Architecture sights in Kharkhorin (Karakorum)
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Ancient Karakorum
Just beyond Turtle Rock, stretching for about a kilometre south and east, is the site of ancient Karakorum. The foundations of Karakorum's buildings are all underground and little has been excavated, so you need lots of imagination when contemplating the grandness of it all. The plain was littered with bricks, ruined walls and pillars until the mid-16th century when everything was picked up and used to build the walls and temples of nearby Erdene Zuu.
Next to Turtle Rock you can see an area of raised earth surrounded by a wire fence. This was the alleged site of Ögedei Khaan's palace.
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Phallic Rock
Near Kharkhorin, a two-foot long stone penis attracts steady streams of curiosity-seekers. The 'phallic rock', which points erotically to something interestingly called a 'vaginal slope', is hidden up a small valley, about 2km southeast of Erdene Zuu Khiid. A giant penis, painted onto a sign by the road, points you in the right direction. Legend has it that the rock was placed here in an attempt to stop frisky monks, filled with lust by the shapely slope, from fraternising with the local women.
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