Day 4 (June 25_05)
After watching a Ger being erected, we drive to Kharakhorum (2 hours) to the site of the 13th century capital of the Mongol Empire. Along the drive we stopped to admire the Ovoo and circled it three times adding a stone at each circle. Sometimes our drive would honk as he passed them since there were too many to always stop. This is a buddist tradition and hopefully brought me good luck and answered prayers. It is impossible to mention Mongolia without conjuring up images of the great warrior, Chingis Khan. The empire created by him and his descendants was the largest recorded in history. The great Khan and his son created the beautiful and legendary Kahrakhorum to serve as the heart of the monolithic empire. Unfortunately, this bustling capital was abandoned by Kubilai Khan and later fell into ruin and was almost completely destroyed by the Chinese. Overnight at a Ger camp with goreous rock formations and a green valley will lots of horses, yaks and riders. Temple of 108 Stupas is the Kahrakhorum or at least what is left after the purge.