Juliet Port in Mongolia

Our daughter, Juliet Port, was a Peace Corps Volunteer there until July, 1998. Here are a few photos we received from her plus a few shots that are borrowed. Her parents are Bob Port and Diane Kewley-Port.


Julie and her friend Unurgargal sledding outside Uliastay (visible in the distance) with the mountain Otgon Tenger on the skyline. Photo made in February, when the daily high temperature was a balmy -10 F. Typically, the daily high in December til March is -40 degrees (either Fahrenheit or centigrade since the two scales are about the same at this temperature). As usual the year round, the sky is blue and cloudless.

Uliastay, the town she lives in, from a landing aircraft. This is a residential neighborhood of the provincial capital (of Zavkhan aimag) in western central Mongolia. Notice lots of gers (or yurts).

Julie called this photo `All Mongolia in One Shot': a Russian jeep, Russian truck, a ger (or yurt), a Mongol pony (with uncomfortable wooden saddle) and a Mongol in summer dress plus another one in the shade of the truck (who is probably drunk),

Otgon Tenger. Juliet works in the national park below in this winter photo. The peak in the middle is Otgon Tenger, the second highest peak in Mongolia (4000 m). During winter she lives in Uliastay, the provincial capital in a valley nearby. In the summer she will work in the park around this mountain. [Thanks to Rogier Gruys for this photo.]

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Juliet with a friendly neighbor and large rose. Both are wearing a del, the traditional Mongol jacket. The photo was taken during Tsagan Sar (White Month), the Mongolian new year's holiday in February, when everyone dresses up and either hosts their neighbors or visits them.

A herding family outside their ger. (Photo by Kikutake Yuji from his Virtual Mongol page.)


RFPort, August, 1998