Why 99% of This Huge Country Is Completely Empty

Bright Side

About 99% of Mongolia is just wide-open land, and that's because most Mongolians stick to living in cities, especially the capital, Ulaanbaatar. The rest of the place is this incredible mix of deserts, mountains, and grasslands, perfect for nomads and their herds but not so much for building big towns. Plus, with a population of just around 3 million people spread out over an area nearly the size of Alaska, there’s a whole lot of room to roam. It's like the ultimate playground for anyone who loves nature and wide-open spaces!  Credit: CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0: Mongolian wrestlers: By istolethetv - https://flic.kr/p/a5jLgg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48639153 Mongolia: By John Pannell - https://flic.kr/p/3BMNJ, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118749060 CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: Naadam festival: By Grandcompass, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17950917 Mongolian wrestling: By Orgio89, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32394816 Daur men wrestling: By Khereid, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30541031 stone column base: By BabelStone, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79379938 Mongolian traditional wrestling: By Khaschuluu, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17431425 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Mongolia Naadam Festival: By Ch.Batzaya, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62442829 Naadam opening ceremony: By Ch.Batzaya, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62442947 Wrestlers: By Ulaanbaatour, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45542623 Traditional Mongolian wrestling: By Marcin Konsek, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32607533 Traditional Mongolian wrestling 2: By Marcin Konsek, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32607549 Traditional Mongolian wrestling 3: By Marcin Konsek, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32607545 Animation is created by Bright Side.  #brightside   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Listen to Bright Side on:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960  Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00 In Mongolia, dinosaurs used to live, and now there are as many horses as there are people,

00:06 and 10 times as many sheep there.

00:08 It's the emptiest country in the world, the capital has been moved 28 times, and they

00:13 even have their own Olympics!

00:16 So Mongolia is located right here, on the plateau of Central Asia, right north of China.

00:21 It's the 19th country in the world by land area, but it only has a bit over 3 million

00:27 people.

00:28 It's like the population of Los Angeles, but having a whole country to themselves.

00:32 If we don't count Greenland, Mongolia is the country with the lowest population density.

00:38 It has only 2 people per half a square mile.

00:41 The United States has 37.

00:43 Well, that is if we only count people.

00:46 Mongolia has a lot of livestock, about 67 million.

00:50 It's 20 times more than the number of people there.

00:53 Half of that livestock is sheep.

00:56 Yet of all their animals, the most prestigious one is the horse.

01:01 There's a traditional saying, "a Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings,"

01:07 and it explains a lot.

01:08 A person with many horses is considered wealthy, but don't picture huge farms with big stables

01:14 filled with horses.

01:16 In Mongolia, having stables is more of an exception.

01:20 Horses there roam free outside all year long.

01:23 It costs next to nothing to sustain a horse there because they roam outside and even find

01:28 food themselves.

01:29 And the country's nature provides them with enough.

01:33 Winter is tough because everything is covered in snow, but horses can separate grass from

01:38 snow.

01:39 They get frail by spring due to a lack of food, but recover very soon after winter is

01:44 over.

01:45 A family can have a sacred horse in their herd.

01:47 It wears a blue scarf around its neck and is almost never ridden.

01:52 People there do love their horses, and this tender relationship goes centuries back.

01:57 There are many songs, stories, myths, and artwork featuring horses.

02:02 In the Mongolian language, there are about 500 words to describe the traits of horses

02:07 and over 200 words to describe the coat color and pattern alone.

02:12 Horses have a spiritual meaning too.

02:13 It's believed that they have spirits that can help the owner, and they are also believed

02:18 to be a transport to heaven, so they were often sacrificed after their owner's passing.

02:24 Apart from domestic animals, the country is home to some endangered species.

02:29 Plus, back in the day, dinosaurs roamed the land.

02:33 The first ever discovered dinosaur egg was found right there.

02:36 Today, dinosaurs are, of course, extinct, except in the movies.

02:40 But there are snow leopards in Mongolia, and those are also rare.

02:44 If you ever do go to this country, you must be careful.

02:48 Snow leopards are so quiet you won't hear them approaching you.

02:52 They make no sound as they walk.

02:54 But let's get back to geography.

02:56 The climate in Mongolia can be harsh and unpredictable.

03:00 Within just one day, the temperature can change by 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

03:05 The country doesn't have any access to large bodies of water.

03:09 That's why it's very dry and doesn't get much rain.

03:13 In the south of Mongolia, there is a part of one of the coldest deserts on Earth, the

03:17 Gobi Desert.

03:19 Only 5% of the desert is covered in sand.

