival but we had woken to a wild, windy day with dust blowing everywhere. So the group decided that the morning could be better spent exploring Olgii town, particularly the market.  I believe there was an ulterior motive on the part of some of the group… shopping perhaps!

DSC02150 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02150 © DY of jtdytravels

However, the ‘shoppers’ didn’t find much in this part of the market to their liking!  They were soon off to see if they could find crafts and cashmere.

DSC02151 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02151 © DY of jtdytravels

 I found the market most interesting.  In the leather section, I even found tins of Korean made “Kangaroo Brand” shoe polish. It brought back memories of the last time I was in Mongolia.  Damn good polish it proved to be as well.

DSC02152 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02152 © DY of jtdytravels

It was no use looking for cashmere amongst these rolls of brightly colourful linoleum.

This was not a market for tourists but for the locals…  their needs paramount.

DSC02160 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02160 © DY of jtdytravels

So back to the Festival where there seemed to be a very relaxed atmosphere on this, the second day. It was possible to be right beside a competitor, their mount and their eagle. 

goat tug of war 1

One of the more fascinating sports was a tug of war, on horseback, using a headless goat.

goat tug of war 2

Not only was the goat headless, but the legs had been cut off at the ‘elbows’. Made hanging on to the beast even harder.

Goat tug of war 3

It was a real test of strength and horsemanship.  The galloping, turning horses combined with the strong wind made it very dusty on the field and not at all pleasant. But it was somehow quite mesmerising to watch this crazy ‘sport’. At least the goat was being tenderised!

pick up coins

Another competition required the rider to pick up a coin from the ground at full gallop! There was great skill required to perform this seemingly impossible task… many failed.

When all the competitions were over, it was time for winners to be announced. Since I didn’t really understand the announcements, I decided to take photographs of the more obvious reactions amongst the competitors during the proceedings.  That was rather fun.

DSC02162 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02162 © DY of jtdytravels

The chief judge soon had everyone’s attention… he had the all important list of winners.

DSC02164 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02164 © DY of jtdytravels

A young competitor and his hooded eagle awaited the results… hopeful… maybe.

DSC02163 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02163 © DY of jtdytravels

A worried looking owner. His eagle looked totally disinterested in the results…

maybe it was one of the ‘naughty’ eagles that soared in the thermals!

DSC02168 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02168 © DY of jtdytravels

Other hopefuls milled around on their horses. 

DSC02170 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02170 © DY of jtdytravels

Finally, one of the winners was announced. For what, I wasn’t sure.

But big congratulations all round.

DSC02169 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02169 © DY of jtdytravels

Will I, won’t I?  Maybe?

DSC02172 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02172 © DY of jtdytravels

Yes!!!  They say: ‘winners are grinners’… and this grinner was indeed a winner!

DSC02174 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02174 © DY of jtdytravels

Another medal winner… slightly less ecstatic with his good fortune…but he couldn’t take

his eyes off his medal.  Winners were also presented with a certificate.

DSC02175 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02175 © DY of jtdytravels

And this was his medal.

DSC02176 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02176 © DY of jtdytravels

Looking on with us was James, a friend Tim made here on a previous visit. 

DSC02180 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02180 © DY of jtdytravels

After a fascinating afternoon, we returned to our ger camp… and what we found was utter devastation. Crumpled gers and belongings everywhere.  My little tent, although it lost one guy rope, was still standing (right of blue mess tent). 

DSC02181 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02181 © DY of jtdytravels

The very strong winds, strong enough to blow a person off their feet, had reeked havoc and blown three of the six gers over.  Tim had never heard of this happening before.

DSC02182 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02182 © DY of jtdytravels

A rescue operation was necessary to retrieve our belongings from the toppled gers and to disassemble the still standing gers.  This took over an hour to complete. 

DSC02183 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02183 © DY of jtdytravels

With no outer felt and calico covering, this ger shows its supporting wooden structure.

Obviously it was just not possible to sleep the night where we were, so Tseren swung into action to find alternative accommodation in Olgii.  As it turned out, the lady who ran the bathhouse had been asking Tseren to become a Facebook friend for some time.  Now this was the opportunity to see what she could do for us.  It just so happened that the bathhouse lady was trying to establish a guest house but she didn’t have any guests staying… even though the town was booked out due to the festival.  Here was a real chance for her to make some money. She agreed that all seventeen of us, plus the drivers and cooks, could stay overnight. Somehow we all found room on mattresses and rugs on the floor in various parts of this lady’s house.  It was rather amazing… her whole family had just up and left. Personal possessions such as pills and watches were still on shelves and ledges in the rooms… ’twas as if the owners had fled from some impending catastrophe.  Perhaps we were that catastrophe? 

It was not a good night’s sleep.  But what can you do!  That’s life.

