Acknowledgments Rex and I would like to thank the explorers of Ararat for taking the time to be a part of this project. Also, thanks to each explorer and their families for their courage, contribution and sacrifice in the search for Noah’s Ark. I would especially like to thank my wife, Jennifer; my son, Daniel; my parents and my family for their support and encouragement (especially my mom) for purchasing my first book about Noah’s Ark. I would like to thank Dr. Paul Meier for the Foreword, as well as for the musical opportunity he allowed my wife and me. Thanks to Charles Willis, Chuck Aaron, Bob Garbe, Don Shockey, Robert Michelson, and Jim Hall for allowing me to be a part of four historic expeditions to Mount Ararat. I would like to thank the faculty and administration of Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey; the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the governor of Agri, mayor of Doğubeyazit, and to all other Turkish government and military officials, and friends that have helped us with our research efforts. A special thanks goes to editors Judy Walker, Tad Wakefield, Gerrit Aalten, Rick Lanser, John Comber and Gary & Robbie Walker at Atlantic Printing in Tabor City, North Carolina. Rex would also like to specially thank Phyllis Cummings Watson who graciously donated Eryl & Violet Cummings’ “arkives” that have added tremendously to the reference materials for the 3rd Edition of The Explorers Of Ararat. Rex also wants to thank Alva Appel, Bill Dougall, Dr. Pieter Vandenhoven, Elfred Lee, Pat Frost, Bobby Jones, Charles Willis, Bill Crouse, John McIntosh, Dick Bright, Dave Larsen, Tom Pickett, Jim Hays, John Comber, Matthew Kneisler, Carl Nestor, David O'Neil, Robin Simmons, Michael Castellano, and Steve Emse for adding valuable information to the reference section of the book and web site. To Rex’s and my other "virtual" Internet researchers, contributors, and past team members, all too numerous to mention. You know who you are! Thanks!
Introduction The Explorers of Ararat—And the Search for Noah’s Ark is a compilation of accounts written by experienced explorers who have searched for Noah’s Ark since the 1960's. These individuals have been to Mount Ararat in Turkey many times in search of the elusive ark. Each explorer conveys his unique experiences and insights regarding the search. The potential for the ark's discovery is greatly improved when there is sharing of information and unity among the various researchers. I am grateful for their cooperation and for the participation of each contributor to this book. The biblical book of Genesis states that the Ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat. Ararat is translated as Armenia or Urartu. Bible scholars describe the mountains of Ararat as a mountain range within the ancient kingdom of Urartu. The NIV Study Bible states in the reference section that the Ark probably landed in southern Urartu. This conflicts with alleged eyewitness accounts of the ark's location on what is today known as Mount Ararat, since it is located in northern Urartu. Mount Cudi (pronounced Mount Judi) is a mountain located in what was ancient southern Urartu. Mount Cudi also has a Noah’s Ark tradition, which in ancient texts and references precedes the tradition of Mount Ararat. There are several other mountains outside the boundaries of the "mountains of Ararat" which have a Noah’s Ark tradition. This book primarily focuses on the explorers of Ararat, some of whom are also interested in becoming explorers of Mount Cudi (Cudi Dagı). There are several researchers still interested in Durupinar, the boat-shaped formation near both Mount Ararat and the Turkish-Iranian border. This site received attention by the efforts of Ron Wyatt and the late David Fasold. There is actually a Turkish Visitor's Center above the site with signs stating that the formation is the remains of Noah’s Ark. Professor Robert Michelson of Georgia Tech University and David Deal are interested in performing more in-depth research on the formation and areas surrounding the site before dismissing the area as natural. Michelson and Deal speculate that the formation may actually be a "footprint" of the remains of Noah’s Ark. Michelson and Deal believe the majority of current reports debunking the site as natural (not a Noah’s Ark footprint) are not based on good science, and want to conduct further study of the area. If the Ark did land on Mount Ararat, where exactly did it land? Given the biblical account, in which it took over seventy days before the tops of other mountains became visible, one would expect a near-summit landing. Greater Ararat dominates the surrounding landscape and is the tallest mountain in the region at nearly 17,000 feet. Lesser Ararat to the southeast is approximately 13,500 feet high. Some consider these two peaks to meet the plural definition of “mountains of Ararat.” Mount Ararat's peak is permanently covered with ice and glaciers. The depth of the ice measures over two hundred feet in some areas of the mountain. I should mention that Mount Cudi is a considerably smaller mountain with an
Scott Little and B.J. Corbin at Mihtepe preparing to climb the East Summit 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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elevation of approximately seven thousand feet. Most alleged sightings of Noah’s Ark on Ararat are near the northeast and northwest glacier areas between 14,000 and 16,000 feet. If the Ark is buried under the ice, and was constructed using pitch inside and out to waterproof it, this would lend credence to stories of its petrifaction and survival for thousands of years. There are many good books available giving evidences for a universal flood and comparing theories of special creation and evolution. I have personally found marine fossils at an elevation between 8,000 and 10,000 feet near Mount Ararat (in the foothills behind the old Simer Hotel). Is there conclusive evidence that the remains of Noah’s Ark still exist on Mount Ararat? A person may have read books or watched television programs that claim Noah’s Ark has already been discovered. It is certainly possible that it has been rediscovered, but the significant problem has always been the validation of the discovery. Why is it so difficult to validate such a discovery? If the reader does not already know the difficulties faced by Ark researchers, they will become quite clear upon reading this book. The obstacles and frustrations are many. What do these explorers of Ararat have in common? The explorers are joined by a bond created by incredible shared experiences searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat. They have experienced a foreign culture very different from their own. They have traveled across a rugged, hostile terrain in an ancient land divided by ethnic war and barricaded borders. Most have spent many frustrating hours, days, and weeks wading through a maze of political and bureaucratic processes to obtain a special research permit. Even after special permission to climb Mount Ararat has been obtained, the local military police often restrict, delay or cancel permits to climb the desired, specific areas of the mountain. Many explorers have come across ferocious wolf-like dogs (probably variations on the Kars and Kangal dogs) on their way up the mountain. While climbing there is the possibility of avalanches of snow or lava rocks, lack of water, high winds and bitter cold on top of glaciers with deep crevasses. Altitude sickness is another common problem high on the mountain. Sometimes the difficulties of Mount Ararat can inhibit the climber's critical thinking skills. An oftenoverlooked hindrance is the fact that a Christian searching for evidences of the Bible in an Islamic country often faces stiff opposition. As an introduction to each explorer, I have given the reader a brief statement about the explorer at the beginning of each chapter. Some ask if we should be searching for Noah’s Ark at all. What is God's will concerning Noah’s Ark? What should Noah’s Ark and the flood story represent to our modern global community? Some people question the efforts of the explorers who search for the remains of Noah’s Ark. Christianity is typically accepted on faith rather than geology or scientific exploration, and to some, the search for evidences that prove the truth of the Bible is inappropriate. I obviously do not agree with that particular sentiment or I would not have gone to Mount Ararat four times. If we search the Bible we see the impact the great miracles (evidences) had on the people of their day, and still do today. The miracles of Jesus and the testimony of witnesses tremendously aided the spread of Christianity so that it eventually became a major world religion. If there were no evidences of God's divine power, where would Christianity be? Do not misunderstand. I believe that faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:15). Trust in the Bible (the word of God) can be built through evidence of its authenticity and validity. These evidences can come through the study of history, archaeology, or fulfillment of prophecy, just as people became followers of Jesus after seeing the word of God confirmed by miracles in the New Testament (Hebrews 2:4 and a few examples from the church history book of Acts 2:1-47, 3:1-16, 5:12-16, 8:413, 9:1-19, 9:32-42). In the past, there has been some criticism of Ark research, as explorers have sometimes been viewed as glory-mongers, treasure-hunters, or just out to prove the Bible. To the contrary, most Ararat explorers view themselves as humble archaeologists (or in this case, "arkeologists"), painstakingly (time-wise, health-wise, and monetarily) trying to discover the truth about any possible remains of Noah’s Ark. Most of those who search for the remains of Noah’s Ark are not searching for proof or validation of the Bible. The majority of the explorers have a Christian background and they believe that the discovery of Noah’s Ark would have a positive impact on many people from other backgrounds. There are some people who could take a guided tour through Noah’s Ark and still not believe in God. The fact is that they believe the search for Noah’s Ark is worth the risk, danger and sacrifice if only one person turns to the Bible. There are many people who have witnessed the power of God and Jesus, and unfortunately still do not accept it. Evidences that support the Bible and creation can be presented as seeds for belief in the Bible and possibly more. The heart and intent of the Ark researcher must remain true. The sensationalism of the possible discovery of Noah’s Ark tugs on our temporal weaknesses. We must not let the desire to be important, significant, or even famous cloud our vision. I was initially lured by the mystery and adventure surrounding the search for Noah’s Ark, but God has His ways of humbling and teaching us to seek His will in all things, even the discovery of Noah’s Ark. Some attach the discovery of the Ark to end times Bible prophecy. This may be, but I find no basis for this assumption in Scripture. I understand the biblical references comparing the wicked generation of Noah's day to that of the last generation at the end times, which could possibly be the one we live in. If explorers are searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark for any other reason than to help people trust in the Bible, they are missing the boat! Whatever the reader's views or opinions concerning the search for Noah’s Ark, I hope that he or she will come away with a deeper understanding and a respect for the explorers of Ararat. B. J. Corbin Editor / Co-Author May 1999 Delmar, MD
Introdu uction
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DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS AND LOCATION NAMES Ark researchers at times seem to be talking in a secret coded language. To overcome this, the following are photos of Ararat throughout this section along with most key terms to familiarize oneself. After the key terms, there is a photo section showing views as if one was literally flying a circle around Ararat.
Northwest Photomap of Mount Ararat by B.J. Corbin 1989 Helicopter Photo Courtesy of Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe
Introduction
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Abich I and II Glaciers – were named after Herman von Abich who climbed the mountain. They are located between the main summit and eastern peaks on the northeast side of the mountain.
Abich II and Beginning of Abich I Glaciers 1986 Courtesy of Bob Garbe
Upper Ahora Gorge with Clouds Moving in 1990 Courtesy of Robin Simmons Ahora Gorge – is a large canyon or gorge on Mount Ararat. It was enhanced by an earthquake in 1840 and is located on the northeast side of the mountain. The Abich II glacier extends into the gorge in two fingers, one of which continues into the Araxes or Black Glacier, which extends down through the gorge or gulch all the way past Jacob's Well. The Black Glacier is colored black or gray by the rock slides which constantly falls on it.
Introduction
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Ahora Gorge Photomap Courtesy of Bob Stuplich and B.J. Corbin Ark Rock – a rock outcropping landmark on the northwest side on Ararat, with the Parrot Glacier flowing beside it on the right to the northwest.
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Map of Northeastern and Northwestern Ararat Courtesy of Dick Bright
Introdu uction
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acier and Morraine with Arkk Rock on the e Left Parrot Gla
Ararat Anomaly pho otos on the no orthwestern side s of Ararat Courte esy of John McIntosh M n area usuallly associated d with the object identifie ed from decllassified Defe ense Intellige ence Ararat Anomaly – an Agency photoss. Ark researc chers also use e the term anomaly to refe er to any intere esting ark-sha aped object.
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Cehennem Dere from the Ahora Gorge with triangular "Doomsday Peak" in foreground 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Doğubeyazit with Ararat in the background 1985 Courtesy of Bill Crouse Cehennem Dere – a V-shaped canyon on the north side of Mount Ararat. A local transliteration is "Valley of Hell." Doğubeyazit – a small frontier town at the southern base of Mount Ararat, and a popular starting point for most expeditions.
Introdu uction
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P Radar R (GPR) – a unit whicch can be use ed to "view" orr profile underneath the ice e. Ground Penetrating
Top of Ahora A Gorge e, Eastern Pla ateau, Eastern Summit, an nd actual sum mmit in right backgro ound 1988 Courtes sy of Chuck Aaron, A Al Jenn ny and John McIntosh M via B.J. Corbin P Sno owfields, Sum mmit – a rela atively large fllat area of sn now and ice lo ocated on the e eastern sum mmit Eastern Plateau, arrea at approxximately 16,80 00 feet. Some e call the easstern summit the 16,000 or o Cacmac pe eak, but it is actually a more like 16 6,800 feet.
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Ice Cap – the general term for the permanent seventeen square mile ice cap or covering on Mount Ararat.
Introduction
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Ice Cave or "Eye of the Bird" photo 1984 Courtesy of John McIntosh
Ice Cave or Ark Cave or "Eye of the Bird" – a dominant landmark on the south / southwest side of the mountain at approximately 14,500 feet. From the town of Doğubeyazit, you can see a large dark spot on the mountain that some believe may be a volcanic vent and has been mistaken in the past for Noah’s Ark.
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cob's Well – a popular northeast landm mark inside th he Ahora Gorg ge. There is also a a lesser--known Jacob b's Well on Jac the soutthwest side off Mount Arara at which Arthu ur Chuchian was w referring to. t It was his father Jacob''s personal well.
Lakke Kıp with Mike M and SEARCH Preside ent John Bradley in 1982 Co ourtesy of John McIntosh Lak ke Kıp – the only o lake on Mount M Ararat (really a pond at ½ an acrre in size) on the northwesst side just be elow an ice finger fro om the Parrott Glacier arou und 11,800 feet elevation. Kurds sometiimes wash their sheep in the ice-cold la ake.
Introduction
Base Camp Tents Near Lake Kıp with the Parrot Glacier Above the Rock Formation Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1983
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Little Ararat viewed from Mihtepe Dog's Tooth Courtesy of John McIntosh
Little Ararat – the smaller sister peak of Ararat at approximately 13,000 feet, located just southeast of Ararat. Some contend that by Ararat being composed of two mountain peaks, this meets the plural definition of "mountains of Ararat." Mih Tepe – a popular rocky base camp on the southeast side of Ararat at approximately 13,500 feet. The area has a spur and the name means “nail head” or “dog's tooth.”
Introduction
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Snow Tiger Team at High Rock Camp 1986 Courtesy of Dr. Charles Willis
Canyon – an area glacial ice fingers Ararat, located Glacier and the
North of steep cliffs and on the north side of between the Parrot Cehennem Dere.
North Canyon where Jim Irwin fell and nearly died and Dr. John Morris was struck by lighting 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Parrot Glacier on northwest Ararat – Ark Rock is top left with Navarra ice pack is left of photo Courtesy of Dr. John Morris Parrot Glacier – a glacier located on the northwest side of Mount Ararat named after Dr. J.J. Friedrich W. Parrot. This glacier was a prime target area for Ferdinand Navarra (1953, 1955) and the SEARCH Team (1968-1969).
Introduction
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The Saddle is the area between the main peak and the Eastern summit. Some, like Colonel Koor, George Stephen III, and Robin Simmon's grandfather, claimed the Ark was just below the saddle on the Northeast Courtesy of Dr. Don Shockey 1990
Saddle, The – the area between the two main summit peaks of Greater Mount Ararat that seems to be shaped like a horse's saddle. Steven Site – Crevasse area in the Abich II ice pack.
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Summit peak in center with Ark scale drawn in for both the upper Abich II and Western Plateau areas 1989 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin, Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe
Summit – the main or western peak of Mount Ararat. It is also called Atatürk peak. The summit is about 17,000 feet. Various measurements have been given above and below that height but it is consistently changing due to the ice depth also changing.
Introduction
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Western Plateau, Ice Cave, and Ark Rock Courtesy of Bob Garbe Western Plateau – large area of the western ice cap is believed to be a caldera or sunken volcanic cone at approximately 15,000 feet. In 1989, the ice on the Western Plateau was measured using Ground-Penetrating Radar to an ice depth of over 250 feet.
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Mount Ararat Topographical Map Courtesy of John McIntosh via B.J. Corbin
Introduction
Mount Ararat Hiking Guide Courtesy of John McIntosh via B.J. Corbin
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East Glacier & Northeast Ahora Gorge 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Introduction
East Glacier 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Ahora Gorge with East Wall Ridge 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Introduction
Ahora Gorge with eastern and western walls 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Ahora Gorge with eastern and western walls 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Ahora Gorge with lower Abich II and heart-shaped glacier 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Introduction
Ahora Gorge with Abich II, Abich I, Inverted Heart-Shape and Cehennem Dere 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Ahora Gorge photomap and unmarked Inverted Heart-Shaped Glacier Courtesy of Bob Stuplich and B.J. Corbin 1983
Introduction
North Canyon area where Jim Irwin fell and Dr. John Morris was struck by lighting 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Northwest Ararat with Parrot Glacier snaking down the mountain 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Introduction
Northwest Ararat with Parrot Glacier snaking down the mountain 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Southwest Ararat 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
South Ararat 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Introduction
South Ararat 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Southeast and east Ararat 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Dr. Friedrich Parrot (1791- 1841) was the founder of scientific mountaineering, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Dorpat, and a Russian Imperial Councillor of State. Parrot was the first western explorer to climb and record an ascent of Mount Ararat as he attempted it three times in the fall of 1829. He was the only known person to meticulously document the Armenian St. Jacob Monastery near the foot of the Ahora Gorge before it was destroyed in 1840 by a mud flow. His detailed account titled Journey to Ararat, originally written in German and translated into English by W.D. Cooley in 1846, is extremely fascinating. Chapter 1
1829 Estonian Friedrich Parrot, Ph.D. Editor’s Note: On September 26, 1829, Johann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot, being at that time a professor of natural philosophy of the Russian University of Tartu [now in Estonia], climbed to the top of Mt. Ararat (5165 meters) together with five other companions including H. Abovijan, who would later become a famous Armenian poet. Due to this event, and to the first ascent to the Eastern Summit of Elbrus (5624m) by Killar Hasirov in 1829, that year is also deemed to mark the beginning of Russian Alpinism. The St. Jacob monastery was located at an elevation of 6,394 feet and named Araxilvank according to H.F.B. Lynch on pages 184-188 of Armenia Travels and Studies and cited in a following chapter of this book. In his 1993 movie The Incredible Discovery of Noah’s Ark, David Balsiger claimed that Parrot saw artifacts from Noah’s Ark. However, Dr. Parrot never claimed these that he saw any artifacts and the movie segment arose from filmmaker David Balsiger’s imagination. In 1966, the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) climber Alva Appel said he saw the location of the monastery in the Ahora Gorge. In 1983, the local Kurds told Doris Bowers and the Irwin team that the monastery foundations were still visible. The Irwin group attempted to go to the location but landslides narrowly missed them and they decided to turn back. In May 2006, Rex Geissler and Dr. David Graves were guided to the site and took the photo below. Parrot also visited the Armenian Echmiadzin Monastery where a cross-shaped relic is allegedly wood from Noah’s Ark. Dr. Parrot never claimed to see any traces of Noah’s Ark although he wrote about the native Armenians, “They are all firmly persuaded that the Ark remains to this day on the top of Mount Ararat, and that in order to ensure its preservation no human being is allowed to approach it.” In 1845, the German Dr. Herman von Abich named the Parrot glacier on the northwest side of the mountain after the first westerner to ascend Ararat. The following are the most interesting sections from Dr. Parrot’s book and the text in brackets are notes from the editors to help correspond old location names with current location names, old words with modern-day words, etc. Preface to the English Edition of Journey to Ararat: …The interest attaching to the first ascent of Mount Ararat is acknowledged by all; nor will it be likely to be diminished by the partial fall of that mountain in 1840 (of which an account is given in the Appendix), when the very monastery in which Parrot had resided, and the ancient village of Arghuri [Ahora], with the vineyards, traditionally believed to have been planted by Noah, were overwhelmed and totally destroyed by the ruins from above. The result of the late Dr. Parrot’s scientific investigations are here given complete, but the figures and formulas with which they were accompanied have been retrenched, so that this part of the work is reduced to one fourth of its original bulk…
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…A Russian traveler, M. Autonomoff, is said to have ascended Ararat in 1834; and its summit was, we believe, nearly reached by Colonel Stoddart, who perished in Bokhara. [Abich wrote from Ahora in 1943, “Autonomoff told him that, being officer of Customs at Nakhitschevan, he felt irrestistibly attracted by the sublimity of the silverheaded mountain. His special aim was the desire to know whether it is true that stars of the first magnitude are visible from very elevated mountains. It is well known among M. Autonomoff’s friends that, the good man having lately follwed the advice of the Vicar of Wakefield, his first son was baptized in water brought by the father from the top of Ararat.” Freshfield, 214] There seems, therefore, to be no ground for questioning the veracity of Parrot, who, as a traveler as well as a philosopher, fully merited the eulogy pronounced on him by M. von Humboldt1, and was “constantly guided by the love of the truth.” Chapter 1: …By the peace of Trukmanshai2 the domain of Christendom was extended beyond the Araxes, and Mount Ararat became the extreme boundary of the Russian Empire on the side of Turkey and Persia. The Kurds, however, still
1 2
Asie Centrale, tom. ii., p. 306. Between Russia and Persia, 10th of Feb., 1828.
Friedrich Parrot, Ph.D. – First Western Climber of Mount Ararat
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continued their depredations on the north and south till the breaking out of the war between Russia and the Porte [Ottoman Empire]. The imperial eagle then soared over Ararat; the pashalik of Bayazed [Bayazit] was invested, and those restless hordes were overawed. The time was now come for the gratification of my long-suppressed aspiration after the mysterious mountain, and a fortunate conjuncture presented me with means conducive to the object I had in view. …obliged me to limit the preparation for my journey to a supply of the most indispensable instruments, and to proceed upon the enterprise at my own expense, accompanied only by M. von Behaghel von Adlerskron, a mineralogist, and pupil of Professor Engelhardt, who was to assist also in taking levels with the barometer. So fully determined was I that nothing should divert me from my purpose, that the mere gratification of beholding the sacred mountain with the eye of a sincere Christian and inquiring traveler was enough to make me bid defiance to all the perils of a journey of 2,330 miles. Meanwhile I had received a pressing solicitation from two medical students of the University, M. Julius Hehn and M. Carl Schiemann, for permission to accompany me. They proposed to employ themselves in making collection, the former in botany, the latter in zoology, both contributing their proportion of the expenses. But the most important addition to our party was suggested by M. Struve, who resolved to avail himself of this opportunity of serving at once the interests of astronomy and those of a young astronomer, and who accordingly proposed to the authorities that M. Vassili Fedorov, student of Philosophy in the Imperial Academy, but trained as an astronomer by Professor Struve, should be permitted to join the expedition, and that the cost of the necessary instruments, as well as his share of the expenses, should be defrayed out of the imperial treasury. We should thus be in a condition not only to determine the exact position of the places visited, but also to measure trigonometrically the height of Mount Ararat, and obtain an exact measure of time for experiments with the pendulum… “The project has my full approval. Let a feldyäger3 of tried fidelity be selected to accompany the expedition, and to remain in the service of the travelers till their return.” Such were the gracious orders of the emperor. At the same time, an advance of 1600 silver rubles was made for the purchase of instruments, and to meet the expenses of the journey on the part of M. Fedorov. Two of the best chronometers were provided by the kind solicitude of Prince Lieven, Minister of Public Instruction—one being bought from the Admiralty, and the other lent by the Imperial Academy of Sciences for the purposes of the expedition; while the feldyäger, in the person of a young man named Schutz, of extraordinary activity and most obliging disposition, was placed under my direction, and the whole party recommended to the patronage and protection of Count Paskevich, of Erivan, commander-in-chief in the Trans-Caucasian provinces. To what an extent the objects of my journey were promoted by these truly paternal attentions may be best appreciated from my entire narrative; yet I may be here allowed to mention the additional marks of his majesty’s favour which we experienced on our return, namely, the full reimbursement of all expenses incurred during our absence; the order of St. Anne, of the second class, conferred upon myself; the presentation of the theodolite employed on the expedition to M. Fedorov, who had used it with so much assiduity and effect; together with the surplus of 300 silver rubles remaining in our hands; and, lastly, a ring set with brilliants to our feldyäger, in acknowledgment of his intrepidity and zeal… So great had been the delay occasioned by procuring the instruments required for our journey, that our departure from Dorpat did not take place till the 30th of March4, at eight in the evening. Our physical apparatus consisted chiefly of a complete pendulum apparatus, a ten-inch azimuth compass, a dipping needle, three portable barometers, and a delicate balance, all manufactured by Brücker, mathematical instrument maker to the University… …Now, too, for the first time, I felt thoroughly and vividly impressed with the idea that I had really started on my journey to Ararat. Notwithstanding this, I felt that I ought to devote a few days of the time still at my disposal to a short but interesting detour, which would lead me into the Kalmuk steppe, to the eastward of New Cherkask, for the purpose of collecting some information as to the mysterious course of the Manech, a river involving many important questions, connected with the relative levels of the Black and Caspian Seas, and in the vicinity of which, if it be true that there
3
The feldyäger is a courier, or military guide. Old style. The Julian reckoning is employed throughout the work. [The old style, which is still used in Russia, is now twelve days behind the new. The expedition started therefore, according to our reckoning, on the 11th of April—ED.] 4
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was once a communication between their waters, we might even still expect to discover some evident traces of this union, inasmuch as, from its low level, it must have been latest deserted by the waters… The cattle being left to graze upon the steppe in summer, and to find their living where and how they can in the winter, the life of the Kalmuk is inactive. The migration from the winter to the summer pastures constitutes the only important event in his monotonous existence. This want of all social excitements for the mind, this uniformity in his intellectual and physical life, renders it in a great degree comprehensible how a people, endowed with so many estimable qualities of mind and body, should become the votaries of the idle and fantastic religious dogmas which prevail, at least, among the hordes occupying this quarter of the steppe5. These Kalmuks profess the religion of Buddah, which had its origin in India, but, having been superseded by the doctrines of the Brahmins, found its way into Mongolia and Tibet. It is a sort of pantheism, not at all easy to comprehend: rejecting the principle of one Almighty Being, the creator of heaven and earth, it nevertheless asserts the essential identity of God with the material world, neither placed above it, nor existing before it, but proceeding with it out of immeasurable space… Chapter 2: …In Vladikavkas we had the honour of an interview with the Persian prince Khosref Mirza, one of 380 children and grandchildren of the male sex alone, descendants of the Kajar Fet Ali, the present Shah of Persia, who was the parent of eighty-six sons and fifty-three daughters as early as the year 1826, and regarding whose family instances can be adduced of its having been increased by twenty members in a single week. Vladikavkas is still, as formerly, highly important as a central military post, and forms a refuge for the reception of all those whose adventurous spirit may have exposed them to the treacherous attacks of the Cherkesses and Kabardins; for so great is the barbarity of the surrounding tribes, that the shortest excursion is attended with danger, unless under military protection, and is, therefore, strictly forbidden. A short time before our visit, ninety-five horses had been stolen from under the very walls of the fortress; and during the period of our short stay of a few days, we witnessed the unexpected spectacle of a large body of Ossets, who had placed themselves under the protection of Russia, driving off a flock of 600 sheep from the Chechenzes, by way of reprisal for the loss of 400 oxen; and this they did without waiting for support from the garrison, and led home their prize with every expression of exultation and delight, shouting, throwing their caps in the air, and discharging their firearms… …ravages so far that it had carried off 3000 persons since the month of February… The warm mineral springs are, without doubt, the most interesting objects of philosophical curiosity about Tiflis. They burst out in great number from between the strata of limestone at the foot of the Narikaléh, which lies near the southern end of the city, and are then collected by means of a brass pipe and conducted into stone basins, or into large cubical bathing-troughs kept in the vaults of the bathing-houses, which are sometimes of considerable extent… The heat and aridity of the atmosphere begin to be oppressive as early as the month of May, and they continue to increase through June, July and August, till they become intolerable; so that, for three hours before, and six after midday, during these last two months, no one will willingly leave the house, in which, by dint of excluding the light of the sun, and sprinkling the apartments with water, some degree of coolness may be maintained. If Tiflis had the advantage of trees, the plan adopted in Bengal for cooling the dwellings might be introduced there. This plan consists in filling the open windows with green boughs, the evaporation from which will, as we are assured, reduce the temperature some ten or fourteen degrees. The Persian fans are, however, a very effective substitute for this: they are formed of some very light material, about a foot square, and so contrived as to be readily turned with the hand like a vane; this produces such a motion in the air that, when it is kept up for an hour or thereabouts, the increased evaporation from the skin will produce a very sensible, and, in irritable subjects, even a painful impression of cold. There is one circumstance which, in my opinion, also contributes not a little to maintain a degree of coolness in the apartments of an Eastern house; that is, the peculiar roof, if we may be allowed to give this name to the uppermost floor or terrace of their houses. This is formed of a layer of earth and stiff clay, about two feet thick, quite even, but inclined by about two inches to one side, so that during a heavy shower of rain the water may not run off at all sides,
5
Zwick’s Journey from Sarepta, 1827.
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but be directed through a couple of openings in the parapet, which rises about a foot above the level of the roof. This bed of earth acts hydrometrically upon the atmosphere, imbibing the damps by night, which are again evaporated in the heat of the day, and, by a known law of physics, has a perceptible effect in cooling the air; whereas, under the usual European roof, which has been most unadvisedly introduced by foreigners into Tiflis, an actual reverberation of the heat takes place. These flat terraces are, moreover, usually overgrown with weed; it is said to be particularly the Lepidium vesicarium which is there met with6. This becomes scorched in summer, and then is set on fire to get rid of the dry stalks, so that the fire, which soon seizes on this inflammable vegetable matter, will often present the startling and beautiful spectacle of a wide body of flame sweeping over the city in the night. Chapter 3: …There is an active export of wine…They have no casks, but keep it in earthen jars and leathern bottles. These latter are made of the skins of goats, oxen, and buffaloes, turned inside out, clipped with the scissors, washed, and rubbed over with warm mineral tar, or as it is also called, naphtha. The openings are closed with a sort of wooden bung, except at the feet, where they are only tied up with a cord. The wine is drawn at one foot merely by opening or closing the noose. It is very strange and whimsical sight for the newcomer to see oxen and buffaloes full of wine lying in the wine-booth, or about the streets, with their legs stretched out. These skins, however, are very convenient for home use or for carriage; for they may be found of all sizes, some very small—the skins of young kids—holding only a few bottles; at the same time, these latter come very rarely into requisition… The system adopted by the natives of Kakheti and Georgia, both in getting in and securing their corn, is also very peculiar. Of this, the greater portion is wheat, the amount of barley and millet being inconsiderable. Oats are never grown for the horses, which are fed altogether on barley; and even the German colonists [like Erna Weist later] in Georgia follow this practice, as they find the oats less productive, while the barley suits the horses quite as well… A report soon reached us that from 3000 to 4000 Lesghi had collected in the mountains, about four hours7 from Yenisseli, and were ready to make an incursion into the Georgian territory. I am much inclined to suspect that their numbers were greatly exaggerated; but were they only 1000 strong, the near approach of such neighbours was enough to put us on our guard. The garrison of our friend’s house, if we exclude the inhabitants of the village, could muster no more than ten, supported by our own party, with seven muskets ready for service. It was night. In order to put the surrounding villages on the alert, one of our Georgians, with a truly stentorian voice, was ordered to give notice of the danger. This he did at some length and in several directions, receiving an almost immediate reply from Gremi, Almati, Sabué, and Shildi, which places passed the signal on, in like manner, to the remoter villages. The shouts resounded fearfully among the valleys, and might possibly have reached the ears of the Lesghi themselves, who, notwithstanding their reputation for courage, will rarely venture to attack an enemy, let him be ever so weak, unless they can come upon him unprepared… Chapter 4: …It was the 1st of September, in the evening that we took our departure from Tiflis; consequently, just five months after leaving Dorpat, and when half the time allotted to the completion of our enterprise had already elapsed. However great the annoyance I had suffered from this loss of time, in consequence of the restrictions necessarily imposed by it on the execution of my original design, it was something still that all had not been thrown away, as might easily have been the case, and that the cheering prospect yet remained of our actually reaching the wished-for goal. The distance from Tiflis to the foot of Ararat, that is, to the village of Arghuri on its northeastern declivity, is, including rising ground and turnings of the road, about 186 miles—154 to Echmiadzin, and 32 more to Arghuri. Though this is an estimate not founded upon actual measurement… At about eight miles distance, reckoning from the summit of the Pambak, we found a temporary quarantine station, established as a protection against the plague, which prevailed in Erzerum [Erzurum]. As for us, who were proceeding from healthy into the infected territory, we had no interruption to submit to, but, on the contrary, were
6 7
Rottiers, Itinéraire, p. 133. An hour’s journey is, for a footman, computed at nearly three, for a horseman at five miles.
