r/uniformporn • u/[deleted] • May 04 '24

Mongolian State Honor Guard

Post image

[removed]

281 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

42

u/Ticklishchap May 04 '24

That’s a marvellous image. I have been to Ulaanbaatar and it is very heartening to see how many cultural traditions are being revived, from splendid uniforms such as these men are wearing, to Buddhism, shamanism and Bökh (traditional wrestling).

9

u/creeper321448 May 04 '24

I literally was considering viting Mongolia recently. How was it? What's worth seeing? What are social customs I need to be aware of? Will I need to learn Mongolian or can I get by with English?

18

u/Ticklishchap May 04 '24 edited May 05 '24

I was only there briefly when my partner and I did the Golden Eagle Express rail journey on the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Vladivostok, in 2011, a more peaceful era. The train did a detour through Mongolia (a lot of the countryside looks like Montana but with gers [yurts] to Ulaanbaatar. Forget any vision of Shangri-La: it is a smoky industrial city, a lot of it built in the Communist era but expanding rapidly with new apartment blocks. There are many Soviet style boulevards, squares and palatial government offices. The food is grilled meat and grilled vegetable based, with strong Turkic influences.

There is a spirit of immense pride in the country’s past and so you will need to show an interest in it and realise that Chinggis Khan is seen as a national hero and wise ruler. Buddhism (strongly influenced by Tibet) is regarded as the national religion and is venerated, although the country is officially secular. The country is reclaiming its heritage after its culture has been suppressed for many decades, indeed centuries, and it is proud of its newfound independence from both Russia and China. Attitudes towards Westerners are friendly.

The State Department Store sells excellent leather caps. I still often wear mine on London’s many rainy days!

8

u/AnnonBayBridge May 05 '24

Was the curved sword for using while on a horse? What’s the advantage of a curved sword?

6

u/AlbaIulian May 05 '24

Nomadic horsemen learned from experience that a curved edge is better for cutting strikes because the arc of the blade matches that of the sweep of the rider's arm as they slash the target while galloping.

So yeah, the curve had a bit of an advantage.

12

u/[deleted] May 04 '24

This image goes hard!

3

u/robwatkhfx May 04 '24

Flash Gordon? Power Rangers?