More anon

David

All photographs copyright © DY  of  jtdytravels

If you enjoy these armchair travels, please pass our site onto others

www.dymusings.com

more of our travel stories and photos can be found on

www.jtdytravels.com

More of our travel photos are on

www.flickr.com/photos/jtdytravels

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

Mongolia #18 Day 8 of the Trek (03/10/15 Part b)

DSC02069 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02069 © DY of jtdytravels

The eagle competition was about to begin. This young handler, dressed in his elaborately embroidered clothes, had climbed up the rocky hillside with his eagle and awaited his turn to launch his bird. The stage was set for the main event!

Waiting to release eagle

The aim of the sport is simple really… the winner is the bird that takes the shortest time to fly from the point of release to the time it lands on its owner’s arm. When the starter gives the signal, the handler on the hill removes the eagle’s hood and sets the bird free. The eagle then SHOULD fly straight down to its owner on the horse and be reunited. The emphasis is on the word SHOULD! It doesn’t always happen that way.

[NB. I took lots of video but we are having no luck downloading it to WordPress at the moment…. so some photos taken from the video will have to suffice… my apologies.]

Eagle soaring

Several of the eagles had their own ideas about how to spend the afternoon… they soared the thermals giving spectacular flight displays. No prizes for that…  but it was really good to watch these majestic birds soar overhead.

DSC02130 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02130 © DY of jtdytravels

Eyes skyward… watching eagles soar!  A wonderful sight.

Eagle landed

When those soaring birds finally came down to land, many decided to check out the crowd rather than return to their owners. It was fun for us …  frustrating for the handlers.

correct landing

A few did as they were trained to do … they returned to their owner on the horse…

this to great cheers from the crowd and a possible chance to win the event.

Eagle returned to handler

Reunited…  no winner… but the possibility of another chance on another day.

How do you remonstrate with a bird this size?

DSC02129 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02129 © DY of jtdytravels

In amongst the crowd, I noticed this man with a wonderful face.

At times like this, I just wished that I could have understood his language;

heard his stories; learned so much more about his country, his people, his culture.

DSC02119 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02119 © DY of jtdytravels

A grandfather with grandchild… taking in all the activity and the ambiance.

Perhaps, one day, this child will become an eagle handler… who knows?

DSC02124 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02124 © DY of jtdytravels

In a nearby area, an archery competition was underway.

DSC02125 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02125 © DY of jtdytravels

Archers, dressed in traditional archery garb, took aim with crossbows.

This is another sport taken very seriously by the Kazakhs, and other Mongolians.

DSC02083 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02083 © DY of jtdytravels

Earlier in the morning, traders had arrived at the festival with there gers and their wares carefully packed onto their camels.  They set up a market near the event ‘field’.

DSC02120 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02120 © DY of jtdytravels

There were lots of small beautifully embroidered items for sale.

DSC02122 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02122 © DY of jtdytravels

I resisted the temptation to buy; well, almost!

DSC02138 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02138 © DY of jtdytravels

Just a small embroidered ‘dingle-dangle’ destined for our Christmas tree.

I had to remember that we had a 15 kilo limit for the plane.

DSC02137 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02137 © DY of jtdytravels

Oh… and a key ring of Kazakh boots – again for our Christmas tree

DSC02121 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02121 © DY of jtdytravels

But when it came to the wide variety of Kazakh embroidered rugs and mats, I looked, but for once, I resisted buying a rug! Beautiful though they were, and much as we love our floor rugs and carpets from many parts of the world, and even though Jennie’s favourite colour is red…. these colours just wouldn’t go with our decor at home.

DSC02136 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02136 © DY of jtdytravels

 Where ever there’s a festival, there’s always food. Lamb kebabs and fish were on offer.

DSC02139 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02139 © DY of jtdytravels

After a great day watching something very different from anything that I’ve ever seen before, it was back to the gers for a short stop. On the way, we passed by a veritable line up of those Russian “oo-warz-ik”, the ‘boxes-on-wheels’ vehicles so popular in these parts.

DSC02145 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02145 © DY of jtdytravels

Late afternoon scene back beside our ger camp.

DSC02143 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02143 © DY of jtdytravels

This old poplar also looked great in the late afternoon sun.

DSC02146 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02146 © DY of jtdytravels

We rounded out the day by attending a concert back in town. Performers at the concert were dressed in embroidered traditional garb and entertained us with their Kazakh music.

We still had another day at the Eagle Festival to look forward to… and so do you!

More anon

David

All photographs copyright © DY  of  jtdytravels

If you enjoy these armchair travels, please pass our site onto others

www.dymusings.com

more of our travel stories and photos can be found on

www.jtdytravels.com

More of our travel photos are on

www.flickr.com/photos/jtdytravels

.

Mongolia #17 Day 8 of the Trek (03/10/15 Part a)

Today was the day many of us had been waiting for; the first of two days of the famous Eagle Festival which shows off Mongolian/Kazakh prowess at eagle handling and horsemanship.

DSC02014 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02014 © DY of jtdytravels

The day dawned cold and windy but not frosty.  Instead of the beautiful blue sky we had become so used to, the sky carried a heavy load of cloud.  This was the view looking down the road leading to our overnight ger camp.

