My favourite country

                        Completely landlocked between two large neighbors - Russian Federation and China. It was immeasurably bigger during the period of Mongol conquest under Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Until the 20th century Mongoliawas twice its present size and included a large chunk of Siberia and Inner MongoliaMountains dominate two-thirds of the country. Mongolia’s highest peaks are permanently snowcapped and with glaciers. Some 2,000 lakes exist, and the largest rivers exit Mongolia northwards to feed Lake Baikalin Siberia. The mountainous areas include relatively wet mountain meadow pastures and steppe regions. In contrast southern                       

                       Mongoliais dominated by the Famous Gobi Desert.Nearly 10% is forest, mainly conifers in the northern region next to Siberia. Most ofMongolia is wide open ‘steppe’ grasslands in transition with the arid lands of the GobiDesert. The forests support wolf, wild boar, elk, moose, deer, caribou, antelope and brown bear. The steppes and forest margins support marmot, muskrat, fox, steppe fox and sable. Remote mountains support wild cats such as Remote mountains support wild cats such as lynx and snow leopard. Mongolia is the home of the wild ass, wild camel, and wild sheep and also nocturnal yellow gobi bears. The wild horse (takhi) is being reintroduced from captive herds abroad. Bird life is rich and includes golden eagle, bearded vulture and other birds of prey, while the 2,000 lakes are a magnet for water birds including storks and even herring gull and relict gull. The 2,000 lakes support 50 species of fish unique to Mongolia. Mongolia has 2.3 million people, and one of the lowest population densities in the world.

                                  The aimags are subdivided into somons, or district of which there are 298. The biggest aimag is Umnugov which occupies an area of 165,000sq.km but due to its rigorous climatic conditions has the smallest population (only 42,400 people).Substantial reserves exits of copper, molybdenum, iron, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, tungsten, fluorspar and gold.

The Mongols were illiterate, religiously shamanistic and perhaps no more than 700,000 in number. Their language today is described as Altaic, a language unrelated to Chinese, derived from inhabitants in the Altay mountain range in western Mongolia -- a language unrelated to Chinese. They were herdsmen on the grassy plains north of the  and south of Siberian forests. Before the year 1200, the Mongols were fragmented, moving about in small bands headed by a chief, or khan, and living in portable felt dwellings, called by the Mongols " ger." The Mongols endured frequent deprivations and sparse areas for grazing their animals. They frequently fought over turf, and during hard times they occasionally raided, interested in goods rather than bloodshed. They did not collect heads or scalps as trophies and did not notch wood to record their kills.