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received with every mark of attention by the officers of health, and provided with a complete quarantine tent to pass the night in… On the west of Abaran-Pol stands a steep, high, and jagged peak, nearly isolated, though yet in connexion with the Pambak: this is Alaghés [Alagoz in Armenia], the best known and most remarkable mountain of that district. Its height above the plain of the Araxes is, according to the trigonometrical measurement of M. Fedorov, 10,744 feet; consequently, by our system of levels to the Black Sea, it rises 13,628 feet measured [in 2006 at 13,435 ft. = 4095m] above the surface of the latter… It is from Bash-Abaran, in the extreme distance towards the south, that the first view of Ararat is to be obtained on this side, when the atmosphere is clear. I had fancied before that I should get a sight of it as I descended from the Pambak, and I waited with impatience for the enchanting prospect; but the towering mass of Alaghés shut out that part of the horizon… We were now obliged to avoid the villages on account of the plague by which they were, or might be visited, and passed the next night in the open air in front of Alaghés, at the foot of a solitary hill, protected only by our tent from the rain, which fell heavily in the night, and recruited by a warm supper of the provisions we had brought with us, and some birds that M. Schiemann had killed. Our fire was made partly with some fuel, of which we had provided ourselves with a small quantity, and partly with materials procured with great difficulty from the deep gullies of the Abaran, for the entire of this neighbourhood is a naked waste… From this we continued our route, into the valley of the Araxes, properly so called, a partially cultivated plain of 20 or 26 miles in breadth, enlivened with some Armenian and Tatar villages, but, above all, with religious houses of the Armenian clergy, among which is the far-famed monastery of Echmiadzin, with its dependant establishments and villages. This is the seat of the patriarch of the holy synod and dignitaries of the Armenian Church; the centre from which issue the radiations of its influence, and towards which the fruits of gratitude and veneration are so copiously reflected from every point of the earth in which its members exist, that the riches and splendour of this metropolitan residence might, under ordinary circumstances, speedily vie with those of the Roman papacy itself. But the sovereigns of Persia have never forgotten to avail themselves of the resources of this mine of wealth, on which they have practiced their extortions, either under cover of the law, or as prompted by accident and caprice. To this the Armenians have hitherto submitted, probably because they have looked upon it as the price paid for the toleration of their worship in the presence of Islam. By submitting to this exaction, they secure to themselves the enjoyment of a far better lot than awaits their brethren in the Ottoman Turkish provinces of Asia Minor, where they are exposed to many restrictions in the exercise of their religion from which they are exempt under the Persian rule; restrictions so oppressive, that even their laity endeavour to avoid all cause of offence by conforming, as far as practicable, in their costume and mode of life, to Turkish laws and usages. Of this I was once an eyewitness myself: I saw one day, to my great surprise, some personages who had come on a visit to Echmiadzin, and whom, from the style and costliness of their entire dress, from the turban to the slippers, I should have taken for Turks of quality, but who, as I afterward learned, were Armenians from Bayazed, as far as I remember… The Christian churches in Bayazed, Erzerum, and other Turkish cities are said to be without towers or bells, and the prohibition of the Koran against swine’s flesh is so strictly enforced upon the Armenians, that the use of this valuable animal is altogether proscribed among them. The Persians have more tolerance: some hogs are always to be found in Echmiadzin, never, however, beyond the precincts of the monasteries. The Armenians in Erivan [Yerevan], and in their villages and religious settlements formed in Persia, are suffered to have regular churches, church processions, and church costume. The present Persian sardar (generalissimo of the army), Hussein Khan, is said to have encouraged the keeping of the Christian churches upon a respectable footing, and even to have attended their worship with every mark of reverence and devotion. Shah Abbas, upon his sudden entry into Echmiadzin, sword in hand, hung up a costly lamp in the church, which is shown there still. Upon the visit of Shah Sada, he never was known to enter the church without leaving his slippers at the door, and having a rich carpet spread for him, just as when he went to the mosque. It is not a little remarkable that Tavernier, who traveled in these countries 175 years before, should have noticed the same difference, which obtains at this day between the two sections of Islam—the followers of Omar and the followers of Ali—in reference to their treatment of Christians… A large Armenian village of 500 families lies a few hundred paces from Echmiadzin, and is sometimes also called by this name, but correctly Vagarshabad. Not very much farther towards Ararat is the monastery of St. Gayanne, and a mile or little more, upon the way to Erivan, the small but pretty Shokhagat, as well as the monastery of St. Hripsime. Erivan is situated at the distance of thirteen miles eastward…the latter, Khorvirab, or the monastery of St. Gregory, is the most deserving of notice. The mighty Ararat lies thirty-five miles beyond Echmiadzin; while the Araxes, taking a course directly southward between both, but ten miles on the same side of Echmiadzin, sweeps along with a rapid current, and in a bed of clay-slate and limestone shingle, being about a stone’s throw in breadth, and so shallow that it can be passed on horseback in safety. It is here that the Araxes should receive the Abaran, or Karpichai, as laid down upon our maps, and as I really believed. Instead of this, the Abaran has no actual outfall, but is lost in the numerous canals that have been cut from it for watering the land and the daily use of the inhabitants, so that its original bed is generally dry, and the water all drawn off before it comes to the junction. I did not discover this fact till after I had left that neighbourhood, and therefore cannot aver it of my own knowledge, though I have it from good authority…
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…Savage dogs, often of formidable size, dispute the passages with every defenseless stranger, who, in the Tatar quarters, especially if he be a Christian, is exposed to serious danger from his fellow-man, as we ourselves had afterward good reason to know upon many occasions…Even in the spring, when the earth is covered with her natural carpet of verdure, it is difficult to view the mass of dull-green houses and their enclosures as anything but a heap of rubbish. If to all this we add the heat and drought suffered during the summer in this exposed valley, it will not be easy to comprehend why the founders of Echmiadzin, whatever might be the inducements it originally appeared to offer, had not rather selected one of the delicious, healthful, and no less fruitful sites to be found on the Gokchai [now called Lake Sevan], or in the valley of Lori. The reason given by Armenian writers for this preference is, that the Saviour, after his ascension, appeared to St. Gregory, the apostle of the Armenians, where the Cathedral now stands, and on the spot shown, within an enclosure of masonry cased with marble, and enjoined him to have a temple of the true and uncorrupted faith erected there, the outline of which was marked with a ray of light, by which it was traced as by a wand. Hence is derived the Armenian appellation of the monastery—Echmiadzin—the descent of the Only-begotten: the date of its foundation is referred to the end of the third century. The Tatars call the place Uch-Kilissa, which means the three churches, and is a name given by them to many Christian monasteries; for instance, to one in Bayazed, which has as little claim to this denomination from its having three churches as that in Echmiadzin, though the contrary is often asserted, for neither of them has, properly speaking, more than one church. There is another church near Bayazed, at a small place in the neighbourhood, named Diadina [a village due west of Bayazed]; and if this, together with the fore-mentioned three churches dependant upon Echmiadzin, were to be reckoned, we should then have one too many. It would seem to me more reasonable to suppose that the appellation Uch-Kilissa has some reference to the Trinity, a tenet that may have struck the Mohammedans as constituting a wide distinction between the Christian faith and their own… …Was I not at the foot of Ararat, the hallowed mountain of the Noah’s Ark, where the soil, though parched and thirsty now, retains the most indubitable traces of those waters which were once commanded to subside from its cloudcapped summit, to leave a resting-place for all that survived of the human race? Did I not stand in the valley of the Araxes, upon the banks where Hannibal sought refuge after having paid the penalty of his superiority on the plains of Italy? Was I not almost within view of the ancient Artaxata, the rich and mighty capital of Armenia, where the Parthian Tiridates assumed the kingly crown which he had received from Rome, and where he sought to stifle the growth of the first thinly-scattered seeds of Christianity, till, but a little before his death, he himself received the boon of Christian instruction from Gregory “the Enlightener” [now “The Illuminator”]—a glorious atonement for the murder of the father of the king by the father of the saint? Was I not now before the walls of Echmiadzin, the ancient episcopal seat and palladium of the Armenians, where Christianity, ever since the first century of its propagation, has maintained a habitation, in despite of the uninterrupted persecution, insult, and degradation of its professors—in despite of the unceasing contests between Parthians, Romans, Persians, and Turks for the possession of the soil—nay, more, even in despite of the moral corruption in which its priesthood was sunk? Here that seed was cherished when it might have been choked up by the weeds of idolatry; and here, though crushed and distorted in its earlier growth, it was preserved for a more genial season by a sacrifice of blood and treasure which few other Christian nations would have made. Chapter 5: …[While waiting inside the walls of Echmiadzin,] I contented myself with a private letter from the Armenian archimandrite, Aruthion Alamdarian… …The behaviour of the attendants, who were soon actively employed about us, was in keeping with the bearing of the masters; they received their orders, and obeyed; left their hard-soled slippers always at the door; and either retired to a respectful distance, or, when called on, moved softly over the floor, which was covered with a carpet, in their woolen socks. We seated ourselves round the bed of the sick monk, at regular distances one from the other, and found ourselves almost at a loss for matters of conversation, from the increased solemnity of tone now impressed upon our thoughts, until the question of the Archimandrite Manuel, whether Alamdarian had received me in Tiflis with the proper formalities, put an end to my constraint, and I replied, “No; without any state or ceremony, but with
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unaffected ease and kindness of heart, as one friend should receive and treat another”…These promises were scrupulously fulfilled, and gave us an opportunity of vouching for the hospitality of the monks, of which Tavernier makes honourable mention. At his visit, a bullfight—of buffaloes—was given in honour of his guest by the patriarch, in which two of these animals were killed, and three others wounded. This is an entertainment which, with others, such as throwing of snowballs between the monks, young and old, exhibitions of rope-dancers and dancing bears, it is still permitted the otherwise so serious inmates of the monastery to indulge in at Shrovetide. …The journal of Tavernier gave the description and drawing which Chardin had the opportunity of making in 1673.8 The same traveler has also left us a view of the little monastery of Gayanne, about a gunshot from Echmiadzin, precisely resembling that which I have given, with this difference only, that it, as well as the other monasteries, is now enclosed within a circuit of walls, as a defense against any hostile attacks, which was not the case in Chardin’s time. First, the question about the relics is too exciting for the mind of a believer to allow him to consider with apathy the question whether the spear-head at Echmiadzin is genuine or spurious. Porter expresses his opinion in these words: But with regard to the identity of the spearhead of Pilate’s soldier, these ancient writers are not all agreed, for they give us notice of a weapon claiming that distinction being in two, if not in three places at the same time. In the eleventh century, they tell us, the real spear-head was dug up at Antioch, and after gaining a memorable battle before that city for the renowned Raymond of Tholouse, remained in the possession of that hero. Two hundred years after we hear of another spear-head, which had been for ages in the possession of the emperors of Constantinople, and was sold by Baldwin II, as the true weapon, to St. Louis, and so dispatched to France. But, to our further astonishment, though such a relic was actually sent, and seen at Paris, another author virtually denies the facts by asserting the presence of the holy spear at Constantinople after the period of its alleged journey to the West. Besides the testimony of graver writers on these mysterious subjects, Sir John Maundeville may not be a very improper authority to quote in the case of a legend; and in his right wonderful account of his Asiatic travels, between the years 1322 and 1371, he speaks of the holy spear being in France in his time in these words: “A partie of the crowne of our Lord, wherewith he was crowned, and one of the nayles and the spere-head, and many other relikes, be in France, in the Kinges Chapelle. For a king of France boughte theise relikes sometyme of the Jewes, to whom the Emperour Baldwin had leyde hem to wedde, for a grete summe of sylore.” But he adds, in another page: “And the spere-schafte hathe the Emperor of Almayne; but the head is at Parys. And natheless the Emperor of Constantynople saythe that he hathe the spere-head; and I have oftentyme seen it, but it is grettere then that at Parys.” With respect to the spear-head that is preserved at Eitch-mai-adzen, I could gather little of the particulars of its descent from past times to the present, the persons who have it in charge being delicate of communicating on the subject with strangers; but, as Armenia used to be included by the emperors of Constantinople within the pale of their empire, it is not unlikely that, on the subversion of that state and capital by the Turks, the holy deposites of its temples would be dispatched to the safe-keeping of the remoter walls of Eitch-mai-adzen. Second, the hand of St. James, enclosed in a hand of the natural shape, with an arm of silver gilt: the thumb and fore-finger are bent towards each other, and between them hangs a fragment of the Ark of Noah by a little chain: it is a small, dark-coloured, quadrangular piece of wood, in good preservation, and carved upon one surface. It came into the possession of a monk, whose legend I shall take another opportunity of giving, by a miracle, which was the cause of his being canonized.
8
Journal of the Travels of the Chevalier Chardin, etc., Lond., 1686, p. 258, plate 9.
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Third, the hand of the apostle and “Enlightener” of the Armenians, St. Gregory. In this, as in the former case, there is nothing to be seen but the hand of metal, in which the relic is enclosed. Fourth, the point of one of the fingers of St. Paul the apostle. This looks just like the finger of a mummy or dry corpse, and is encased in the middle of a little glory, with rays of gold and silver. Fifth, a bit of the skull of the holy and martyred virgin Hripsime… On the conclusion of divine worship we were conducted to the patriarch’s, and introduced into a large but drearylooking apartment in the upper story, containing no furniture but two rows of seats, placed opposite to each other, in the middle of the floor. Here we saw the patriarch upon a chair, set apart for him, at the upper end of the line, with the archbishops and archimandrites, right and left, below. We were invited to take our places on his right, which, considering the value here attached to outward demonstrations of respect, must be taken as an indication of the honour intended to be shown us. The young monk, already introduced to the reader, stood behind the patriarch’s chair as interpreter. The holy prelate’s name was Yeprem (Ephraim), and his title Katholikos, which is translated Patriarch only by Europeans; for it is a title implying no particular eminence, but given to the archbishops of some large and distant sees, as those of Jerusalem and Constantinople. He was ninety-three years old, a man of much experience, acquired by travel, which he extended even into India, and gained a high veneration for his virtues, among which, his integrity, disinterestedness, and Christian mildness were pre-eminent. This high reputation, which had already reached us, gave me room to expect much gratification from this meeting; but in this my expectations were disappointed. The former political connexions of the monastery—its alternate dependance, now upon one, and now upon some other potentate, to whom, for the sake of the very existence of the establishment, it was necessary to observe a blind submission and elaborate deference, have, in the lapse of centuries, had the effect of destroying all candour and openness of character in the monks, and introducing mistrust, disingenuousness, and a selfish devotion to personal interests in its stead, so that it is impossible for a stranger to overpass those bounds of Oriental formality and cold politeness which are here so strictly drawn and observed. The conversation of the patriarch, consequently, was confined to indifferent subjects; and when I touched upon the ultimate object of my journey—Ararat, which should have found as much interest in his eyes as in mine—I received only apathetic and chilling replies, scarcely less discouraging than the few half-uttered remarks with which I was favoured by the rest of the ecclesiastics. This made the state of feeling into which I was unexpectedly thrown so intolerable, that the leave-taking, at which I received the blessing of the worthy old prelate, was the most agreeable part of the visit in a twofold point of view… I was completely disappointed in the supposition I had entertained, that, in my ignorance of the Oriental languages, I might have recourse to my Latin. This total indifference to the study of the Greek and Roman classics, several of whose works are preserved in their library in the monastery, is no less to be deplored than wondered at…Their only literary occupation was the study of the history of their country, if it really can be deemed a literary employment for an Armenian monk to read the histories of his nation in the Armenian tongue, without the least idea of intelligent criticism, and to receive with blind submission all that their authors assert, either upon their own authority or that of worthless traditions, with all the errors and variations of careless transcribers, or, at least, to represent them to the people as positive and undoubted truths, whenever it suits their interest or hierarchical policy to do so… On the evidence of these and other historians of less repute, the Armenians believe that the origin of their nation may be carried back to Haigh [Haik], a descendant of Japhet [son of Noah], who emigrated into the countries about Mount Ararat at the time of the building of the Tower of Babel, and became the founder of the kingdom of Armenia; whence the natives call themselves, not Armenians, but Haigh. The former name was given them by strangers, from an Armenian king, Aram, who is said to have gained himself a great name in war. It is from the four brothers of Haigh, who accompanied him in his migration, that the Georgian and Caucasian tribes are supposed, by the Armenians, to have sprung. Next to the history of their early origin, the record of their conversion to the Christian faith is justly considered of the highest interest; and, besides, the way in which it is detailed by their writers is a subject of their firmest belief. The circumstances attending it are represented to have occurred in the following manner: An Armenian prince, of the name of Anagh, of the royal race of the Arsacidæ, suffered himself to be persuaded by a certain king of Persia to cut off Khosref, king of Armenia, by assassination, but soon afterward lost his own life. Khosref had an infant son who found protection in Rome, and was brought up at the imperial court: this was Tiridates, or, as he is called in Armenian, Tridat, who was subsequently so renowned. Anagh had a son of tender age, likewise, who was carried by his nurse into Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, to the Christians, who reared him in the Christian faith, and baptized him by the name of Gregory, or Gríghor, as it is written in Armenian. Gregory, on growing up, felt himself strongly attached towards Tiridates, whom he sought out at Rome, and, without making himself known, served him with such zeal and fidelity as to secure his confidence. He attended him also when he returned with succours from Rome, to deliver his country from the Persian yoke, on which occasion the prince received his crown from the Emperor Diocletian, in the year 286. Armenia being still a pagan country, Tiridates went to offer up thanksgivings in the Temple of Diana for his success; and, in order to give additional splendour to the ceremony, required Gregory to decorate the head of the goddess with a wreath of roses and laurels; but Gregory refused, saying, “I bow down before the throne of heaven and earth, and not before any work of human hands.” By this refusal, as well as by disclosing, at the same time, who he was, he incurred the unrelenting anger of Tiridates, by
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whom he was exposed to fourteen different kinds of the severest tortures, in Ardhashad. After this he was thrown into a pit with wild beasts, in which he continued for fourteen years, escaping death by constant prayer. The place of the ruined city is now marked by the large and widely-venerated monastery of St. Gregory—in Armenian, Khorvirab, or deep pit; where the scene of his sufferings is still pointed out, along with a stone in which are two depressions, supposed to have been formed by the elbows of the martyr, on which he supported himself in prayer. The story goes on to say that, about this time (three hundred years after Christ), forty Christian maidens arrived, among whom were two of noble birth, Hrípsime, whose portrait had been sent him from Rome. Yet all his advances were repelled by the virtuous maiden. The sufferings and martyrdom of these holy virgins have an honourable memorial in the three religious houses of Gayanne, Hrípsime, and the pretty little Shokhayat, which stand near each other, at Echmiadzin. At the present day, however, these are not nunneries, but monasteries, and inhabited by monks, although that of Hrípsime is called a nunnery by Tavernier9; and even Morier speaks of five nunneries in the province of Erivan, of which nothing was known at the time of my visit to Echmiadzin—a fact confirmed by the Protestant missionary Zaremba10. As a punishment for his hostility to the Christians, Tiridates, with the nobles of his kingdom, was visited from heaven with a heavy affliction; for, according to the legend, he was transformed into a hog (perhaps a figurative expression for some sever and disgusting disease), the consequence of which was repentance for his former courses, and an earnest desire for heavenly aid and consolation. He now discovered that Gregory was still alive, and had him taken out of the den and set at liberty; while Gregory, on his part, recalling to mind the heavy guilt incurred by his own father in the murder of the father of Tiridates, found a source of satisfaction and happiness in being able to convert the heart of the king, who was now relieved from his bodily affliction by the preaching of the Gospel. Gregory soon after baptized Tiridates and all his subjects in the Christian faith; built churches and religious houses; selected and ordained a priesthood; established schools; and did his utmost to enlighten the people, both by precept and example. Hence his appellation of Gregory the “Enlightener.” For the rest, the history of Armenia presents but a melancholy picture to the friend of humanity. Rapacious neighbours, the enemies of Christianity, found a theatre for their unheard-of cruelties and oppressions in this beauteous land, the inhabitants of which were equally exposed to the outrages of Paganism and Islam. Still, this picture is not altogether destitute of its lights and brighter points of view; courage, piety, and faith shine forth in the characters of the noble Patriarch Joseph and the brave Prince Vartan in the fifth century, who in battle and in the moment of death were found ready to testify their devotion to a holy cause. Yet the people, when their nobles were sacrificed, saw themselves again a helpless prey to the enemies of their welfare and religion. The painful consequence of this was the farther degradation of the priesthood, and dissensions in the bosom of the Church, which exist to the present day. Thus there is an independent Catholikos at Sis, in Cilicia, and another, who has maintained himself in this dignity for 700 years, on the island of Akhthamar, in the Lake of Van, under whose control the Armenians of Constantinople even placed themselves in 1831, after the deposition of the patriarch whom they had received from Echmiadzin. …To Varhabed, however, must be awarded the high praise—and it has never been withheld even by the orthodox of Echmiadzin—of having published many useful and edifying books in Armenia, correctly and beautifully printed, under his own inspection, and in his own printing establishment in Venice; a praise which the congregation of Mekhitarists continue to merit by their exertions to this day. Still it is to be deplored that these works, and especially the Holy Scriptures, are almost inaccessible to the majority of the people, in consequence of their ignorance of the written language, which differs not a little from the modern vulgar tongue, and also as the orthodox Armenian clergy in Echmiadzin concur with the Roman sectarians of Venice in the opinion that the publication of the Bible in the vulgar tongue is an inadmissible innovation… This solitary fact is enough to explain what the Armenian requires before he can be divested of the oppressive coil of superstition and low selfishness in which a thousand years of suffering have bound him…Of this we need seek no
9 Les Six Voyages, etc., tom. i., p. 11. [The same traveler bears witness to the numerousness of Armenian nunneries in tom. i. (12mo, Paris, 1724), p. 446.]—ED. 10 Magazine for the latest History of Evangelical Mission and Bible Societies (in German), 1831, Part III.
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farther proofs than the mode in which their secular clergymen—called, in Armenian, Ter, spiritual master or priest—is appointed, to be convinced that the cure of souls, in its proper sense, on which the development of genuine piety in every Christian community must depend, can never be made matter of weighty consideration with them. Every laic, provided only he be chosen by the congregation, and have passed fourteen days in the prescribed fastings and ritual observances in a church, may get ordination from the bishop, and may read mass, baptize, confirm, marry, give extreme unction, and has authority, too, to forgive sins! Chapter 6: …With this accession, we started from the great monastery on the 10th (22d) of September, at 10 in the forenoon, bidding adieu to the patriarch, his twelve bishops and archbishops, more than forty archimandrites, and a host of deacons. We took our way southward by the neighbouring little monastery of St. Gayanne, and through two Armenian villages, in the direction of the Araxes, across a plain partly cultivated and partly uncultivated, but overgrown with grass and herbage—in fact, a steppe…our two Armenian friends presented a striking contrast with the rest, being in their holyday attire, completely armed, on active Persian horses, and showing the excitement of their spirits by racing, sham-fighting, and shouting… At four o’clock we had got to the left bank of the Araxes, and had to seek a passage through its rapid stream, which is without either bridge or ferry for many leagues; nor has it even any approach from the plain to show the place where it is to be forded; and, to come at it, the traveler is obliged to leave the main track from Erivan and Nakhichevan, which runs almost parallel with the Araxes, from five to ten leagues distant from it… The right bank of the Araxes is covered with a somewhat extensive growth of low bushes, through which openings are cut in various directions, merely, however, for footpaths or very narrow passages… At half past seven in the evening we reached a little stream which is known by the name of the Blackwater in Tatarian, Armenian, and Russian11; a name which it seems to deserve, as its channel is deep, blackened with moor-earth, and rendered still more striking by the reeds with which its banks are covered to the distance of some hundred paces, and which keeps the water in constant shadow. Several other Blackwaters are met with in the plain of the Araxes, between it and the Ararat, all of the same character, and abounding in fish. These are, perhaps, nothing more than small collateral branches of the Araxes, which make their appearance in the lowest points of the bottom of its wide basin, to return to it again under ground… We could not resist availing ourselves of this favourable moment to take a sketch of the mountain. While M. von Behaghel was occupied with his pencil, my attention was attracted by a number of cochineal insects… …Our path—for there was no road, properly so called, to guide us—soon became stony and much steeper, so that the horses could hardly get forward with the wagon; and, seeing that large masses of rocks were scattered in every direction about us, we were obliged to admit that to advance any farther in this way was impossible. We had directed our course for the Armenian village of Arghuri, the only one upon Mount Ararat. It contains about 175 families, with a well-built church, a pastor of its own, and a village elder or chief of respectable condition. All the houses are of stone, and, agreeably to Eastern custom, have flat, level roofs, of mortar covered with clay, holes for the admission of air and light instead of windows, and courtyards enclosed with stone walls. The inhabitants live by the breeding of cattle and horses, and from their corn, which, however, is not raised in the immediate vicinity, on account of the stony nature of the ground. The richer class have vineyards adjoining the village. But the real treasure of this settlement, its very life-spring, is the little rivulet which has its source in one of the glaciers of Ararat, and finds a passage downward, through the great chasm on its northeast side, to the village, which is situate on the level ground at its outlet. Besides this, there is another rill, of exceedingly fine drinking-water, which springs out of the rocky side of the same chasm a few hundred paces above the village. There it is caught in pipes and conducted into stone troughs for the use of the cattle when they return from the pastures, which are without a tree to shade them from the scorching sun, while a number of young persons are generally seen collected in the evening, with their pitchers, under the cool brow of the rock, drawing water.
11
This stream is generally denoted in maps by the Tatarian name Kara-su.—ED.
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The temperature of the air about Arghuri is much more genial than in the valley of the Araxes…For this reason Arghuri is often visited by persons of quality from Erivan, who make it their residence during the hottest season of the year. Even the Persian generalissimo, Sardar Hussein Kkan, has gone so far as to build himself an elegant summer retreat upon the height opposite Arghuri, with numerous apartments for himself, his family, and the officers of his household, and with all the conveniences, which Asiatic luxury can require. He has also taken precautions for its security by surrounding it with a wall and towers. Since the cession of this territory to Russia, the beautiful edifice here spoken of has remained untenanted and neglected, and, unless it fall into the hands of some wealthy lord and admirer, must soon sink to ruin. In a religious point of view, Arghuri has an especial claim on the veneration of every devout Armenian. This is the place, according to tradition, where Noah, after he came out of the Ark, and went down from the mountain with his sons and all the living things that were with him, had “built an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings upon the altar.”—(Genesis, viii., 20). The exact spot is alleged to be where the church now stands; and it is of the vineyards of Arghuri that the Scriptures speak (Genesis, ix., 20) when it is said, “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.” It is a remarkable coincidence that the building of the church must be referred to an unascertained, but still very remote date, and also that the Armenian name of the village contains a distinct allusion to that occurrence: arghanel, in that language, means to set or plant, whence argh, he planted, and urri12, the vine; so that the tradition cannot be a modern fabrication, at all events. It was near one of these hallowed vine plantations, but about three miles below Arghuri, that we were brought to a halt, at eleven in the forenoon, and obliged to deliberate upon measures for conveying our effects onward in some other way than in wagons, as hitherto. This could only be effected by having recourse to the villagers, and in this Providence seemed to favour us. The plague, which had committed great devastation in the environs of Erivan, and in the city itself, where it had never made its appearance during the period of the Persian rule, was now spreading with such rapidity, that most of those whom we met upon the highways were affected by it. This hospitable little village upon Ararat, even, had not been spared; and though the visitation had not been so awful there as in some other places, still there were yet several houses, here and there, with convalescents… I rode forward with Abovian, our interpreter, pulled up in an open part of the street, and requested the village elder to be called. This person’s name was Stepan Aga: he had obtained some consideration during the supremacy of the Persians, and, along with it, the honourable and heritable title of Melik, or, as it may be rendered, Governor. His outward bearing inspired me at once with confidence; still more, his instant and decided arrangements for our relief. He directed that a small herd of fifteen or twenty oxen that were feeding outside the village, should be despatched for our luggage, with ropes to secure it; and he set out with me himself to the place where I had left my companions and our effects… While the peasants were left to proceed quietly to the village, Stepan Aga gave us a friendly invitation into his vineyard, and seemed highly gratified when he saw us retire from the heat of the sun under the cool shade of its foliage, and quench our burning thirst, to our hearts’ content, with the delicious grapes just ripening on Father Noah’s vines… Bayazed, the capital of the Turkish Pashalik of the same name [Isaak Pasha Palace at the edge of Doğubayazit], only twenty miles south from Ararat, afforded many advantages which it would be impossible to obtain in a small village, and being still uninfected by the plague… At the time of my stay in Tiflis, besides the Seraskier of Erzerum and several other pashas, there was also the Pasha of Bayazed, Mehemet Bähälühl, detained as a state prisoner, but not in rigorous confinement, so that I had no difficulty in obtaining access to him, and forming an intimacy with him, the circumstances attending which induce me to take a short retrospect of my intercourse with him in that city. …I waited for no presentation or introduction through any one, but stepped one evening, between five and six, into his residence as a perfect stranger. The attendants whom I encountered in the anteroom gave me to understand that he was engaged just then in prayer, but offered to announce me. This I declined, and sat down to wait. Presently two doors were thrown open, and I perceived a man in the third room kneeling upon a carpet, with his face towards
12
The common Armenians pronounce Arghuri, and the Tatars Akhuri. Most foreigners pronounce and write the word as the latter; but the old authors have it Arghuri.
