They call me ill tangere a. Movie with. My ancestors were nomads leaving for 20 years i have lived with my own family in the step. Up to the earth to be doing especially our music is about mongolian history and our customs these are our never ending sources in the song that is the good will go school. Ever since i was a. Child i had visionary abilities and could sense the spirits of nature. Our journey through mongolia and its capital. Will start in the mountainous north of the country will follow the tracks of the Trans Mongolian Railway self cross the vastness of the step and after about 800 kilometers reach the gobi desert and the buddhist time our money straight. At our one station our 1st stop art from a communist past merges with contemporary advertisement. Planned economy once held sway here today its the free market. Dark one is the 3rd largest city in mongolia it was built in 1961 with massive support from the former soviet union and its name is no coincidence darkened means blacksmith and reflects the importance of the city for metal and heavy industry. Tourists are rarely seen in this big city is train station. The no frills building was designed for commuters and travelling merchants in the metropolis with its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Darshan is a transport hub that connects regional routes with a Trans Mongolian Railway towards iran barter and further on to the chinese border. Anyone taking this train to the capital however should allow plenty of time. The train takes over 7 hours to cover the almost 250 kilometers because of the many stops along the way. Moreover the Railway Infrastructure is not up to european standards. The train attendants where christie uniforms they are responsible for checking the tickets directly at the carriage door and they take their jobs extremely seriously. In mongolia respect and all thorazine are important principles that must be observed. Meanwhile its announced over a loudspeaker that it is strictly forbidden to take any moments including dead ones on the journey because the fear of the mongolian delicacy usually harbors finance which are regarded as carriers of the play. Was. Only about 3000000 people live in mongolia a country more than 4 times the size of germany. Its huge distances and vastness can be sensed through the train when there. Will be also physically notice mongolias altitude a quarter of the country is between 2003000 meters above sea level. Travelers should therefore allow themselves a little time for climate has ation. It halfway between the han and we are the 1st hills of the 20. The mountains begin. To mountain ranges considered the birthplace of the greatest mongolian of all times genghis khan. Abroad the name genghis khan is mostly associated with conquests brutality and virility but here in mongolia it mainly stands for political savvy. The founder of the mongolian empire is considered to have been a patron of trade education arts and culture. Freedom of religion is one of his most important legacies even today christians buddhists muslims and adherents to mongolian shamanism practice their religions peacefully side by side. Sharman islam is the oldest religion in mongolia. All. Ancient symbols such as the swastika or sun we ornaments all supposed to pave the way for the shaman to reach the spirit. This religious decoration which was hijacked by germany as a symbol of the nazis can be found in its original sense as a spiritual symbol of luck everywhere mongolia. But. Not. Really in going through my trance and so i made contact with the spirits of the mountains on the water. With the bear found my ways to be good and just. Therefore they do me the honor of showing me the right path. Mongolian shamanism combines medicine and the worship of nature and ancestors sharman is responsible for the welfare of their tribe. Through contacting the spirits and speaking with the voice of the deceased while entranced they tried to show their community the right path for the future. Of. The. Girl with ancestors really speak through the shell and remains a question of faith with god like with every religion. But the bus home but on a bus full well not everyone can be a sham and theyre going to do if you do not appoint yourself as a shaman and just do something this would send people on a wrong path and detach the soul from the body all false romanism is therefore even harmful. For all but unfortunately it happens quite often what they will be seeing is deserting from with that mistake when. Sacrificial rituals such as the milk sacrifice on men to appease the gods. For sherman is a balance between man and nature must be preserved and the growing economic interests in mongolia are a dangerous aberration. Madhur higher. Up than at present people are digging in the air of all over they dont even care about sacrificial mounds theyre not respected and theyre not even being rebuilt orienting theres been people are drilling digging and destroying things its very difficult everywhere. I want to go i travel through western mongolia and saw that many creeks and rivers there have disappeared that dried up. This is because people do not respect the earth which is probably why we shamans are also there to save nature and at least thats my belief that the power cuts took us to soon but on a good thing its important to know. We followed the line further towards. The train is usually the faster and more comfortable choice in mongolia. Roads here are not comparable with asphalt streets in europe vast areas of the country have not yet been developed at all. On the other hand there is a very good chance of meeting herds of free range cattle. Over distances of several kilometers the animals often alone without their nomadic owners search for the best grazing grounds in the barren landscape. They have to build up their body weight as much as possible during the few summer months the hard mongolian winter often begins in august already when the 1st. Snow frequently falls. 