DSC02015 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02015 © DY of jtdytravels

We shared our location with a family who had a couple of gers, animals and two cars. Their site was sheltered by some old trees. It was amazing to see how they had managed to get their roots through the rocky river bed to a subterranean water source.

When in town, the cooks had taken the opportunity to buy some fresh bread, so that was good. Both black and white bread were on offer at breakfast.

And after breakfast, it was time for us to enjoy the Golden Eagle festival, an event of great significance in Mongolia which has been held in Olgii on the first weekend in October since 1999.  This event, the largest gathering of eagle hunters and their eagles in the world, is now recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Event.  The eagles are the stars of the show; prizes are awarded for their speed, agility and accuracy.  Their trainers are inspected to find the best traditionally dressed individual. The festival also showcases other Mongolian pursuits such as horse-riding, archery and the goat carcass  tug-of-war (Kukhbar) on horseback.

DSC02019 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02019 © DY of jtdytravels

The schedule of events looked very interesting and so it was with great anticipation that we headed off to the festival grounds for the opening ceremony.

DSC02081 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02081 © DY of jtdytravels

The ‘Welcome’ sign with rows of white rocks demarcating the event ground where all of the activity for the next two days would take place.  

DSC02082 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02082 © DY of jtdytravels

The grand march of horses, handlers and eagles began.

This area was backed by a rocky hill (to the left) from which the eagles would be launched.

DSC02093 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02093 © DY of jtdytravels

The official line-up… an impressive backdrop for the day’s events.

DSC02047 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02047 © DY of jtdytravels

Some of the eagle handlers/trainers were quite young.

I loved his hat…fur and feathers! It would look good in my hat collection.

DSC02024 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02024 © DY of jtdytravels

Contestants wore their finest clothes and head gear.

Note the hare hanging from the saddle… it would be eagle prey later in the contest.

DSC02040 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02040 © DY of jtdytravels

An old timer’s hat made from multi-coloured skins.

DSC02028 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02028 © DY of jtdytravels

Although eagle handling has traditionally been a male only ‘sport’, there were two young female trainers at this festival. Imagine having a mighty bird like that so close to your face! It’s all about trust… and, of course, the bird was hooded!

DSC02036 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02036 © DY of jtdytravels

The eagles hoods, or burqas, are preferably made from soft but strong kangaroo hide.

DSC02087 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02087 © DY of jtdytravels

An unhooded bird looks intently at something in the distance. Eagles have 10 times better seeing power than humans. This eagle’s handler is very trusting… over time, bird and handler become as friends. Note the tethering bands and the thick leather gloves that protect the handler’s arm from those very sharp talons.

DSC02044 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02044 © DY of jtdytravels

Horses also sported special tackle for the occasion.

DSC02140 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02140 © DY of jtdytravels

A beautiful old engraved and coral studded silver saddle

DSC02114 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02114 © DY of jtdytravels

An old saddle cloth, and saddle. Some saddles can be 100+ years old.

  The spiral “Y” shaped stick is an extra support to help hold the weight of an eagle.

DSC02132 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02132 © DY of jtdytravels

A rider, and his bird, contending with the wind show how the arm support is used.

DSC02073 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02073 © DY of jtdytravels

One of the festival competitions is for the best dressed handler. This young man must surely have been in the running for that with his beautifully embroidered coat and fur hat.

DSC02086 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02086 © DY of jtdytravels

Detail of the intricate Kazakh embroidery on the back of one of the coats.

DSC02108 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02108 © DY of jtdytravels

More fine embroidery… the full ensemble on a horse.

DSC02110 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02110 © DY of jtdytravels

Traditional Kazakh style of embroidery is all done in chain stitch.

DSC02102 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02102 © DY of jtdytravels

Some of the ladies were also dressed in their best.

Many hours of work must have gone into this coat… now a family heirloom, no doubt.

DSC02100 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02100 © DY of jtdytravels

This baby’s chubby cheeks caught my attention… no need for any fine embroidery!

DSC02097 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02097 © DY of jtdytravels

I only saw two raptors that were not Golden Eagles.

DSC02100 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02100 © DY of jtdytravels

What a beautiful bird!

DSC02128 © DY of jtdytravels

DSC02128 © DY of jtdytravels

While waiting for events to begin, all visitors had the chance to inspect and photograph the contestants; humans, birds and horses. There were some really big cameras in use. Although this guy wasn’t being ‘pushy’, many of his colleagues were absolutely awful, in your face awful. Some of them obviously thought that, if your camera wasn’t BIG, you had no right to be taking photos. How wrong can you be. All of my photos and videos were taken on my small hand held Sony HX90V and I’m very pleased with the results… and I hope that you are too.

More of the main events anon.

David

All photographs copyright © DY  of  jtdytravels

If you enjoy these armchair travels, please pass our site onto others

www.dymusings.com

more of our travel stories and photos can be found on

www.jtdytravels.com

More of our travel photos are on

www.flickr.com/photos/jtdytravels

.

.

.

.

.