Dreams of a Far Flung Land – Mongolia

This is a ticket to an unchanged and incredible country, to a land of dreams where you will take time out from the rat race to wander where time does not dominate.

Twenty years ago I read a book about the adventures of Genghis Khan. The image of a million warriors galloping across the vast Mongolian plains, reaching all the way to Europe and conquering half the world has never left me. As the years passed it became clear to me that until I too explore this wilderness, I will never find peace of mind.

I decided to make the trip and found nine partners who were willing to join me in my Mongolian madness. We set out on a voyage to discover and photograph a wonderful cultural heritage against the background of the Altai Mountains which were crossed by Marco Polo on his way to meet with Kublai Khan, Genghis Kahn’s grandson.

In August 2005 we traversed the Mongolian migratory plains in an all-terrain vehicle. We fought our way across raging rivers and enormous dunes and spent freezing nights in tents. It was a tough journey where the nearest village might be hundreds of kilometers distant, a journey where the silence steadily intensifies, where each of us gradually became attuned to his own consciousness and gained an inner tranquility at the sight of crimson sunsets set against a background of endless green plains.

Mongolia stole my heart. A country where people with beaming faces opened up their tents to us (although not knowing a single word of English) and invited us to join them around their fires for beer and coffee, holding lively conversations with us in sign language and grimaces – simply craving for contact.

The amazing landscapes are beyond description and the following pages are intended to reveal to the reader only a painfully small part of the greater picture. Each frame contains a mere fraction of the unending landscape which surrounded us.

Mongolia ethno-graphic expedition – October 2010
Now I want to go one step further – to open a wider window on the amazing world of some of the last nomadic tribes and to bring to you the pictorial image of the story of the Mongol people. I seek to create a photographic expedition - not made up of professionals, just "camera loving" – people from USA, Australia, Europe (and Israel…). Please join me in August 2010.
It will be an tough task. I know. To create such group only using e-mail and phone- will take time and efforts, but I think it is worth it.
To sit next to the fire, with photographers from all over the world – talking, comparing, learning and enjoying while Mongolia is our background.
I am seeking to all whose his imagination is sparked by this, who can communicate and respect forging cultures. Contact me and start to dream.

I would like to close this introduction in my own words which I believe are relevant for every moment in our life:
“The farther you dream, the farther you will go”

Dreams of a Far Flung Land – Mongolia
Ilan Aviv
ilan_av@netvision.net.il