A MONGOLIAN EXPERIENCE
Have you ever been to Mongolia or eaten in a yurt? Probably not but a good number of Romandie West members enjoyed the latter experience on 18 January. But what is a yurt? It is traditionally a portable round covered dwelling insulated with skins or felt and used by nomadic groups. It has been a distinctive feature of life in Central Asia for at least two and a half thousand years. The first written description of a yurt was recorded by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. He described yurt-like tents as the dwelling place of the Scythians, a horse riding-nomadic nation who lived in the northern Black Sea and Central Asian region from around 600 BC to AD 300.
Our atmospheric restaurant near Geneva was located in a field by the headquarters of the world famous Eurovision and Euroradio organizations of the European Broadcasting Union. Composed of three linked together yurts of modern construction materials, the food was not the least modern but a classical and excellent Swiss fondue accompanied by viande séchée and good wine. It was a most enjoyable luncheon in a very original location and our warmest thanks go to Regional Chairman, Pam Walsh OBE and Kirsty Griffiths for having organized it.
Michael Type
