Mongol Passion: History and Challenges – Can Tourism Be a Tool to Empower It?

Abstract

When I studied in Europe, I had the chance to explain my belief regarding the meaning of Mongolia in relation to the meaning of humans and humanity. Once, my friends asked me “Gana, do most Mongolian people have similar almond eyes like you? Have you ever heard that Down syndrome was called Mongoloid disease, are there many people who have such syndrome in your country?” They wanted to know my reaction and were also interested what it means to be Mongol. We all knew that it was called such because the person who first characterized Downs as a distinct form of mental disability (John Langdon Down) believed that children with Downs resembled Asian people in facial characteristics, and so he called them “mongoloids“.