Chinggis Khaan

Possibly the most famous Mongolian ever. He was born around a thousand years ago, into a nomadic tribe which lived around north and central Mongolia. As a young man he became leader of his tribe, and then leader of the clan of tribes that his own tribe traded and fought alongside. There were several of these clans moving around the flat lands east of the Himalyas and the Altai Mountains, on the high flat lands of the steppe. However they were all being attacked by tribes from the east, towards China, and so they combined together under one leader, Chinggis Khaan, who so became the first king of Mongolia. ("Khaan" means "king".)

Under Chinggis' rule, the Mongolian people came to rule of the land all the way from the Black Sea in the west to the Pacific coast in the east, a much much bigger empire than any other in history. Chinggis died at the age of 45, but his sons continued to rule. It is his grandson, Kublai Khaan, that Marco Polo met when he travelled overland from Venice.

This statue is being built to mark the site where Chinggis was elected chief of all the Mongolian clans. It is absolutely massive, and truly breathtaking, especially when you stand close to it. We passed it on a trip out to the countryside on Friday. To mark the end of our language lessons, one of the teachers invited us to her ger, about an hour's drive from the city. We had a fabulous day - climinging hills, riding horses, singing songs .... Her husband cooked us "hoshoor", which is joints of mutton cooked in a big metal container - they roast stones in the fire, and then put layers of stone and mutton in the container, then seal the lid and sit it in the embers for another hour. Everyone wolfed it down. I had cheese sandwiches. Felt a bit left out ....