I'm just back from remote parts of Mongolia.

Originally shared by Kevin Kelly

I'm just back from remote parts of Mongolia.

40 years ago I had a vivid dream of flying into Mongolia, soaring over bare winter trees, but that vision did not come to pass. The parts of Mongolia I saw were much like my expectation: treeless to the horizon. There is much grass in Mongolia. Imagine a lawn 1,000 kilometers wide. It is hard to appreciate the vastness of Mongolia: for as far as you can see, no roads, no fences, no wires, just grass, rock, sky. And the occasional shepherd on a pony, happy to chat.

Most of the 3 million inhabitants live in the handful of towns and one capital city. The rest are distributed sparcely onto the grass, which they share with millions of herding animals: sheep, goats, cows, horses, yaks and camels. A large percent of rural Mongolians are nomadic herders, and proud of their nomadism. A few of them in the far west, where the culture and language is Kazak, they use eagles to hunt game and fur.

Here is my photo report. As always remember this is a highly selective, unrepresentative view of the country. At least half of the citizens live in Ulan Bator, the concrete capital, which is perhaps the least grassy city in the world.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BKEzWpsswJTa3xDT2