Naadam Festival Photo Tour

The origin of the Naadam festival is closely related to the history and culture of the country. Mongolians have abundant military history; especially, it is renowned for its conquest, great Emperors, and the warriors. The core reason for the success and unity of legendary Chinggis (Genghis) Khan’s army was its sophisticated structure. The whole army was composed of groups of 10 soldiers and each group was led by a selected man. The leader of groups chose their warriors based on their strength, movement and flexibility revealed in their wrestling skills, their eye-sight and hand-orientation have shown in their spear-throw and archery skills, their patience, and bravery exposed in their horse training and horse racing skills during public competitions. Furthermore, before and after major battles, the three manly sports - wrestling, horserace, and archery - were exercised as an organized event, which later adopted its present name - Naadam. Nowadays, it is celebrated as the largest celebration and a national holiday which officially lasts 3 days. Because the event articulates traditional arts and sports in harmony, it is celebrated in a festival manner. The major festival, enjoying the presence of the State heads – the President, Prime Minister and the Parliament speaker, as well as the leading artists and performers, is held in the second week of July in Ulaanbaatar. However, some regions, provinces, and villages set up their festival dates differently. Almost everyone is dressed in amazingly colorful, and comprehensive traditional costumes called ‘dell’ during the festival.