Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Karakorum, which aims to represent the city as it may have looked in the 1250s, and is
based on descriptions written by the missionary William of Rubruck.
Stone Turtles
HISTORIC SITE
MAP
(Turtle Rocks)
Outside the monastery walls are two stone turtles. Four of these sculptures
once marked the boundaries of ancient Karakorum, acting as protectors of the city
(turtles are considered symbols of eternity). The turtles originally had an inscribed stone
stele mounted vertically on their back.
One is easy to find: just walk out of the northern gate of the monastery and follow the
path northwest for about 300m. Often, an impromptu
souvenir market
is set up here, lin-
ing the path. You'll need a guide to find the other remaining turtle, which is on the hill
south of the monastery.
Ancient Karakorum
RUINS
Just beyond the closest stone turtle, stretching for about 1km east, is the site of ancient
Karakorum. The foundations of Karakorum's buildings are all underground and little has
been excavated, so you need lots of imagination when contemplating the grandness of it
all, or visit the Karakorum Museum to see the model. The plain was littered with bricks,
ruined walls and pillars until the mid-16th century, when everything was picked up and
used to build the walls and temples of nearby Erdene Zuu. Next to the stone turtle you
can see an area of raised earth surrounded by a wire fence. It is thought this was the site
of Ögedei Khaan's palace.
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL
Mongolia's ancient capital may be gone, but Karakorum is certainly not forgotten.
By piecing together the accounts of the city written by visiting missionaries, am-
bassadors and travellers, we have some idea of what the imperial capital once
looked like.
The missionary William of Rubruck (1215-95) dismissed the city as being no big-
ger than the suburb of Saint Denis in Paris. Giovanni de Piano Carpine
(1180-1252), an envoy sent to the Mongols in 1245 by Pope Innocent IV, described
the city vaguely as 'at the distance of a year's walk' from Rome.
The city never had much time to expand; it was only active for 40 years before
Kublai moved the capital to Khanbalik (Bĕijīng). Interestingly, few Mongols lived
there, most preferring to stay in their gers several kilometres away on the steppe. It
