Magical Mongolia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ger

Most of eastern Mongolia's landscape consists of steppe, a vast area of hilly grasslands dotted with thousands of lakes. For millennia the inhabitants of the Mongolian steppes were herders whose traditional lifestyle required them to go from place to place, depending on the changing seasons, to find pastures for their livestock to graze on.

A ger is a traditional Mongolian tent. The lower portion of a ger consists of circular wooden trelliswork. The upper portion consists of two upright poles which support a wooden roof ring. Numerous thinner poles connect the trelliswork with the roof ring forming an umbrella-shaped roof. The structure is then covered with felt made from camel or sheep's wool. The floor is covered with carpets. The roof ring lets in light and air, and smoke from the central fireplace out. A ger can be installed in about three hours (depending on the size) which makes it ideal for the nomadic lifestyle.

In other Central Asian countries the same type of tent is known as a yurt, which is its Turkic name.

Answer: It is a Buddhist monastery

Amarbayasgalant Khiid is one of the biggest and best preserved Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia. It is located in the valley of the Iven river in the Selenge province. Between 1727 and 1736 CE Qing emperor Yongzhen had the monastery constructed in honor of Zanazabar, the first spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia, whose remains were later transported to this monastery. Originally the complex consisted of 40 temples and buildings, each symbolizing the purity and simplicity of the Buddhist principles. Although the monastery was severely damaged during the Stalinist period its main structures are still largely intact.

Buddhism is the most important religion in Mongolia, more specifically the Tibetan branch of Buddhism, introduced in the 16th Century by Zanabazar. During the communist period Mongolia was officially atheistic but after the demise of the communist regime Buddhism made a strong comeback. Today about 50 % of the population considers itself Buddhist, while about 40 % adheres to no religion. Shamanic traditions, Christianity and Islam are minority religions in Mongolia.

Answer: Temüjin

Temüchin was born in 1162 in a world dominated by clan warfare. He was named after a defeated enemy of his father. After his father was murdered the family fell into destitution. During the hardships of his youth Temüchin learnt how to survive in a hostile environment and the importance of forging friendships and making allies. In his adult life he used this experience, his charisma, intelligence and natural leadership to unite the warring Mongol clans. In 1189 he was proclaimed 'Genghis Khan' (great leader), the title under which he is still known today. When the unification of the Mongol peoples was finally completed in 1206 he started a series of campaigns against the neighboring states. After his death in 1227 his sons and grandsons further enlarged the empire. At its height by the end of the 13th Century the Mongol empire stretched from central Europe to China and from Russia to Iran and Vietnam.

Jochi, Chaghatai and Tolui were the first, second and fourth sons of Genghis Khan. However, it was the third son, Ögedei, who succeeded his father as Great Khan. Choosing the third born over the elder brothers (or their sons) broke with tradition and caused great rivalry and infighting. This would eventually lead to the breakup of the empire into smaller khanates.

Answer: Karakorum

Karakorum was located in the Orkhon Valley, about 320 km (200 miles) west from present day capital Ulaanbataar, strategically located on the crossroads of the traditional migrating routes. After Kublai Khan (the fifth great khan and grandson of Genghis by his fourth son Tolui) had conquered most of China and founded the Yuan dynasty he moved the capital to Beijing.

Karakorum lost international importance but stayed a prosperous regional city. The city went into decline when the Yuan dynasty was replaced by the Ming dynasty in China. In 1380 the city was razed to the ground by Ming warriors.

Today almost nothing of the old capital is left. Some of the stones of Karakorum were used for the construction of the outer wall of the nearby Erdene Zuu monastery.

The three wrong answers are all cities which were important trading posts on the ancient silk road.

Answer: Petrified dinosaur eggs

During the Cretaceous (145 to 66 million years ago) the Gobi desert was a fertile area with rivers and forests, an ideal habitat for dinosaurs. Because of the current dry climate fossils are preserved in excellent condition, especially in the Flaming Cliffs region.

In the 1920s the American Museum of Natural History organised expeditions in the Flaming Cliffs region, led by Roy Chapman Andrews, during which the first dinosaur eggs were discovered, often in nests. This means that dinosaurs took care of their offspring, which was a significant shift in the interpretation of dinosaur behavior.

