Olgii (Ulgii) city, Bayan-Olgii aimag
To the north from lake Tolbo, Olgii town, center of Bayan-Olgii is nestled among Altai mountains. Mostly Kazakh people live here and the city was more prosperous than cities in western Mongolia. According to Professor Poul, FM radio stations are popping up everywhere in rural towns of Mongolia including here, like mushroom. 70 % of program consists of music.
The town has a mosque, an Islam education school, and the most equipped media center in western Mongolia. The newly opened Turkish restaurant was popular among expats. Many kazakh people send their children to Turkey, Kazakhstan and Egypt, besides Ulaanbaatar, to get education. As Bayan-Olgii borders with both Russia and China, trading goes on with both sides. It seems western style luxury houses are popping up too.