The Great Grasslands of Mongolia, Siberia and Manchuria

Departing 05-Jul-2011 to 28-Jul-2011

The vast Mongol Empire, at its peak by 1300, extended from the Sea of Japan in the east to Slovakia, Turkey, Syria, Persia and Iraq in the west; across Russia, Siberia, Lake Baikal and Manchuria in the north; and, in the south it stretched from Vietnam across Burma, Tibet and Kashmir.  Until the British Empire reached its 19^th century zenith no other empire was as extensive.

After uniting the warring Mongol tribes, Genghis Khan in the early 13^th century swept out of the Mongolian grasslands offering two choices – obliteration for resistance or absorption for compliance.  His political philosophy was unambiguous: “as there is one sun in heaven there is one Khan on earth”.  To the Mongolian people still, he is the revered unifier and nation builder.  To others he was a source of terror. However, less than a century after his death the empire had fragmented into a series of Ilkans which over time blended the local peoples and embraced the local religions, Islam and Buddhism, to form the basis of new empires and states. His grandson, Kublai Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty (1206 – 1368 AD) and ruled over China as its emperor.

In 1644, another northern tribal people, the Manchu, invaded China and established the last Chinese imperial dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911).  By the 19^th and continuing well into the 20^th century, Mongolia and Manchuria, themselves became battle grounds between the vying interests of China, Imperial and later Revolutionary Russia, and Japan, who all in turn left their mark on the region.

On our journey we will travel across three regions in three countries:  Heilongjiang and Liaoning (making up 17^th century Manchuria), the Republic of Mongolia, the contemporary homeland of the majority of the Mongolian people; and Russian Siberia around Lake Baikal, all once a part of the Mongol heartland.  We will visit natural, cultural, religious and historical sites and monuments, from the richness of the Mongol, Chinese, Russian and Manchurian imperial pasts, and in the case of the former two, their chequered Soviet past as well.  All sites juxtaposed on a spectacular landscape that will inspire and awe.

Accommodation is in comfortable hotels or in tourist ‘gers’ reminiscent of traditional nomadic felt tents, on the grasslands.  We are travelling at an optimum time for the region and to be able to witness the spectacle of the famed “Naadam Festival” in the Republic of Mongolia - a celebration, the roots of which predate Genghis Khan.

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