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I mentioned earlier that the First of the Nine-Nines —the Nine-Nines being nine periods of nine days each, each period characterized by a certain type of winter weather—started on the day of the Winter Solstice , which occurred here in Mongolia on December 22. The Second of the Nine Nines began yesterday, December 31. Known as Khorz Arkhi Khöldönö , this is the time when twice-distilled homemade Mongolian arkhi (vodka) freezes. As you will recall, the first of the Nine-Nines was the time when regular, or once distilled, arkhi freezes. As this indicates, the second period should be colder than the first, since twice distilled arkhi obviously has a much higher alcohol content. This morning at 6:30, however, it was a balmy 1º above 0 F. (-17º C.) Expect colder weather by the end of the week.  As some of you may know, today is also the first day of the year according to the admittedly outdated and outmoded Gregorian calendar which unfortunately seems to hold much of the world in its...

Well, it is that time of the year again! Get that  Elk Antler Headdress out of the attic and shake the dust off your tambourines! The Winter Solstice occurs today at 1:30 p.m. (Ulaanbaatar Time), marking the beginning of Winter. See  Winter Solstice 2010 at Stonehenge , the granddaddy of all Solstice celebration sites. Here in Zaisan Tolgoi the sun rises at 8:39 and sets at 5:02 for a day of 8 hours, 22 minutes, and 54 seconds, the shortest day of the year of course. Tomorrow the day will be two seconds longer, which means we have turned the corner and are on the way to the Spring Equinox on March 20, 2012. My house plants have been slumping, and I can only hope that they will sense the turn of the seasons and perk up, since moping house plants are a little more than I can deal with right now. In Mongolia the Winter Solstice also marks the beginning of the so-called Nine-Nines: nine periods of nine days each, each period marked by some description of winter weather...

Bayantsagaan Wandered by the crib of  Bayantsagaan , head of Lam Rim Khiid near Gandan. He had called and asked me to stop and discuss a book he was writing. He does not speak much English and of course my Mongolian is limited, but we usually manage to get by without a translator. Indeed, we had no problem discussing the publishing project he had in mind. But then he started talking about Aryaval Khiid, another temple in Terelj National Park north of Ulaanbaatar which he himself had founded. He could not seem to get his point across, so he got out his mobile phone, a new smart phone the brand of which I did not notice (I am not a mobile phone freak) and made a video-call to his daughter in the United States. Holding the phone in front of us, we had her translate while we watched her on the screen. So, I thought, this is the world we live in; we are sitting in Mongolia and making a video call to the United States to have someone translate for us. His daughter,  Erdenetse...

Baha-ud-Din Naqband  Bukhari, right Today, the 10th of December according to the increasing irrelevant Gregorian calendar, is the 14th day of the month of Muharram, according to the Islamic Lunar Calendar . (It is also the day of the Full Moon, an auspicious day according to the Mongolian Lunar Calendar .) As most of you probably know, this is the birthday of  Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari ( 1318–1389), the founder of what would become the Naqshbandi sect of Sufis. During a recent sojourn in Uzbekistan I wandered by his tomb, located in the village Kasri Arifon eight or so miles from Bukhara .  Entrance to the Mausoleum of Baqshbandi Tomb of Baqshbandi Tomb of  Baqshbandi Tomb of  Baqshbandi Monument in the Mausoleum Complex Uzbekistan Roses in all their resplendent glory just outside the Mausoleum Complex

When we last left Chingis Khan he was At the Walls of Samarkand . Before addressing the siege of Samarkand, however, we should examine the flight of Khorezmshah.  Chingis Khan may have hurried on to Sarmarkand in the hopes of finding the Khorezmshah himself in the city. After all, since 1212 Samarkand had been the de facto capital of the Khorezm Empire, and when the Mongol threat had first loomed on the horizon the Khorezmshah had personally overseen the  repair and upgrading of the city’s fortifications. He had also stationed a considerable portion of his armies in Samarkand, and Chingis might well have expected him to remain in the city and take personal command of his troops.  If so, the Mongol khan was disappointed. Upon arriving at the walls of Sarmarkand he immediately received intelligence that not only was the Khorezmshah not in Sarmarkand, but that he fled Mawarannahr altogether. According to Juvaini:   . . . the Sultan withdrew from the conflict, the c...