Mongolian Yurt

A yurt is a round-shaped home that originated from the Nomads in Mongolia and other parts of Central Asia. In Mongolia, the yurt is called “ger” (gher).

The terms yurt and ger are interchangeable and describe the traditional portable Mongolian habitation consisting of a wooden frame and felt walls.

Yurts are designed to be easy to take apart, transport and reconstruct despite this portability, they are warm enough to keep the coldest winter temperatures at bay and strong enough to withstand strong winds and the demands of a whole family.

The yurt is a circular structure built using a wooden, accordion frame that can be easily taken down, made compact for carrying and reassembled. On this frame are placed two to three layers of felt, traditionally made from sheep’s wool, and an outer layer of waterproof canvas. The felt and canvas are secured to the wooden frame and the resulting structure can stand securely in one place for months or even years at a time.

The wooden frame of the yurt is held together by opposing stresses designed into the structure and by horse, yak and camel hair straps. A central column holds up the struts of the roof, which fan out from an opening that accommodates a stove pipe and can be opened up to the elements on a warm day or covered in the event of rain or cold temperatures. The lower sides of the outer wrapping of the yurt can also be raised to allow air to circulate freely to cool the interior on warm days.

If you have been to Mongolia, you will surely already have an idea of how you wish to use a yurt. However, we would like to provide some ideas on how a yurt might contribute to your lifestyle for those who do not have this experience. Although nomads in Mongolia use yurts all year round in temperatures as low as -35 and as high as +40 degrees Celsius. A yurt provides ot only the atmosphere of a nomadic lifestyle but has many practical and enjoyable uses for people in North America and elsewhere in the world.

Firstly, a Mongolian yurt makes an ideal second or holiday home in part because it can be put to many uses. One of the nice ways to make use of a yurt is as a pavillion in a backyard or another spot. The ease with which air circulates through a yurt makes it cool in the summer and it can also be made warm when the temperatures begin to fall. You can use a smaller yurt as a bedroom and view the stars in the night sky through the opening in the roof.

A yurt can just as easily be used as a kitchen or dining room or a combination of those two. You could even try cooking Mongolian-style barbecue in your Mongolian yurt. A yurt can be used as a dining pavilion, a marquee for a family event or as a playhouse for children. A Mongolian yurt can also be used to provide space for a variety of activities for companies offering recreational services and they will be a point of interest for patrons.

As you may have seen in Mongolia, yurts are commonly used to provide bungalow-type accommodation at tourist camps in the countryside. Yurts are used not only as accommodation but als as restaurants, shops and museums in the land of their origin.

Our yurts type includes essentially the same yurt that has been used by Mongolian nomads for thousands of years. These traditional yurts are portable, eco-friendly (with zero footprint on Earth) and made of all natural products such as wood, sheep wool, felt and cotton.

Traditional Mongolian yurts have lots of characters, and are great for anyone who wants to feel closer to mother Earth. They also have lots of practical uses such as a guest house, extra bedroom, permanent home and storage.

Ashid Ger, is producer and worldwide supplier of these traditional yurts in their original forms, or their variations for different purposes.