60. Travel times among early are very long even on the train the Railway Infrastructure and many of the vehicles are decades old. Despite the beautiful landscape after a good 7 hours ride from dar han to the capital of our passengers tend to be pleased to finally arrive. At. The big city lackluster concrete buildings welcome the guests even locals say you cant help but love mongolia but you can only endure. We learn but our Central Station is the largest Railway Station in the country and was opened in 1938. To this day it remains an important have for national and International Traffic in the heart of mongolia. The train is the most important means of transport in the country not only for tourists and commuters local retailers also use the affordable rail connections to neighboring countries such as russia and china. Was ready to rush to god it. Was. After a very long Shopping Trips hundreds of them are rife with new goods in every day. From here they transport their purchases to the shops and kiosks in the capital where they will sell them. Almost half of mongolias population about 1500000 people lives in a land. The Economic Center of this land rich in Natural Resources is currently experiencing an enormous boom. The metropolis is considered a symbol of a wealthy growth oriented mongolia. Economy. In recent years hundreds of thousands of people have come here to try their luck. A few have become successful. And yes it is experiencing the greatest rule exodus it has ever seen. Young people in particular dont want to be inferior to the west but they also dont want to be inferior to the asian neighbors. If you consider traditional nomadic life as a viable future. A future her own to think about but that in time the new john good that we have a song that deals with rapid Technological Progress and in particular reflects the moment when too much technological optimization has occurred if youre going to get past. This point what humans look for a place to slow down and return to nature and the origins of life music this is an Important Message that we want to give to the people he said especially to the Mongolian Youth so if. It took. A look at most of symmetry in the middle of. The band john its a backdrop that symbolizes an entire generation spheres for the future. This sounds deal with Environmental Protection unemployment and also the danger. Of a Runaway Technology i say ssion. However they find a musical means in the old legends traditions and characteristic sounds of a mongolian culture. Junkie to give. The name john known is closely connected with the history of the horse head fiddle goli a National Instrument of meetings with the. Local mongolians have always said that there was a very kind hearted man who owned a black horse named john not that you will say who isnt it in that when it died one day when they wanted to honor it and built the 1st horse head fiddle and its image would sing yes. Used its bones the tail and mane and hes made you get it. That is whenever the longing seized him with all that he played on it and he remembered his black horse john on hard money to send him on the way to. The musicians were present a young and confident mongolia internationally as well as members of a young generation who went in search of their own cultural identity and found their place in the world. Gave her. Mom a woman it all. The bread there. Was a. Bowl of mom the one with the names of the of jodi and we hope that in the future people will remember our band jono for successfully having passed. Mongolian music onto younger generations in a profound way for example its some bad negative. Image of the king that is our wish to remind you that is what we hope our musical achievement will be. On the ticket would have more days to get to. The 2nd leg of our journey takes us from the capital and on bastar along the Trans Mongolian Railway to the city of chere 250 kilometers away in the heart of the mongolian step. One bottle or Central Station 7 am. A real hero is waiting for the train to chair. Good at. Is the only mongol so far who has travelled into space. Since his space flights in 1981 he has been treated like a superstar in his country. The retired air force Major General was also the countrys minister of defense until 2004. However most mongols see him 1st and foremost as a heroic cosmonaut. A. Good riddance and then for the 1st place followed by a mongolian was a significant moment for our people and will stay a part of mongolian history as an important event all these days young people learn about it from newspapers and magazines from radio and television from their parents and relatives and siblings. As a result mongolians are etched it firmly into their memories. On the. Even in retirement the Major General still has very little free time. He regularly speaks at events on military history about his experiences as a Research Cosmonaut on the soviet so use 39 Space Mission and about his 8 day stay on this are you 6 playstation good actor just dead to me dean was awarded the title cosmic hero of mongolia to honor his career hes the only living mongolian to hold that. They hope to be. Done with the nickel to go with his brother to me nor will i try not to give myself so much importance. What have i done so far what are my achievements in the about the job i dont really think about myself that way ever ask those types of questions i have to think about the think its not the sex what matters to me is that i want to remain the same person i was before i went into space i thought of the said theyd get back there on my space ship commander and friend buddy mir out xander average trying to back off said to me after space travel youll have many new friends but you please dont forget your old ones. The good i still think about his words to this day but its not on which is why i want the public to see me as i really am the product someone lived 33 what struck. Me. The cosmonaut is a role model for his fellow countryman someone they respect even though they recognize that his feats were idealized in soviet