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one corner, in silent and earnest devotion, occasionally changing the kneeling posture for the upright. After an instant’s delay, an attendant motioned to me, courteously, to enter: that was the pasha, and my presence would not disturb him. I hesitated, however, to do so, and remained where I was till he had finished. The pasha now rose—a man of tall, slender make, in the costume of an Oriental satrap—advanced with a light and rapid, but firm step—a rare combination of unembarrassed and manly dignity—greeted me with a welcome in his own tongue, and with an expression of countenance so gracious and so free from affected politeness, that, in spite of my ignorance of his language, I could not doubt that I was a welcome visitor; so I entered with him into the closet where I had seen him at prayer… both myself and my enterprise were under the directions and patronage of the mighty Emperor Nicholas, for whom he expressed his sincere and heartfelt respect in the most unequivocal terms… The attendants presented pipes and tobacco; the pipes having, according to Turkish fashion, a small clay head with a long tube. They were lighted with a bit of hot charcoal, and a little tray was used to protect the carpet. We afterward had coffee, without milk, served in beautiful small porcelain cups upon goblet-shaped silver salvers instead of saucers. I had sugar offered, with milk; but the pasha took his without any addition, as the Turks in general do. We passed a couple of hours in an agreeable conversation, and then separated, with a mutual desire to meet again. I often repeated my visits, both by myself and with my fellow-travellers, and always found in Mahemet Pasha the same characteristic qualities that had secured for him my respect and attachment at first. In this he stood in advantageous contrast to the other pashas whom I saw with him. He also favoured us with a visit, when he amused himself with viewing the stars through our telescope; but what seemed to give him most gratification were my pistols with percussion locks, the effect of which drew from him expressions of surprise and delight. He would not believe that they could be actually discharged without powder; so I put a little pellet into one, placed a cap upon the nipple, and desired him to make a trial; he had a candle fixed at some distance, and gave at once a proof of the strength of the priming and his own skill by extinguishing the candle. …When I now expressed a hope that, in case my arrangements should so require, I might be able to make my excursions from Bayazed, that is, from the southern side, he told me that he perfectly approved of my plan, and relieved my mind of all anxiety as to danger from the natives by offering me a letter to his family in Bayazed, which would secure me every assistance that I should need. With respect to the selection of my headquarters upon the mountain, my intelligent and anxious friend, Aruthion Alamdarian, had spoken to me in Tiflis of a little Armenian monastery that he had heard of upon the northern slope of Ararat, higher up than the village of Arguir…The monastery of St. James, above Arghuri, which had been mentioned by Alamdarian, did really exist13, and large enough for our purposes, as the monks declared; and besides, it had luckily been spared by the plague, which had spread to the village. There could now be no farther doubt as to which I should choose: we started in the direction of St. James’s. The way thither leads through Arghuri, the distance being about a mile and a half, and so our little caravan halted under the outer walls of the monastery towards evening on the 11th of September. My first inquiry upon entering the courtyard was for the pastor: he stood before me, a venerable old man of tall stature, and a countenance expressive only of subdued passions, peace of mind, and dignified resignation. His head was gray, exempt from the obligation of tonsure since the downfall of the Persian sovereignty, and covered with the pointed capuchin cowl of blue Indian stuff; his beard was long; his eyes, deeply set and large, spoke only of chastened longings after a better world. This man, clad merely in a plain and worn gown of blue serge, with a pair of common slippers and woolen Persian socks—this was the Archimandrite of St. James’s, Varthabed Karapet. In one hand he held his rosary; the other he laid across his breast as he returned my respectful salutation, replying to my application for the hospitality of the monastery with a hollow and weak voice, and in the Armenian language. After a preliminary survey of the shelter he had to afford us, we had our baggage unpacked and laid down, for the present, in the court, where it occupied a very respectable space. As soon as the peasants who had assisted us were dismissed, and before we proceeded to take up our quarters, I directed a skin of wine to be sought out—a reserve of genuine Kakhetian, and pledged the old man, with all hilarity, in
13 Yet we find allusion made in a recent work to the old doubts as to the existence of this place, which the traveler attempts to disprove by stating that it was pointed out to him from Diadina, on the south of Ararat, whereas it is situate on the northern side!— Vide Lettres sur la Perse et la Turquie d’Asie, par T.M. Tancoigne, 2 vois., Paris, 1819.
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a glass: this example was followed by the rest of the party, and repeated till every drop was gone, and the place of the red Caucasian wine left to be supplied by the golden juice of Father Noah’s vines. Our respected host showed no reluctance to join us in this flow of feeling; but the gentleness and quietude of his bearing was unchanged, as well here as at every hour and under every phase of our subsequent intercourse… Chapter 7: …we are likewise informed by Moses of Chorene, the first authority among Armenian writers, that an entire country bore this name, after an ancient Armenian king, Arai, the Fair, who lived 1750 years before Christ. He fell in a bloody battle with the Babylonians, on a plain in Armenia, called after him Arai-Arat [Origin of the the name Ararat], the Fall of Arai. Before this event, the country bore the name of Amasia, from its sovereign Amassis, the sixth in descent from Japhet, who gave the name of Massis to the mountain. This is still the only name by which it is known to the Armenians; for, although it is called Ararat in the Armenian edition of the Old Testiment, yet the people (for whom the Bible can be no authority as they never read it) have retained the name Massis, and know no other; so that an Armenian, though from the holy mountain himself, if asked about Ararat, would appear as ignorant as a European interrogated respecting Massis, as if it were a well-known mountain. We may reasonably conclude that Ararat is an appellation unknown to the Turks, and Persians also: the former call it, as I have already noticed, Agridagh—in Arabic, the Steep Mountain14; and as the Arabic is a sort of universal language in that quarter of the world, this name is equally familiar to the Kurds, Persians, and even Armenians themselves. The name by which it is known to the Persians is, according to some authorities15, Kuhi Nuh, the Mountain of Noah: upon this I cannot decide, as I have had but few opportunities of conversing with Persians, who, however, have always understood the name Agridagh… The summit of the Great Ararat lies in 39º 42´ north latitude, and 61º 55´ east longitude from Ferro; it has an elevation of 17,210 feet perpendicular [16,945 feet or 5165 meters], or more than three miles and a quarter above the sea, and 14,320 feet, or nearly two miles and three quarters above the plain of the Araxes… …While the southwestern slope of both is lost in the hills of Bayazed and Diadina, which contain the sources of the Euphrates, the northwestern slope of the Great Ararat runs into a chain which borders the entire right bank of the Ararxes, and to which many sharp, conical peaks give a very striking character. The west end of this chain wheels round the head waters of Araxes, touches Erzerum, giving to the left side of this river, as it had already done to the right, an ornamental barrier of mountains, many of which, especially in the vicinity of Kars, must be of majestic height; for these must be the hills which I saw covered with snow to a considerable depth, and for a length of twelve miles, in the month of October, at a time when nothing else but the summit of the Great Ararat retains it without melting. This I conceive to be the Saganlúg, a branch of Mount Taurus16, the witness of the heroic days of Kars, Assan-Kaléh, and Erzerum, as old Ararat was of those of Erivan and Bayazed. The impression made by Ararat upon the mind of every one who has any sensibility for the stupendous works of the Creator is wonderful and over-powering, and many a traveler of genius and taste has employed both the powers of the pen and of the pencil in attempts to portray this impression… The earliest views of Ararat are found in Chardin17, in his seventh and ninth plates: the former, taken from Erivan, is a complete failure in every respect; the latter, from Echmiadzin, is not amiss in the outlines, and, in fact, is much better than many modern ones. Tournefort’s18 drawing is executed with spirit, and so far exact that almost every line in his hasty sketch is a delineation of nature, but with the most grotesque exaggerations, like his descriptions, in
14
The author is here decidedly mistaken. Agridagh is not Arabic, but Turkish; in this language, Dagh means mountain: the first portion of the name admits of no certain explanation.—ED 15 Manual of Biblical Antiquities, by Rosenmüller, i., 259; and Chardin, Journal du Voyage, etc., London, 1686, p. 261. 16 Voyage en Orient, par Fontanier, tom. i., Turquie d’Asie, Paris, 1829, p. 81. 17 Journal du Voyage du Chev. Chardin. London, 1686; and the Parisian edition, by Langlés, 1811. 18 Rélation d’un Voyage du Levant, Amsterdam, 1718, t. ii., p. 139.
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which he was carried away by a lively fancy. Morier19 made a drawing of both mountains from the eastern side, but is not true to nature in his representation of their forms, and seems rather to have been guided by the impression which his heated imagination received from the sight of these stupendous objects20. Besides, Little Ararat is, in his sketch, far too small—a mere rock in the shape of a thimble: there is too great a regularity in the outlines… That lively and intelligent observer, Porter21, has likewise far overstepped the bounds of nature, as far as regards the abruptness of the declivities, in his otherwise very beautiful delineation of the two Ararats: his making Little Ararat run up into a needle-shaped point is very incorrect. M. von Kotzebue22 has accompanied his amusing Journal with a small number of very interesting engravings in aquatinta, among which there is one of Ararat. The main features of both mountains are not to be mistaken; but the slopes of both, in consequence of an optical deception, which affects most free, off-hand sketches of isolated hills, are quite too steep, and Little Ararat is shown proportionably too high: the belt of clouds about the mountain is well done, and characteristic. Sir W. Ouseley23 has given some remarks on Ararat, and three views, in his valuable and copious work, which contains a circumstantial narrative of his travels in 1810, 1811, and 1812. Of these views, I must pronounce that taken from the plain of Erivan the best graphic representation of the mountain which we have yet had, although it is only two inches square, and contains scarcely anything in detail: both mountains are presented to the eye in perfectly correct contour, and of their exact relative size… As there is nothing so well calculated to convey a precise idea of the general impression produced by a mountain as a correct drawing, I have taken much pains to impart a character of perfect truth to the views presented to the public with this work. For this purpose, I have a long time made use of a very simple contrivance for taking outlines, which, though not new, is not employed by travelers, at least as often as it ought. It consists of a small frame of stiff pasteboard, about three inches long, and two and a half wide, divided on the inner edge into parallelograms by eight fine threads of dark silk, well varnished, so as both to fix the threads at the points where they cross, and to preserve them from damp. My portfolio is supplied with sheets of paper divided by penciled lines into precisely similar figures, but of larger size; and these lines, as well as the threads of the frame, are marked with corresponding numbers—those running lengthwise with Roman, and those running crosswise with Arabic numerals—that no confusion may arise. After placing myself in the proper point of view, I hold the frame in such a manner before my eye that it may just include the part of the landscape I wish to take; or, if it is very long, I divide it into two parts. At this moment I fix my eye upon some two points of the prospect which can be readily found again, and which coincide with two points where the threads cross each other, so that the exact position may be regained in case the hand should move, or it should be necessary to interrupt the operation. When I catch the objects within the frame, I proceed to trace their outlines upon the ruled paper, thread by thread, as it is very easy to judge of a half, a third, or quarter distance by the eye. In this way I mark out, not only the external contours, but likewise individual objects within the extent of the landscape, such as buildings, trees, rocks, rivers, etc., in their actual situations and proportions. This can be done with as much accuracy by this plan as by the camera obscura or camera lucida: perhaps there may be a little more time lost in moving the eye constantly from the object to the paper and back again, but it certainly avoids the encumbrance of a special stand or table, the carriage of which is generally so troublesome and expensive, that it may explain why most travelers prefer depending on the correctness of the eye in sketching a landscape. Very accurate drawings have this peculiar advantage among others, that any changes which have taken place upon a mountain in the lapse of time are
19 Travels in Persia, Armenia, Asia Minor, etc., in the years 1808 and 1809, by James Morier, Secretary of Embassy at the Court of Persia, London, 1813, p. 83, pl. 24; and A Second Journey through Persia, Armenia, etc., 1818. 20 This is the drawing given in “Lettres sur le Caucase et la Georgie, suivies d’une Rélation d’un voyage en Perse, en 1812.” Hamburg, 1816, p. 237. 21 Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, etc., during the Years 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, by Sir Robert Kerr Porter, London, 1822, vol. ii., p. 613. 22 Travels into Persia, with the Russian Embassy, Weimar, 1819. 23 Travels in various Countries of the East, more particularly Persia, by Sir William Ouseley, Knt., Private Secretary to His Excellency Sir Gore Ousely, Bart., His Majesty’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia, London, 1823.
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readily discovered by them, such as the falling of rocks, the formation of clefts, changes in the boundary of snow, increase or decrease of the extent of forests, &c… The drawing made from Syrbaghan is, in my opinion, preferable to both the others, for the many and exact particulars with which it presents us regarding both the mountains. In the foreground is seen our party, with the road through this Tatar village, which lies between the Araxes and Ararat; at the side are flat roofs, on which the inhabitants often sit smoking, eating melons, and spinning; in the village are the only trees to be found in that tract of country: they are, the eleagnus, tall willows, some low bushes, and high herbaceous plants. Next a broad plain of ten miles across; and beyond that, the two splendid mountains, with their chasms, clefts, rents, and gullies, great and small, such as are only met with on an extinct volcano. The view from St. James’s is supposed to be taken at the entrance of the chasm, consequently on the mountain itself; in fact, from the burial-ground of the monastery: it exhibits, first, the lonely building, with its neat church, the adjoining cells, and the garden, all within a stone enclosure; outside of this are plantations of apricot-trees, small Italian poplars, lofty walnut-trees, and narrow-leaved willows; next, behind these, the ravine, traversed by the little torrent; and farther still, at the extremity of the chasm, the majestic icy peak itself, with every distinctive characteristic as it then
Sketch of St. Jacob Monastery at Arghuri and Mount Ararat 1829 Detailed sketch by Dr. Friedrich Parrot was… …This is to be accounted for by a very common optical illusion, which every mountain traveler would do well to divest himself of, if he would avoid falling into some troublesome mistakes. Whenever we ascend a mountain, and have the slope immediately before us, we think the angle of acclivity much greater than it would be found to be by the plummet. It is not unusual to find the estimate in this case double of the reality. The solution of this lies in the perspective shortening of the distances. The idea thus formed in our imagination of the steepness of the declivity is imbodied in the profile outline of the mountain, and hence the exaggerated forms of almost all rising grounds when sketched off-hand. Were they really so steep as they are shown in the drawings, there would not be very many of them climbed; for we must recollect that, though hills of an inclination of sixty degrees in drawings are not at all unusual, even among those classed with the accessible, still an acclivity of thirty-five or forty degrees is totally insurmountable, unless recourse be had to steps of ladders in the ascent, or the surface be composed of tolerably-sized angular stones, like stairs, not quite accidentally laid together.
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On the 12th (24th) of September, at seven in the morning, I started on my way, attended by M. Schiemann. We took with us one of the Kossaks, and a peasant from Arghuri—a hunter, and directed our steps first to the ravine, and then along its left declivity, till we came to a spot where there were two small buildings of squared stone standing near each other, one of which was formerly a chapel, and the other erected over a well reputed holy place. The Armenians assign to this chapel, which they have named after St. Gregory, a very remote origin, and make pilgrimages to it from distant quarters. During our stay we often encountered Armenians from Bayazed at the religious ceremonies which they are in the habit of performing there, after which the visitors amuse themselves with discharges of firearms, and other demonstrations of joy, in a remote part of the valley. The fountain, which springs out of a rock at this spot, affords a clear, drinkable water, of a pure natural taste, and is therefore an object deserving of general estimation; for there cannot be many perennial springs upon Mount Ararat, as I have proved to my vexation, since in all my excursions upon it I never either found or heard of any other. It is possible that it may have originally induced some devout monk to establish himself in that locality, whose reputed sanctity procured for the spring also the reputation of miraculous virtues, until, in the course of centuries and the storm of political event, the peaceful inhabitant was frightened away, and the miraculous spring alone remained as the object of universal veneration among the Armenians, wherever they may be scattered round the world. The tradition respecting the wondrous virtue of the water is this, that the flights of locusts which occasionally traverse the country on this side, and beyond Caucasus, in countless numbers, and as a kind of field-plague, often laying waste an entire province in a single day, cannot be expelled otherwise than by means of a certain bird, which I have never been able to see, but infer, from the description given of it, to be a kind of thrush, though the Russians settled in this country call it a starling. Not very large, it is dark-coloured, yellowish-white on the breast and back, and is said to resort in flocks to the Araxes when the mulberries are ripe—though why they do so is not well explained—and to do much damage by destroying the mulberries. Its Armenian name is Tarm; it is also called Tetägush (gush, in the Tatar language, means bird, and tut is the Armenian for mulberry); the Tatars call it Gasyrtshakh. Should it make its appearance in a tract infested by the locusts, then the fields are soon saved, for it pursues the locusts with implacable enmity. With the view of enticing this serviceable bird, the water of the holy well is brought into requisition, and for this purpose it is sufficient just to fill a pitcher or a bottle with it, and to set it down in the neighbourhood of the locusts, taking care, however, not to let the vessel touch the ground anywhere on the way, for in that case the water immediately disappears; but if set in the open air and in the proper place, it never fails to attract to the spot a flock of the Tetägush, which soon rid the district of the devouring plague. Not merely the common people and Armenians, but some even of the educated classes, and not of the Armenian creed, have sought to convince me of the truth of this story, and related as a proof that, a few years before, the country round Kislyar, on the northern side of Caucasus, being attacked by locusts, was saved through the virtue of a bottle of water fetched in the greatest haste from the holy well, and which immediately brought together a flock of the birds. At Ararat and in Tiflis every one knew that the water was brought, and as to the success attending the use of it, that might be easily learned in Kislyar, where the bottle, with some of the miraculous water, was still lying in the church! From the chapel we ascended the grassy eminence which forms the right side of the chasm, and had to suffer much from the heat, insomuch that our Kossak, who would much rather have galloped for three days together through the steppe, seated on horseback, than climb over the rocks for two hours, declared that he was ready to sink with fatigue, and it was necessary to send him back. About six o’clock in the evening, as we, too, were completely tired, and had approached close to the region of snow, we sought out a place for our night’s lodging among the fragments of rock. We had attained a height of 12,360 feet; our bed was the hard rock, and the cold, icy head of the mountain our only stove. In the sheltered places around still lay some fresh snow; the temperature of the air was at the freezing point. M. Schiemann and myself had prepared ourselves tolerably well for this contingency, and our joy at the enterprise also helped to warm us, but our athletic yäger Sahák (Isaac), from Arghuri, was quite dispirited with the cold, for he had nothing but his summer clothing; his neck and legs from the knee to the sandal were quite naked, and the only covering for his head was an old cloth tied round it. I had neglected, at first starting, to give any attention to his wardrobe; it was, therefore, my duty to help him as far as I could, and as we had ourselves no spare clothing, I wrapped his nakedness in some sheets of gray paper which I had brought with me for the purpose of drying plants: this answered him very well. As soon as the darkness of night began to give way to the dawn, we continued our journey towards the eastern side of the mountain, and soon found ourselves on a slope, which continues all the way down from the very summit. It may be seen in the drawing of the Convent of St. James, on the left, behind the roundish and grassy projecting hills; it is formed altogether of sharp, angular ridges of rocks, stretching downward, and having considerable chasms between them, in which the icy covering of the summit disappears, while forming glaciers of great extent. Several of these rocky ridges and chasms filled with ice lay between us and the side of the mountain which we were striving to reach: we got successfully over the first ridge, as well as the beautiful glacier immediately succeeding it. When we arrived on the top of the second ridge, Sahák too lost the courage to proceed farther: his limbs, frozen the preceding night, had not yet recovered their natural glow, and the icy region towards which he saw us rushing in breathless haste seemed to him to hold out little hope of warmth and comfort; so, of our attendants, the one was obliged to stay behind from the heat, the other from the frost. M. Schiemann alone, though quite uninitiated in hardships of this kind, yet never lost the heart and spirit to stay at my side; but, with youthful vigour and manly endurance, he shared in all the fatigues and dangers,
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which soon accumulated to an extraordinary extent. Before the eyes of the tarrying yäger, we crossed over the second glacier which lay open before us, and ascended the third ridge; taking an oblique direction upward, we reached, at the back of it, and at an elevation of 13,954 feet, the lower edge of the ice, which continues without interruption from this point to the summit. Now, then, the business was to mount this steep, covered with eternal winter. To do so in a direct line was a thing impossible for two human beings, although the inclination did not quite amount to thirty degrees. We therefore determined to go obliquely upward on the slope till we gained a long, craggy ridge, which stretches a great way up towards the summit, and slight indications of which may be seen on the left side of the mountain, in the sketch made from St. James’s, as well as in that from Syrbaghan. This we succeeded in accomplishing, by cutting with our staffs regular hollows in the ice, on which lay a thin coat of newly-fallen snow, too weak to give our footsteps the requisite firmness. In this way we at last got upon the ridge, and went along it favoured by a deeper drift of the fresh snow, directly towards the summit. Although it might have cost us great exertions, yet it is probable that on this occasion we could have reached, contrary to all expectations, the lofty aim of our wishes; but our day’s labour had been seven; and as it was three o’clock in the afternoon, it was time for us to consider where we should find a resting-place for the coming night. We had reached nearly the farthest end of the rocky ridge, and an elevation of 15,400 feet above the sea, or about the elevation of the summit of Mont Blanc, and yet the head of Ararat, distinctly marked out, rose to a considerable height above us. I do not believe that there existed any insuperable obstacle to our farther advance upward; but the few hours of daylight which still remained to us for climbing to the summit would have been more than expended in accomplishing this object, and there, on the top, we should not have found a rock to shelter us during the night, to say nothing of our scanty supply of food, which had not been calculated for so protracted an excursion. Satisfied with the result, and with having ascertained that the mountain was by no means wholly inaccessible on this side, and having made our barometrical observations, we turned about, and immediately fell into a danger which we never dreamed of in ascending; for, while the footing is generally less sure in descending a mountain than in ascending it, at the same time it is extremely difficult to restrain one’s self and to tread with the requisite caution when looking from above upon such a uniform surface of ice and snow as spread from beneath our feet to the distance of two thirds of a mile without interruption, and on which, if we happened to slip and fall, there was nothing to prevent our rapidly shooting downward, except the angular fragments of rock which bounded the region of ice. The danger here lies more in want of habit than in real difficulty. The active spirit of my young friend, now engaged in his first mountain journey, and whose strength and courage were well able to cope with harder trials, was yet unable to withstand this: treading incautiously, he fell; but, as he was about twenty paces behind me, I had time to strike my staff before me in the ice as deep as it would go, to plant my foot firmly on my excellent many-pointed ice-shoe, and, while my right hand grasped the staff, to catch M. Schiemann with my left as he was sliding by. My position was good, and resisted the impetus of his fall; but the tie of the ice-shoe, although so strong that it appeared to be of a piece with the sole, gave way with the strain; the straps were cut through as if with a knife, and, unable to support the double weight on the bare sole, I also fell. M. Schiemann, rolling against two stones, came to a stoppage, with little injury, sooner than myself; the distance over which I was hurried almost consciously was little short of a quarter of a mile, and ended in the debris of lava not far from the border of the glacier. In this disaster the tube of my barometer was broken to pieces, my chronometer was opened and sprinkled with my blood, the other things which I had in my pockets were flung out by the centrifugal motion as I rolled down, but I was not myself seriously hurt. As soon as we had recovered from our first fright and had thanked God for our preservation, we looked about for the most important of our scattered articles, and then resumed our journey down. We crossed a small glacier by cutting steps in it, and soon after, from the top of the ridge beyond it, we heard with joy the voice of our worthy Sahák, who had had the sagacity to look for and await our return in this spot. In his company we had at least the satisfaction of passing the night in the region of grass, to the dry heaps of which, being always chilly, he set fire, in order to warm himself. On the third day, about ten o’clock in the morning, we reached our dear monastery, where we refreshed ourselves with juicy peaches and a good breakfast, but took special care not to let a syllable escape us, while among the Armenians, respecting our unlucky falls, as they would not have failed to discover therein the divine punishment of our rash attempt to arrive at the summit, access to which, from the time of Noah, has been forbidden to mortals by a divine decree; for all the Armenians are firmly persuaded that Noah’s Ark remains to this very day on the top of Ararat, and that, in order to ensure its preservation, no human being is allowed to approach it. The chief authority for the latter tenet is afforded by the Armenian chronicles, in the interesting legend of the monk named Jacob, who was afterward patriarch of Nisibis, and is supposed to have been a contemporary and relative of Saint Gregory. This monk, in order to put an end to the disputes respecting the credibility of the Holy Scriptures—that is to say, as far as the history of Noah is concerned, resolved to convince himself, by personal inspection, of the actual existence of the Noah’s Ark on the summit of Ararat. On the side of the mountain, however, he fell asleep several times through fatigue, and always found, on awaking, that he had, during his slumbers, unconsciously gone down as much as he had been able to ascend with his waking efforts. At length God, taking compassion on his unwearied but fruitless efforts, and to satisfy the curiosity of mankind, he sent him a piece of Noah’s vessel, as it lay on the mountain—the same piece which is preserved as a peculiarly holy relic in the Cathedral of Echmiadzin. This story,
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sanctioned by the Church, converts the popular assumption of the Armenians respecting the impossibility of ascending Ararat into an article of faith, to which they cling the more affectionately, inasmuch as it relieves them of a great labor; and an Armenian will not abjure this erroneous belief, even after he shall have been placed on the top of Ararat, of which more hereafter. A pasha of Bayazed, the father and predecessor of the present Mohammed Bähälühl, who cannot be supposed to have been influenced by the religious prejudices of the Armenians, contributed, by his failure in an attempt to ascend Ararat, to confirm the belief in the impossibility of such an achievement. The pasha set in earnest about the attainment of his object, and he also offered a reward to any one who would carry his plan into execution; yet he ascended no higher than within about 2400 feet of the limits of the ice, or as far as one can go on an active Persian, habituated to warmth and comfort, is not the man to achieve a feat of this kind. The learned world, too, is not without an authority to prove the impossibility of ascending Ararat. I do not allude to the numerous travelers who, either from want of time, of curiosity, or of means, or deterred by the common opinion of the people, have never made any attempt to reach the summit, and, filled with amazement at the truly impressive aspect of the mountain, have felt disposed to enhance still farther the sentiment of grandeur by the idea of utter inaccessibility, but I speak of Tournefort, to whom Morier particularly refers in his second journey, where he says, “No one appears to have reached the summit of Ararat since the flood; and the steep sides of its snowy head appear to me, moreover, sufficient to frustrate all attempts of that kind. When even Tournefort, that persevering and courageous traveler, could not succeed in it, how could we expect the timid and superstitious inhabitant of these countries to be more fortunate.”24 But it is only necessary to read what Tournefort says of his expedition to Mount Ararat, and his description of his attempt to ascend it, in order to be convinced that he cared less about reaching the summit of the mountain than “to acquire,” as he himself naïvely expresses it, “the reputation of a martyr of botany.” “We assured our guides,” he says, “that we would not go beyond a patch of snow which we pointed out to them, and which seemed no bigger than a cake; but when we came to it, we found that there was more of it than would suffice to satisfy our appetites, for the patch in question was above thirty paces in diameter. Each ate as much or as little of it as he pleased, and, by common consent, it was resolved to go no farther. We then descended with admirable vigour, delighted at having accomplished our vow, and at having nothing more to do but to return to the convent.”25 Tournefort also writes, “This mountain, which lies between the south and south-southeast of the Three Churches, is one of the most dismal and disagreeable sights on the face of the earth.” Chapter 8: My subsequent expedition up Mount Ararat consisted of myself, M. von Behaghel, M. Schiemann, the Deacon Abovian, four Armenian peasants from Arghuri, three Russian soldiers of the 41st Yäger regiment, and a driver for the four oxen. A chief person in the expedition was the village elder already mentioned, Stepan Melik of Arghuri, who had himself asked permission to join it, and who, as it soon became evident, was eminently fitted to guide its steps. I readily followed the advice of this experienced man to try the ascent of the summit this time from the northwest side of the mountain, where the way, though considerably longer than on the eastern declivity, is in general much less precipitous. After we had gone two thirds of a mile on the left slope of the valley, we ascended, and went straight across the northern side in a westerly direction, without meeting with much difficulty, as the ground presented few inequalities, and there were paths fit for use, which led over them. At first we found the ground covered with withered grass, and but few plants with verdure undecayed. We then came into a tract covered with volcanic sand and a pumice-like shingle, probably that of which Tournefort (p. 149), somewhat hyperbolically, says, “It must be allowed that the eyes are much deceived in measuring a mountain from the base to the summit, and particularly when one has to
24
It ought to be observed, that although Morier speaks emphatically of the supposed impossibility of ascending Ararat, yet he did not quite despair of succeeding in the attempt himself. He says (Second Journey, p. 344), “During the long time that we were in the neighbourhood of Mount Ararat, although we made frequent preparations for attempting to ascend it, yet we were always impeded by some reason or other. We were encamped before it at the very best season for such an undertaking, namely, during the month of August, and saw it at the time that it has least snow upon it.”—ED. 25 Relation d’un Voyage du Levant, Amst., 1718, tom. ii., p. 149.
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pass over sands as annoying as the African deserts. What an amusement for people with nothing but water in their stomachs to sink up to the ankle in sand!” While we kept advancing continually in an eastern direction over this, in my opinion, not very difficult tract, and at the same time gradually got higher, we came suddenly on the stony region, which forms a broad zone round the mountain immediately below the limits of the perpetual snow, and consists wholly of angular fragments of darkcoloured volcanic rock, which, scattered in wild disorder, sometimes present the appearance of a rude wall, sometimes that of a craggy ridge, and are at times heaped together in a narrow chasm or the valley of a glacier. Here we found at our service a little path, beaten probably by the small herds of cattle, which in the summer, when the herbage fails below, are obliged to seek their food on the remotest elevated parts of the mountain. This path led to a considerable plain, nearly horizontal, and well covered with grass, which, like a carpeted step, interrupts the stony tract on the northwest side of the mountain. M. von Behaghel, M. Schiemann, and myself had each of us brought a saddle-horse from the monastery, and at first we made use of them; but on arriving at the precipitous stony tract, which we reached about eleven o’clock, we perceived the necessity of sending them back with the Kossaks who accompanied us for this purpose, as they did not seem capable of enduring the hardship of traveling over such rough ground; yet I saw with astonishment the little Persian pony of Stepan carry its tall master with unwearied strength and activity over the most difficult and dangerous places, and climb, without a slip, incredibly steep acclivities. The plain which we had reached is called, in Tatar, Kip-Ghioll [Kıp Göl or Kıp Yayla], that is, Kip-spring, in consequence of a canal or drain projected here by the Persian government, the object of which was to collect the snow-water of Ararat, and conduct it to a rivulet, near which stood at that time, on the road to Bayazed, the village Gorgan, which is now deserted and fallen to ruins, in consequence of the gradual drying up—from what cause is not known—of the water of this rivulet. It did us all good to be able to rest a little, after an uninterrupted ascent of five hours, on a spot, which reminded us of animated nature. While our cattle found a hearty meal in the half-green herbage, we recruited our strength with a simple but invigorating repast, to which we were enabled to add soup, since the tract around us, being resorted to in summer for pasture, was thickly strewed with dry dung, which made excellent fuel. Directly over this plain, which has an elevation of 11,500 feet above the sea, the slope of Ararat rises very steeply, yet the ascent is here easy, the ground being sprinkled with soil, and not without herbage; but, on mounting a little higher, the desolate stony region recommences, not again to disappear till at the margin of the perpetual ice. In this way we arrived, not far from Kip-Ghioll, at a glacier of considerable extent [now called Parrot Glacier], but which will soon be concealed from the eyes of the traveler if the mountain continues to cover it, as at present, with lava, sand, and fragments of rock, for even now the ice can be seen only at the deep cracks, and involuntarily reminds us of the remarkable iceberg, covered with luxurious grassy vegetation, which Eschholz discovered in Kotzebue Sound, within Behring’s Straits26. This glacier did not appear to me to be a continuation of the icy head of Ararat, but to stand by itself, unless its connexion with the ice above be concealed under a very thick layer of stones; on which point, having been obliged to content myself with a distant inspection, I am not prepared to offer any conjecture. The lowest commencement of an extended snowbank, immediately derived from the snowy region of Ararat, I found at an elevation of 12,540 feet above the sea. About six o’clock in the evening, as we had reached a height of 13,070 feet, and were at no great distance from the borders of the snow, I felt myself compelled to determine on fixing our night’s quarters among some large and conveniently-placed masses of rock, since, as difficulties were increasing around us, it would hardly be possible to carry our slender supply of firewood higher up. The strong and patient oxen had carried their burdens up to this spot with incredible exertion, and many a crossing back and forward had they to make on the face of the acclivity, in order to follow us. Even Melik’s horse had overcome all the obstacles presented by the rugged nature of the ground, and had borne his master to this great elevation. It was now the common lot of these poor animals, when freed from their loads, to be turned loose in a desert, where there was nothing to satisfy their hunger but the few herbs scattered over these heights, and to quench their thirst nothing but the hard snow of the neighbouring glacier: in truth, I pitied them. A little fire was made, but the air was cool, and the ground not warm.
