Mongolia | Töv Aimag | Chingis’s Table | Old Man’s Bushes

From Zevgee’s ger on the Terelj Gol (a tributary of the Kherlen Gol, not be be confused with the Terelj Gol north of Ulaan Baatar), to Khökh Nuur is a distance of 21.9 miles as the crow flies. Unfortunately we were riding horses and so had to take a more roundabout route. We rode south along the west bank of the Kherlen Gol to Nomkhan Khairkhan Uul, where according to legend Mongols during the time of Chingis Khan used to gather to pay their respects to Burkhan Khaldun, which can be seen from here far off to the north. Burkhan Khaldun was quite visible today and its summit and upper flanks were covered with snow. Zevgee says this snow just fell in the last two or three days. Indeed, it is surprising chilly even here in the lower Kherlen Valley. I had planted this trip at this time to enjoy the last balmy days of summer, hopefully without flies or mosquitoes, but now autumn was definitely in the air. And there was a sharp wind out of the east which made everyone don their deels.

At the southern end of Nomkhan Khairkhan we stop at a place known locally as Chingis Khan’s Table. This is a big slab of rock which locals claim was used as a table by Chingis Khan personally. Chingis Khan certainly spent a lot of time in this area but the story about him using this rock as a table is no doubt apocryphal. In any case, it is a well-known local landmark, and many people stop here to down a bottle or two of vodka, as evidenced by the many empties nearby.

Chingis’s Table

Just past here is a place known as “Old Man's Bushes.” The story of this place dates back to 1688, when the Zungarian chieftain Galdan Boshigt invaded Khalkh Mongolia. He and his men trashed Erdene Zuu and Khögno Tarnyn Khiid, castrating and/or beheading numerous monks at the latter, then moved on farther east to attack and destroy Saridgiin Khiid, the monastery founded by Zanabazar, the First Bogd Gegeen of Mongolia. By then Zanabazar and his Khalkh Mongol followers were fleeing en masse to eastern Mongolia with Galdan and his army in hot pursuit. Many were traveling in ox-drawn carts with whatever possessions they had managed to take with them. They tried to cross the Kherlen River at a ford here but due to recent rains the river was very high and the carts had trouble crossing. They threw rocks into the river and then drove their carts across the river on the rocks. In the confusion an old man got left behind on the west bank of the river. He was still there when Galdan’s men arrived there the next day. In their fury at not being able to catch the Khalkh Mongols they killed the man, cut him up into manageable pieces, and made bortz, or dried meat, from his flesh. These strips of flesh were hung up to dry on bushes along the river bank. Every since then this ford has had the name of Old Man’s Bushes. There are still bushes along the river bank here, and a pathway of stones can still be discerned across the river.

The River Ford at Old Man’s Bushes

Mongolia | Tov Aimag | Horse Trip #5

On the way back from Khagiin Khar Nuur we made a slight detour to the ruins of Saridgiin Khiid, the monastery founded in the 1654 by Zanabazar, the First Bogd Gegeen of Mongolia. Zanabazar built this monastery with the idea that it would become the center of Buddhism in Mongolia. Several of his most famous art-works, including his Five Transcendental Buddhas, were meant to be displayed here. It was not to be; in 1688 the monastery was destroyed by Zanabazar’s arch-rival Galdan Bolshigt. I had visited the ruins twice before, as described in my Guide To Locales Connected with the Life of Zanabazar. Saraa and Günj said they wanted to see the site so I agreed to go again.

Ruins of the 108-Pillar Tsogchin Temple

Corner of the 108-Pillar Tsogchin Temple

Clay figurines, known as shuteen in Mongolian, which Zevgee claims date to the time of Zanabazar. Someone had dug them out of the ruins and placed them on stone altars.

Saraa at the altars