View from the Ger
Mongolia 2014
The family we stayed with had set their gers (Mongolian tent-like structures) hard by a fast running stream. Getting water was a simple task for the children. A good-sized herd of sheep and cashmere goats milled about a few steps from the door of the ger. Dogs as large as the sheep and goats kept the animals in a herd and were quick to attack stray dogs who might be looking for a meal of baby goat.
The family didn’t seem to pay much attention to their dogs who barked constantly. Jim Zuckerman, who led our tour, worried about the dogs being unhappy. Whenever he could, he’d filch some of the drying mutton that hung in the ger and toss it to the dogs. Luckily the family never noticed.
Ger at Night
Nights were freezing. A stove in the center of the ger burned dried dung. There was plenty of that due to the herd of goats and sheep. Women and children gathered up the dung and placed it in piles to dry. The long pole on the right side of the ger is used to open and close the “skylight” on the top of the ger. It let light and fresh air in during the day and when it was closed, it held the heat in at night.