13 Facts about Gers

You’re probably looking at the picture and thinking “That’s a yurt”. That or maybe “what is that thing?” It’s the typical home of a Mongolian nomad. Also the typical home of a lot of people who aren’t so nomadic anymore. More about that in a minute.

1. Calling it a “yurt” is insulting to Mongolians. It’s like your saying the years of Russian oppression are more valid than their own heritage. Mongolians have good reason to be sensitive about this. If we’re talking Mongolia, call it a ger, not a yurt.

2. It’s pronounced like saying the name “Gerry” without the y. In my notes I tossed in an h a number of times. (gehr) but that isn’t right. It’s just ger.

3. A small, basic ger can be purchased from a manufacturer in Ulaan Baatar for around $700 US.

4. Gers are measured by latticework sections. The basic ger is five sections around. Most of the ones we stayed in were seven sections. Yes, we stopped to count.

5. A basic ger can be assembled in less than half an hour.

6. It can be put together with as few as two people, but it’ll take a bit longer.

7. Most nomads use the same ger in winter as in summer. They simply move it around as need be.

8. Most gers are heated by a basic wood stove, but one we stayed in also had a heated floor.

9. Many of the people who live in cities live there in gers. They form areas where there is little or not plumbing called “ger districts”.

10. There are gers set up inside the second floor of a two story building at one of the monasteries we visited. They serve as guest rooms during the winter.

11. Gers have been around for a very long time. The oldest complete one was found in a 13th century grave, but Herodotus mentions them around 450 B.C. Khaans and nobility used to move theirs around on big ox carts. Everyone else broke theirs down and put them on camels and horses.

12. There are some really big ones. Some of the restaurants we ate in were gers.

13. There are ger camps where tourists – both Mongolia and foreign – can stay. Two of the ones we stayed at were modified to accommodate private bathrooms. Most Mongolians don’t bother. They use an outhouse.

And here’s an extra:

Most of the places we visited didn’t have running water and often no electricity, but almost all of them had cell phones and a solar battery recharger.