propaganda. His ride on the train has been announced the entire train crew and even the cook know the famous space traveler will be on board. The cook is actually a star chef who was assigned just for this journey. It will be up to him to make a top quality me will in the few square music itchin on the wobbling train. Music will be serving delicious dumplings and potato salad to the cosmic hero. Dumplings are filled with beef and tasty martin who should make fantastic dumplings. The chef does not pass up the opportunity to serve his hero the food in the dining car personally. The potato salad served is actually made according to a german recipe. Its a calendar left over from the times of International Friendship between mongolia and east germany. The transponder in express takes a good 3 hours to get a chair in the province of god is a member deep in the mongolian step. Dimity and is no stranger to the city until the early 990 s. Both soviets and Mongolian Air force bases were located in the region around so the station was strategically important to the retired cosmonaut knows it well. What about. This is why the station staff invited their celebrity guests to join them they proudly recall that this historic moment. Did you know but. Nowadays the 72 year old increasingly looks back not only on his achievements but also on his roots as a simple known that. He had not the madrid or the mongols and actually been watching the skies in space from the very early on signals with him if he thought our long history shows that weve used celestial bodies to navigate by for thousands of years. Moreover to survive as a pastoral a nomadic people. We have to be able to foresee the bakerys of the weather and thats why the mongolians always directed their gaze and thoughts toward the celestial bodies and so. Long. While the trance Mongolian Railway continues on its meandering course towards the chinese border. We stay a little longer in the wild blooming step the rancher. I for centuries nomadic castle breeding has been the mainstay of the entire region. Camel herts roam the natural. I amand free us 2 horses sheep goats. The step landscape around mount cinder about 50 kilometers from church is known for its fertile ground. This is where all tangere l. Has settled for most of the year the nomads horses live wild they have to withstand winters with temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees celsius as well as wolves which the horses can survive or even kill with one kick. The cattle herd his family lives with their horses following the rhythm of nature wearing a watch would be a superb fearless luxury. We get up early and were out all day until dark. We heard the cattle and move them from here to there. Since were out all day long we dont need to ask what time it is for us there is morning. Afternoon and the movement of the sun. I always keep an eye on the sun after all its the only thing you can keep in view here because its the sun that is always determined whether it is day or night. Of the. South. Where. The ancient songs of the nomads tell of their longing for their beloved homeland the endless expanses of the step and the deep blue mongolian sky. That. While her husband takes care of the horses and in a suit turns the rich milk from their goats and sheep into quark yogas. Cheese. These are staple food stealing the summer months. The youngest daughter still lives with her father and mother her oldest siblings are already attending school and live with their grandparents in the city a daily walk to school through the step would be much too obvious and too far. To them the sleazeball to be teased at that we have never really thought about living in the city if we have work to do in the city we take the train as it usually runs at night. That way we are there early in the morning before work starts and then you can get a lot done in a day stephanie. I didnt know and heard is arent interested in material wealth they see possessions as additional ballast but the number and conditions of their animals on the other hand are extremely important to them because they show their diligence and skill. You know one another well we get over 200 kilograms of kashmir walls sometimes even 300 kilograms from 700. And the money we earn from the wool trade is enough to cover all the expenses that come up over the year the who do the other school fees in order to pay for the 2. 00 or 3 workers who help us. Pays for anything important that crops up in the year. And we also prepare the meat from our condo to feed ourselves in winter good but we also sell some of it so we live from the immense productivity of animals. Of the. Mining has dramatically increased and. All sorts of things are being done to the soil which is having a negative effect on the bodies of water and pasture land. We know very little water from our wells. And it hardly rains anymore although someone is it when i look back on my childhood it often rained continuously for 3 or 4 days when i was. In. Mongolia sits on huge deposits of Natural Resources. And around one of the countrys largest and most important centers of mining iron ore couple and lignite is growing. Kelleher mongolian Mining Companies on profiting from the countrys wealth of Raw Materials nearly as much as Big International investors and energy giants. Still the development is good for mongolias railways the next with this growing and jobs are being created. Oh goodness. Just. Kaname has a major influence on the expansion and development of the real race and vice versa. The Mongolian Railway is currently expanding the locomotives and real cars are becoming more advanced just. The rail network and the entire real logistics are currently being revamped. And with. Traffic in particular is increasing. So the future of our railways looks really promising so its just not for the. Most traumatic. Aerials are exposed to neighboring countries china however uses a different gauge of track to mongolia where the network is based on the russian broad gauge that means all th