Karakorum
We will leave early for Karakorum after an early wake-up, as we have a long day of events ahead of us (also called Kharkhorin). We’ll drive about 260 kilometers on a reasonably good paved road and eat lunch at a local restaurant by noon. After lunch, we’ll drive another 40 kilometers to the start of the cycling route in Kharkhorin. We’ll take a few minutes to test the bikes, make any necessary changes, and then we’ll be good to go.
Our ability to visit Karakorum will be determined by our arrival time.
Kharkhorin was the capital of Genghis Khan’s Mongolian Empire in the thirteenth century. In 1220, Genghis Khan ordered the construction of Kharkhorin on the ruins of Turug and Uigur cities in the Orkhon valley at the eastern end of the Khangai Mountains. It was completed 15 years later, during the reign of Ugedei Khaan. The town was very multicultural and culturally accepting.
The silver tree, which was once part of Möngke Khan’s palace, has become Karakorum’s emblem. Erdene Zuu Monastery is now all that is left of what was once a massive monastery with 100 temples and a lama population of around 1.000. We’ll walk around the grounds of Erdene Zuu Monastery, which is encircled by huge 400 m X 400 m walls. The Dalai Lama, Zuu of Buddha, and Lavrin Temple will be our guides for the remaining three temples. The Turtle Rock and the Phallic Rock will both be visible. The Karakorum Archaeological Museum will be another stop on our itinerary. It’s a tiny museum, but it’s housed in a new, well-run structure with good lighting and simple English labels on display cases. The displays contain hundreds of artefacts from the 13th and 14th centuries that were discovered in the immediate region, as well as those from other provinces’ archaeological sites, including prehistoric stone tools. Pottery, bronzes, coins, religious sculptures, and stone inscriptions are among the items on display. A half-excavated kiln is also sunk into the museum floor. The scale model of ancient Kharkhorin, which attempts to reflect the city as it would have appeared in the 1250s and is based on descriptions written by the French missionary William of Rubruck, is perhaps the most intriguing. A Turkic noble tomb with wall paintings and artefacts, including gold objects and jewellery, is on display in another chamber. A short video of the actual burial site is available.
(Ger camp L, D)