Part 19 - The Zaisan Monument

Ulaanbaatar is a very odd-shaped city. It goes on for several miles east-west - maybe 15 or so in each direction from the centre - with only a few miles north-south. The Zaisan monument is only a couple of miles from the city centre but it overlooks the whole city, sitting on the edge of the impressive Bogdkhan Uul mountain which imposes over the city.

Having reached the monument Erdenee stopped to get some lunch from the kiosk at the foot of the stairs. No one told me I had to climb up 295 steps to get to the top! (Yes I counted them all).



What's worse of course is when I get to the top, out of breath, there's a 90-year-old lady standing there. Okay, so the climb wasn't that hard.



The monument is impressive and the view is impressive. On the outside you've got a stone-cold communist lump of concrete complete with hammers and sickles and images of Lenin and Sukhbaatar, the father of modern Mongolia. Inside you've got a mosaic presented by the Communists to the grateful people of Mongolia showing the struggle of the Mongolian people against various capitalists and imperialists through the ages.





















The view over the city is pretty impressive too.





At the bottom there was something else going on with a tank and another communist frieze. I'll come back to you on this one!