Genghis Khan is regarded as Mongolia’s founding father. He and
his marauding troops conquered huge swathes of Asia and Europe travelling
westwards from his Mongolian homeland, destroying all and everyone that stood
between him and the advancement of the Mongol Empire.
These objectives and feats resonate with our overland journey.
We, like Genghis, plan to achieve our westward march overcoming everything and
everyone that stands in our way, with the objective of satisfying our travel
appetite whilst arriving in the city that will become home (London) from our
current home in Melbourne. It is true that we might have to employ slightly
different tactics to succeed. Genghis used what some might say was a relatively
aggressive approach, slaying tribesmen across the Eurasian landmass whilst “enjoying”
their widowed women as he travelled. We on the other hand, will concentrate our
efforts on charming train station and consulate officials. We think you will
agree, that these subtle differences in approach, do nothing to undermine the
notion, that basically we are Ghosting Genghis; we will be celebrating his
achievements by emulating them. In honour of this, we aim to visit as many
Genghis Khan related sites as we can.
Our first visit to a Genghis Khan related site will be 130km
south of Baotou in Inner Mongolia, China, where we will be visiting the Genghis
Khan mausoleum. This tribute to the great Mongol warlord previously contained
his saddle and bow (before being carelessly lost). There is still an impressive
three domed monument in his honour however. We will then be spending several
days in Beijing, the city that Genghis Khan destroyed in 1215 before
rebuilding.
Next stop will be the main focus; Mongolia! We will see his giant
face arranged in rock overlooking Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar. East of the
capital, we will visit a 40 metre high statue of the great man, where we can
walk to the head of the horse through its chest and neck, to have a panoramic
view. We will also be visiting Genghis’
ancient Mongol Empire capital at Karakorum.
Genghis Khan’s power and appetite for destruction even
stretched as far as European Russia, with the destruction of Moscow. We will do
our best to find any Genghis related sites, but internet research is yet to
uncover where we can find them for our stay in Moscow and Russia in general.
The city of Otrar, approximately 900km west of modern day
Almaty, Kazakhstan, has a lot to answer for. Hindsight is a wonderful thing,
and hindsight tells us that the murder of 450 of Genghis’ merchant envoys at
Otrar in 1218 in cold blood was probably a mistake. Genghis Khan’s response to this
misguided act of the Governor of Khorezm was to avenge the murder by trashing
Otrar, and pouring molten silver into the Governor’s eyes, with the less than
merciful Genghis supervising operations. This was Genghis Khan’s introduction
to Central Asia, and without it he may have never explored further into Central
Asia and Europe. Due to Otrar’s importance to the region’s Genghis history, we
will definitely be seeking a visit to what is now a ghost town just south of
Turkestan.
With this gentle introduction to Central Asia, Genghis went
onto wreak havoc across the region, murdering pretty much anybody that had the temerity
to not believe he was the answer to all their woes. Cities we will be visiting
that suffered this fate include Konye-Urgench, Merv (Turkmenistan), Samarkand,
Tashkent and Bukhara (Uzbekistan). Bukhara deserves special mention for the slaying
of 30,000 residents at the bloody hands of Genghis. After his Bukharan work was
complete Genghis marched to the Mosque and declared “I am the flail of God. If
you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me
upon you”. Harsh but fair, We are sure you will agree. Genghis did have a
softer side though, especially when appreciating architecture. The Kalon
Minaret (built in 1127 and standing 47 metres tall) in Bukhara was spared
destruction by Genghis due to its size and beauty. This building is still standing
and is definitely on our itinerary!