26
Voyage of Discovery in the South Sea and Behring’s Straits, by Otto von Kotzebue, 1821, vol. i., p. 146.
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Sleep refused to visit me on this occasion, and in my heart I felt more of anxiety than of hope for the attainment of our object. I know not what it was that filled me with this gloomy presentiment; perhaps it was but the language of bodily indisposition; for the injuries, superficial as they were, which I had received on that occasion, had pained me the whole way up: the fever might have somewhat weakened me; and, in short, although in the course of the day’s journey I was never last, and caused no delay, yet I felt that I wanted the strength and spirit which were required, in order that, on the following day, in ascending the difficult icy region, I might be able to expedite as I had always been used to do, the attainment of our object, by taking the greatest share of the labour on myself. In the mean time, the night passed over, and at half past seven in the morning we resumed our march, the thermometer being four degrees below the freezing point. In about two hours we had reached the limits, properly so called, of the perpetual ice and snow, that is to say, not the place where the snow, favoured by the coolness of a valley or other circumstances, remains at the lowest elevation, but where, extending continuously on a uniform slope, it is checked only by the warmth of the region below it. I found those limits to be at the height of 14,240 feet above the level of the sea. The way up to that point from our night quarters was rendered extremely fatiguing by the steepness of some of the rocky tracts, which were passable only, because, consisting of masses of rock piled one upon the other, they offered angles and edges for the hands and feet; but on that very account they threw impediments in the way of carrying up the great cross: in vain we tried to let two men bear the long beam [carrying a cross to represent Jesus Christ and Christianity]; for on ground where the choice of each step was confined to some particular spot, every movement of the one carrier embarrassed and endangered the other; and besides, the beam, being ten feet long [The remains may explain the discovery of wood on Ararat], was every moment knocking against something in the sharp turnings of our crooked path. Such, however, was the devout zeal of one of the Armenian peasants, that, at the moment when the necessity of leaving the cross behind us seemed inevitable, he heaved the long beam on his shoulders, drew the end of his frock from behind over it, holding this down with both hands, in such a way, too, as to save the cotton with the holy oil; and now, like an athlete, with astonishing dexterity he bore his load over the tortuous and rugged path. For an instant we halted at the foot of the pyramid of snow, which before our eyes was projected with wondrous grandeur on the clear blue sky: we chose out such matters as could be dispensed with, and left them behind a rock; then serious and in silence, and not without a devout shuddering, we set foot upon that region which certainly, since Noah’s time, no human being had ever trodden. At first the progress was easy, because the acclivity was not very steep, and besides, it was covered with a layer of fresh snow, on which it was easy to walk; the few cracks in the ice, also which occurred, were of no great breadth, and could be easily stepped over. But this joy did not last long; for, after we had advanced about 200 paces, the steepness increased to such a degree that we were no longer able to tread securely on the snow, but, in order to save ourselves from sliding down on the ice beneath it, we were obliged to have recourse to that measure, for the employment of which I had taken care to equip myself and my companions, namely, the cutting of steps. Although that which is called ice on such mountains is in reality snow converted into a glacier, that is to say, permeated with water and again frozen, in which state it is far from possessing the solidity of true ice, yet, like this, it does not yield to the pressure of the foot, and requires, where the slope is very rapid, the cutting of steps. For this purpose some of us had brought little axes, some billhooks, while others, again, made use of the ice-staff. The general rule in the ascent was, that the leader should only cut the ice just enough to allow himself to mount, and that each as he followed should enlarge the step; and thus, while the labour of the foremost was lightened, a good path was prepared for the descent, wherein much firmer footing is required than in ascending. Through this proceeding, dictated off-hand by necessity and frequent experience, and which, moreover, could not be dispensed with for a single step, as well as through manifold hinderances of a new sort which obstructed the carrying up of the cross, our progress suffered so much delay, that, though in the stony region, which was by no means easily traversed, we had been able to gain about 1000 feet of elevation in the hour, we could now hardly ascend 600 feet in the same time. It was necessary for us to turn a bold projection of the slope above us, and, having come to it, we found on it, and straight across the direction in which we were proceeding, a deep crack in the ice, about five feet wide, and of such length that we could not distinctly see whether it was possible to go round it. To our consolation, however, the drifted snow had in one place filled up the crevice tolerably well, so that with mutual assistance we got safely over, a feat rendered somewhat difficult by the circumstance that the edge of the ice which we wanted to reach was a good deal higher than that on which we were standing. As soon as we had got over this little trouble, and had ascended a very moderate slope, we found ourselves on a nearly horizontal plain of snow, which forms a principal step on this side of Ararat, and may be easily recognized in all my sketches of the mountain as an almost horizontal interruption of the slope, next to the summit on the right hand side [called the Western Plateau]. This height was the scope of our exertions this time; for we had, to judge from appearances, worked for three hours, and there arose, to our sorrow, a strong, humid wind, which, as it gave us reason to expect a snowstorm, damped our courage, and took from us all hope of reaching the summit. I made up my mind to erect the cross that we had brought with us on this height, and for that purpose sought out a spot visible from the monastery, or at least from Erivan, and such we found on going little more than half a mile towards the east, without ascending much. While some of us were employed in cutting a hole about two feet deep in the ice with bills and poles, others joined together the timbers of the cross with two strong screws, and over the joint, fastened in like manner with screws, the leaden plate, weighing twenty-seven pounds. The cross was then raised up, every one
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lending a hand to the work, and with pieces of ice and snow was fixed firmly in the hole. It faces Erivan, and has behind it in that direction the steep snows of the summit, so that, being itself black, it will be strongly relieved, and must be visible with a good telescope. On the leaden plate is the following inscription: NICOLAO PAULI FILIO TOTIUS RUTHENLE AUTOCRATORE JUBENTE HOC ASYLUM SACROSANCTUM ARMATA MANU VINDICAVIT FIDEI CHRISTIANÆ JOANNES FREDERICI FILIUS PASKEWITSCH AB ERIVAN ANNO DOMINI MDCCCXXVI. Loosley Translated: Nicolao for a little while Godson just as many RUTHENLE AUTOCRATORE JUBENTE this ASYLUM SACROSANCTUM the armed hand faithful CHRISTIANÆ Joannes Frederici son Paskewitsch from Erivan in the year 1826 I now suspended my barometer from the cross in order to determine our elevation above the sea, which I found to be 16,028 feet (our leveling to the shore of the Black Sea being included in the calculation), or about 350 feet more than the summit of Mont Blanc. Impelled by a common feeling, we turned once more towards the summit, and I could not refrain from asking myself whether in reality we should now resign the hope of reaching it. But the watch, which told us that it was midday; the sky, where clouds were gathering; and our inadequate means for spending a night on the icy pinnacle, all plainly said “no” to the thought of advancing; and the declaration of the sturdy guide, Stepan Melik, “Time alone is wanting; for the rest, we are nearly on the top,” completely soothed the downcast spirits of all but myself, whose only consolation was the hope of another and more successful attempt. The steps by which we had mounted aided us also in our descent, and without any accident beyond a transient giddiness which attacked M. von Behaghel, we reached, before night had fully set in, the place where we had rested at noon on the way up, the Kip-Ghioll, a charming spot to the weary, where we also found Melik’s horse, the oxen, and the drivers, for they had sagaciously determined on descending from the inhospitable rocks and glaciers, among which we had left them, and rather to wait for us here. We also were glad to warm ourselves at a brisk fire, for we had hardly left the snowy region in our descent when the whole tract over which we passed nearly down to Kip-Ghioll was visited by a heavy fall of moist snow which disappeared the next day. Having taken our evening repast, we each of us sought, under the large rocks scattered in great numbers over this plain, shelter and lodging for the night, and the following day, the 20th of September, about ten in the morning, we reached St. James’s. I have not yet made the reader acquainted with our domestic arrangements and mode of life in the monastery, which nevertheless, though extremely simple, may be not uninteresting to future travelers. Close to the right bank of the Arghuri rivulet, about twenty-five feet above the stream, between the rocky and grassy slopes in the lower part of the great chasm, which even here has still a depth of from 600 to 800 feet, lies the little monastery of St. James, at an elevation of 6350 feet above the sea [note that Dr. Parrot’s measurements were not as accurate as today so this may be slightly off, as well as the mud torrent that destroyed the monastery in 1840 may have pushed the debris further down the valley]. It consists of a little church built in the form of a cross, with a cupola like a truncated cone in the middle, and entirely constructed, even to the very roof, with hewn stone of hard lava. But the principal entrance is so hidden by the dwellings built against the church, that even in broad daylight it is difficult to work one’s way, without knocking against some corner, through the narrow and crooked passage leading from the northern side and across a dark portico to the door on the western side of the temple. Abutting on the church on the eastern side is a long chamber provided with a fireplace, which we at first used as our common bed and sitting room, but afterward made it our kitchen, for a much larger room was soon found for the former purposes, drier also, and having two openings for the admission of light. It adjoined the cell of the archimandrite, who, after he had become a little acquainted with us, made no difficulty about removing a few corn-sacks lying there, and leaving the place wholly at our disposal. Our furniture consisted of the blankets, pelisses, cloaks, and chests brought with us. Our dinner table was a singular piece of basket-work, of split wood interwoven, not quite so high as an ordinary stool: it was too tottering for a work-table, so we preferred writing on the knee, or lying on our baggage, or, in case of nice work, on one of the stands of our instruments. Whoever did not like to eat standing, might seat himself on a big stone which lay there at his service. All these dwellings round the church are made with thick clay walls, and are covered in common with a perfectly flat roof of strong plaster, under which, in the middle of each apartment, is a prop; the wooden support of the ceiling in our room answered well for the hooks whereon we hung our clothes. This room was too narrow and too dark for the numerous and important instruments which we had with us: they were more suitably placed in a pretty tent of sailcloth and white woolen, which was pitched in the middle of the court, where the instruments were arranged
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according to their respective uses, and where I, for the purpose of watching them, had established my night quarters. A great projecting corner stone of a partition wall in the court, and close to the tent, appeared to M. Fedorov to be a good basis for the observation with the theodolite; and, to make it more convenient, he dug a little trench round it, in which he stood. With the permission of the archimandrite, a little corner of the wall, which confined the field of view, was removed, and the arrangement of the observatory was thereby completed. To provide for our subsistence and necessities was not the least of our cares. We savans [learned persons or scholars] were five in number; there was one young priest, one feldyäger, six Kossaks, and four soldiers, in all seventeen men; and we had with us eleven horses, of which five were our own. We had brought with us two Kossaks from Tiflis, and four others were assigned to us in Erivan on the order of the military chief, who also allowed us the four privates of the 41st Yäger regiment. In order to look after provisions and to make some purchases, I had already dispatched the feldyäger, M. Schultz, from Echmiadzin to Erivan, with the necessary papers and money, and while I was engaged in my first expedition on the mountain, he, having completely executed his commissions, arrived at St. James. One of the soldiers was an experienced cook, and in that way rendered us essential service during the whole time of our stay at Ararat. Another, somewhat advanced in years, was well adapted for distributing the rations; he it was who formally reported to me, morning and evening, according to military usage, whatever had occurred. The fodder for the horses consisted partly of barley—for oats are never cultivated in this country, but the horse feeds well and without any detriment on simple unprepared barley—and partly of hay, the procuring of which gave us some trouble, because at this time of the year, and particularly after a dry summer, it is sure to be scarce. Our own subsistence was provided for in the following manner: there was no want of mutton, for a sheep might be bought in Arghuri whenever it was necessary. We also received two sheep as presents, one on the day of our arrival, by way of welcome, from our worthy archimandrite, another, somewhat later, from Stepan Melik; but far better flavoured and more nutritive was the flesh of wild hogs, subsequently shot by our Kossaks among the reeds on the Blackwater, and a large portion of which was then salted, a great crock which happened to be in the monastery serving us for that purpose. M. Schiemann did not fail also to supply our table, whenever an opportunity was offered, with game, and dried fish was brought to us for purchase, particularly an extremely well-flavoured kind of salmon-trout from the Gokchai. Eggs, milk, and pullets were to be had in Arghuri; but as, at first, I laid a strict interdict on that place, because the plague had been raging there, and a few persons were still to be found in it only just recovered, these dealings were all carried on with great caution: the people who came from the village were not allowed to stay in St. James’s longer than was necessary; the purchased sheep were sprinkled over with chloride of lime, as well as the woolen sacks in which the barley for the horses was brought to us from places in the neighbourhood. The archimandrite obligingly supplied us with some cream, for which we daily provided him with tea and wine. We got from Erivan our stock of groats, lentils, dried apricots, kishmish, or raisins without stones, rice, onions, salt, pepper, sugar, tea, and rum; the last two, however, at a high price, the sugar costing two or three rubles a pound. There was a little luxury, also, which I allowed only to myself, namely, a cup of strong coffee after dinner, when I was at home. Now and then we had a basketful of grapes and other fruit; the goatskin bottle gave us wine of Erivan, so that we wanted nothing but pure, good drinking water in the immediate vicinity of the monastery, for the water of the Arghuri brook was always muddy, and consequently fit only for the cattle and for cooking; it was quite useless for washing; it contained such a quantity of earthy particles, and our people were therefore obliged, when the washing took place, to go down about half a mile towards Arghuri, to a place where numerous fine springs issued from the rocks, from which we had brought to us also our daily supply for drinking. At first we were ill off for the most important article of daily subsistence—bread. The Armenians make use of a kind of bread, which, whatever may be its good qualities in other respects, wants the flavour and the strength requisite for the European palate and stomach. The losh, as they call it, is a thin cake an ell long [unit of measure that varies based on country – Dr. Parrot appears to use the length of about 18 inches], half an ell wide, and about as thick as the blade of a knife, rolled out of weakly-fermented dough; being spread on a leathern cushion, it is pressed against the inside of the heated oven, to which it adheres; in two or three minutes it is baked through, and here and there burned a little; it is then torn off to make way for another. The oven used for baking this bread is of a peculiar kind: a pit in the chamber or porch of the dwelling, wide at the bottom, narrow above, well coated with fine plaster, and heated with wood; such is the oven, which has, at least, this advantage, that it takes up no room, being covered over when not in use. This losh is the bread universally used among the Armenians, and it serves for many purposes… Our Kossaks contrived to attain their desired object [European bread] without any tedious deliberation. Close to the monastery was a steep bank of clay mixed with sand; in this they made a horizontal excavation for an oven; a stone that fitted the opening served for the door; a hollow within it, well coated with plaster, was the trough in which the dough was kneaded, and left for two days to ferment; another leveled and smoothed place in the same bank did duty as the table; and so these brave fellows succeeded in making, not only for themselves, but for us also, extremely welltasted and wholesome bread of good rye meal. For the fire in our own apartment, which during the latter part of our residence here we felt it necessary to light every day, we made use of dry dung, which the inhabitants of these countries collect and lay by for fuel just as we do wood; for this purpose the dry masses are piled up into a pyramidal heap or clamp, as may be seen in our sketch of St. James, within a slight enclosure before the outer wall; and it is extraordinary how easily the fuel kindles, and what a heat it throws out, without the least disagreeable odour.
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As soon as I had recovered a little, I applied myself to the magnetical observations—a branch of inquiry diligently prosecuted of late years by scientific travelers, and justly so, as it conducts to a nearer acquaintance with the earth in respect to the important element of its magnetic power. The instruments used for this purpose differ, however, from the compass, or magnetic needle, as it is ordinarily arranged, and are constructed chiefly with a view to determine, with the greatest possible exactness, the position of the needle, moveable with perfect freedom in all directions. But, since it is difficult to arrange a needle so that it can take all positions with equal facility, it is usual to employ two needles: the one suspended horizontally, and in this plane pointing with the utmost facility of motion towards the north and south magnetic poles; the other capable also of taking a north and south position, but moving with the greatest facility up and down, like a very delicate balance. These observations I found it impossible to make within the monastery, but chose for the purpose two open spots outside, in order to get rid of the influence of iron, which, by attracting the needle, might affect its position; for although in the monastery, as far as it was visible, there was hardly half a pound of iron, yet we had with us a considerable quantity, or at least enough to exercise, when so near, an influence on the magnetic needle. While I was thus employed, MM. Von Behaghel and Schiemann set off on an interesting excursion to the great salt-mines of Kulpe [the great salt mines described by Dr. Parrot are still working and are at the modern-day town of Tuzluca between Igdir and Kars] up the Araxes 60 miles from Ararat and not far from the bounds of the Turkish pashalik of Erzerum. There, beneath a mountain several hundred feet high, is found, with strata of gypsum intermixed, a deposit of fine rock salt, of such depth and magnitude that, although it has been worked for ages by the inhabitants [and continues in commercial production today], and not always in the most considerate or economical manner, yet there is not the slightest symptom of its exhaustion. Chapter 9: Summary – Third Attempt to reach the Summit—Kip-Ghioll reached on Horseback—Night near the Snow-line— Difficulty of the Ascent—The Summit gained—Its Form described—Supposed Resting-place of the Ark—Prospect from the Summit—The Cross erected—Altitude measured—Descent—Sunset on the Mountain—The Author’s Account questioned—Sworn Depositions of his Companions—Stepan Aga’s Statement—The Armenian Peasants—Testimony of the Russian Soldiers—Concluding Remarks. In the mean time the sky cleared up, the wind lulled, the air was pure; on the mountain, too, there seemed to be more repose, and the thundering sound of falling ice and rocks was heard less frequently; in short, everything appeared to intimate that, notwithstanding the advanced season of the year, a decidedly favourable change had taken place in the weather, and I hesitated not to seize this opportunity for my third attempt to ascend the summit; for enterprises of this kind, whatever be the circumspection necessary on engaging in them, must be executed without delay when the favourable moment arrives. On the 25th of September (7th of October), in the afternoon, I sent to ask Stepan if he would join the party, but received from him an answer declining the invitation; he came, indeed, himself to St. James, but said that he still felt too sore from the toils of the preceding excursion to be able to make another attempt so soon. Yet he engaged to send me four active peasants, as I desired, and also three-oxen with a driver, for hire. The following day, early in the morning, five peasants, instead of four, came to St. James to take part in the expedition. Well, the fifth came of his own accord, but I welcomed him, and to these I added two of our soldiers. The deacon also accompanied us on the occasion, and M. Hehn followed us with the intention of studying the vegetation in the higher parts of the mountain, but not of going beyond the limits of the snow. The experience acquired in my former ascent had taught me that everything depended on spending the night as close as possible to the limits of perpetual snow, so as to be able to reach the summit and to return again the following day, and that, to that end, the loads of the cattle and of the men must be confined to what was absolutely indispensable. I had therefore three oxen only laden with some warm clothing, the requisite supply of food, and a small quantity of firewood. I took also a small cross, made of bars two inches in diameter, but cut of oak, and so put together that the longer piece might serve as a staff to the man who carried it. We directed our course to the same side as before, and, in order to spare our strength as much as possible, Abovian and myself rode this time, as far as the rocky nature of the ground allowed us, to the vicinity of the grassy plain, Kip-Ghioll; we did not, however, leave our horses there as Stepan had done, but sent them back with a Kossak, who attended us for that purpose: from this place M. Hehn also returned. It was not quite noon when we reached this point. We took our breakfast, and after resting about an hour and a half, we set forward in an oblique course upward, deviating a little from our former track: the oxen, however, could not follow us so fast; one of them, in particular, seemed much weaker than the others: and as it threatened to cause us no little delay, we deemed it advisable to make ourselves independent of such aid. We halted, therefore, at the base of a towering pile of stones, over which the poor animals could hardly have climbed; we then freed them from their loads, which we distributed fairly among the party, so that each man carried his share of covering and fuel, and this done, we sent back the oxen with their keeper. About half past five o’clock we were close to the lower border of the snow, and had attained a height considerably above that of our former night quarters: the elevation of this point above the sea was 13,800 feet. The large masses of
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rock here scattered about determined us in selecting this spot for our night’s lodging. A fire was soon kindled, and something warm got ready for the stomach. For me, this repast consisted in onion soup, the use of which I can recommend to mountain travelers in such circumstances as extremely warm and reviving, and better than animal food or meat soups, because these require for their digestion more strength, which they restore, indeed, but not so quickly as to allow you to feel any benefit from them within the usually circumscribed period of exertion. Abovian was unluckily prevented from sharing in this excellent meal, a Church holyday compelling him to fast strictly. And was there fasting, too, with such exertions and toils? Yes, in truth, without ceremony or pretence, and without having told me beforehand, or else I might have provided for him some permitted restorative, as an infusion or tea of bruised pepper, with which he might, without violating the rules of the Church, have sought to renew his strength. The other Armenians, too, observed strictly the prescribed fast, and were satisfied therefore with the bread which we had brought with us, and with the brandy distributed among them and the soldiers by myself in certain portions—for the use of this stimulant requires much caution where there is a great demand on the physical energies, as in ascending a high mountain, or else it produces an effect the very opposite of that expected, namely, a sensation of weariness, and an inclination to sleep—and the people were too reasonable and discreet to wish for more brandy than I thought it expedient to give them. It was a delicious evening which I spent here, my eyes at one time set on my good-humoured companions, at another on the clear sky, on which the summit of the mountain was projected with wondrous grandeur, and again on the gray night, spreading in the distance and in the depth beneath me. Thus I became resigned to the single feeling of peace, tenderness, love, thankfulness, submission—the silent evoking of the past, the indulgent glimpse of the future; in short, that indescribable delightful sensation which never fails to affect travelers at great heights and under agreeable circumstances; and so, favoured by a temperature of 40º Fahr.—no slight warmth for the atmosphere at our elevation—I lay down to rest under a projecting rock of lava, while my companions still remained for a long time chatting round the fire. At the first dawn we roused ourselves up, and at about half past six proceeded on our march. The last tracts of rocky fragments were crossed in about half an hour, and we once more trod on the limits of perpetual snow nearly in the same place as before, having first lightened ourselves by depositing near some heaps of stones such articles as we could dispense with. But the snowy region had undergone a great, and, for us, by no means favourable change. The newly-fallen snow, which had been of some use to us in our former attempt, had since melted from the increased heat of the weather, and was now changed into glacier ice, so that, notwithstanding the moderate steepness of the acclivity, it would be necessary to cut steps from below. This made our progress a laborious affair, and demanded the full exertion of our strength from the first starting. We were obliged to leave one of the peasants behind at the place where we spent the night, as he complained of illness; two others, tired in ascending the glacier, stopped at first only to rest, but afterward went back to the same station. The rest of us, without allowing ourselves to be detained an instant by these accidents, pushed on unremittingly to our object, rather excited than discouraged by the difficulties in our way. We soon after came again to the great crack which marks the upper edge of the icy slope just ascended, and about ten o’clock we found ourselves exactly in the place where we had arrived on the former occasion at noon, that is to say, on the great plain of snow, which forms the first step downward from the icy head of Ararat [Western Plateau]. We saw from a distance of about half a mile the cross erected on the 19th of September, but it looked so uncommonly small, perhaps owing to its black colour, that I could not help doubting whether I should be able to make it out, and to recognize it with an ordinary telescope from the plain of the Araxes. In the direction of the summit we had before us an acclivity shorter but steeper than that just passed over, and between it and the farthest pinnacle there seemed to intervene only a gentle swelling of the ground. After a short rest, we ascended, with the aid of hewn steps, the next slope. Near the summit was a flattish depression, covered in like manner with perpetual ice, with a second and somewhat lower summit, distant apparently from that on which I stood above half a mile, but in reality only 397 yards, or less than a quarter of a mile [Western and Eastern Summits]. This saddle-shaped depression may be easily recognized from the plain of the Araxes with the naked eye, but from that quarter it is seen foreshortened; and as the less elevation stands foremost, while the greater one is behind, the former appears to be as high as, or even higher than the latter, which from many points cannot be seen at all. M. Fedorov
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ascertained by his angular measurements, made in a northeasterly direction from the plain of the Araxes, that the summit in front is seven feet lower than that behind or farther west; to me, looking from the latter, the difference appeared much more considerable. The gentle depression between the two eminences presents a plain of snow moderately inclined towards the south, over which it would be easy to go from the one to the other, and which may be supposed to be the very spot on which Noah’s Ark rested, if the summit itself be assumed as the scene of that event, for there is no want of the requisite space, inasmuch as the Ark, according to Genesis, vi., 15, three hundred ells long and fifty wide, would not have occupied a tenth part of the surface of this depression. Kerr Porter, however, makes27 on this subject a subtle comment favourable to the opinion that the resting-place of the Ark was not on the summit of the mountain, but on some lower part of it; because in Genesis, viii., 5, it is said, “On the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains came forth;” but in vi., 16, it is stated that the window of the Ark was above; consequently, Noah could have seen only what was higher than the ship, which was therefore lower down than the tops of the mountains: on these grounds Kerr Porter is inclined to look upon the wide valley between the Great and Little Ararat as the place where the Ark rested. In this reasoning, however, he takes the above quoted texts of Holy Writ in a sense different from the literal one; for it is nowhere said that Noah saw the mountains coming forth, but it is simply stated that after the Ark had rested, the waters subsided, so that already on the first day of the tenth month the mountains began to come forth; then, “after forty days Noah opened the window which he had made in the Ark and let fly a raven;” and again, after three weeks, “Noah took off the cover of the ark, and saw that the ground was dry,” respecting which he might have formed as good a judgment, or even a better, from the more elevated point than from the lower. Should any one now inquire respecting the possibility of remains of the Ark still existing on Ararat, it may be replied that there is nothing in that possibility incompatible with the laws of nature, if it only be assumed that immediately after the Flood the summit of that mountain began to be covered with perpetual ice and snow, an assumption which cannot be reasonably objected to; and when it is considered that on great mountains accumulated coverings of ice and snow exceeding 100 feet in thickness are by no means unusual, it is obvious that on the top of Ararat there may be easily a sufficient depth of ice to cover the Ark, which was only thirty ells high [thirty ells is about 45 feet high and some areas of the Ararat ice cap have been measured near 300 feet deep]. From the summit I had a very extensive prospect, in which, however, owing to the great distances, only the chief masses could be plainly distinguished. The valley of the Araxes was covered in its whole length by a grayish cloud of vapour, through which Erivan and Sardarabad appeared only as dark spots no bigger than my hand. In the south, the hills behind which Bayazed lay were more distinctly visible. In the north-northwest, the serrated head of Alaghés rose majestically, covered in every hollow with large masses of snow—a truly inaccessible crown of rocks. Immediately in the neighbourhood of Ararat, particularly towards the southeast, and on the west at a greater distance, were a number of smaller mountains, for the most part having conical summits, with hollows in the middle, apparently at one time volcanoes. Then towards the east-southeast was the Little Ararat, the head of which no longer appeared as the simple termination of a cone, as it seemed from the plain, but like the section of a truncated quadrangular pyramid, having at its angles and in the middle a number of rocky elevations of various heights. One thing surprised me not a little, and that was to see a large portion of Lake Gokchai, its surface of beautiful dark blue glimmering distinctly in the northeast, behind the high mountains which enclose the lake immediately on the south, and are so elevated that I never should have thought it possible to catch a glimpse, looking over them from the top of Ararat, of the waters which they imbosom. Having thus surveyed the prospect around, I turned to look after my companions, and missed the faithful Abovian: he was gone, I was told, “to set up the cross.” That was what I intended to do myself, and had selected in my mind the round area in the middle, where it would have stood most securely, and in the worthiest place. But Abovian, influenced by pious zeal, had taken the business in hand, and had looked out a site for the cross on the northeastern edge of the summit, because, as he justly remarked, if it stood in the middle it would not be visible from the plain, being scarcely five feet high. In order to gain his point, that the cross should be visible not only from the plain, but also from Arghuri and St. James’s, he ventured, at the risk of his life, so far on the steep slope of the margin that he stood full thirty feet
27
Travels in Georgia, Persia, and Armenia, etc., Lond., 1821, vol., i., p. 183.
