Tibet, once an independent Lamaist state with the Dalai Lama as its spiritual head, is located on the roof of the world. This beautiful but barren country is inhabited by a very mellow and peaceful people. Surrounded by the highest mountains on earth and once dotted with famous monasteries, Tibet was conquered by Chinese communist troops in 1959 and as many as 3 million Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama himself, fled ever since. For the sporadic foreign visitor however, it still remains a spiritual powerhouse and we can’t help to hope their culture will survive and that the Tibetan people will be masters over their own affairs soon again.