Unique images of life in Mongolia's capitol city of Ulaanbaatar.

A View of Mongolia Life

I was surprised they let me in.

My assistant had been on the phone with the officer in charge of the administering Mongolia's parliament house. It took multiple phone calls and letters to obtain the permission, but if finally came. I was going to be the first foreigner allowed to photograph Mongolia's government house and Presidential Ger. The biggest hurdle to overcome in getting permission was not the security issues. Rather, it was the question by the officer and some of the security staff, "Why would someone want to take photos here?"

As I was preparing to leave the Parliament building after my first visit I caught a glimpse of a hallway that I had not been through. "What's through there?" I asked the security officer who guided me through the building.

"Oh nothing. Just a hallway to the conference center."

"May I see it?"

He was truly bewildered. "Why would you want to see a hallway? It's just a hallway."

Reluctantly he lead me past the doorway. What I saw was without a doubt one of the most interesting areas in the entire building. Door frames with embossed leather. Deep reds in the carpets. Unique art depicting Mongolia's golden era under Chinggis Khan. What was an everyday sight to the security officer was for me a unique peek inside Mongolia's halls of power.

The Uniqueness of Mongolia Life

I've been shooting images of life in Mongolia since I moved here in 2002. Most of my images are centered around Mongolia's capitol city of Ulaanbaatar, though I have gotten away from the city once in a while, and like the story above, I was allowed to photograph a unique part of Mongolia's capitol city—four years before it was given a facelift.

Mongolia, like much of Asia, is very different from the western world, and yet it is also becoming more western—in the materialist sense. Though the trappings of western success are slowly taking hold, Mongolians retain a unique culture that can only be seen to be fully understood.

These images from Mongolia (as well as my other travels in China, Turkey, and the U.S.) are found on my Flickr page. But the Mongolia images also have their own home at www.mongolialife.com.

I hope you enjoy this look into Mongolia Life.