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lower than the middle of the summit, and consequently had at first escaped my notice. There I saw him hard at work, cutting a hole in the ice to fix the cross in. It was evident that this spot was highly unfavourable for the permanent support of the cross, inasmuch as, from the great inclination of the surface, it was more liable to fluctuations in the ice, and to a progress downward in the mass, to say nothing of sudden falls or avalanches—movements which continually take place in the glacier ice of all mountains—and that, in a few years, perhaps, the only memorial of our having been on the summit would disappear from it. Nevertheless, I was ultimately swayed by the reflection that this mark would probably have a long time to wait for the coming of another traveler; and that, on the other hand, it would be no less honourable for us if a signal, visible for the present, at least, from the plain, were to bear witness to the feat which we had been so fortunate as to achieve; but what particularly decided me to leave the cross in this place was, that I hoped to see it made use of as a mark in M. Fedorov’s trigonometrical measurement of the mountain. I let the deacon, therefore, have his own way, and proceeded myself to observe the barometer which I had set up in the middle of the summit. The mercury in it stood no higher than 15 inches ¾ line, Parisian measure, at a temperature of 6 2/3º of Fahrenheit’s scale below the freezing point. This observation, compared with that which M. Fedorov was good enough to make contemporaneously in St. James’s, gives the summit an elevation of 10,876 feet above the monastery; adding, therefore, the observed elevation of the latter place, Ararat has a vertical height above the level of the sea of 17,210 feet [16,945 feet as measured today]. There were six of us on the summit, namely, besides myself, Khachatur Abovian, deacon in Echmiadzin, son of an Armenian residing in Kanakir, near Erivan; Alexei Sdrovenko, of the 41st Yäger regiment; Matvei Chalpanof, of the same regiment; Ovannes Aivassian, a native of Arghuri; and Murat Pogossian, of the same place. The deacon, though only twenty years of age, and accustomed to a quiet monastic life, never for an instant shrank from the exertions called for by the undertaking, and showed throughout abundant proofs of his spirit and steadiness, as well as the enthusiasm that animated him for the success of the enterprise. His devout zeal, which excited him in Echmiadzin to follow us, led him also in safety, notwithstanding the manifold hindrance of his monastic costume, consisting of three long and full robes, over the rugged heaps of shattered rocks, and the precipitous glaciers of Ararat; made him, when on the summit, give all his attention to the cross, without thinking of rest, and from this spot, so dear to him, to carry down to the monastery a large piece of ice, the water from which he kept in a bottle as peculiarly holy. Alexei Sdrovenko, a stout warrior, distinguished for the part he took in the fierce engagements of our TransCaucasian army with the enemies of Christianity, was a simple, true-hearted man, without guile or vulgarity, modest and quiet in deportment. During this last excursion, as well as on the preceding occasion, he took part, with manly resolution and endurance, in every labour and danger. Matvei Chalpanof was a youthful hero, of amiable, unassuming manners; free, like his comrade, from servile flattery, he had a proper sense of the respect due to rank, felt deeply every kindness offered to him, and quite devoted himself in lending me the assistance which I required in the descent. He, too, seemed to have in his heart some conception of the high import of the object aimed at, and this he manifested in a way peculiar enough, but suited to his rank and station; for in ascending the summit he had under his cloak, not, as I supposed, some clothing as warm and comfortable as possible, but his dress uniform, arranged and decorated in the best style, as if he were going to parade. Ovannes Aivassian, a young man twenty-six years of age, of extraordinary bodily strength and activity, fine, tall stature and agreeable countenance, was on this occasion the individual who underwent the greatest fatigue, inasmuch as he offered more frequently, and for a longer time than any of us, to be the foremost of the file. Murat Pogossian, thirty years old, differing, in his small stature and round features, from the general physical characteristics of his countrymen, was that unbidden guest who came of his own accord with the others to St. James’s to attach himself to the expedition, which gained, nevertheless, little from his presence, so far, at least, as bodily labour was concerned; for, although he held out to the last, and never was a burden to us, yet he strove as much as possible to lighten his own task, and was always the last in the line, so that he could use the large steps already cut for him in the ice, and every now and then sat down to rest till we had made some farther progress in the work. But, notwithstanding this, he was a welcome companion to the party on account of his gayety and high spirits. He was a sort of droll, who, while his comrades were working for him, kept them in good humour by his jokes and smart sayings. After staying on the summit about three quarters of an hour, we began to think of returning, and by way of preparation took each a morsel of bread, while at the same time, from the small quantity of wine brought with us, we gladly poured a libation to the Patriarch Noah. We then went, one after the other, rapidly down the steep, by means of the deep steps cut in the ice during the ascent; yet the descent was still extremely fatiguing, and to me, in particular, caused much pain in the knees; nevertheless, we hastened on, as the sun was already low, and before we reached the snow-plain of the great cross, it had sunk below the horizon. It was a magnificent spectacle to observe the dark shadow thrown on the plain by the mountains beneath us to the west, then the deep darkness which encompassed all the valleys, and gradually rose higher and higher on Ararat, while now only its icy head was illumined by the rays of the sunken orb; but they soon shot above that also, and our path downward would have been involved in perilous darkness had not the luminary of night arisen in the opposite quarter of the heavens to throw a clear and lovely light on our footsteps. About half past six in the evening we reached our place of bivouac, where a cheerful fire was made with the wood that remained, a small supper cooked, and the night, as bright and warm as the preceding one, spent agreeably. There
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also we found our attendants whom we had left behind, together with our things. The next day, about six in the morning, we set off, and about half past eight reach Kip-Ghioll, where the beasts of burden were waiting for us, and about noon on the 28th of September we joyfully entered St. James’s, as the Patriarch Noah, “with his sons, and with his wives, and with his sons’ wives,” had, 4000 years before, descended from Ararat. On the day after our return, in our Sabbath devotions, we bore to the Lord the offering of our thanks, perhaps not far from the very spot where Noah “built an altar to the Lord, and offered thereon burnt offerings.” The evening of our return was celebrated by the discharge of some rockets, which we owed to the kindness of M. von Dunant, captain of artillery in Erivan. I hope that the reader, confiding in the veracity which, in my opinion, is the first duty of every one who puts a statement on record, will have followed the preceding narrative without mistrust, and have rested in the belief that I was actually on the summit of Ararat. It is therefore reluctantly, but not without sufficient grounds, that I come to the decision to add here a few words in respect to the possibility of my practicing any mystification on the public. It must be taken into consideration that many years may elapse before another attempt be made to ascend Mount Ararat, or, what would be worse for me, that circumstances, which are not always under the control of travelers, may defeat such an attempt; then it might easily come to pass that the old preconceived opinions respecting the impossibility of ascending Mount Ararat would revive, and along with them, doubts (at least with some people) respecting the truth of my narrative—doubts which, besides, already live in the breasts of many Armenians strongly attached to the tenets of their creed, and openly expressed by them while I was still in their country, though not by way of personal attack on me. In the mean time, so overpowering was my sense of good fortune in having attained the so ardently desired object, so firm was my reliance on that confidence which the educated public had reposed in me and the narrative of my earlier travels, that no thought nor apprehension of the contrary entered my mind, and any measure taken to counteract suspicion would have appeared to me to partake of ingratitude and injustice. I was, therefore, the more pained and taken by surprise, when, a full year after the termination of this journey, a man belonging to the educated European public—a man of merit in his way—one who, on account of his long residence in those countries, possesses undoubted claims to confidence in his local knowledge—I was grieved and surprised, I say, to find that this man was the first to cast a stone against me, and in a published commentary to insist on the impossibility of the fact asserted by me. I have done what the honour of my name demanded. The well-known and highly valued “Tiflis Chronicle” contains, in numbers 11 and 22 of the year 1831, the hostile comments and the answer to them, and there the affair seems to have ended; yet, being roused by this prelude, and desirous to contribute as far as lay in my power to the confirmation of the truth, I called for (and trust that I shall be excused for so doing) the sworn depositions of the persons who accompanied me to the top of Ararat. These depositions respecting our whole proceedings on that occasion, the originals of which were transmitted to me through the kindness of Prince Lieven, the [Russian] minister of public instruction I here take the liberty of giving, translated word for word… “As to the place where M. Parrot resided with his expedition, I have the honour to state, that during the whole time the headquarters of the expedition were in the Armenian monastery named Surb Hagob (St. Jacob or James), not far from the village of Arghuri, in which, nevertheless, they did reside. The plague was not in Arghuri at the time the expedition to Ararat was in the neighbourhood, but had ceased a little before. The preceding statement I have made sincerely, and in conformity with the truth, and in confirmation of it I now sign my name. Inasmuch as Melik Stepan Aga, inhabitant of Arghuri, does not know how to write, I have signed for him at his request.” MAKERDICH KHIALLOR. LITVINO, Lieut.-superintendent of Police. POIO, Government Secretary. The following are “Depositions 3 & 4 on Oath, taken on the 15th of October, 1831, from Murat Pogossian and Ovannes Aivassian, by the Armenian priest Ter Sakar, in presence of the Lieutenant-superintendent of Police, Litvino.” “In the year 1831, the 15th of October, Murat Pogossian and Ovannes Aivassian, inhabitants of the village of Arghuri, in the district of Surmalinsk, being interrogated on oath in the presence of the police of Erivan, deposed as follows: The first named: ‘I am thirty years of age, and go every year to confession and to the holy sacrament: I am unable to read or write. In the year 1829, as well as I remember, there came to the monastery Surb Hagob (St. James), not far from Mount Ararat and the village of Arghuri, the professor named Parrot. This person, on the third or fourth day after his arrival in the monastery, set off with Melik Stepan Aga, the elder of Arghuri, to ascend Mount Ararat. On the evening of the third day they returned from their excursion to the village whence they had started, and I learned that M. Parrot had erected a cross on the mountain, yet not on the highest part of it. Three days
Friedrich Parrot, Ph.D. – First Western Climber of Mount Ararat
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afterward, as well as I can remember, I went, with six other people, at the command of Melik Stepan Aga, to accompany M. Parrot, by the same track which he had already explored, once more to the top of the mountain. We spent the first night not far from the snow; the second day four of the Arghuri people were so fatigued as to be obliged to stay behind; but myself and Ovannes Aivassian, an inhabitant of our village, went on with M. Parrot, and by his account we went nine hours. M. Parrot erected a cross, and fixed on it a plate with an inscription which I did not understand. This cross was set up towards the right from the village; that erected before was towards the left, as I have been told. During our return from Ararat the weather was fine and sky clear. M. Parrot gave each of us a ducat for our trouble, but those who stayed behind received each a silver ruble. We were not on the very summit, and could not get there, because farther on there is no snow lying, but only ice; and besides, the steepness of the slope allows no farther progress. The extreme cold did not permit us to spend the night on the top of the mountain.’” “The deposition of Ovannes Aivassian is simply confirmatory of his comrade’s, and they are both signed in the same manner as that of Melik Stepan Aga.” Chapter 10: It is not easy to determine the limits of arborescent vegetation on Ararat, since the checks of climate are there not more powerful than the local hindrances of every kind, which prevent the increase of trees on the mountain. Tall walnut-trees, apricots, willows, and Italian poplars (these last, however, of diminished size) can still grow well at the height of 6000 feet above the sea, provided they find soil and moisture, as is seen at St. James’s. That birches, also, though no longer straight and tall, are yet not overpowered by the climate at the height of 7800 feet, is proved by the wood at the foot of Little Ararat. This observation also coincides in a remarkable manner with the limits of the birch on Caucasus, at 6700 feet above the sea… Chapter 11: While I was staying behind in the monastery with the Deacon Abovian and M. Hehn, I received from the former, for the first time, positive information respecting the name of our place of residence. In Echmiadzin, the little monastery on the declivity of Ararat was always named St. James; to my great astonishment, however, the old Archimandrite Karapet explained to me, a few days after our arrival, that it was called St. Gregory, and that St. James was the name of the little chapel, built about two thousand feet higher, upon the edge of the great glen, but at that time deserted—the same which I have described more circumstantially in my account of my first excursion to the summit, and near which are the holy wells, etc. Although it struck me as remarkable that there should be here a second monastery named after St. Gregory—for in the plain of the Araxes stands the great head monastery of St. Gregory, or Khorvirab, where the martyr suffered—yet I could not help supposing that the aged inhabitant of the monastery in question, an archimandrite of his rank, ought to know best how his benefice was named, and consequently, in some letters and papers which I wrote, describing the place of my abode, I called the monastery St. Gregory on Ararat. It was at the period already mentioned, towards the close of my residence there, that the deacon informed me that, in looking about for inscriptions in compliance with my wish, he had found in the interior of the little monastery chapel a stone in the wall with the following inscription in Armenian: “From the grace of God, I, Mekhitar, and my wife, Tamar, bequeath all our money to this monastery of St. James, and in return, the holy brethren promise, in memory of us and of our posterity, to make mention of us four times a year in the mass.” To this was added 737 for the year, in Armenian characters; for the Armenians, from the most ancient times, employed till very recently certain letters of their alphabet as ciphers. This date shows that the above-mentioned monument was executed in the year 737 of the Armenian era, which begins with one of the greater reforms of the Church, 551 years after the commencement of the Christian era, and consequently must be referred to the year A.D. 1288 It follows that in Echmiadzin they were correctly informed respecting the name of the monastery, and that our worthy old man, in the course of his meditations, had completely lost sight of the reality. The day before I intended following M. Fedorov in the plain of the Araxes, there arose all at once an unusual bustle in our quiet monastery. I found the archimandrite, his two servants, a few peasants from the neighbourhood, the deacon, and the two soldiers who remained behind with me, all collected together with anxiety and curiosity in their looks: nor was it long before I shared their feelings; for I saw five wolves descend as if they dropped down the steep slopes of Ararat, and fifty yards from the wall of the monastery drive off a calf from the small herd of cattle; but, as men pursued them with loud cries, they soon made an end of the affair by tearing up the carcass of the poor animal, and, leaving it in this condition for the rightful owner, they continued their course unmolested to the plain. On the 10th of October, in the forenoon, I set off from St. James’s, in company with the deacon and one Kossak, to make an excursion in the plain of the Araxes. Immediately behind Arghuri we turned to the right, that is, eastward, through numerous vineyards and plantations of apricots, among which were also some pshat or eleagnus trees, and soon after we left the domain of the volcanic ruins, which lie spread over the entire slope of Ararat, from the limits of perpetual snow to St. James’s, and below Arghuri. The soil now consisted of loamy earth mixed with small pebbles
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and gravel. In this soil the Arghuri rivulet has cut itself a deep bed, yet we found it at this time of the year quite dry, for even at St. James’s it had hardly water enough for our horses; and yet in spring it often swells to such a degree as to fill the water-way, six fathoms wide and three deep, completely. It then rolls down large masses of rock one over the other, and not unfrequently rushes on so suddenly, that animals which happen to be in the bed of the stream have no time to save themselves, and every year the old archimandrite loses some calves from his small herd this way. As soon as we reach the foot, properly so called, of Ararat, and arrive in the plain which is intersected by the stream already described, called the Karasu (Blackwater), we find on the ground, which is but scantily covered with vegetation, fragments of lava from Ararat, which are smaller, and of a more porous, lighter nature the lower down we go. The farther we advance into the plain, the finer does this gravel become, until at last it resembles coarse but exceedingly light sand. On the Blackwater, even, it is hard to find a single stone. This great uniformity in the distribution of the stony masses over the declivity of Ararat, in proportion to their size and weight, must have had a special ground. Above, in the vicinity of the snow-limits, the masses of the densest, hardest lava, from which the mineralogist’s hammer can with difficulty break off a piece, are nearly of the size of a house. Lower down the same kind of rock occurs in smaller pieces, six or eight feet in diameter; and at St. James’s these are intermingled with lavas of a lighter kind, and in fragments of less size. Below Arghuri there is only gravel to be found, of a light, pumice-like character, which passes through many gradations into mere sand. All this is not the work of accident. It has evidently been brought about by a mechanical force, acting according to determinate laws; and what was this force but the floods, which 4000 years ago were poured forth, when “the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under the whole heavens were covered;” and from earlier, “the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were opened…”
Colonel Khodzko assembled one of the largest and most organized expeditions of Ararat in history and spent five days on the summit of Ararat. Consider that this was accomplished in 1850, the scale of this expedition is very impressive. Chapter 2
1850 Russian Colonel J. Khodzko Colonel Khodzko’s goal on Mt. Ararat was to systematically study the mountain. This account comes from the article by D. Longuinoff, “Ascension de l’Ararat,” published in the Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie for 1851. Sixty persons combined their talents in this expedition, conceived on a vast plan with its object (in line with a desire specifically expressed by Abich) to establish a long-term operation on the peak of Ararat. In this way, it would be possible to carry out the most delicate techniques of modern scientific investigation—those depending on precision instruments. First and foremost, the idea was to complete the triangulation of Transcaucasia as soon as possible. This Herculean task, commenced six years ago by Colonel Khodzko, was thus brought to its successful termination by him. On the 29th of the month of July, we pitched camp on Greater Ararat, seven versts [4.67 miles] from Sardar Bulak and close to the snow line, which had receded to an unusual extent that year. After a last load of charcoal and rations had arrived, Colonel Khodzko scheduled departure for August 1. The day was heralded by magnificent weather, and we went right ahead with the packing of the scientific instruments. Personal baggage was put on horseback and we broke camp at 6 A.M… At the head of the column marched an Armenian named Simon who had served as Abich’s guide in 1845; he carried a black Cross about a sagene in length (2.1 meters) which he determined to plant on the summit of Ararat… At 6 A.M. on the 2d of August, the detachment resumed its climb. The difficulties of the terrain multiplied, however. We surmounted the rocky ridge, which skirts the left side of the ravine and proceeded little by little to the higher altitudes. The sky, which had been rather clear early in the morning, became heavily clouded; toward noon, a west wind came up, driving swirls of icy snow and hail before it. This change in the weather obliged Colonel Khodzko to remove everything from the sleds except for the instruments. The Cossacks, with their chief as their example, then proceeded to function as bearers; and they resumed their arduous task not with a lowering of morale, but the intrepid, energetic, devil-may-care attitude so characteristic of the Russian soldier. Here we took a short break, hoping that the weather conditions would improve. In vain! At 2:30 P.M., the window increased in violence and, to add to the difficulties, a dense fog swallowed up the peak. The expedition therefore resolved to push ahead so as to gain the protection of the rocks of the escarpment before the storm broke. We climbed the slope halfway, but there was no chance of going farther that same day… We resigned ourselves to this awkward position until the morrow. The fury of the wind never ceased. Occasionally it would rend the thick mantel of clouds which encircled the entire mountain at that level. Then in the pale moonlight would suddenly be revealed either a corner of the Araxes valley or the contours of Lesser Ararat, whose peak was already beneath us—or we would see the gloomy precipices surrounding our inhospitable refuge, which lay at an altitude considerably higher than that of Mt. Blanc. To complete the misery, about 10 P.M. a violent electric storm arose. By the brilliance of the lightning and the force of the thunder, the expedition soon became convinced that it was at the very center of the electric discharges. At each explosion, the electricity did not zigzag across the sky in the usual manner, but instantaneously filled the place where we were with a blinding flash and green, red, and white side effects. The thunderclaps following the lightning with no appreciable interval; their drum-like rolls were distinctly repeated over and over by echoes from the innumerable gorges of the mountain. Toward midnight, the storm died down, but the snow continued to fall in thick flakes; those of us who did not move were covered to a depth of three or four inches. Finally, dawn broke, but it did not exactly come up to our expectations. True, the peaks were no longer enveloped by clouds, but, to compensate, the slopes of Lesser Ararat and the entire area within view below us had disappeared under an impenetrable mantle of cloud, which, from our vantage point, resembled an undulating, ice sea… The company’s situation had become so impossible that we resolved to continue the ascent, in the hope of finding, above the rocks, the level space or plateau-like area which we knew to be contiguous to the summit. At 4 A.M., the expedition started off again. However, we reached the plateau only after climbing over still a third ridge of rock. The plain was on at least a fifty-degree incline, and it is strewn rather heavily with pyrites, which give off an intolerable smell of sulphur… On reaching the middle of the plateau, the company was forced to halt some two hundred paces short of the peak: exhaustion and the wind absolutely forbade another step. Incredible effort resulted in the pitching of two tents on ground less steeply angled than the average, but even this incline was thirty to forty degrees. The detachment retained
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this post for three nights and two days (August 3-5), and during that time the wind, accompanied by snow, hail, and ice, kept up almost without interruption… Colonel Khodzko determined to use the morning for the exploration of the peak areas, as well as for the discovery of an advantageous location for the scientific instruments and for the high camp itself. At 8:45, he started out with the Cossacks, and a quarter of an hour later he reached the upper-level plain… Three peaks dominated. On two of them, we saw pyramidal formations, made of rocky debris and surmounted with testimonies to the Faith. These had been put up by some soldiers who, a month before, had voluntarily climbed Ararat under the leadership of one Tchougounkoff, and who had reached this solitary place on July the 12th. We rapidly climbed the closest of these summits, and then proceeded to the second (the eastern summit, which is some thirty feet lower than the western peak climbed by Parrot in 1829), which Abich had conquered in 1845. But great was our surprise when, on reaching the top of that peak, we saw before us yet a third summit, incomparablably higher than the other two and separated by a wide gully. The steep projections of that gully, which dropped off perpendicularly to a depth of about a sagene and a half [ten and a half feet], made it hard to cross. Nonetheless, we conquered the obstacle with the aid of the soldiers and, at 10 o’clock in the morning (it was the Feast of the Transfiguration), Messrs. Khodzko, Khanykoff and their compatriots stood on the highest peak of Greater Ararat. Previously, only Parrot and Spasski had succeeded in doing this, and they had come up by the opposite slope [Kohdzko apparently was not aware of Abich’s accent and potentially a few others]. First and foremost, we set about to erect the Cross. When our guide Simon had been otherwise occupied and— characteristically—at the places where the climb had been most treacherous, the Cross had been put in the safekeeping of Cossack Dokhnoff. When he reached the spot, that man fell on his knees, prostrated himself three times before the sign of our Redemption, and forthwith went to work to plant it in the ground. Then we, his helpers, gathered around this Christian symbol, which had just been placed on the summit of the biblical mount, and concluded the ceremony with a fervent prayer… Before his final departure from the summit area, Colonel Khodzko had his men build a snow pyramid a sagene in height [Russian measure of length equal to about seven English feet] where his camp had been, and on it the Cross was raised with a bronze plaque affixed. The inscription read: IN THE YEAR 1850 FROM THE 6TH TO THE 18TH OF AUGUST UNDER THE PROPITIOUS REIGN OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS I AND THE CAUCASIAN LIEUTENANCY OF PRINCE WORONTSOFF THE ASCENT OF GREATER ARARAT WAS ACHIEVED BY COLONEL KHODZKO, WHO DIRECTED THE TRIANGULATION, N. KHANYKOFF, J. ALEXANDROFF, A. MORITZ, J. SCHAROYAN AND SIXTY SOLDIERS.
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British Major Robert Stuart led an expedition of four other English climbers that successfully reached the summit of Mount Ararat and created a sensation with the Kurds in 1856. Chapter 3
1856 British Major Robert Stuart Despite his mistakes in depreciating Parrot’s and Abich’s ascents, Major Robert Stuart provided an excellent account of his party’s conquest of Ararat. Stuart’s report from his private journal was originally published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographic Society “Additional Notices” (1876-1877, pp. 77-92). The sun rose in all his glory at Bayazid on the 11th July 1856. There was not a cloud in the sky to intercept his rays, and, with the exception of an occasional breeze that swept lightly down from the mountains, the atmosphere was calm and still. So far as could be prognosticated in these regions of fierce and sudden changes, the weather was set in fair. As the Expedition of which we are about to write was novel in its object, and not without importance in its results, it is but fair towards the gentlemen who were engaged in it to give to their names an early and prominent place in the narrative. The gentlemen were as follows: The Rev. Walter Thursby, Major Fraser, Mr. James Theobald, Mr. Evans, 9th Lancers, and the writer, Major Robert Stuart. Majors Fraser and Stuart and Mr. Evans formed part of a British Staff that, during the war, had been attached to the army of Anatolia. Messrs. Thursby and Theobald were traveling in those parts for their own amusement. It would be too much to aver that the above names will live in the future traditions of the country round Ararat, for English names are distorted into curious shapes by Oriental lips; but in some form or other they will long be rememebered in the plains and villages of those parts, from their associations with the sacred heights of Aghri-dagh. Our courtege consisted of Iss-hak Bey, Chief of the Ararat Kurds, to whose special care we had been committed by the Kaimakam of Bayazid, Hadgï Mustafa Effendi, a zaptieh, or native policeman, who, in addition to other functions, acted as interpreter between our party and the Kurds. Our droagoman, a Smyrniote, who figured in the remains of an expensive British Staff uniform and a suridji [aid] to take charge of the horses. The snow-clad cone stood out in distinct relief against the morning-sky, cold, grand, and forbidding. By some perspective illusion, the lesser peak, though 4000 feet lower, and some miles more distant, seemed the higher of the two. This can be explained by the principles of optics; but we fear in a manner that would not interest many of our readers. One useful lesson, however, may be learned from this fact: namely, that travelers should be careful in trusting to first impressions, seeing that the senses are apt to be misled when first brought into contact with unaccustomed objects. We now struck off in a northeasterly direction across the plain. One hour from Bayazid we came to the Shekheli, a deep narrow stream as clear as crystal, that, collecting the watershed of the adjacent mountains, winds round the base of Ararat and unites with the River Araxes. We traversed this stream by means of a handsome onearched bridge of Genoese construction, much impaired, like all its kindred works of the elements. The parapets have been swept away, the foundations show signs of weakness, and the traveler of next year will perhaps find it gone. The plain of Bayazid, unlike those of Alishkurd, Passine, and Erzeroum [Erzurum] is, for the most part, barren and repulsive, yielding nothing but a sparse, lank grass, insufficient for pasture. The soil is everywhere stony and the stone volcanic. After crossing the Shekheli we observed much that would interest the naturalist: small lizards of a brown colour were in some places so numerous that they started aside in scores from every footfall of our horses, while at the same time swarms of large red-winged beetles buzzed pertinanciously around us, and every now and then we crossed the shiny trail of snakes; gray partridges abound on the stony ground at the foot of the mountains, crows and swifts are seen in scanty numbers, and further on some indications of man appear in the few wretched villages which, without inhabitants in summer, form the retreat of the Ararat Kurds when the approach of winter drives them from the heights. Here the plain assumes a more genial aspect, extensive meadows and cornfields meet the view, and beyond these was a forest of tall reeds where, according to the zaptieh, wild swine make their lairs, while bears and wolves are to be found in the neighbouring heights. Thus far we kept to the plain, skirting the base of the mountain and following the salient and reentering angles of its shoots. But at length, after doubling a surging projection composed of broken masses of basalt, we struck to the left and commenced the ascent through a broad opening enclosed between vast ridges of volcanic formation. For the first hour after quitting the plain, the ascent was, with a few rough exceptions, easy and gradual. Our path followed the windings of a noisy stream, which irrigates at intervals in its course patches of fertile land, yielding at this season wheat, or barley, or hay. On one of these plateaus, which spread out to some acres, a halt was unanimously agreed upon. Offsaddling and knee-haltering our horses, we gave them the range of the pasture, where they enjoyed their brief respite from toil, rolling, grazing, and fighting by turns.
