Ancient and Modern

Naadam, this week's national games, included traditions dating back centuries. Archery targets were on the ground, wrestling uniforms were chest-less, horse race jockeys were children. But breaking with tradition, the opening ceremonies were hi-tech, the young riders wore helmets and many of the spectators were foreign.
A new event was added to the 2013 celebratory calendar. 5,000 people gathered at the city center to vie for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Mongolians of all ages came from throughout the country, aiming to be the largest crowd of folk dancers. Costumes of every color and hats of every shape brought unmatched festiveness to UB's Sukhbaatar Square.
Liz visited with 90 year old dancers and took pictures of men boasting chests full socialist era medals. These were not experienced dancers or students. They were people willing to travel up to 5 days in order to display their tribal uniqueness, in clothing and motion, for the honor of a western record. Just another example of the blending of ancient and modern that is happening in outer Mongolia these days.