2677 x 4016 px | 22,7 x 34 cm | 8,9 x 13,4 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
7 août 2009
Lieu:
Arvaikheer, Mongolia, Asia
Informations supplémentaires:
Mongolia is a landlocked sovereign state in East Asia covering 1, 564, 000 square kilometres, making it the 19th largest and one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, with a population of around 3 million people only. The country contains very little arable land: much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. It is bordered by China to the south and Russia to the north. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the country's population. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, and his grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan dynasty. In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia. By the early 1900s, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was declared as a Soviet satellite state. After the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, and transition to a market economy. Just outside Arvaikheer, a memorial to a famous horse was being built. Surrounded by dozens of stupas decorated with golden horses, the site stood in the middle of nowhere. This construction seemed a bit out of place both for its size and cost, whilst the city of Arvaikheer itself was much in need of investments and repairs, none of which seemed to happen. Inside the memorial, dozens of horse skulls were lined up and tied with blue khadag (ceremonial silk scarves symbolic of the open sky and the sky spirit Tengger).