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We were soon reseated in our saddles, and now our way constantly increased in difficulty, becoming at every step more rocky and acclivitious. Our trusty little horses were, however, perfectly at home at this work; with the agility and circumspection of a cat, they carried us safely and jauntily over ground that would try the nerves of any one not accustomed to the horsemanship of Armenia. After an hour or so of this tedious work we reached what might be designated the shoulder of the mountain. Here the ground became easier, the plateaus more frequent and extensive, and sheltered spots presented themselves suitable to the abode of man. The climate too was gradually changing for the better: instead of the hot air of the plain we were now inhaling a light breezy atmosphere, tempered with an occasional dash of cold, as every now and then a gust of wind fresh from the upper snows swept down upon us. With the advance of day a mantle of rolling clouds had gathered round the cone; near at hand, however, there was enough for present interest. We were now about 5000 feet above the plain, and as we were slowly working our upward way we came upon the first encampment of the Ararat Kurds. It was situated in a sheltered hollow where there was good water and green pasture in abundance; the black tents of Kedar harmonized well with the character of the surrounding scenery, while the dwellers therein, with their swart faces, piercing eyes and outlandish dresses, gave the finish of life to the whole. Our unexpected arrival and strange appearance created an immense sensation amongst these wild people. They turned out in crowds to see us, but hospitality was their first thought; wooden bowls of “Iran,” or sour milk diluted with water, were brought forward in quick succession, and not until we were sufficiently regaled did they give way to their curiosity: then old men and maidens, haggard gypsy-like women and young children, all gathered round to survey strangers from Frankestan; even their dogs, which, by the way, are famed for strength and ferocity, manifested their excitement by a sustained chorus of angry barking. Pushing on thence, we passed these detached encampments at frequent intervals; and at 3 p.m. we reached the quarters of the chief himself, at an elevation of about 6000 feet above the plain. These Kurds, as has been already stated, change their place of abode with the seasons. In the month of May, when the winter is well past, and spring vegetation has made some progress, they move with their penates, families, and all they possess, to the heights, returning to the plain towards the end of September, when frequent atmospheric commotions announce the dangers of a prolonged stay at such an elevation. Their villages in the plain, which are thus deserted for several months in the year, are of the most primitive description, being nothing more than mud contrivances; in which the inmates, sheltered from cold, pass a long hibernations, in company with their horses, sheep, and cattle, besides vermin of different sorts in visible swarms. Rising with the first streak of dawn, the “fingan” of hot coffee was soon got ready and circled round. Every man charged himself with a small supply of provisions and a coil of strong jack-line in addition to his trusty pole with an iron spike at one end and a hook at the other. We had also among us a race-glass, a small hatchet, and a leather bottle of rum. Thus equipped we started off in full confidence of success, being accompanied by Iss-hak Bey and the zaptieh on horseback, and two or three men on foot. There was, however, one drawback to the anticipated pleasure of the day, namely the illness of the Rev. Mr. Thursby, by which we were deprived of his company. This illness, which happily was not of a serious nature, had come on during the night, and, as he required nothing but repose, we though we might safely entrust him to the care of our Kurdish friends. For the first hour or so our progress was comparatively easy, the ground differing but little from that which we had traversed on the preceding day—the same green plateaus, well-watered and in some places sheltered by huge ramparts of volcanic rock. At an hour’s distance from the Bey’s quarters, we came upon the most elevated of the detached encampments. It numbered seven tents, and was situated upon an extensive well-watered plateau, about 6000 feet above the level of the plain. Beyond this the aspect of nature became at every step more sterile, wild, and forbidding. The radiating ridges of basalt increased in height, became more rugged and impracticable. A track, known only to the mountaineers, enabled us, however, to make tolerable progress. After two hours we were obliged to relinquish our horses; for it was now a scramble up and down precipices, and over masses of broken rock, where only men or mountain-goats could find footing. It was pleasent to see every now and then, amid all this desolation, a patch of green peep out from beneath some sheltered nook, on which was to be found in abundance forget-me-nots, double daisies, gentianella, and primulas, all growing in unromantic fraternity with wild shallots. After three hours of stiff work, we arrived at the foot of the cone, which, owing to the continued fineness of the weather, we were enabled to see to the very summit; and it was no ordinary sight. We stood in the immediate presence of the vast cone-shaped mountain, 6000 feet high, covered with eternal snow to the very base! Arrived at the foot of the cone, our Kurdish friends declined proceeding any further, and we held a consultation as to the best mode of ascending. Independence of thought and action is the well-known characteristic of Englishmen. This spirit, we need scarcely say, manifested itself in our council. The end of it was that three decided upon trying the ascent on that part of the mountain that lay just in front of us, keeping as much as possible to the snow, while the fourth, Major Fraser, chose a line for himself, bearing away to the right, in the intention of availing himself as much as possible to those parts from which the snow had disappeared. His reasons were good. He had had much experience in rough mountain work in South Africa, where snow is unknown, and he did not deem it prudent on the present occasion to essay an element that he had not proved; whereas of the others, two were experienced Alpine travelers, accustomed to glaciers and eternal snows. For the present, leaving Major Fraser to himself, let us follow the movements of the others, The line of ascent being determined on, the grand work of the day began in real earnest. It was now six o’clock, and we had already been
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three hours on foot, working upwards against difficulties of no ordinary character; but as yet no one dreamt of fatigue; on the contrary, it appeared as if these three hours had been but a preparative for the day’s work. A bit of unleavened bread, and an occasional mouthful of snow, served to sustain the strength and to ward off hunger, without loading the stomach or touching the mind—the two great evils to be avoided on occasions of great bodily exertion. For some time we held pretty well together, making on the whole satisfactory progress. But, after the first 1000 feet put differences in our climbing powers, the snow, with which previous experience had familiarized Theobald and Evans, sorely taxed the unaccustomed limbs of Major Stuart, who accordingly turned aside to a projecting ridge of broken basalt, which extended far up towards the summit. To one standing at the foot of the cone this ridge would present the appearance of a paved road, but it consisted in reality of huge masses of basalt, thrown together by volcanic force in making way over which the utmost agility and circumspection were required to guard against the chances of broken limbs. At this time Theobald was some hundred yards in advance. Evans and Stuart had so far held pretty well together, but the latter now giving in, the former followed, with gradually increasing interval, on the traces of Theobald. On, on they went, higher and higher; now lost to sight in a fleecy cloud, now re-appearing, but diminished to little moving specks on the upper snows. The higher they ascended the greater the difficulties they had to contend with. As the air become more rarefied, the action of the lungs was quickened, and every effort told more sensibly upon the strength. At the same time the angle of the slope continued to increase, while the footing became more difficult, because the upper part of the mountain is perpetually coated with an encrustation of ice, lightly sprinkled over with snow. For, during the summer months, the heat of the sun is sufficiently powerful to melt the snow in those elevated regions whenever the absence of clouds and mists permits his rays to have their full force; but let them be intercepted but for a moment, and their effects are counteracted by the normal temperature of the atmosphere, which at all seasons is below freezing point; over the icy crust thus formed the snow, swept from the neighbouring drifts by the never-ceasing wind, collects in a thin layer as fine and as dry as powder, deep enough in some places to conceal what is beneath, but not to afford a firm foothold. The utmost circumspection is consequently required at each step in climbing this part of the mountain; and the spiked staff will be found of invaluable service, as well in sounding the surface as in aiding the precarious effort of the feet. Theobald and Evans, as has been already noticed, were experienced Alpine climbers, and being strong of limb and sound of mind, they held successfully on their upward course, without check, slip, or drawback, until at 2 o’clock p.m. the former crowned the final difficulty, and found himself on the summit of Mount Ararat. He was followed at an interval of about an hour by Evans, who, though less active, had equal perseverance. Leaving them for a while to their own musings on this solemn height, let us now return to the Major Stuart, whom we left, some three or four hours back, in an exhausted state 4000 feet lower down. A feverish cold, from which he had been suffering for some days previously, had much impaired his strength, and thrown him out of that condition necessary to the performance of a severe or protracted physical effort. He did not feel this at starting; the excitement of the occasion, the first flush of returning health, and the bracing effects of mountain air, had inspired him with a premature confidence in his own strength. As we have seen, he got on very fairly for a time, holding his own with the others; but the undertaking was beyond his force, and he was obliged to give in after ascending about 2000 feet of the cone. Sitting down under the shelter of one of those masses of basalt over which he had been climbing, a drowsy feeling came over him, and he was soon fast asleep. In about an hour he awoke somewhat refreshed, and, on looking around, he found himself the object of attentive consideration to a number of ibises grouped on a rock close by, from whence they could carry on their survey in safety. Curiosity and astonishment had imparted increased luster to their beautiful eyes as they examined with earnest gaze this strange intruder on their domains. On perceiving him move they bounded away, springing with light unerring foot from point to point over the rocks, and soon were lost to view. What had let them up so far it would be hard to say, for at the level of 13,000 feet above the sea there is no vegetation except some scanty lichen, which could not serve for food to these animals. Some small birds were also seen on the wing at this height, but of what species there was not sufficient opportunity of judging. Above this all was solitude, silence, and snow. Major Stuart, finding himself unable to proceed higher, now addressed himself to the task of descending. To accomplish this step-by-step would have been too laborious; he therefore resolved to try what could be done by a glissade. The angle of the mountain-slope with the horizon was in this place about 35º. Taking his seat then on the snow, he looked well to his balance, steadied himself with his staff, and, giving way, off he went like an arrow shot from a bow, and in the course of a few minutes he found himself once more safe and sound at the foot of the cone. Iss-hak Bey, who, from a convenient position, was keeping close watch on every movement of our party, sent forward one of his men to meet the unsuccessful climber, received him with every demonstration of respect when he joined him, gave him his pipe and bade him welcome. “The English Bey is, no doubt, very brave and very enterprising,” said he, “but he has attempted what is beyond the strength of man, and what, according to the traditions of my race, is contrary to the will of Allah. You were wise not to ascend any higher, and my heart is throbbing for the two other noble Beys who are this moment hidden from view far up among the driving mists, Allah Rerem (God is good).” “Fear not, great chief,” replied the Major, “they are younger and more active men than I am, and, Inshullah, they will succeed.” “Bakalum” (we’ll see), was the only rejoinder; and the Major, returning to the chief his pipe, lay down on a green spot, and fell into a profound sleep, more grateful than Sybarite ever knew on a bed of roses. From this almost comatose state he was suddenly recalled to waking existence by the exclamations of Iss-hak Bey and his attendants. Theobald had just
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gained the summit of the mountain; at that moment there was not a cloud to intercept the view, and, notwithstanding the great height and distance, the Kurds were able with the naked eye to follow all his movements. “Mashallah!” cried the chief, “God is great, and you English are wonderful people! We have always thought, and our fathers before us thought, that God had made that holy mountain inaccessible to man; many have tried to ascend it but no one has ever succeeded until you come, and without any preparation walk straight up from the base to the top. Allah be praised! We have heard strange things of you, but now we see them with our own eyes.” All this time the Kurds were straining in their keen, dark surprise, uttered in their native tongue, followed in quick succession as they watched the movements of the two climbers. The power of vision possessed by this people is truly astonishing; almost equaling that which Europeans attain by the means of telescopes. It can only be accounted for by the constant activity imposed upon the organ by their social habits, to which perhaps may be added their simple diet and the purity of the atmosphere in which they live. As has been already mentioned, Mr. Theobald was the first to reach the summit; it was about two o’clock when he gained the hightest point, where, after somewhat less than an hour, he was joined by Mr. Evans. After making a few observations as to the shape and extent of the top, they commenced together the work of descending, and, keeping closely to their tracks of the morning, they got back in safety to the tents at 6:30 p.m. We must now follow the movements of Major Fraser, who, it will be remembered, chose a line of his own. Diverging from the point where the others commenced the ascent, he skirted the base of the cone until he found what appeared a more practicable slope on the south-eastern side. The plane from this point to the summit was apparently even and unbroken, and presenting an uninterrupted surface of snow, it seemed to promise easier work for the feet and in general greater facilities of ascent: therefore, notwithstanding the want of previous experience in snow-climbing, he determined on this line. As long as the snow was soft he found the work easy enough; step-by-step for hours he industriously kept a direct course, and had got within 1000 feet or so of the summit when he began to experience the difficulty of footing arising from the icy incrustation already described. In attempting to strike across to what appeared an easier line, he slipped in stepping on a sheet of ice lightly covered with snow, and, losing all control over himself, downwards he went with a rapidity, which promised to bring him quickly to the point from which he started in the morning. Utterly unable to arrest his downward course, all he could do was to keep himself well on his back, body rigid, and legs stuck out. Natural instinct suggested these precautions; without which he might have spun round like a trencher, been deprived of consciousness and lost. As it was he came off unhurt. After a glissade of 1000 or 1200 feet, the snow, becoming deeper and softer, collected in such quantitities between his legs as gradually to retard his speed, and at length it brought him to a stop. But now what was to be done? The loss of so much time, distance, and labour in an undertaking of this kind was certainly most serious, but failure from a cause of such trifling sound as a mere slip of the foot would have been worse than mortifying, it would have been ridiculous by his easy ride over the snow; so readjusting his nerves, and bracing up his energies for a renewed effort, he made his way with some difficulty across the snow to a ridge of basalt that, commencing near the summit, extended downwards about 2000 feet. This ridge consisted of masses of basalt, and over its crest Major Fraser now sought to make his upward way. Such resolution deserved its reward; by dint of great labour and perseverance he succeeded in gaining the summit at about 3:30, having exchanged signals with Theobald and Evans, who had by this time accomplished some hundred feet of the descent. After reaching the highest point, he kept to their tracks in descending, and got back to the tents at midnight. His return was hailed with great satisfaction by the rest of the party, who, as night wore on, had become more and more anxious for his safety; for it is easy to conceive how great are the dangers to which one would be exposed at night on those rugged heights with no light but the delusive glare of the snow and no shelter in the event of one of those sudden storms which often burst with terrific violence in elevated mountain regions. When the fierce barking of the watch-dogs recalled us to consciousness, and before we could well collect our scattered thoughts, the Major entered the tent accompanied by a guide, whome he had procured at the upper encampment. A light was instantly struck, refreshment ordered, and while these were forthcoming we listened with breathless interest to the narrative of his day’s adventures. Major Fraser wrote a letter on July 27, 1856 that included the following: I had a most narrow escape of losing my life. I had proceeded to Persia, partly on duty, partly for pleasure, being near Mount Ararat, determined to try and ascend the great peak… When within a few hundred feet of the summit… I suddenly slipped, and was shot downwards with the speed of lightning upwards of 1,000 feet; but instead of being dashed to pieces on the rocks at the foot of the glacier, some 4,000 feet below, I was stopped by the sprinkling of snow lying on the surface of the ice being pushed before me, which at length formed a sufficient heap to arrest my further progress. I need not say that I became insensible from the rapidity with which I shot over the surface of the ice, as my breath was quite stopped, being at an elevation of about 17,000 feet at the moement. But I had presence of mind enough to retain possession of my ice-staff as I fell, by the aid of which, after three hours’ anxious and most fatiguing labour, I at length got off the surface of the glacier without further accident. I, however, had both hands frostbitten to the
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second joints of the fingers, but they recovered, though I cannot yet feel them. It does not, however, prevent my using them, as you see… I felt thankful for my miraculous escape from death, though I said little to my companions. I ascended the mountain quite alone, and in a different direction from my companions, which much increased my danger, as had I lain there all night, the cold would have killed me. I fell asleep thrice on the summit alone from the intense cold, and got back to the tents of the Koords, with whome we were staying, at midnight, having been twenty hours on foot, and quite alone. The Bey and some of his chief men were not long in making their appearance. They had altogether relinquished the hope of seeing the Major again, looking upon him as the victim which must needs have been sacrificed for what they considered an enterprise of temerity and folly; but when they saw him back amongst them, unscathed in life or limb, they indeed then began to feel the force of what we asserted, that many things forbidden to the Kurds are allowed to the English. Rev. W. Thursby and Major Stuart set out early in the afternoon of the 13th July, having decided upon devoting two days to the work. On the first, to ascend as far as might be deemed safe before sunset; then sheltering themselves as well as they could for the night, to finish the task on the following morning. Two young Kurds accompanied them from the tents, carrying their rugs and sheepskin cloaks, together with a small supply of provisions, consisting of unleavened bread, cold mutton, a small flask of brandy, and another of tea. Major Stuart and his friend proceeded slowly and cautiously, husbanding their force with the utmost care, and looking well to their footing at every step. By this means they reached the foot of the cone with strength still unimpaired. They then turned off the south and began the ascent on a part of the south-eastern flank, which the combined action of sun and wind denuded in summer time of snow. By 2000 feet above the base of the cone, and here their Kurdish attendants came to a stop and refused to proceed any further, alleging in justification ancestral traditions and the fear of treading on hallowed ground. The attempt to combat such arguments would have been a simple waste of time and words. They were dismissed in the most gracious manner possible; but to ensure their return in the morning for the rugs and coats, it was deemed as a reason the danger of wild beasts or robbers. There was some difficulty about this, for the Kurd does not feel to be himself without his beloved weapons. About 700 yards to their left, and nearly on the same level with them, lay a field of glaciers, the only ones to be seen on the southern slopes of the mountain. Their halting-place was on a mass of limestone-boulders that varied in size from one to five feet in diameter. The sight, traveling far over the mountains and plains of Georgia, Azerbigjan and Kurdistan, was fairly lost in space and found its limit only in the dim amalgamation of earth and sky. There are many who believe that the Aghri Dagh of Armenia is identical with the Mount Ararat of Holy Writ—others again affirm, and not without strong reasons, that on the subsidence of the Flood the Ark rested on Ghibil Indi, a mountain of Kurdistan. Without pretending to weigh the merits of these conflicting opinions we may observe that the popular belief throughout Central Asia is favourable to the fomer. The Kurdish tribes who dwell on the slopes and at the base of the Aghri Dagh, and whose forefathers have been there since the earliest dawn of history, the native Christians of Georgia and Armenia—all indeed who preserve the traditions of the land—are familiar with the story of the Deluge. Their account of that great event varies but slightly from that which has been transmitted to us by Moses, and they hold it as part of their faith that Noah’s Ark rested on Aghri Dagh, that the hull still remains on the summit deeply buried out of sight, and investing with a sacred character the place thus chosen to be, as it were, the second cradle of the human race, they believe that to scale the mountain is not only impossible, but that any attempt of the kind would be followed with the immediate displeasure of Heaven.” Iss-hak Bey remembered every traveller within the last fifty years. He remembered all about Parrot’s attempt in 1829. Parrot tried on the north side and Abich in 1845… The summits in the form of a scalene triangle, the base, which is on the eastern side, lying nearly due north and south, being about 100 yeards [yards], in length, the perpendicular about 300 yeards. The apex of the triangle is the highest point of the mountain; separated from it by a dip, 70 yards wide and 25 deep, is another point which attains very nearly the same height. The area of the triangle is level, or rather slightly concave, suggesting the idea of an extinct crater. Such is the summit of Mount Ararat according to the concurrent observations of our party. Hundreds of Kurds were eye-witnesses of our ascent. These same Kurds confidently assert the failure of the travelers whose names we have quoted. In walking on the summit of Mount Ararat one sinks about midway to the knee in the snow, which is so fine and dry, that it does not adhere to or wet the boots; but it rises like dust to the wind, blinding the eyes and penetrating the clothes and pockets. The rocks on the sides of the mountain consist chiefly of trachyte porphyry, and the effects of strong volcanic action may be seen wheresover the natural surface is exposed. There are two extinct craters on the eastern side of the mountain, just above the saddle, which connects it with Lesser Ararat. Most healthy men possess a reserve of strength that will carry them through a heavy day’s work without food. The stomach, especially in the case of persons accustomed to regular and generous diet, may rebel against this; but after the first few murmurings, it will settle down into a sullen acquiescence. Quietly and steadly Major Stuart and Mr. Thursby moved upwards. Hour after hour this laborious work continued, but thanks to the system they had adopted, without producing fatigue, or sensibly taxing their strength. They were marvelously aided, too, by their iron-tipped staves. On a rocky spot, about 1200 feet from the summit, and under the western lee of a high mural ridge, is a cross, which records the expedition of Professor Abich in 1845. It is made of oak, the upright being 7 feet above ground, the
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transverse bar 3 feet in length, and it is firmly wedged in between two large masses of rock that lie close to each other. From the action of the weather the surface of the wood has become so soft that it may be scraped off with the nail of the finger to the depth of one-eight of an inch. On a brass plate 6 inches by 4, screwed on at the inter-section of the bars, is engrarved in Russian the professor’s name, and date of his ascent. Several mutton-bones, partially decomposed, lie about at the foot of the cross, and a kama or short Turkish sword, which was in very fair preservation, the blade, though without a scabbard, having suffered but little rust. Major Stuart took possession of this kama, and should any future future traveler reach the summit of Mount Ararat he may, perhaps, find it on the highest point, where the Major stuck it arm-deep into the snow. With respect to the cross, it may be asked why Abich planted it so far down from the summit, if, as he asserts, he and his party reached the highest point? It would have been easy to have found as secure a position anywhere up to 1000 feet higher. About 9 o’clock a.m. our friends had the satisfaction of gaining the highest point of the mountain, and with hearts brimful of loyalty, and somewhat elated by the occasion, they drank their Sovereign’s health, as the fittest mode of giving expression to their feelings [Parrot, Abich, and Khodzko had considered the planting of a Cross more fitting]. Early on the morning of the 16th preparations were commenced for the return to Bayazid. A breakfast in the highest style of Kurdish cooking was got ready betimes; milk, new and clotted, mutton, roast and boiled, and fresh chupaties in abundance, all hot and smoking from the embers; then came coffee and pipes, after which the zaptieh announced that all was in readiness. The Vaali honored them with a reception and added that it would be his duty to make a special report on the subject without delay to his Government. Be that as it may, it is now registered among the State archives at Constantinople that in August, 1856, five English gentlemen succeeded in reaching the highest point of Mount Ararat. Stuart authored an article in the London Times (08/22/1856, Page 11, Col A) that stated, “The summit itself is nearly level, of a triangular shape, the base being about 200 yards in length, the perpendicular about 300 yards. The highest point is at the apex of the triangle, which points nearly due west; separated from it by a hollow is another point of nearly equal altitude, and the base of the triangle is an elevated ridge, forming a third eminence. The three points stand out in distance relief on a clear day... The impression left on my mind is, that the summit is an extinct crater filled with snow.” Major Robert Stuart also spoke in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society (“Additional Notices”, Vol. 21, 1876-1877, Page 88), “The summit, as seen by them, is in the form of a scalene triangle, the base, which is on the eastern side, lying nearly due north and south, being about 100 yards in length, the perpendicular about 300 yards. The base forms a ridge with an elevation of 15 yards at the southern extremity, subsiding gradually towards the north where it merges with the level of the summit. The apex of the triangle is the highest point of the mountain; separated from it by a dip, 70 yards wide by 25 yards deep, is another point which attains very nearly the same height. The area of the triangle is level, or rather slightly concave, suggesting the idea of an extinct crater. Such is the summit of Mount Ararat according to the concurrent observations of our party.” John Evans stated similar findings in the May, 1877 edition of Alpine Journal (“Early Ascents of Ararat”, Vol. 8, Page 220), “The cold was very intense at the summit, which consists of three peaks with rounded tops, with an apparent crater in the middle, big enough to hide a dozen Arks.”
British Viscount James Bryce (1838–1922), law professor at Oxford and historian, summited Mount Ararat in 1876. His writing about the expedition is fascinating because he ties together so many different histories and cultures in a way that only a nineteenth century historian and writer could, allowing the reader to actually envision each part of the story in their mind even though they may be 10,000 miles away from the mountain. After his education at the University of Glasgow and at Trinity College in Oxford, he practiced law in London for a short time before becoming Professor of Civil Law at Oxford University (1870-1893). Along with Lord Acton, James Bryce founded the English Historical Review (1885). He wrote significant works in several fields; the first of these was his classic read, History of the Holy Roman Empire (1864). Bryce’s account of his ascent up Ararat was entitled Transcaucasia and Ararat and he wrote another article for the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society in London titled "The Ascent of Mount Ararat in 1876." Bryce’s treatise and study on the U.S. Constitution, The American Commonwealth (1888 and 3 volumes in size), remains a classic study and is still used by many diplomats, lawyers and historians today. He became a leader of Great Britain’s Liberal party, occupying a variety of posts, including the presidency of the Board of Trade and the chief secretaryship of Ireland. From 1880 to 1907 he was a Liberal member of the House of Commons, serving as undersecretary of state for foreign affairs (1886), chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster (1892), and president of the Board of Trade (1894-95). During those two years he also presided over what came to be called the Bryce Commission, which recommended the establishment of a ministry for education. Bryce was ambassador to the United States from 1907 to 1913; he was one of the most popular British ambassadors to ever be in Washington, since his knowledge of Americans, as revealed in his writings, was profound. His other major works are Studies in History and Jurisprudence (1901) and Modern Democracies (1921). On Jan. 1, 1914, Bryce was created a viscount. In the same year he became a member of the International Court of Justice, The Hague. Later, during World War I, he headed a committee that judged Germany guilty of atrocities in Belgium and France. Subsequently, he advocated the establishment of the League of Nations. Chapter 4
1876 British Viscount & Ambassador James Bryce In the late 1870s, Viscount James Bryce conducted extensive field and library research and became thoroughly convinced of the historical accuracy of the Bible set against the prevailing winds of atheism. Persuaded that the Ark might still have survived on Mount Ararat, he set out to see if anything was visible. Bryce was the first person in modern times who claimed to find wood higher around the 13,900-foot mark. He stated: Mounting steadily along the same ridge, I saw at a height of over 13,000 feet, lying on the loose rocks, a piece of wood about four feet long and five inches thick, evidently cut by some tool, and so far above the limit of trees that it could by no possibility be a natural fragment of one…I am, however, bound to admit that another explanation of the presence of this piece of timber…did occur to me. But as no man is bound to discredit his own relic,…I will not disturb my readers' minds, or yield to the rationalizing tendencies of the age by suggesting it.
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It should be noted that Dr. Parrot (1829 on the summit), German Dr. Herman Abich (1845 on Western Slope) and Russian Colonel Khodzko (1850 on the summit) planted wooden crosses on the mountain earlier. Parrot's largest piece of wood was five feet long and two inches wide. Khodzko's cross of seven feet could have fallen or been moved down to lower elevations where Bryce found it. James Bryce (1838-1922), a well-respected professor of law at Oxford, was born in Belfast, Ireland. James Bryce, also a historian and statesman, was named Viscount and British Ambassador to the United States of America (19071913). He became a leader of the Liberal party, held several government posts, and was a popular ambassador to the United States. His treatise and study on the U.S. Constitution, The American Commonwealth (1888), remains a classic and is still used. At Trinity College, Oxford (B.A., 1862; doctor of civil law, 1870), Bryce wrote a prize essay that was published in book form as The Holy Roman Empire (1864). In 1867 he was called to the bar, and from 1870 to 1893 he served as regius professor of civil law at Oxford, where, with Lord Acton, he founded the English Historical Review (1885). From 1880 to 1907 he was a Liberal member of the House of Commons, serving as undersecretary of state for foreign affairs (1886), chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster (1892), and president of the Board of Trade (1894-95). During those two years he also presided over what came to be called the Bryce Commission, which recommended the establishment of a ministry for education. At about this time he began to attack the expansionist British policy that led to the South African War (1899-1902). Thus, when Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who had also opposed the war, became prime minister in December 1905, he appointed Bryce chief secretary for Ireland. Bryce, who had made the first of his several visits to the U.S. in 1870, was sent as ambassador to Washington, D.C., in February 1907. He already had made many friends in American political, educational, and literary circles and had become widely popular in the United States for The American Commonwealth, 3 vol. (1888), in which he expressed admiration for the American people and their government. As ambassador he dealt principally with U.S.Canadian relations, which he greatly improved, in part by personal consultation with the Canadian governor general and ministers. In the process he also bettered relations between Great Britain and Canada, securing Canadian acceptance of an arbitration convention (April 4, 1908) originally signed by Great Britain and the United States. He retired as ambassador in April 1913. On Jan. 1, 1914, Bryce was created a viscount. In the same year he became a member of the International Court of Justice, The Hague. Later, during World War I, he headed a committee that judged Germany guilty of atrocities in Belgium and France. Subsequently, he advocated the establishment of the League of Nations. In 1876, James Bryce went on a steamboat from St. Petersburg 900 miles down the Volga River system to Saratof where he took a Russian train 1100 miles to the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, 126 miles via wagon toward Tiflis, and then on to Erivan, Aralykh, and up the southeast side of Ararat to summit it alone as all his companions fell by the wayside to exhaustion. While Dr. Friedrich Parrot was a Russian who spoke and taught also in German, James Bryce was an Englishman who began his journey from Russia. After his expedition, James Bryce authored the classic work, Transcaucasia and Ararat, and has a descriptive form a writing that only educated ninenteenth century authors can attain. If the reader does not enjoy history or would rather skip the wonderful reading on the voyage getting to Mount Ararat from St. Petersburg, then the reader may want to skip a few pages and go directly to Chapter V or VI below. Introduction The following pages contain a record of impressions received during a journey in the autumn of 1876 through Russia, the Caucasian countries, and the [Ottoman] Turkish Empire. They are first impressions only, for which no value can be claimed except that which belongs to impressions formed on the spot, and (as the author trusts) without a prejudice in favor of either of the states which are now contending in the regions here described. Yet even first impressions, if honestly formed, may sometimes atone for their crudity by their freshness. What most readers desire to know about a country is how it strikes a newcomer. A book that tries to give this, to present the general effect, so to speak, of the landscape, may have its function, even though it cannot satisfy the scientific student of geography or politics. The Author, however, did not travel with the intention of writing a book, nor would he, sensible as he is of his imperfect knowledge, have now thought of sending these notes to the press but for two reasons. One is the unexpected importance, which the outbreak of war in the countries he visited has given to them. The other is the urgency of his friends, whose curiosity regarding Mount Ararat has made him think it worth while to print a narrative of what he saw, and who assure him that some account of a mountain which every one has heard of, but about which comparatively little has been written, would be more interesting to English and American readers than he had at first supposed.
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The publication of the book has been delayed by a domestic sorrow which has destroyed such pleasure as the composition of it might have given, the loss of one whose companion he had been in the mountain expeditions from childhood, and to whom he owes whatever taste he possesses for geographical observation and for the beauties of nature. LINCOLN’S INN, LONDON: September 12, 1877.
Chapter I Everyone had said to us in St. Petersburg, “You have come at a bad time. Our people are greatly exasperated against England. They regard you as the abettors of the Turks, as the accomplices in the Bulgarian massacres.” (This was just after the great massacres of May [killing of 14,700 Bulgarians in 1876] had become known in Russia and before the English indignation meetings in September.) “They think that you prefer Mohammedans to Christians, and for your own selfish purposes—heaven knows what they are—are ready to support and justify all the oppressions and cruelties of the Turks.” I am bound to say that we never fell into talk with a Russian without being reproached with our sympathy for the Turks. It was always assumed that we, as Englishmen, of course stood over the massacres, and we were asked how we could be so unchristian. There was an oddly miscellaneous little library on board, consisting apparently of the leavings of many travelers, mainly Russian, but with several French novels and about as many solid German treatises, and two books in English. There is a very comprehensive Index Expergatorius in Russia, and people often told me they found their best Western books carried off by the customhouse, never to reappear. But, as every body knows, Alexander Herzen’s revolutionary ‘Kolokol’ found its way everywhere, and was read by all the officials up to the Emperor himself; and the same is said to be the case with the less brilliant socialist writers of today. Of all modes of traveling, a river steamboat is probably the pleasantest. It is exhilarating to rush through the air at a pace of eighteen miles an hour, the swift current adding several miles to what the strong engines can accomplish. One moves freely about, reads or writes when so inclined, sits down and chats with a fellow passenger, enjoys to perfection the bracing freshness of the air and the changing hues of sunset. All this is to be had on the Volga steamers, plus the delightful sense of novelty; and although the scenery is not striking, it may be called pleasing, quite good enough to see once. Between this boundless plain and this bold hill the Volga sweeps along in majestic curves and reaches, and the contrast between the two, the varying aspects which the promontories take as one approaches and recedes from them, give a pleasing variety to the landscape. Except at one point, you cannot call it beautiful, but it is all so green and so peaceful, the air is so exquisitely clear, there is such a sense of expanse in the wide plain and the sky vaulted over it, the stream down which on speeds is so wide, and calm, and strong, that there is a pleasure in the voyage it is easier to feel than describe. The ship touches, but seldom at the banks, for there are few towns, and when she does stop, it is rather for the sake of taking in wood than of passengers or cargo. A gang of women is usually waiting for us at the wharf, who carry on board bundles of chopped wood; while all the spare population of the villages comes down in its sheepskins and stands looking on, munching its cucumbers the while. Sheepskins, with the woolly side turned in, are the usual summer as well as winter wear of the peasants in these parts. As for cucumbers, the national passion for them is something wonderful. They are set down at every meal in hotels and steamers, while the poorer folk seem to live pretty
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much upon them and bread. If I were asked to characterize the most conspicuous externals of Russia in three words, they should be “sheepskins, cucumbers, emeralds.”1 Buoys are anchored in many dangerous spots, landmarks are placed along the shore, and at night colored lights are shown. Although our steamer drew only four feet of water there were so many shoals and sandbanks about, that, instead of holding an even course down the middle of the stream, she was perpetually darting across it from the one shore to the other, so as to keep in the deepest part of the channel. Whenever one of the shallower parts was reached a bell was rung, which brought some of the crew forward, and one of them took his place armed with a long pole, the lower part of which was marked in colors, just like the “stick” in croquet, each foot’s length having a different color. This pole he nimbly plunged into the water just before the bow, till it touched the bottom, and then seeing by the marks on it what the depth was, he sang out, “vosem,” “sem,” “shest” (eight, seven, six), as the case might be, the vessel still advancing. As the smaller numbers began to be reached, a slight thrill ran through the group that watched, and when “piat” (five) followed, the engines were slowed or stopped in a moment, and we glided softly along over the shoal till “sem,” “vosem,” “deviat” (nine), following in succession, told that the risk of grounding was for the moment past. The Tatars of Kazan [different Kazan than the village Kazan next to Mount Ararat], who are no doubt Turks, retain not only their language and their religion but their social usages; they rarely or never intermarry with the Russians, but otherwise live on good enough terms with them, and do not seem to complain of the Christian government, which has been wise enough not to meddle with their faith. Since the fall of their Khanate three hundred years ago, they have rarely given any trouble, and now serve in the army like other subjects of the Czar. They are usually strong men, lithe and sinewy, of a make more spare than that of the Russians, and do most of the hard work both here, in their own country, and at Nijni and other trading spots along the river. In their faces is seen a good deal of that grave fixity which gives a dignity even to the humblest Oriental, and contrasts so markedly with the mobile features of the Slav. Archaeology, except perhaps as a branch of hagiology, or in the leaned circles of St. Petersburg and Moscow, has scarcely begun to exist in Russia; it is one of the latest births of time everywhere, and, as one may see from the fate of so many of our own pre-historic monuments, does not commend itself to the practical mind of the agriculturist. The only countries in which the traveler finds the common people knowing and revering the monuments and legends of their remote past are Norway and Iceland, where the sagas read aloud in the long nights of winter from manuscripts preserved in lonely farm-houses, have through many generations fired the imagination and ennobled the life of the peasant, who knew no other literature and history than that of his own ancestors. Just as the easternmost point of the bend the river turns south, breaking through the Jigoulef ridge which has bordered it for twenty miles, and here, at the town of Samara, one seems suddenly to pass, as if through a gate in the hills, from Europe into Asia. Up to this point all has been green, moist, fresh-looking, the air soft though brilliantly clear, the grass not less juicy than in England, the wayside flowers and trees very similar to our own, if not always of the same species. But once through the hills, and looking away southeast across the boundless steppe towards Orenburg and the Ural River, a different climate and scenery reveal themselves. The air is hot and dry, the parched earth gapes under the sun, the hills are bare, or clothed only with withered weeds; plants and shrubs of unfamiliar aspect appear, the whole landscape has a tawny torrid look, as if of an African desert. Henceforth, all the way to the Black Sea, one felt one’s self in the glowing East, and seemed at a glance to realize the character of the wilderness that stretches from here all the way, a plain with scarcely a mound to break its monotony, to the banks of the Oxus and the foot of the Thian Shan mountains. By this time nearly all the cabin passengers had done, but the lower deck was still crowded with Armenians and Persians bound for Astrakhan, whence they were to proceed, by another steamer of the same company, across the Caspian to Baku in Transcaucasia, or to Lenkoran on the frontiers of Persia. Travelers are fond of talking of the Oriental character of Russia; and though the smart saying about scratching Russians and finding Tatars is pretty well exploded (nobody can be essentially less like a Tatar than the Russian is), there are, no doubt, certain points, mostly mere externals, in which Russian towns, or Russian usages, recall those of the East. What is far more curious is to find
1
The profusion of fine gems, especially emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, you are shown in geological and antiquarian collections, sewn on to sacerdotal vestments, stuck on to the gold plates with which the sacred pictures are overlaid, is extraordinary.
