Travels with Kathryn

No. I have not returned to Mongolia, I am still in the UK, but I did go on a trip to Leeds to see the Chinggis Khan exhbition at the Royal Armouries Museum. When we visited the Chinggis Khan museum in Ulaanbaatar, there were a few noticeable gaps because apparently certain items were on loan to this exhibition. I decided I would go up to see them.

I caught the train from London Kings Cross (always one of my favourite stations, and not just to enjoy people queuing up to see Platform 9 3/4!) and took the direct train to Leeds which takes a mere 2.5 hours. You can tell that the UK has not had much rain as I sped past lots of yellow, but I also enjoyed the UK’s attempts at renewable energy. China would find these tiny, tiny numbers of solar panels and wind turbines rather pathetic.

I have never actually been to Leeds before, but I got some solid Northern vibes of another city having undergone and still be undergoing regeneration. I may have gotten a little confused on exiting the station as there is a whole new road/entry malarky being built, but I soon managed to get on track and walk the short 15 minutes to the Royal Armouries Museum.

The Leeds museum is part of the “Royal Armouries” family of museums, which includes the Tower of London and Fort Nelson. These hold the National Collection of Arms and Armour. Much of what is here was once in the Tower of London, but this purpose built museum was intended to display the majority of the collection. However, I was here specifically for a special exhibit entitled “Chinggis Khan: How the Mongols Changed the World”.

As I have previously written, Chinggis Khan has an almost God-like status in Mongolia, and the more I learnt about him, the more I can see why.

“World history was profoundly transfomed by Chinngis Khan. When he died in 1227, Mongol expansion was only beginning. Over the following century, his descendants built an empire that stretched across much of Eurasia, from Korea to eastern Europe.

For the first time, distant regions were brought under a single system of rule. Mongol expansion reshaped more than borders and governments: it accelerated trade, encouraged the movement of people and ideas, and fostered exchanges of art, science, and technology.”

From the exhibition opening.

What may provide helpful context for UK visitors (and perhaps UK readers of this blog) was a timeline of Chinngis Khan/the Mongol empire and key dates in UK history. For example, around the time Chinngis Khan became the ruler of all the peoples of the steppe, the Magna Carta was signed.

Now full disclosure, the exhibition was one rather small room with much writing and little actual historical artifacts to look at. To be honest, it probably was not worth the trip (or even the write-up). However, as I went, and as I am writing this, I am going to share what there was.

The exhibition made much of the fact that although Chinngis Khan was the uniting figure, it was his descendants who really expanded out the empire.

The emphasis was very much on how the empire was governed and how the exchange of ideas really helped and benefitted the empire as a whole. Unlike many conquering armies of the day, targets were always given the option to surrender, and if they did, then they were seamlessly folded into the empire. Mongols did not torture, mutilate, or maim (common practice in Europe at the time). Once conquered, provided you paid your taxes to your Mongol  overlords, you could (in any cases) carry on your life as before. There were no requirements to change religion, and by being part of the empire, you could expect to safely travel across it and purchase goods from anywhere in it.

Chinggis Khan died in 1227 and he was buried (as per his request) in an unmarked grave close to where he was born. The trident pictured below is on top of the black banner (remember the white banners from the opening of Nadaam), which is a symbol of Chinggis Khan and his empire. It is associated with his authority, protection, and the unity of the Mongol people. The black banner is raised during times of war and collective action. This symbol has endured long after the death of Chinggis Khan and his empire.

So, that took all of about 45 minutes. However, this was just in time to visit the “Tilting Yard” to watch a demonstration of Mongol Horse Skills. Much imagination was needed. The horses are not Mongolian horses, the clothes were not quite accurate to the deels we had seen in Mongolia, and the bows were certainly not European. However, there was a fun bit when the riders chopped cabbages in half whilst going backwards, now if only they had used a nice piece of mutton it would have been more accurate…

Museum completed, I went off to see some of the sites of Leeds. There has evidently been much investment in the area around the canals, and there’s now a rather nice walkway along from the museum back to the city centre. Kirkgate Market is Europe’s largest indoor market. It was refurbished in the 1990s and today has a rather random of stalls from fishmongers, to vintage goods, to many high-vis options and sewing notions (but annoying none of the colour embroidery thread in the colour I have run out of!).

After all that excitement, it was time to head home. In classic travels with Kathryn stylee, the train was delayed on the way back (trespassers on the line), but at least that means delay repay…

And that is it. The end of my Mongolian adventures. Only 8 weeks until my next holiday.