Naadam fighters

taken just before the fight. They make the eagle dance and then after they fight.

Naadam, the `manly games´ or suur-kharbaan as it is called in Buryatya is a festival of the three mayor traditional sports in Mongolia: wrestling, horse racing and archery. It is the biggest event in Mongolia´s public life. All over the countryside small naadams are celebrated and in the first part of July (11, 12 and 13) the national naadam in Ulaanbaatar is celebrated. The three day event brings all the best sportsmen from over the country to Ulaanbaatar.

It is the most widely watched festival in the country, and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Originally it was a religious festival as an annual sacrificial ritual honouring various mountain gods and to celebrate a community endeavour. Now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.