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Bayan-Ulgii province
The aimag is located in the extreme west of the country, and shares borders with both Russia and China. The border between the two neighbouring countries is very short here, though, and ends after about 40 km at the eastern end of Kazakhstan. Within Mongolia, the neighbouring aimags are Uvs in the north east and Khovd in the south east..
Bayan-Ölgii is the highest Mongolian aimag. For the most part it is located in the Mongolian Altay, at the transition point to the Russian Altay. About 10% of the territory are covered by forests, consisting primarily of Siberian Larch.
The Nairamdal Peak (also Friendship Peak, Chinese: Youyi Feng) of the Altai Tavan Bogd (five saints mountain) massif mountain marks the corner between the three neighbouring countries. About 2.5 km further south on the Mongolian-Chinese border, the Hüiten Peak is the highest point of Mongolia with 4374 m. The massif includes several glaciers, such as the 19 km Potanin Glacier, and is only accessible to experienced climbers with local guidance.
The Khovd River (the longest in the western Mongolian Great Lakes Depression) has its origin in this aimag. It is fed by the three lakes Khoton, Khurgan, and Dayan, and in turn feeds the lake Khar-Us Lake in the Khovd Aimag. The Tolbo Lake is a large saline lake about 50 km south of the aimag capital. It features clear and cold water on an elevation of 2080 m.
Population
Most inhabitants of Bayan-Ölgii are Kazakhs (88.7%). Smaller parts of the population are composed of Uriankhai (7.2%), Dörvöd (1.5%), Khalkha, Tuva and Khoshuud. A significant portion of the population speaks Kazakh as their mother tongue and the Mongolian language only as a second language, if at all.
After democratization, many inhabitants moved to their historical homeland, Kazakhstan, assuming they would find a better future there. The result was a noticeable loss of population in 1991-1993, when approx. 30,000 were repatriated to Kazakhstan. A noticeable number of former immigrants have been returning, so that the population has risen again.
Western Mongolian Culture
The culture of the Kazakh majority is strongly influenced by Islamic traditions. The mosque of Ölgii also houses the Islamic Center of Mongolia. It is placed at an unusual angle within the fabric of the city, because the building was oriented exactly towards Mecca. There's also a Madrasah (Islamic school) at the same place.
The aimag is famous for the traditional hunting method using trained eagles. The captive eagles work in a similar way as hunting falcons do. While eagles are used for hunting in other parts of the world, particularly Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, most are in Bayan-Ölgii. An estimated 80% of the world's eagle hunters live here.[14] An annual Eagle festival is held in Ölgii every October to display their skill with about 70 eagle hunters participating on average.
Short information about western Mongolia....
