During the week of the largest spectator sports event of the year, the Naadam Festival, one of the most popular sports is wrestling. Mongolian wrestling is similar to wrestling found elsewhere, except there are no weight divisions, so the biggest wrestlers can sometimes be facing the smallest, often leading to a hilarious match. Also, there is no time limit - bouts will continue, with short breaks, untill the first wrestler falls. Before each elimination bout, wrestlers limber up and honor the judges with a short dance called a devekh, or 'eagle dance'. This man is one of the main judges at a festival right outside Ulaan Bataar.

©Erwin Bakx 1997