The eggs vary in size, form and structure. This offers vital information about the species that laid them. Some of the eggs have hard shells, comparable to bird eggs, which supports the theory that modern birds descend from dinosaurs.

Answer: Altai Mountains

The Altai mountain range lies on the borders of Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia and stretches over a length of about 2,000 km (1,243 miles). Altai is derived from the Turkish word 'altun' which means gold and refers to the rich natural resources of the area. The Altai mountain range is renowned for its rugged mountains, glaciers and clear lakes. It is home to some of the world's rarest creatures such as the snow leopard and the altai argali, a large horned wild sheep.

Khüiten Peak, Mongolia's highest mountain (4,374 m - 14,350 ft), lies in the Altai mountain range near the point where the borders of Mongolia, China and Russia meet.

Answer: Mongolia is the most sparsely populated sovereign state in the world

With an area of 2,724,900 km² (1,052,100 sq mi) Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world. Mongolia comes second.

Mongolia borders Russia in the north and China in the south. Although the smallest distance between the borders of Mongolia and Kazakhstan is only 37 km (23 miles) they're not neighbors.

The Gobi desert takes up about 30% of Mongolia's area. It stretches from southern Mongolia to northern China.

However, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated sovereign state compared to its total area. With an area of 1,566,116 km² (603,909 sq mi) and a population of about 3.4 million this comes down to an average population density of about 2.1 inhabitants per square km (or 5.6 per sq mi), bearing in mind that almost half of Mongolia's population lives in capital Ulaanbataar.

Answer: Przewalski's horse

Przewalski horses, or Mongolian wild horses, are the only surviving species of wild horses in the world (not to be confused with species, such as mustangs, that descend from domesticated horses who were reintroduced to the wild and have adapted there).

They are named after Russian explorer Nikolaj Przewalski, who discovered them in the 19th Century. Przewalski horses have a stocky build, short manes and a yellow-brownish coat.

Przewalski horses live in the vast steppes of Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan but because of hunting and loss of habitat they nearly went extinct in the wild in the 1960s. Since the 1990s international breeding programs to restore the population were started. Today they are successfully reintroduced in protected areas such as the Khustain Nuruu National Park in Mongolia. Although their numbers have increased Przewalski horses are still vulnerable due to climate change, limited genetic diversity and interaction with human activities.

Vitus Bering was an explorer of the north-eastern coast of Asia, who had the Bering Sea named after him. Wilfred Thesinger was a British officer who explored the 'empty corner' on the Arabian peninsula. Percy Fawcett tried to find a lost city in the Amazonian rain forest.

Answer: Tug of war

The Naamdam festival is held each year from July 11 to July 13. The full name of the festival is 'Eriin Gurvan Naadam', which means 'three manly games'. Those games are wrestling, horse racing and archery.

Up to 1,024 participants compete in the wrestling tournament, held over nine or ten rounds. The round is won if your opponent touches the ground with another body part than the feet or hands.

The horse racing event features races from 15 to 30 km (about 9 to 18 miles) depending on the age of the horse. The jockeys are between 5 and 13 years old.

The archery tournament is played in teams of 10, each participant is given four arrows. The goal is to hit 33 surs from a distance of 75 meters (65 for women). Surs are small cylinders, 3 high stacked on top of each other.

Tug of war was never part of the Naadam festival.

Nowadays women also compete in the horse racing and archery tournaments. The main event takes place in the capital Ulaanbataar, but there are also smaller events throughout the country. Originally it was a religious festival but now it remembers the Mongolian revolution of 1921, after which Mongolia became independent from China.

Answer: Fermented mare's milk

The beverage, also known as kumis in Turkic languages, has an alcohol content of about 3%. Apparently the drink goes down easily but for Westerners who aren't used to it overindulgence may lead to digestive problems.

Airag is made by pouring fresh mare's milk into wooden or hide containers which are hung on the trelliswork of the gers. The milk is churned with a long-handled ladle at least 1,000 times, and pummeled to aid fermentation.

Salted tea with milk, or süütei tsai, is another popular local drink. Mongols are big tea consumers as they hardly ever start a meal before they had a cup of tea. I've made up the two other options, but feel free to try them out.