Message from dlong

[Anonymous]

The Mongolian Ger, commonly called a yurt, is the traditional home of Mongolian nomads. It is round in shape with a wide, cone-shaped roof and covered in canvas. The frame is made of criss-cross pieces of wood, the roof is made of long poles that connect in the middle to a small centerpiece so the whole thing looks like a giant wagon wheel. Everything is tied together with horse hair ropes. The interior is one room with different sections having different purposes.

I have discussed gers with my students in comparison with Native American teepees to show different forms of non-permanent housing. There is no place in the curriculum to specifically talk about Mongolia, so this is another way to slip in info on the geography of Mongolia and ways people create shelter.

There are many campgrounds that have gers (usually called yurts here) that you can stay in. They are obviously made differently than traditional Mongolian gers but have the same general idea. The yurts I have stayed in at campgrounds in Oregon and Washington were very comfortable and had beds, electricity, and heaters (a must when camping in the Northwest during the fall!) In eighth grade my class took an overnight field trip and stayed in yurts. The trip was unrelated to East Asia but we still learned a little about the history of the shelter we were staying in!