Mongolia Part 1

Mongolia is also associated mainly with Chingis Khan. He built the largest empire ever to exist on the planet. In the 12th century, Chingis Khan united the steppe tribes into one and created an empire (1206-1368) that, in its heyday, stretched from the Pacific in the east to Hungary in the west.

To this day, Mongolia remains a nomadic nation. Life on the steppe is not easy. Mongols raise horses, sheep, goats, camels and yaks. They make a living from these animals. These animals provide them with everything they need: milk, cheese, meat, and hides. They migrate annually between pastures. These journeys can involve short routes of a few kilometers or dozens or more kilometers. They travel with their herds, to winter or summer pastures, sometimes even in between. A major threat is the so-called dzhud. These are unusually snowy and frosty winters that deprive animals of the ability to reach food hidden beneath the heavy snow cover. The last such winter, in 2010, killed over 10 million domestic animals.

I hope the photographs below will serve as a record of a world slowly fading away, not only in Mongolia but also elsewhere on the planet. Quietly, without fanfare, the traditions and lives of many communities existing somewhere between the great technologies are fading into history.

Przemek Strzelecki 2026