ABSTRACT
Introduction Mongolia is a land of mystery, a place that for decades has stimulated the imaginations of astute schoolchildren and history bus. Mongolia’s unique cultures and natural landscapes have long wielded considerable appeal among outsiders and drawn in explorers and travel writers (Montagu 1957). Nomadic herders, their dwellings and animals against a backdrop of dramatic steppe grasslands and deserts have created an inseparable natural and anthropic landscape unlike any other. Mongolia’s landscape engendered many of the legends and stories associated with the reign of Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan) and was the hearth from which the massive Mongol Empire spread.