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on the Volga so many things and ways in Russia which remind one of America; points of resemblance between nations apparently as far removed from one another in manners, religion, history, and government, as they are in space. I amused myself in noting down some of these points of resemblance—those which are merely external and accidental, as well as those which really have a meaning—and give the list for what it is worth. Both are big countries. Their extent is immense, and everything in them is on a vast scale—rivers, forests, lakes, distances. One thinks little of a journey of a thousand miles. Land, being so abundant, is of little value; hence, partly, it is that in both a town covers so great an area, with its wide streets, its gardens, its unutilized open spaces. Hence we find in the middle of settled district ground that has never been touched by plough, or spade, or axe. Hence agriculture is apt to be wasteful, because when the soil grows less productive, he who tills it can move elsewhere. Both are countries whose interest lies in the future rather than in the past. Indeed Russia has less of a past than America, seeing that the latter owes the past of England, whereas Russian history is a very twilight sort of business till the great Polish war of the sixteenth century. Names of czars and patriarchs can be given, and a few famous battles fixed, but in the main it is an uncertain as well as dreary record of family quarrels between savage princes and incessant border warfare with the Tatar hordes. People venture boldly, live expensively, enjoy and indulge the moment, confident that things will somehow come right in the long run. No nations are so fond of speculating, writing and talking about themselves.2 Not unconnected with this is their tendency to sudden impressions and waves of feeling. Naturally a susceptible, perhaps an inconstant, certainly an impatient people, the Russians are apt to be intoxicated by the last new idea or doctrine; and their lively sympathy makes a feeling, belief, enthusiasm, that has once been started, spread like wild-fire through the whole educated, sometimes even down into the uneducated, class. This is less the case in America, but several of the political and social movements we can remember there, like Know-nothingism and (in a somewhat different way) the women’s whisky war, seem to illustrate the same kind of temper. Being new, and feeling themselves new, both are extremely sensitive to the opinion of older countries, and anxious sometimes to compel, more often to conciliate the admiration of their neighbors. In Russia, as in America, the first question put to the stranger is, “What do you think of our country?” and an appreciative answer is received with a thrill of pleasure which a German or an English breast would never experience on the like occasion. With all their patriotic self-confidence, they have a consciousness of having but just entered the circle of civilization, and are pleased to be reassured. They are, therefore, like the Americans, eager to learn what foreigners think of them, they do everything they can to set off the good points of the country, both physical and social; and they are apt to be unduly annoyed at hostile criticism, even when it proceeds from foolish or ignorant people. It is partly perhaps for the same reason, as well as from the dominant officialism, that they are more particular in some small points of social etiquette (the wearing of a black coat, for instance, or the use of appropriate titles in addressing a comparative stranger) than people are in countries where the rules of etiquette are so old that every educated man may be assumed to know them. It does not satisfy them that their material greatness should be fully admitted; they wish to be recognized as the equals of Western Europe in social and intellectual progress, and insist, as many American writers used to do, on their mission to diffuse new economical and social principles. Among minor points of similarity that strike one, may be named the mysterious element that underlies their politics—here, as in America, one hears a great deal of talk about secret societies, and cannot quite make out what these societies amount to. Even the structure of railway cars and steamboats, which seems to have been borrowed from America, and is certainly preferable to what one finds in the rest of Europe; and lastly, the general good-natured and easy-going friendly ways of the people, who, like the Americans, are far more willing to make friends with and do their best for a stranger, if only he will show some little politeness and some little interest in the country, than are either the French, or the Germans, or ourselves. Of course I am not insensible to the many striking contrasts between the two nations, the most striking of which is that in Russia there is, speaking broadly, no middle class, but only an upper and a lower, and that lower almost entirely uneducated and politically powerless. In America, there is nothing but middle-class, a middle-class which is welltaught, intelligent, political to the marrow of its bones. Any one can draw out for himself all the differences which flow from this one, and from the singular unlikeness of religions. But the curious thing is to find in the face of these differences so many points of resemblance.
2
This, however, has very much diminished in America of late years.
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Saratof is one of the largest towns in Russia—that is to say, it has a population of 80,000 people. Like most towns in Russia, it has absolutely nothing in the way of a sight, not even a provincial museum or an old church; everything is modern, commonplace, and uninteresting, and life itself, one would think, must partake of the same character. All this part of Russia, down the river as far as Tzaritsyn, is full of German colonies, planted by Catherine II in the hope that they would teach cleanliness, neatness, and comfort and, above all, good methods of agriculture to their Russian neighbors—a hope which has not been realized, for they have remained for the most part quite distinct, living in their own villages, not intermarrying with the Muscovites, often remaining ignorant of their language. By far the most prosperous of these colonies belong to the Mennonite or Moravian persuasions, who thrive as the Quaker colonists throve in America. But now one hears that they are mostly leaving Russia altogether, fearing the enforcement of the new law of universal conscription. To them, who hold war a sin, service in the army is a more serious evil than emigration to Canada; and they appeal to the promise Catherine [Catherine the Great was sovereign of Russia from 1763 until her death in 1796] made that they should never be so required to violate their conscientious scruples. The government is perplexed: it does not wish to break faith, but, like all governments, it hates making exceptions, especially invidious exceptions in favor of people who do not hold the national faith. At Saratof we took the railway, which carried us with only two changes of carriage all the way to the foot of the Caucasus, a journey of 1100 miles, which occupied from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. In no country, except America, is railway travelling so easy, I might almost say enjoyable, as in Russia, if only you are not in a hurry to get over the ground. The cars have a passage down the middle, and a little platform at each end where you may stand when the dust is not too distressing. The pace never exceeds, and seldom reaches, twenty miles an hour, so that one is not much shaken, and can read without injury to the eyes. The scenery of this vast region, which the Don and its tributaries drain, is intensely monotonous, so monotonous that its uniformity almost rises to grandeur. The greenness of Northern Russia is utterly gone: everything is dry, bare, dusty; a stream seldom appears, and when it does, is muddy and sluggish. The houses of the peasantry, which further north towards the forest country are always of wood, are here mostly of clay, strengthened possibly by a few bricks or wattles. Sometimes one sees on the skirts of a village a pretty large farm standing not without evidences of wealth, but there is mostly an untidy look about it—haystacks tumbling over, fences ill-kept, nothing trim or finished. The bucolic Russian has no gift for neatness, any more than his urban brother has for comfort. Between Griazi and Voronej, the next considerable place, one runs through an unbroken forest of beech for eight or ten miles, a forest, however, as is mostly the case in Russia, whose trees do not exceed twenty-five or thirty feet in height, and which has therefore nothing of forest gloom or forest grandeur about it; it is only land covered with trees. The woods finally disappear, and one enters the true steppe, that strange, solitary, dreary region, whose few features it is so easy to describe in words, but the general impression of which I do not know how to convey. Our train traversed it during an entire afternoon, night, and day, from Voronej to Rostof, at the mouth of the Don, so the impression had time to sink in. Whatever Russia may want, she does not want land, and has no occasion to annex Bulgaria or Armenia, or any other country to provide an outlet for her superfluous children. No rock appears, except here and there a tiny chalk cliff, and farther south beds of sandstone and shale in the railway cuttings; no tree, except willows and poplars along the streams, and occasionally some bushes round one of the few villages that nestle in the hollows; no detached houses anywhere. Hour after hour the train journeys on through a silent wilderness of brown scorched grass and withered weeds, climbing or descending in long sweeps the swelling downs, now catching sight of a herd of cattle in the distance, now caught by a dust storm which the strong wind drives careering over the expanse, but with the same unchanging horizon all round, the same sense of motion without progress, which those who have crossed the ocean know so well. Even now, with a bright sun overhead, the dreariness and loneliness were almost terrible; what must they be in the winter, when north-eastern gales howl over the waste of snow? Yet even in this dreariness there is a certain strange charm. Traversing this steppe for two whole days enables one to understand the kind of impression that Scythia made on the imagination of the Greeks: how all sorts of wonders and horrors, like those Herodotus relates, were credible about the peoples that roamed over these wilds; how terrible to their neighbors, how inaccessible and unconquerable themselves, they must have seemed to the natives of the sunny shores of the Ægean. One realizes also how emphatically this is the undefended side of Europe, the open space through which all the Asiatic hordes, Huns, Alans, Avars, Bulgarians, Mongols entered, their cavalry darting over the steppe in search of enemies or booty, their wagons following with their families and cattle, unchecked, except now and then by some great river, which, if it were too deep to ford, they crossed upon inflated skins. A dense haze filled the air as we crossed the Don, caused either by the dust storms which the wind raised, or by the smoke of steppe-fires, and cut off such view towards the sea as the flatness of the ground would have permitted. Soon we were again in the grassy wilderness, hundreds of miles wide, that lies between the Don and the Caucasus. Fires were blazing all over the steppe, whether accidental or lit for the sake of improving the pasture, I do not know; the effect, at any rate, was extremely fine when night came on, though the grass was too short to give either the volume of blaze or the swift progress which makes a prairie fire so splendid and terrible. I say “grass” from habit, but in reality it is rather weeds than a carpet of herbage that are to be found on the steppe. Though every ten or fifteen miles there is a station, a station does not in Russia imply that there is any likelihood of passengers; it is a place for the train to stop, for tumblers of tea to be consumed, for people to stretch themselves, for the station-master to exchange remarks with the engine-driver. There is but one train in the day; so its arrival is something of an event in the
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neighborhood, and not to be treated lightly. Few of these stations had villages attached. All through this region, as elsewhere in Russia, one never sees a solitary house, or even a group of houses, and unless a village happens to be in sight, the country seems, according to the season, a green or a brown wilderness, unbroken by tree or hedge. Hereabouts there is not even the chance of seeing a wandering horde of Kalmucks, for that interesting race, who are nearly all Buddhists, and, as most ethnologists hold, of Mongol stock, dislike the neighborhood or Russian colonists, and keep more to the east along the Lower Volga, and by the shores of the Caspian, where the steppe is mostly salt, and therefore less fit for agriculture. It was a disappointment not to meet with this last remnant of the hosts of Zinghis Khan, dwelling in felt tents, and worshipping the Dalai Lama; but the world is large, and one cannot see everything in it. But now, some eighteen hours after we had left Rostof, several sharp craggy hills of limestone rose on the southern horizon, and behind them, dimly seen under brooding clouds, appeared a huge mass of high land, stretching east and west further than the eye could follow. It was the Caucasus, and all the weariness of the steppe [part of Chechnya] and the railway was forgotten in a moment, when, after the two thousand miles of plain we had traversed from the Gulf of Bothnia hither, we saw the majestic chain unroll itself before us.
Chapter II In the days of the Crimean War [1853-1856], when the Caucasus [today mostly Georgia] first drew the attention of the Western world, Englishmen mostly thought of it as a chain of snowy mountains running from the Straights of Kertch to the Caspian Sea, inhabited by a race of patriotic heroes and beautiful women, called Circassians, who maintained perpetual strife against the encroaching Muscovite. Since then travelers have begun to penetrate it, and some of our own countrymen have even scaled its loftiest summits. It is really a chain; that is to say, a long and comparatively narrow strip of high land sloping steeply both ways from its' central axis; whereas many of our so-called mountain ranges are rather, like the Himalayas, the edges of plateaus, or, like the Andes, themselves a vast plateau with isolated eruptive masses scattered over its’ surface. It is, however, by no means, as the old maps represent it, a uniform chain, but rather consists of three sufficiently well marked divisions. First, we have the western section, lying along the Black Sea coast, where it is comparatively low, indeed, in the northwest little more than a line of insignificant hills, and mostly covered with wood. The first considerable heights begin about the fort of Gagri, fifty miles west-northwest of Sukhum Kaleh, where one peak reaches 9000 feet. Next comes the central section, from the neighborhood of Sukhum Kaleh, a well-known Black Sea port, eastward as far as Mount Kazbek and the Dariel Pass [3950 feet and also called the Gates of Alan or the Caucasian or Iberian Gates]. This is the loftiest and grandest part, having many summits that rise far above the line of perpetual snow, and at least seven exceeding 15,000 feet [several over 5000 meters and the highest Mount Elbrus summit at 18,481 feet], deep and gloriously wooded valleys; ample seas of ice surrounding the great peaks. Lastly, there is the eastern section, which is almost conterminous with (and which I shall therefore call by the name of) Daghestan, the “Mountain Land,” extending from the Dariel Pass to the Caspian Sea. Here the heights are not quite so great, though three or four peaks exceed 13,000 feet, and one, the extinct volcano of Basarjusi, reaches 14,722 feet. Approaching the Caspian, the declivities become gentler, the summits lower, the country altogether more open; so that here the people dwelling to the south found it necessary to protect themselves from the irruptions of the barbarous tribes of the northern steppe by the erection of a mighty rampart, the so-called Caucasian Wall, remains of which may still be seen near the port of Derbend, on the Caspian coast. The length of the whole mountain country, from Taman, on the Sea of Azov, the peninsula of Apsheron, on the Caspian, is about 800 miles; its greatest width, in Daghestan, about 120. Orographically, the most remarkable features of the Caucasus are the simplicity of its structure, the steepness of its declivities, and its great persistent altitude through the central and eastern sections. Unlike the Alps and the Rocky Mountains, it does not throw out, or rather split up into, any long secondary ranges parallel to one another. Several of these, and notably Elbruz and Kazbek, are volcanic, both composed of trachyte, and Elbruz—according to Mr. Freshfield, who with Messrs. Tucker and Moore, first ascended it—showing traces of a crater at the top. The other great peaks of the central section, such as Koschtantau, are believed to be mostly granite; while in Daghestan it is asserted that limestone rocks are found to form nearly all the loftiest summits. There is no point where the range sinks below 8000 feet, and very few where it is nearly as low; whereas in the Alps one has a good many passes across the main chain between 4000 and 5000 feet high. The consequence of this is that there are only two passes across the Caucasus which are practically used by travelers, those of the Dariel and the Mamisson (a little farther west than the Dariel), and only one, the Dariel, which is traversed by a road practicable for wheeled carriages. These physical features naturally impress a peculiar character upon the scenery of the Caucasus. They are not so beautiful as the Alps, but they are more majestic. One is less charmed, but more awed. And this impression of awe is heightened by the fact, that in the Caucasus there is so much less of human life and history than in the Alps. It is just because the chain is so steep and with an axis so uninterruptedly lofty that it has formed in all ages an impassable barrier between the nomad peoples who roamed over the northern steppes and the more civilized and settled races dwelling to the south, in the valleys of the Kur and Aras [Araxes], the Phasis and the Euphrates. From the beginning of history the Caucasus is to the civilized nations, both Greek and Oriental, the boundary of geographical knowledge—indeed, the boundary of the world itself. Beyond it all is
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fable and mystery, not only to Herodotus, but even to Strabo and Ptolemy. So, too, the waves of barbarian conquest that successively descended from the Ural and the Altai across the plains of the Caspian fretted and foamed in vain against this gigantic wall, and were forced to seek their ingress to the southern countries either to the east of the Caspian into Iran, or round the northern shores of the Black Sea towards the Danube valley. There has never been a time (save during the seventh and eighth centuries), down till the cession of Venetia in 1866, when regions on both sides of the Alps have not, either practically or nominally, formed parts of the same empire—Roman, or RomanoGermanic, or Austrian; whereas the countries immediately to the north and south of the Caucasus have never obeyed the same ruler (except, perhaps, in the lifetime of Zinghis Khan), until Russia established herself in Georgia at the beginning of this century. In them, as in the other mysterious boundary of the ancient world, the Pillars of Hercules, the Greeks laid the scene of mythological exploits and marvels. Colchis, to which the Argo sailed, lay under their shadow; Prometheus was chained to one of their towering rocks; near them dwelt the man-hating Amazons; beyond them goldguarding griffins and one-eyed Arimaspians carried on perpetual war. So it remained for many centuries, down to the days of Marco Polo and Mandeville, in the east as well as in the west. Readers of the Arabian Nights will remember that there Mount Kaf is the limit of the world, and the usual threat of a magician to an obstinate sultan is, “I will transport thy city beyond Mount Kaf, and transform all the people in it into stones.” Thus it is a kind of ethnological museum, where specimens may be found of countless races and languages, some of which probably belong to the early ages of the world; races that seem to have little affinity with their present neighbors, and of whose history we know nothing except what comparative philology can reveal. Even before the Christian era it was famous for the variety of its peoples. Herodotus says: “Along the west side of the Caspian Sea stretches the Caucasus, which is of all mountains both the greatest in extent and the loftiest in height. It contains many and various nations, living mostly on the fruits of wild trees.” Strabo describes the Caucasus as inhabited by an immense number of different tribes, speaking different tongues, and many of them very savage. He reports the story that seventy such tribes resort, chiefly to buy salt, to the Greek trading station of Dioscurias, on the Euxine coast, of whom the bravest and most powerful are the ferocious Soanes, and tells how in summer the natives climb the mountains shod with shoes of ex-hide, their soles full of spikes to give them a hold upon the ice. Many of them are troglodytes [prehistoric people that lived in caves, dens, or holes], he adds, who, owing to the cold, dwell in holes. Some use poisoned arrows. Another writer says that some are cannibals—there is at any rate a consensus as to their ferocity. No more inappropriate ethnological name was ever propounded than that of Caucasian for a fancied division of the human family, the cream of mankind, from which the civilized peoples of Europe are supposed to have sprung. For the Caucasus is today as it was in Strabo’s time, full of races differing in religion, language, aspect, manners, character; races so numerous and still so little known that I shall not attempt to do more than mention some of the most important. Here in Daghestan many of the tribes occupy only one or two valleys, yet remain distinct in language and customs from their neighbors, and may probably remain so for centuries to come, an inexhaustible field for the ethnologist. Northwest of the Lesghians, towards Vladikavkaz, is the large Mohammedan tribe Tchetchens [Chechens], and beyond them the Ingushes, while southwest of Lesghistan, towards the Dariel Pass, dwell the Hessurs, or Chewsurs, a small people, who still array themselves in helmets and chain armor, carry shields and spears, and declare themselves descended from the Crusaders, though how Crusaders should have come there they do not explain. The truth seems to be that they wear, being nominally Christians, small crosses of red or black cloth sewed upon their clothes, and that some one, having been struck by the similarity of this to the Crusaders’ usage, set the tale a-going. Still farther west, between the watershed and the Kuban, stretching far to the northwest of Elbruz lay Circassia, inhabited by tribes who called themselves Adighé, and whom the Russians knew as Tcherkesses. They were nearly all Mohammedans, though of rather a loose kind, admirable horsemen and marksmen, living by war and pillage, and leaving to their women such tillage as the character of the country permitted. The Muslim peoples of the Caucasus are held by most travelers to be superior in energy and uprightness to the Christians. In fact, their Christianity consists in kissing the cross, in feasting and idling on certain holidays, fasting on others, and in worshipping deities, some of whom go by the names of Christian saints. Their supposed chivalry, like most chivalries, disappeared upon close examination. They lived upon robbery and the sale of their children, and of the ferocity, which accompanies their robberies, they have given us hideous examples in Bulgaria, and still more recently in the Armenian campaign. Each man, like the Cyclopes in Homer, rules over his wife and children, and cares nothing for his neighbor. Except that the risk of being eaten or pierced by poisoned arrows is gone, the mountains are much in the same state as they were in the time of Herodotus [fifth century B.C.] and Strabo [c. 63 B.C. to A.D. 24]. The Narsan spring at Kislovodsk [is] strongly impregnated with carbonic acid as well as iron. This last discharges 190,000 cubic feet of gas in twenty-four hours, and is often resorted to as a sort of tonic by people who have gone through the regular course of sulphurous or alkaline waters. Like the famous spring of Bórszek, in Transylvania, which is used in the same way as an “after cure,” it is quite cold (56° F.); and the physical pleasure of a plunge into its glittering waters, filled with the carbonic acid gas rising and breaking in great bubbles, is one of the most intense that can be conceived. It is like bathing in iced champagne. The Scotch colony [was] planted here in the time of Alexander I by missionaries sent to convert the Tcherkesses; the other a German colony, of somewhat later origin; all three laid out in straight lines, with trees running down their streets, and roads being made to connect them. They bore an almost ludicrous resemblance to those bird’s-eye views of suburban estates or rising watering-places which one sees on the
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advertisement boards of our railway stations, and suggested how little variety there is in the world after all. What amuses one most is that, in so apparently peaceful a place, everybody goes about fully armed. Nearly all the male visitors are in uniform. After you leave Rostof, all the guards on the train, the porters at the stations, the waiters at the hotels, seem in a state of constant preparation to resist a Circassian foray. The very boy who brings up your boots in the morning comes with daggers rattling in his belt, and a string of cartridge holders sewed to the breast of his coat. So it is all through the Caucasian countries. In fact, arms are as necessary a part of a man’s dress as a hat; you are remarked, and in the wilder places, despised, if you do not wear them. Nobody has anything to do except play cards and smoke, the ladies joining freely in both amusements. English travelers are a puzzle altogether to the Muscovite mind. A remarkable feature of this steppe is the great number of tumuli, which lie scattered over its surface, and which are supposed to be the burial mounds of primitive races. They are commonly called Kurgans, and are found associated with rudely hewn wooden figures exceeding life size. What with the gloomy weather and the gathering shades of night, we could distinguish nothing more than patches of white under the clouds, but the lower declivities seemed to be thickly wooded almost down to the level of the steppe. The line comes to an end at Vladikavkaz, more than a thousand miles from Moscow. At five next morning the sky was clear and bright, and, to our amazement, a snow-peak was looking in at the window, seeming to hang over the town. We were in the steppe, outside the mountains altogether, and here was an icy pinnacle, soaring into the air 14,000 feet above us, no farther off than Pilatus [Swiss Alp peak] looks from Luzern. It was Kazbek, the mountain where Prometheus hung in chains. Hither the ocean nymphs came to console him; over this desert to the north Io wandered, driven by the gadfly of Hera. We therefore thought ourselves fortunate in falling in with two Russian ladies bound for Tiflis, whose acquaintance we made in the train, and who, after a preliminary skirmish about English sympathy with Turkish cruelties, had proposed we should make up a party to hire a vehicle to carry us over the 126 miles of road to the southern capital. Afterwards they picked up, rather to our disgust, a fifth partner, a Circassian gentleman, also making for Tiflis. We had of course conceived of a Tcherkess as a gigantic warrior, armed to the teeth with helmet and shield and the unerring rifle, hating the Russian intruder, and ready to die for Islam. This Circassian, however, turned out to be an advocate practicing at Stavropol, and graduate of the university of Moscow—a short, swarthy man, who was, I believe, a Mohammedan, but never turned to Mecca all the time we were with him, and in other ways showed small regard for the precepts of the Prophet. Our vehicle went by the name of an omnibus, but was what we should call a covered waggonette, with a leather roof and leather curtains made to draw round the sides, no useless protection against the dust and sun. In a point of fact, few travelers do stop. The rule in Russia is to go straight ahead, by night as well as by day, eating at odd times, and dozing in your carriage when you can. One soon gets accustomed to that way of life, fresh air and excitement keeping any one who is in good health right enough so long as the journey lasts. The drawback is that you may happen to be uncontrollably drowsy just when you are passing through the finest bit of scenery. The scenery is like that of parts of the Bavarian Alps, only on a far grander scale. After a time the glen widens a little, and its character changes, for we leave the limestone, and come between mountains of slate or schist. At the bottom of the gorge there is the furious torrent; on each side walls of granite rising (vertically, one would think, though I suppose they cannot be quite vertical) 4000 feet above it; behind are still loftier ranges of sharp, red pinnacles, broken, jagged, and terrible, their topmost summits flecked with snow, not a bush, or flower, or blade of green to relieve their bare sternness. This is the famous Dariel Pass, a scene whose grandeur is all the more striking because one comes so suddenly upon it after the exquisite beauty of the wooded limestone mountains farther down; a scene worthy of the historical associations which invest it, alone of all Caucasian glens, with an atmosphere of ancient romance. Virgil is renowned for nothing more than the singular felicity of the epithets with which he conveys a picture of a story in a single word; and the phrase, “duris cautibus horrens Caucasus,” seemed so exactly to describe this spot that I was tempted to fancy he had in his mind, when he used it, some account by a Greek traveler who had wandered thus far. The mighty masses that hem in this ravine do literally bristle with sharp crags in a way that one does not see even in the aiguille ranges of Mont Blanc. The scene is more absolutely savage, if not more majestic, than any of the famous passes of the Alps or Norway. It is not merely the prodigious height and steepness of the mountains; it is their utter bareness and the fantastic wildness of their riven summits, towering 7000 or 8000 feet above the glen, that fill one with such a sense of terror and desolation. A stronger military post can hardly be imagined. Approaching it either way, the precipices seem to bar all further progress, and the eye seeks in vain to follow the road, which in one place passes by a tunnel behind a projecting mass of rock. For about a quarter of a mile the bottom of the gorge is filled by the foaming stream, so that it is only along the road that an army could advance. Half-a-dozen cannon could command the road, and a single explosion destroy it. I cannot but think that the Scythians who ravaged Upper Asia in the seventh century B.C., and the other nomad tribes which have from time to time penetrated from the north, must have come along the Caspian shore by Derbend; but that a whole people should have brought through their wagons and their flocks seems well-nigh impossible. Be that as it may, this is beyond question the site of the famous Caucasian or Iberian Gates. The walls of the Dariel gorge itself are of grey, large-grained granite; but one sees many other igneous rocks in the cliffs—porphyries, syenites, and basalts; about four miles above the fort a beautiful range of basaltic columns, much like those of the Giant’s Causeway, runs along the steep mountain-side for some distance. Some ten miles above the Dariel, and about twenty-seven from Vladikavkaz, the road, descending to the river, suddenly rounds a corner of rock, and with a start the traveler finds himself full in face of the magnificent Kazbek, a
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steep dome of snow breaking down on the east in a grand black precipice. The top is 16,533 feet above the sea, and 11,000 feet above the little alpine plain or circular hollow in the mountains. All we could obtains by way of concession was an hour and a half to climb to a little church which stands perched on a height 1400 feet above the glen, and commands a noble view of Kazbek with his attendant peaks. The building interested us as the first specimen we had seen of Georgian or Armenian architecture; it was, indeed still is, a much visited place of pilgrimage, and seemed to date from the twelfth or thirteenth century. After waiting ten minutes, we were rewarded, about 4:30 P.M., by seeing them disperse under the strong breeze, and his glorious snowy crest came out against the intense blue of a sky whose clearness seemed to surpass even that of the Alps. We returned to the post-house punctually at the appointed hour, but were met by reproachful faces. “There are now no horses to be had; in your absence other travelers came up, and being ready to start, called for all that were in the stable; we could not retain them. There will be none fit for work now before tomorrow morning.” Although secretly rejoiced to have a few more hours under the shadow of Kazbek, still, as politeness required, we dissembled our satisfaction, were forgiven, and prepared to spend the night at the uninviting post-house. We were welcomed by a young man with those soft handsome features which are so common among the Georgians, who turned out to be the Prince of Kazbek, a Georgian noble, who owns this part of the valley. He was entertaining two or three government employees sent from Tiflis to examine the glacier of Devdorak, which has several times formed a debâcle, behind which water accumulated in a lake which, breaking out at last, devastated the Terek valley. Among them was a young engineer from the Baltic provinces, speaking German, and an accomplished Armenian official, speaking both German and French, with whom we talked about the Caucasus to our heart’s content, over endless glasses of lemon tea, while the great mountain glittered before us in the clear cold starlight. The scenery is more savage than beautiful; but if we had not seen the Dariel defile lower down, we should have thought it magnificent. Nothing can be more beautiful than the view in descending. To the northeast you look up into a wilderness of stern red mountains, their hollows filled with snow or ice, their sides strewed with huge loose blocks. These woods are really splendid, composed almost entirely of deciduous trees, beech, oak, hazel, birch, and such like, and so close as to look perfectly impenetrable. From here the road is pretty enough, but less interesting, and I relieved its tedium by a long talk with the ladies, who, it appeared, had done us the honor to take us for poets, because we seemed to admire the scenery, and I had been gathering plants. As we are both lawyers, and considered by our friends to be rather plain matter-of-fact people, this unexpected compliment flattered us not a little, and on the strength of it I indited a sonnet to the younger lady’s cigarette, which was however, like its subject, of so evanescent a nature that it need not be reproduced here. Anxious to lie down and sleep, on the ground, in a post-house, anywhere, we heard with pleasure the conventional postmaster declare that no horses could be had before nine o’clock next morning; it was impossible, not a hoof in his stable, nor in any of the peasants’ either. However, our companions, and especially the Circassian, who, I fancy, had a law-suit in Tiflis, were unwearied and inexorable. The Circassian barrister bullied the postmaster with so much vigour that horses were found forthwith, and in two hours more we were rattling over the stones of the capital of Transcaucasia, and on our first night in Asia were received by the drowsy but friendly servants of the Hôtel de l’Europe.
