Mongolians love Chinggis Khaan

Mongolians LOVE Chinggis. The airport is named after him, the nicest hotel in the city is named after him and a whole bunch of other things. They finally passed a law that businesses had to have permission to use the name of Chinggis Khaan in order to control its widespread usage. He is like a George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and George Patton all wrapped up in one.






Chinggis Khaan was a very important leader and conqueror in the 13th century in the Mongol Empire. We bought some t-shirts that named him "man of the millennium." He conquered much of Asia, some of Europe and part of the Middle East during his reign. The Mongolian people hold him in very high regard. He was a tough guy and he lead a group of tough people. There are no whiners in Mongolia. I was also struck by some of the similarities between Native Americans and early Mongolians. They even lived in tee pees and had similar clothes evidently. We visited his HUGE statue out in the middle of nowhere and also went off roading to the remote 13th century village where they have built a settlement to reenact what it was like back in the day. It was amazing to look out over the vastness of the wild tundra and try and imagine what it would have been like to live back in those times. We went in a bunch of huge Gers to see what life would have been like, tried on some baller clothes, ate authentic food and rode a horse and camel. It was the Mongolian version of Williamsburg. It was an amazing day to learn more about the life and times of Chinggis Khaan. What a man!