Day #74: Gandan Khiid

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The main temple (the Migjid Janraisig Sum) at the Gandan monastery doesn't look that spectacular from the outside, but the inside houses an enormous Buddha statue, around 80 feet tall. I thought the temple must have been built around the idol, because they are more or less the same height, but the statue is apparently new, a replacement after the Soviets destroyed the original.

A Buddhist monastery (Khiid) consists of a collection of temples and other buildings (including schools and administrative buildings) and at Gandan Khiid it is possible to wander around the different temples. The main temple is used by a steady stream of Mongolian worshippers, the prayer wheels are constantly turning, and there are offerings (mostly sweets and money) at all the idols in the various temples. It is also traditional to feed the pigeons outside the temple, Trafalgar Square-style (I have so far seen pigeons everywhere from Siberia to the Gobi desert. They must be able to survive almost anything).

In the smaller temples there were fewer visitors but instead monks chanting or doing chores (including a group of rowdy teenagers in monks' robes, who did not seem to be taking the faith very seriously). My leisurely stroll around was interrupted by a spectacular thunderstorm and torrential rain that lasted over an hour, which I spent sheltering in the entrance to a temple with a small group of frustrated Mongolians.

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