Erecting a Ger - Part IV: Inside the Ger

Inside the ger, they put up curtain-like wall hangings. These sheets are the equivalent of wall paper. They look prettier than the wall framework and gray felt sheets. Like some of the other stuff, they have loops that are tied to the top of the wall beams and hang downward.

Now they attach the rope that runs from the very center of the roof ring, goes through the eastern pillar, hangs down, and and is bunched up above the roof poles. Every ger has one of these, but I don’t know why. I'm convinced it must be symbolic rather than functional. In fact, it's taboo to hand your clothes (or anything else) from this rope.

Now the floor needs more work. When it turns out that the floor boards aren’t completely even, one of the boards is padded up by folding an old instant-noodle bulk box and slipping it on top of the board, underneath the plastic floor cover. Now the floor is even!

Giant rolls of scotch tape seal the cracks / gaps in the plastic sheet, so less air seeps in through the bottom of the ger. (Fun fact: The Mongolian word for tape is скоч, from the word "scotch.")

Later part of the floor will get covered with a proper carpet. But as one of my friends asked, since Mongolians have been living in round gers for thousands of years, why don’t they make round floor coverings or rugs?

This is not round

Now the ger is complete and people can live in it! (Well, actually, they still need to set up at the bed and stove.)