Mongolia is a country bordered by China and Russia. It is known for its vast and rugged expanses. Mongolians are majorly nomadic. There are weird facts about Mongolia you won’t believe exist and only in Mongolia can you find such.
The capital is Ulaanbaatar. The capital centres around Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) Square, and it is names after the founder of the Mongol Empire.
http://www.mongolia-travel-guide.com/image-files/mf-genghis-khan-on-horse-statue.jpg
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Here are ten other facts about Mongolia that you would find somehow weird.
Population: 2.839 million (2013) World Bank
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Currency: Mongolian tögrög
President: Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
Prime minister: Chimed Saikhanbileg
Continent: Asia
System of Government: Democracy
[SIZE=5]Weird Facts About Mongolia[/SIZE]
1. THE TSAGAAN SAR
Formal greeting is called Tsagaan Sar. In it, you roll up your sleeves and extend both arms.
2. HAIR OR FACE SMELLING
In a formal greeting, the older person holds the head of the younger person and smells the hair of face.
SEE ALSO: 10 Weird Facts About South Korea You Never Knew
3. GIVING OR TAKING…with respect
Both hands or the right is used to take a thing from or give a thing to especially an elder. And the sleeves must be rolled up.
4. CIGARETTE TABOO
Two people may light cigarettes from a match. Three are not allowed to do so. And lighting a cigarette from a candle is bad luck.
5. IMPOLITE FOOD HABIT
When offered tea or food or dairy products, never say No! It is impolite.
6. RITUALS OF GIVING/TAKING A DRINK
When offered a drink, never say NO. Take it. But do not necessarily drink it. Just dip the tip of your ring finger in it, flick your finger to the four winds, and pass it back.
7. MONGOLIANS ARE TOUCH MONGERS
Mongolians touch a lot. They touch even strangers they do not know.
8. RAISE FEET WITH CARE
Never let the soles of you feet appear to someone you are sitting close to. It is offensive.
9. FAST-TRACKED APOLOGY
If you step on, kick, or touch someone else’s feet by mistake, simply give them a quick handshake. Such a fast way to apologize!
10 THRESHOLD TABOO
Mongolians do not speak to each other across the threshold of the door. They do not stand on the threshold either.
OTHER WEIRD FACTS
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[SIZE=5]Mongolian men like to roll their tops up:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5][B]https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/12-Black-market-man-rolled-t-shirt3.jpg[/B][/SIZE]
![https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/12-Black-market-man-rolled-t-shirt3.jpg[/B][/SIZE]](https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/12-Black-market-man-rolled-t-shirt3.jpg%5B/B%5D%5B/SIZE%5D){kind=link}
[SIZE=5][B]2.Mongolian currency: just notes and no coins
All the currency here are notes. At the time of writing, £1 was around
3,132 tugric. The highest note is a 20,000 note (worth around £6) and they work downwards from there.
Genghis Khan appears on the higher value notes (20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000 and 500). General Sukhbaatar (who declared Mongolia an independent county in 1921 from the Chinese) appears on the lower denominations.
As a result you end up with a large bundle of notes making you feel very rich:
https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/07-No-coins-34960-eleven-pounds-and-16p.jpg[/B][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=5]3D graffiti on the pavements of Ulan Bator:[/SIZE]
In Ulan Bator, we noticed a variety of very beautiful graffiti on the pavements. You have to stand at a particular point a few steps back to see the entire 3D picture:
https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/14.7.30-3D-street-art1.jpg
https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/15-Road-graffiti-Claire.jpg -
[SIZE=5]Monitoring the smog in Ulan Bator:[/SIZE]
As a result of the increase of ger districts around Ulan Bator, pollution and smog levels in the capital have greatly increased.
This is mainly caused by the coal-powered stoves used by the ger communities to seek heat during the harsh cold Mongolian winters, producing a thick smog.
As a result, since October 2012, the government implemented a new law requiring each car not to drive into the city centre for one weekday each week. The weekday depends on the last number the car licence plate ends with.
https://nomadicboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/14.7.28-traffic-at-Sukhbatar-square.jpg
So, cars ending with the following numbers are not allowed to enter the city centre of Ulan Bator as follows:
[ul]
[li]Mondays: cars ending with 1 and 6 are not allowed to enter the city centre[/li][li]Tuesdays: cars ending with 2 and 7 are not allowed to enter the city centre[/li][li]Wednesdays: cars ending with 3 and 8 are not allowed to enter the city centre[/li][li]Thursdays: cars ending with 4 and 9 are not allowed to enter the city centre[/li][li]Fridays: cars ending with 5 and 0 are not allowed to enter the city centre[/li][/ul]
If caught entering when you shouldn’t, the fine imposed is 80,000 tugriks (around £26). Although this doesn’t seem much, this is a hefty fine in a city where the average net monthly salary is less then £250.