A Trip to Mongolia

 

Rotarian John Cameron anchored the January 19 Rotary Club of Norfolk meeting led by President Jim Kitz. John kicked off the online meeting by leading the more than 60 members attending in singing songs that celebrate the January birthdays of two famous people. "Loch Lomond" was in tribute to the late Scottish poet Robert Burns. "We Shall Overcome" was in tribute to the late Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King.

 

John, an author, and Old Dominion University history professor, later was the featured speaker. He highlighted his summer 2019 trip to Mongolia -- a place he had dreamed of seeing since he studied about it as a boy. He and his son traveled there to visit archeological sites and experience the culture. His younger son, Ian, who also helped lead the program, is a Yale University Ph.D. student who was working on an archeological dig in Morocco and was the Camerons' tour guide.

 

After flying 12 time zones away, John started his journey in Ulaanbaatar, the capital and the country's largest city where he saw a huge statue of national hero Ghengis Khan, a 13th century leader. From there a driver took John and his sons eight hours away into the barren Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia to see sites where archeologists like his son are uncovering 3,000-year-old artifacts. John also shared photos of the dry creek and lake beds, giant hexagonal rock formations, and herds of goats and sheep being tended by shepherds on horseback.

 

A highlight was visiting a small village for the annual Nadaam Festival -- a multi-day celebration of "manly arts." The celebration focused on competitions in archery, horseback riding, and wrestling. John noted, ironically, that the local "manly arts" festival archery champion was a woman and that the riding competition included girls. John shared that the Mongolian people are friendly people whose lives revolve around horses and that most children start riding at age three. Wealth is measured in the size of people's herds of horses and camels. 

 

Mongolia is known for producing the world's finest cashmere. Its cuisine is mainly meat cooked in pans of hot rocks, chives, cheese, and pickles. In winter, desert temperatures drop to 40 below zero making it one of the coldest places on earth. John is happy he was visiting in the summer.