03:22 The rest is bare rock.

03:24 It has rivers, small lakes, and grasslands, but also gold, coal, and copper.

03:30 So it's not a very typical desert, but still a desert.

03:33 Rain clouds don't reach there because of the Himalayan range that keeps the area in

03:38 the shadow.

03:39 The desert is expanding every year.

03:41 Because of climate change, of course, but also because of deforestation and changes

03:45 in land use.

03:47 The whole country is quite dry with little precipitation.

03:50 And that's why the inhabitants aren't afraid of the desert.

03:53 Yes, the desert is populated.

03:56 There are people living there.

03:57 They're nomads who are busy with raising cattle.

04:01 Nomads are people who don't have a settled home.

04:04 They travel with their animals from place to place following the seasons.

04:08 When they settle somewhere before their next trip, they set up a tent that is called a

04:12 yurt.

04:13 These have been homes in Mongolia for thousands of years, and it's amazing that some people

04:18 still live in them.

04:19 The skeleton of a yurt is made of poles, which are then covered with layers of felt and waterproof

04:25 fabric.

04:26 The Mongols are a very welcoming nation overall, but the nomads are on a whole other level.

04:32 They don't get guests often, and they're always ready to greet someone and give them

04:36 a taste of traditional horse milk.

04:38 They don't even have bells at the entrance of their yurts, inviting guests to walk right

04:43 in.

04:45 Of course, there are also people who live in cities and villages and have settled homes,

04:50 and they are the majority, about three-quarters of the population.

04:53 The biggest city in the country is the capital, Ulaanbaatar.

04:57 Almost half of the country's population is concentrated there, in just one city, even

05:02 though it's the coldest capital city in the world.

05:05 The average yearly temperature there is 32°F. The average temperature in Washington, D.C.

05:11 is 60°F, and it's 44°F in Ottawa.

05:15 When the city was first founded in the 17th century, it was located about 180 miles southwest

05:21 of the current place.

05:23 Then it was moved a little bit, 28 times, until it finally settled in the current location.

05:28 Why?

05:29 Well, back then, most of the population were nomads, so the capital city was a mobile settlement

05:35 too.

05:36 Depending on seasons, pastures, water supplies, and many other factors, it moved along with

05:41 its inhabitants.

05:43 Now the city is big and settled, so maybe it won't be moved again.

05:47 But who knows?

05:49 I know, I know, I have yet to tell you about the Mongolian Olympic Games.

05:54 The event is called Naidam Festival.

05:55 It's an annual festival held in the middle of summer that most Mongolians watch.

06:01 In one form or another, the festival has existed for centuries.

06:05 Locally, the festival is called "The Three Games of Men," and people compete in three

06:10 skills that have traditionally been considered three manly skills.

06:15 So what are those three games?

06:17 It's Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery.

06:21 Originally, it was just men competing, but recently women have started participating

06:26 in archery and horse racing.

06:28 Mongolian wrestling is a folk wrestling style that's been around for thousands of years.

06:33 The depictions of it can be seen on many ancient plates found in the area.

06:37 Today, it's the most popular sport in the country, and Mongolia hosts many international

06:42 tournaments too.

06:44 So of course, there is a wrestling part at the festival, and it's the first game.

06:50 The rules are quite simple – whoever touches the ground with anything other than a foot

06:54 loses.

06:55 There are no weight classes, no age or time limits, so it takes as long as it needs to

07:00 win.

07:01 And yet, they do it with grace.

07:04 Match courtesy is important.

07:06 For example, if an opponent's clothes get tangled, the other one is supposed to stop

07:11 and help solve the issue, even if it means missing a good opportunity to win.

07:16 At the end of the match, when one participant is defeated, the winner will give them a hand

07:20 and help them back up on their feet.

07:23 The game starts with either 512 or 1024 participants who wrestle in pairs.

07:30 Every loser is eliminated.

07:32 The game goes on for 9 or 10 rounds, depending on the initial number of participants, until

07:38 there is a winner.

07:39 Then there's horse racing.

07:41 This is a cross-country long-distance event, between 10 to 17 miles, depending on the age

07:47 of the horse.

07:48 Up to a thousand horses from all over Mongolia can participate in the competition.

07:54 Then in archery, people compete in teams of 10.

07:57 Each archer wears traditional clothes and has 4 arrows to shoot into a wall of woven

08:03 or wooden cylinders.

08:05 Knock one out of the wall and you get points.

08:07 And the team that gets the most points wins.

08:14 That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like,

08:18 and share it with your friends.

08:20 Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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