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| Erdene Zuu Monastery |
After a night in Ulaanbaatar (UB), we were driven west 363 km/225 mi through the Mongolian steppes to Kharakhorum the site of the 13th century capital of the Mongol Empire. Kharakhorum was destroyed in 1388 by Ming dynasty troops.
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| 108 stupas surround the monastery |
Erdene Zuu, built in the 16th century, is Mongolia's largest monastery, and it may have been built with the ruins of the 13th century capital.
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| The Golden Stupa with ruins from 13th century Kharakhorum |
We arrived early at Erdene Zuu Monastery so we could hear the monks chanting.
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| Temple of Lavrin |
Throughout the morning worshipers arrived wearing beautiful, jewel-colored robes.
Basan Lama (the abbot of the monastery) gave us permission to photograph the inside of the temple during the ceremony. While Alison was chatting with Basan Lama, I took photos of a young monk sitting nearby. He studiously ignored me until I squatted down for a different perspective, almost falling over, and he smirked--just a little.
Two young monks blew conch shells in all directions.
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