Oldal 26 [26]
SUSAN C. BYRNE
Khögshin khüree had connections with the major monasteries in Khentii province
such as Baldanbereewen khiid, Khüükhen khutagtiin khüree, Lamiin khüree, Jargalt¬
khaan and Gundgawarlin (Setsen khanii khüree) as well as with Erdene dsuu.? One
account asserts that the monastery was known as far away as Kumbum in Amdo,
Tibet.!°
Today there is little to see on the surface other than small piles of stones jutting
out of the steppe and, in some places, indentations in the grassland indicating a tem¬
ple edge. The site lays 30 km northeast of Baganuur city, one of the nine municipal
districts (dtitireg) of Ulaanbaatar, which is an exclave 130 km from the capital at the
border between the Tow and Khentii provinces. Baganuur was established in 1978
when the Soviet Union built the largest open pit coal mine in Mongolia near the
site of a previous military base. Today the city has a population numbering 22,000
and is growing at such an extent that civic authorities are pressing for it to become
independent of Ulaanbaatar. While the Kherlen Valley is increasingly important for
local tourism and holiday homes/small camps, the site of Khégshin khiiree is neither
a tourist attraction nor seemingly well known by local people. (My host on the field
° Cf. www.mongoliantemples.org. Records of these monasteries can be found on the website with
the following DOMM identifying codes: Baldanbereewen khiid (DOMM X9PJ 077), Khütkhen
khutagtiin khiiree (DOMM X3PJI 076), Gundgawarlin (Setsen khanii khiiree DOMM X390X 059),
Erdene dsuu (OXXX 018).
'0 Cf. www.mongoliantemples.org. DOMM TOMM 051.
24