Chapter III What I have got to say of particular parts of the country, such as Tiflis, the capital, and Armenia, is reserved for later chapters. Transcaucasia is a convenient general name for the countries lying between the Black Sea, the Caspian, and the Caucasus, which make up the dominions of the Czar in Western Asia, the chief of which are Georgia, which lies along the upper course of the Kur, south of the Caucasus; Armenia, farther south, on the Araxes, between Georgia, Persia, and Turkey; Imeritia, west of Georgia; and Mingrelia, west of Imeritia, along the eastern coast of the Black Sea. However, it is a convenient name, and before speaking of each of these countries by itself, something may be said of the general physical features of Transcaucasia as a whole. It may be broadly described as consisting of two mountain regions and two plains. First, all along the north, there are the slopes of the Caucasus, which on this side (at least in its western half, for towards the east the main chain sinks quite abruptly in to the levels of Kakhitia) sends off several lateral ranges descending far from the axis, and at last subsiding into a fertile and wellpeopled hilly country. Secondly, on the south, over against the Caucasus, there is another mountain land, less elevated, but wider in extent, consisting of the chain which under various local names (some geographers have called it the Anti-Caucasus) runs from Lazistan at the southeast angle of the Black Sea away to the east and southeast till it meets the ranges of Persia. Towards the south, this chain ramifies all over Armenia, and here attains its greatest height in the volcanic summits of Ala Göz, 13,460 feet above the sea, while northward its spurs from a hilly country stretching to Tiflis. These two mountain masses are connected by a ridge which, branching off from the Caucasus between Elbruz and Kazbek, the two best known of all the summits of that chain, divides the waters of the Kur from those of the Rion (Phasis), and is crossed by the great road and railway from Tiflis to the Black Sea near the town of Suram. It is open, bare, and dry; is, in fact, what the Russians call steppe country, or the Americans prairie, through nearly its whole extent, and though the soil is fertile, much of it, especially towards the Caspian, is but thinly peopled or
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cultivated. And as at this time the Caspian was also, no doubt, connected with the Sea of Aral (which is only some 160 feet above the present level of the Caspian, and about 80 above the ocean), one may say that the Mediterranean then extended through this chain of inland seas, far into Central Asia, perhaps to the sites of those cities, Khiva, Tashkend, and Bokhara. As one gets farther and farther to the east, beyond Tiflis, there is in autumn hardly a trace of vegetation either on plain or hills, except along the courses of the shrunken rivers and on the northern slopes of the mountains that divide the basins of the Kur and Aras. In these regions the winter is very severe, and the summer heats are tremendous. The explanation, of course, is that, while the moist westerly winds are arrested by the ridge at Suram, the eastern steppe lies open to the parching and bitter blasts which descend from Siberia and the frozen plains of Turkestan, while the scorching summers are not moderated by the influence of a neighboring sea, the Caspian being too small to make any great difference in the climate. In Armenia the same causes operate, with the addition that, as a good deal of the country stands at a great height above the sea-level, the winters are in those parts long and terrible. At Alexandropol [Giumri, Armenia], for instance, the great Russian fortress over against Kars, where a large part of her army is always stationed, snow lies till the middle of April, spring lasts only about a fortnight, and during summer the country is parched like any desert. A result of this remarkable dryness of the climate, away from the Black Sea and its influences, is that the landscapes of Eastern Transcaucasia are bare, brown, and generally dreary. If there was ever wood on the lower grounds, it has been long since cut away, and probably could hardly be made to grow if now replanted. I must still remark that there is not much in Transcaucasia to attract the lover of natural beauty, except in two regions, the spurs of the Caucasus and the part of Armenia which lies round and commands a prospect of Mount Ararat. These are certainly considerable exceptions, for the scenery of each is quite unlike anything to be found in Europe. The luxuriant vegetation of the deep western valleys of the chain and the noble views of its tremendous snowy summits, streaming with glaciers, present pictures surpassing even those of the Italian valleys of the Alps—pictures that one must go to the Himalaya to find a parallel for. Ararat, again, an isolated volcanic cone rising 17,000 feet above the sea and 14,400 feet above the plain at its own base, is a phenomenon the like of which hardly exists in the world. Whether beautiful or the reverse, however, the country is nearly everywhere rich, and might do wonders if it were filled by a larger, more energetic, and better educated population. There are only three millions of people in it now; it could easily support twenty. The steppe soil is generally extremely fertile, needing nothing but irrigation to produce heavy crops of grain. In some parts, especially along the Araxes, cotton is raised. Salt is abundant in Armenia, especially near Kulpi [Tuzluca], on the Upper Aras. Perhaps the most remarkable mineral product is naphtha [several highly volatile mixtures of petroleum, coal tar, or natural gas], which bursts forth in many places, but most profusely near Baku, on the coast of the Caspian, in strong springs, some of which are said to be always burning, while others, lying close to or even below the sea, will sometimes, in calm weather, discharge the spirit over the water, so that, when a light is applied, the sea takes fire, and blue flames flicker for miles over the surface. The place was greatly revered of old by the fire-worshippers, and after they were extirpated from Persia by the Mohammedans, who hate them bitterly, some few occasionally slunk here on pilgrimage. Now, under the more tolerant sway of the Czar, a solitary priest of fire is maintained by the Parsee community of Bombay, who inhabits a small temple built over one of the springs, and, like a vestal, tends the sacred flame by day and night. If it is hard to give a general idea of a country so various in its physical aspects, it is even more so to describe its strangely mixed population. From the beginning of history, all sorts of tribes and races have lived in this isthmus between the Euxine and the Caspian, and though some of them may have now disappeared or been absorbed by others, new elements have pressed in from the north and east. Strabo, writing under Augustus [Roman Emperor], mentions four peoples as dwelling south of the Caucasus: the Colchians, along the Black Sea; the Iberians, farther to the east, beyond the cross ridge of Suram (which he calls an ǎγκων of the Caucasus); the Albanians, still farther eastward, in the plains along the Caspian Sea; and the Armenians, to the south of all these, in the country we still call Armenia. While these Soanes have been protected by their inaccessibility in the pathless recesses of the mountains, all trace of Colchians, Iberians, and Albanians, has long since passed away, and though Mingrelians now live where Jason found the Colchians, there is nothing to show that any of the blood of Aeëtes and Medea flows in their degenerate veins. Russian ethnologists talk of a Karthalinian stock, to which Mingrelians, Imeritians, and Georgians, as well as some of the mountain tribes, are declared to belong. Beginning from the west, we find the Mingrelians along the Black Sea coast, from the Turkish border to Sukhum Kaleh. They are the ne’er-do-wells of the Caucasian family. All their neighbors, however contemptible a Western may think them, have a bad word and a kick for the still more contemptible Mingrelian. To believe them, he is lazy, sensual, treacherous, and stupid, a liar and a thief. The strain in which the Russians and Armenians talk of them reminded me of the description one gets from the Transylvanian Saxons and Magyars of the Roumans who live among them. Lazy the Mingrelian certainly is, but in other respects I doubt if he is worse than his neighbors; and he lives in so damp and warm a climate that violent exercise must be disagreeable. South of Mingrelia lies Guria, on the slopes and ridges of the Anti-Caucasus, a land where the people are more vigorous and upright, and where, as they have been less affected by conquest and immigration, the picturesque old costumes have best maintained themselves. West of the Mingrelians, in the hilly regions of the Upper Rion and its tributaries, live the Imeritians, a race speaking a dialect of Georgian, who may generally be distinguished by their bushy hair.
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Still farther east, and occupying the center of Transcaucasia, are the Georgians, called by the Russians Grusinians or Grusians, who may be considered the principal and, till the arrival of the Muscovite, the dominant race of the country. They call themselves Karthli, deducing their origin from a patriarch Karthlos (who was brother of Haik, the patriarch of the Armenian nation, and of Legis, the ancestor of the Lesghians), a grandson, or, as others hold, greatgrandson of Gomer, son of Japheth. According to their own legends, they worshipped the sun and the moon and the five planets, and swore by the grave of Karthlos until converted to Christianity by St. Nina, in the fourth century of our era. For several centuries their kingdom extended almost to the Black Sea in one direction and the Caspian in another, and maintained itself with some credit against the hostility of Turks and Persians, though often wasted by Persian armies, and for long periods obliged to admit the suzerainty of the Shah. Its heroic age was the time of Queen Tamara, who flourished in the twelfth century, and is still honored by pictures all over the country, in which she appears as a beautiful Amazon, not unlike the fancy portraits of Joan of Arc. To her is ascribed the foundation of every ancient church or monastery, just as all the strongholds are said to have been built by the robber Kir Oghlu, and as in Scotland there is hardly an old mansion but shows Wallace’s sword and Queen Mary’s apartment. However, the coup de grâce was given by the invasion of the Persians, under Aga Mohammed Khan, in 1795, which reduced Georgia to such wretchedness that the reigning King George made over his dominions to Alexander I in 1799, and the country was finally occupied by Russian troops in 1802. One sees traces of a sort of feudal period in the numerous castles. The organization of society was feudal till quite lately, the peasantry serfs, the upper class landowning nobles and their dependants. It is a joke among the Russians that every Georgian is a noble; and as the only title of nobility is Prince, the effect to an English ear of hearing all sorts of obscure people, country postmasters, droshky drivers, sometimes even servants, described as being Prince So-and-so, is at first grotesque. Everyone has heard of the Georgian beauties, who in the estimation of Turkish importers rivaled or surpassed those of Circassia itself. Among them a great many handsome and even some beautiful faces may certainly be seen, regular and finely chiseled features, a clear complexion, large and liquid eyes, an erect carriage, in which there is a good deal of dignity as well as of voluptuousness. To a taste, however, formed upon Western models, mere beauty of features and figure, without expression, is not very interesting; and these faces have seldom any expression. It must be remembered, however, that this loveliness is rather fleeting. Towards middle life the complexion is apt to become sallow, and the nose and chin rather too prominent, while the vacuity of look remains. So early as the sixth century, Procopius compliments the Iberians (who are doubtless the ancestors of our Georgians) on their resolute adherence to Christian rites in spite of the attacks of the Persian fire-worshippers, who, it may be remarked in passing, seem to have been the first to set the example of religious persecution. The Muslims say that the Christianity of the Georgians is owing to their fondness for wine and for pork, both which good things, as everybody knows, the Prophet has forbidden to true believers. They belong, of course, to the Orthodox Eastern Church, and are now in full communion with the Church of Russia, of which indeed they may be said to have become a branch, though their liturgy differs a little in some points. During the earlier Middle Ages I suspect that they were more influenced by heterodox Armenia than by Constantinople, though they separated from the Armenian Church in the end of the sixth century, when the latter finally anathematized the Council of Chalcedon. Their ecclesiastical alphabet, for they have two, is taken from the Armenian. Of their number it is difficult to form an estimate; it can hardly exceed 500,000 souls, and may be considerably less. Scattered through Upper Georgia, and to be found among the peasantry as well as in the towns, there is a considerable Armenian population, who probably settled here when their national kingdom was destroyed by the Seljukian conquerors, Alp Arslan and Malek Shah, in the eleventh century. Farther south, in Armenia proper, they constitute the bulk of the population in the country districts, Kurds being mixed with them in the mountains, Tatars in the plains, and Persians in the towns. As I shall have something to say of them in a later chapter, it is unnecessary to describe them at present, further than to remark that they are the most vigorous and intelligent of the Transcaucasian races, with a gift for trade which has enabled them to get most of the large business of the country into their hands. Their total number in these countries is estimated at 550,000. Going down the Kur from Tiflis towards the Caspian, one finds the Georgians give place to a people whom the Russians call Tatars, and who are unquestionably a branch of the great Turkic family. When or how they settled here, no one can precisely tell, but it seems likely the earliest immigration was from the north, along the Caspian coast. There is no doubt that the Emperor Heraclius, in his long war with Persia in the middle of the seventh century, called in to his aid the Khazars, a Scythian tribe, from the Caspian steppe north of Derbend. Probably these Khazars were the first Turks who settled on this side of the mountains; but many others must have come in afterwards from the southeast at the time of the great Seljukian conquests in the eleventh century. Their villages, often mere burrows in the dry soil, are scattered all over the steppe eastward to the Caspian, and southward as far as the Persian frontier. Many are agricultural, many more live by their sheep and cattle, which in summer are driven up towards the Armenian mountains and in winter return to the steppe. The Tatars are also the general carriers of the country. On the few roads, or oftener upon the open steppe, one sees their endless trains of carts, and more rarely their strings of camels, fetching goods from Shemakha, or Baku, or Tavriz [Tabriz, Iran], to Tiflis, thence to be dispatched over the Dariel into Southern Russia, or by railway to Poti and Western Europe. The last of their occupations, the one in which they most excel, and which they have almost to themselves, is brigandage. If we had believed a quarter part of what the quidnuncs of Tiflis told us, we should have
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thought the country seriously disturbed, and traveling, especially by night, full of peril. Stories were always being brought into the city, and even appearing in the papers, of robberies, sometimes of murders, committed on the roads to Elizavetpol and Erivan; and along the latter road, we found the folk at the post stations with imaginations ready to see a Tatar behind every bush. Even the Russian officials at Tiflis, who of course desired to make little of anything that reflects on the vigilance of the government, advised us to be careful where we halted, and how we displayed any valuables. I cannot help believing, therefore, that robberies do sometimes occur, and no doubt it is the Tatars, or at least a band led by a Tatar chief, who perpetrate them. But the substantial danger is not really more than sufficient to give a little piquancy to traveling, and make you fondle your pistols with the air of a man who feels himself prepared for an emergency. In a dull country, far removed from the interest and movements of the Western world, the pleasure of life is sensibly increased when people have got the exploits of robbers to talk about. It is a subject level with the meanest imagination; the idle Georgian noble and the ignorant peasant enjoy it as heartily as Walter Scott himself. Whatever truth there is in such stories as these, they show that way in which the country people regard the robbers, and explain why brigandage still holds its ground against the efforts of the government. Some people give another reason, and say that the inferior officials do not care to put it down, but take a share of the spoils, and sometimes, when they have caught a notable robber, release him for a good round ransom which his friends will always pay. This I believe to be a calumny, though of course such a thing may have occurred once and again; the chief difficulty in the way of putting down brigandage is the vicinity of the Persian and Turkish dominions, into which marauders can easily escape, and whence the bands are constantly recruited by all sorts of adventurous spirits, who have lived under a government so bad that lawlessness seems justified. Besides these four nations, and the Armenians who live scattered among them, there are plenty of Persians in Transcaucasia, especially towards the southwest angle of the Caspian [Azerbaijan], and on the Aras, beyond Erivan, a region which Russia acquired from Persia only in 1828. Some of the Tatars, like the Osmanli Turks and the Turkmans, are Sunni Mohammedans, the Persians are Shiahs, who reject and abominate the three first Khalifs and honor Ali almost as much as the Prophet himself. Here, however, they live peaceably enough together. The Tatar is mostly tall and robust, with a round face, rather prominent cheekbones, a short nose, and small eyes. The Persian is slim, lithe, stealthy and cat-like in his movements; his face is long, of a clear yellowish tint, his eyes dark and rather large, nose aquiline, eyebrows delicately arched. The Tatar is inclined to be open; he is faithful to his word, and more inclined to force than to fraud; the Persian has the name of being the greatest liar in the East. “In Iran no man believes another” has become in these countries almost a proverb. With these moral disadvantages, the Persians are no doubt in many ways a superior race, industrious and polished even in the dregs of their civilization, after centuries of tyranny and misgovernment. But modern Persia, from all that one can hear, is more execrably misgoverned than Turkey itself. The duty of the governor of a province or town is simply to squeeze as much money as he can out of the inhabitants; his methods are the bastinado, impalement, crucifixion, burying up to the neck in the ground, and similar tortures. Still more distinct are the Germans, of whom there are several colonies, the largest, established in Tiflis, numbering some four or five thousand souls. They came hither from Würtemberg about sixty years ago, driven out by an obnoxious hymn-book. In respect of education and intelligence, they are of course far above any of the natives, while their Protestantism prevents them from intermarrying with, and therefore from sensibly affecting, their Russian neighbors. They have lost, if they ever possessed, the impulse of progress; their own farms are the best in the country, and their handicraftsmen in Tiflis superior to the Georgians or Persians; but they are content to go on in their old ways, not spreading out from the community, not teaching or in any way stimulating the rest of the population. All these races live together, not merely within the limits of the same country, a country politically and physically one, but to a great extent actually on the same soil, mixed up with and crossing one another. This phenomenon—so strange to one who knows only the homogeneous population of West European countries, or of a country like America, where all sorts of elements are day by day being flung into the melting-pot, and lose their identity almost at once— comes out most noticeably in the capital of Transcaucasia, the city of Tiflis. Here six nations dwell together in a town smaller than Brighton, and six languages are constantly, three or four more occasionally, to be heard in the streets. Varieties of dress, religion, manners, and physical aspect correspond to these diversities of race. The traveler’s or interpreter’s lingua franca of Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia and the Caucasus generally is what the Russians call Tartar (or rather Tatar), but what we should call Turkish. Though Russia does not interfere with Islam, and has the prudence to respect the Armenian Church, she is hostile to both Roman Catholic and Protestant missions, and does her best to advance her own church in every way. Agriculture is much what it may have been five centuries ago, witness the implements used. The plough is a ruder contrivance than that which Hesiod describes; no wonder that a large team is needed to drag it through the hard dry earth. Just outside the houses of Tiflis I have seen no less than sixteen oxen yoked to a single plough. Her peasants, except some sects of dissenters who have been deported hither by the Czars, have not crossed the mountains to colonize, nor are they the sort of colonists that change the face of a country as Americans do. They are uneducated, attached to their old ways, unreceptive of new ideas even in a new land. It is Eastern—Eastern not only in the dry, bare glowing landscape (I speak chiefly of the Caspian basin), but in the look of the villages, the bazaars, the agriculture, the sense of immobility. Seeing the ancient churches and castles, most of which have some legend attached to them (though such legends are as seldom poetical as they are trustworthy), one has an odd sort of sense of being in a country which has had a history, but a history that never emerged from twilight, which nobody knows, and
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which is perhaps hardly worth the knowing. In Eastern Russia and Siberia you acquiesce in the fact that there never was any history; the past is a blank, and must remain so. In Asia Minor, on the other hand, you are within the circle of Greek and Roman civilization; everybody, from Herodotus downwards, has something to tell of its cities and peoples. But Georgia, and the regions immediately round it, have been always the frontier land of light and darkness, a battlefield of hostile empires and religions; first of the Roman empire and the Persians, then of Christianity and fireworship, then of Christianity and Islam, then of Persians and Turks, lastly of Russia against both the Sultan and the Shah. One finds traces in the buildings and the art of the people of all these influences—of the Greek traders who frequented the markets of the Euxine; of the Byzantine emperors, who held sometimes more, sometimes less of the country, Justinian having pushed forward his garrisons as far as the Upper Kur and Heraclius as far down as Tavriz; of the Genoese, who monopolized the Black Sea trade in the later days of Byzantine rule, and had their settlements all round its coasts; of the Persians and Armenians, who came as conquerors or immigrants. There is a wonderful harvest awaiting the archaeologist here, and the laborers are still few. The Russians, as being the rulers and the most civilized, might be expected to be able to effect this, but it must be remembered that they are not very numerous, consisting only of the upper officials, of the soldiers, who are a transitory element in the population, and of some isolated settlements of dissenting peasants. Moreover, they are not thoroughly civilized themselves, and cannot impart what they have not got. Civilization in Russia is like a coat of paint over unseasoned wood; you may not at first detect the unsoundness of the material, but test it, and it fails. The Persians hate all Turks worse than they hate Christians, and may even, to the extent of their very limited power, side with Russia in the quarrel. The Tatars are a simple folk of shepherds, carriers, highwaymen, with no sense of the “solidarity of the Turkish race,” and no desire to draw the sword against the infidel. The Armenian peasantry of the Araxes valley seem to live much in the same way as their Tatar neighbors; their villages are little better, nor are they less illiterate. But one never hears of intermarriages nor any sort of rapprochement between them. Among the Christians themselves, the separate existence and strongly national character of the Armenian Church keeps its children apart not only from Protestant Germans, but from those who own the Orthodox Eastern faith. And it is really only where such a religions repulsion does not exist, as, for instance, between Russians and Georgians, that any social amalgamation goes on. There is no unity among these races, no common national feeling to appeal to, nothing on which a national kingdom could be based. Nothing, in fact, keeps them together but the Russian army and administration, and the loyalty of both these to the Czar is that which keeps Russia herself together, rising as it does almost to the dignity of a national worship. Chapter IV Tiflis is intolerably hot and close in summer. Add to this that the water is scarce and indifferent, and the dust truly Oriental, and it is easy to understand that summer is not the time to enjoy the Transcaucasian capital. So in summer, pretty nearly every one who can afford it, and can get free from his official duties, makes off to the hills. The court, that is to say, the Grand Duke, who is the sun of this system, and his attendant planets, the adjutants, go to Borjom, a charming spot among wooded mountains eighty miles to the west-northwest. In Tiflis, each of the principal trades has a street or streets, or a covered arcade in the bazaar, entirely to itself: thus in one street you find the dealers in arms, in a second the leather-sellers, in a third the jewelers, in a fourth the carpet merchants, in a fifth the furriers, on whose walls hang the skins of Caucasian bears and Hyrcanian tigers. The value of the old silver goods is well known; it is little use hoping for a bargain where so many Russian buyers are about, and where the sellers are mostly Armenian. The Germans have their own schools, far better than any which Russian organization produces; they are nearly all Protestants, with a wholesome Protestant contempt for their superstitious Georgian and Armenian neighbors. When there meets you a keener or more restless glance, you may be sure that it comes from an Armenian eye. The Armenians are a large and apparently an increasing element of the population, easily known by their swarthy complexion and peculiar physiognomy. They are the most vigorous and pushing people in the country, and have got most of its trade into their hands, not only the shop-keeping, but the larger mercantile concerns. Tiflis, whose native name, Tiblisi, is said to be derived from a Georgian word meaning hot, and to refer to the warm springs, is a place of some historical note. Tradition says that the first fort was erected here by a lieutenant of the Sassanid kings of Persia in A.D. 380, and that at it, seventy-five years later, the reigning monarch of Georgia, Vaktang Gurgaslan, founded a city, to which, in the beginning of the following century, his son Datchi transferred the seat of government, attracted by the hot sulphurous baths. Compared, however, to the antiquity of the former capital, Mtzkhet (twelve miles to the northwest), which was founded by a great-great-great-grandson of Noah, Tiflis appears a settlement of yesterday. Kajori is but a small place as yet, though with the growth of Tiflis it is likely to increase, and we visited only one other person there, General Chodzko (Khodzko), the distinguished engineer officer who in 1850 led a surveying party up Ararat. From him and his secretary, Mr. Scharoyan, I received a valuable suggestion for the climb, which we were thinking of trying, viz [namely] to keep to the rocks rather than trust the snow, and many injunctions on no account to ascend alone. In the evening we returned to Tiflis, fortified with all the recommendations that could be desired to convey us along the road into Armenia, for which, on the next day but one, we started accordingly.
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Chapter V Let me premise that the term “Russian Armenia,” which it is often convenient to use, does not denote any political division. Armenia is merely a popular historical name for the countries, which at one time or another formed part of the old Armenian kingdom. Two kinds of vehicle are used here, as in the Russian empire generally, for the conveyance of passengers—the telega and the tarantass. A telega is simply a small four-wheeled square or oblong cart, usually with sides, which give it the air of a box upon wheels, but sometimes without sides, a mere flat piece of board, on the edge of which you sit, letting your legs dangle over. Of its capacities, or incapacities, for comfort, I shall speak later on. The tarantass is in shape more like a large Norwegian carriole, but with four wheels: it is a seat, places in the center of a longish pole, which again is set on the axles of the wheels. This gives it a sort of elasticity; in fact, the pole acts as a spring, just as in the American vehicle called a buckboard. I had better explain what the Russians mean by the term steppe, which is one of those a traveler comes to use so familiarly as to forget that it is not ordinary English. The steppe is not necessarily flat land, for the country north of the Sea of Azof for instance, is rolling; nor low country, for some of the so-called steppes beyond the Caspian are on lofty table-lands. Nor is it barren; on the contrary, some parts are extremely fertile. It is simply open, treeless land, whether covered with grass, or with weeds, or with dwarf, thorny bushes, or only with stones and sand. Here, in the valleys of the Kur and Aras, there is but little of the pure desert steppe, though the rainfall sinks sometimes to four or five inches a year; but on the other side of the Caspian, in the plateau of Ust Urt and the parts of Turkestan that lie south of the Aral Sea, desert is the rule, and a bit of cultivable land, with a spring or pond, the rare exception. Along the road we were traversing the steppe land is comparatively narrow. On the north one sees a long line of low wooded hills, outliers of and hiding the great range of the Eastern Caucasus in Daghestan; to the southwest other hills, bare, brown, and lumpy, rise up towards the edge of the Armenian plateau. Once in six or seven miles we pass a Tatar burying ground, a dismal group of stones stuck erect, though most have now fallen over, in the bare steppe, with no enclosure round them nor any sign of care. Not far from the cemetery you discover, with some difficulty, groups of low, round-topped, earthen hovels, some like an English pigsty, some mere burrows in the clay, with no windows, and only a hole for a door. These huts are all deserted; the Tatars who inhabit them during winter have now driven their flocks up into the hills on the Armenian border to seek fresh pasture, and will not return till the approach of winter. Silent and dreary as the steppe is, there is plenty of traffic along the road: strings of carts laden with merchandise, vehicles with merchants or officials, solitary riders, all armed to the teeth, with two or three daggers, and perhaps pistols also, stuck in their belt, and an extraordinary old gun of the matchlock type slung over their shoulder. At first we bowed or touched our hats to these wayfarers, whereat they seemed surprised, and did not return the compliment. Our companion solemnly warned us to salute no more, saying we should be taken for strangers ignorant of the ways of the country, and likely to be rich men; and that even if none of those we met were thievishly inclined, they might say something about us—probably a disagreeable something—to other people along the road who would be ready for mischief. In fact, the presumption here seems to be omnis ignotus pro periculoso; and instead of civility you do well to scowl at those you meet, and let them see that you too are armed. This piece of country between Tiflis and Erivan [Yerevan] is said to be the chief seat of Transcaucasian brigandage, and many are the tales one hears about it. Some, which have a slightly romantic, Robin Hood sort of flavor, I have given in an earlier chapter: I will add two others, which may be more historical. Only two or three years ago, the governor of Erivan, who had been making efforts to clear his government of these plagues, was encountered on a journey by a troop of gully fifty brigands. Their leader rode forward, and pointed out to his Excellency that the escort of twenty Cossacks who accompanied him need not attempt to resist the superior numbers of the band. The governor admitted the justice of this view, and surrendered, upon which they took from him his favorite horse, and sent him on his way lamenting. A few weeks later, the horse was returned, with a message from the chief that he had no wish to injure the governor, and desired that nothing should interrupt their friendly relations, “I took your horse only as a lesson to you not to interfere with my people as you have lately been doing: see that you do not repeat that mistake.” Here, some twenty-five miles from Tiflis, a considerable stream comes down from the Armenian mountains on the right to join the Kur, and winds along the precipitous face of some low, bare hills that bound its valley on the south. Along the road, at intervals of a few miles in the more hilly parts, there are placed little wooden scaffoldings, some fifteen feet high, with a ladder giving access to a small platform, where a tchapar or Cossack is set to keep a look-out over the adjoining slopes, and summon his comrades from the nearest station if he sees any suspicious characters about. We saw nobody aloft in any of these look-outs as we passed, and supposed from this, and from what people told us at the Red Bridge, that the road was safe at present. However, at the next station, which we reached about 9 o’clock P.M., the air was full of stories of “bad people,” Tatars of course, who had been seen hanging about; and we were besought not to go on by a pompous postmaster, who warned us that, as we were recommended to his care by the government, we owed it to him to be prudent, and that he would not be answerable for the results if we proceeded further that night. Whether there was really any risk, it was impossible for us to tell, but, anyhow, it was clear that there would be considerable difficulty in getting horses; so on our companion’s advice we halted till about 4 A.M., “making ourselves comfortable” in the one room which the post-house provided. This process consisted in spreading out on the dirty floor
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a small Shemakha rug, which we had bought in Tiflis, and lying down upon it with a pair of boots for a pillow. Nothing could be prettier, or less like the country we had just left. Bare reddish mountain tops rose nearly 4000 feet above us, and 6000 or 7000 feet above the sea; their densely wooded sides descending steeply into the valley, along whose narrow but level floor the clear stream rippled along in little runs and pools, where surely trout must play, the sunlight breaking through the bushes on its sparkling shallows. Delijan itself, which lies scattered up and down the steep hillside, at a point where two glens meet, is inhabited partly by Armenians, partly by Molokans, a sect of Russian Dissenters who have been deported hither by the Czars. They are said to have neither baptism nor the Lord’s Supper, nor any regular clergy; and at their religious meetings follow up the singing and the extempore prayers, which constitute the service with an odd sort of dance, and kissings all round. They cling to all their old Russian habits, marry only among themselves, and build their cottages of wood, so that one easily distinguishes their settlements from those of Armenians or Tatars, even before seeing their beards and characteristically Russian physiognomy. From Delijan, which we left at seven o’clock in the evening, the well engineered road mounts steeply through a superbly wooded glen, whose beauties, however, we lost in the darkness. It was midnight before we reached the posthouse at the top of the pass, where we halted in the hope of a little sleep, having had none to speak of the night before. Sleep, however, was out of the question. It was bitterly cold, for we were at a height of 7000 feet above the sea, the room was small, and foul beyond description, and the stony floor one had to lie down upon swarmed—here, however, let a veil be dropped. Memory called up many a disagreeable night—nights in rock-holes on the Alps, nights under canvas amid Icelandic snow-storms, nights in Transylvanian forests, nights in coasting streamers off the shores of Spain, nights in railway waiting-rooms in England, but no night so horrible as this. Descending under the opening eyelids of the dawn from the pass, which lies among green and rounded hills, we were refreshed by the sight of a magnificent inland sea stretching away fifty miles to the southward, surrounded by high volcanic hills, all absolutely bare of trees, and in most places even of grass, but with a few small patches of snow lying here and there in their upper hollows. It was the lake which the Russians call Goktcha (a corruption of the Tatar name, which means blue lake), and the natives Sevan, the Lychnitis of the ancients; and we were now fairly in Armenia. Unlike the two other great lakes of that country, that of Van in the Turkish dominions and that of Urumia in the Persian, its waters are fresh and it discharges by a small river, the Zenga, into the Aras. The mountains round it are all of volcanic origin, and rise some 4000 to 5000 feet above its surface, which is over 5870 feet above the sea. A great part of it freezes in winter. The beach, at the place where I bathed, was composed of large volcanic pebbles, glued together by and incrusted with a thick calcareous deposit, which forms all around the shores a white line, marking the difference between the summer and winter level of the water. The only village we could descry lies just opposite the only island, whereon is the ancient and famous Armenian monastery of Sevan or Sevanga. Even the Armenian fathers of the little monastery in the lake, which at one time claimed to be the seat of the Patriarch of the Armenian Church, own with a sigh that the age of miracles is past. Hamlets lie scattered in the glens, and here and there woods of dwarf oak hang on the steep sides of the glens, giving the landscape a softer and more cheerful look than this part of Armenia generally has. At the top of the long, steep slope down which the village of Daratchitchak meanders stand three curious old churches, built of huge blocks of a reddish volcanic stone. The two larger of them have been partly destroyed in some of the numerous Tatar irruptions; but the smallest is entire, covered, like all Armenian churches, by a high polygonal cupola, and has a pretty little portico, whose doorway is divided into two by a miniature, elegantly carved, Romanesque column, supporting two slightly pointed arches, a charming piece of work, which reminded us of Western forms more than anything we had yet seen in these countries. The vice-governor and his wife courteously welcomed us. He smiled when we asked, through the lady, who acted as interpreter, about Ararat, told us that it had never been really ascended, though several travelers professed to have got up, and evidently thought the enterprise hopeless. Ala Göz consists of three sharp, rocky peaks, apparently parts of the rim of an ancient crater, rising out of an immense swelling upland some forty miles in circumference. The peaks, one of which is said to be inaccessible, and certainly looks as though it might afford nice bits of climbing, are too abrupt to bear snow, but we afterwards saw patches of white in the bottom of the extinct crater between them. It is even said that there is a small glacier there; I cannot think, however, the snow is sufficient in quantity to feed one. Ala Göz is a curious instance of the untrustworthiness of one’s impressions about the height of mountains. After Ararat, it is the loftiest summit between the Caucasus and the Persian Gulf, 13,436 feet above the sea, as high as the Schreckhorn or Piz Bernina. If we had judged by our eyes, we should have put it down at 9000 feet. I have never seen so high a hill look so inconsiderable, so perfectly mean and trivial. It is true that the point whence we first caught sight of it was 5000 feet above the sea; but afterwards, looking at it from the plain of the Aras, and from the top of Ararat, it seemed no higher, owing, no doubt, to the gentleness of its lower slopes and to the way one miscalculates distance in this clear, dry atmosphere. It is a bare and dreary country, like all the interior of Armenia, perfectly brown, and apparently almost waterless; but the volcanic soil is very rich, and would support a population far larger than that which now occupies it. Everything is primitive to the last degree: there was not even a morsel of food, nor a drop of vodka. Every post-house, however simple, possesses a samovar, a huge brazen urn with a cylinder in the middle, into which the charcoal is put to boil the water. As soon as you enter the station, you call for the samovar; in fifteen or twenty minutes the hot water is ready. Then you put in the tea, slice down the lemons, and tumble in the sugar, which articles you have, of course, brought
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with you, and in five minutes all your wretchedness is forgotten. Tea is the universal beverage of these countries, just as coffee is of the Levant and the Mediterranean generally; it is drunk by Armenians, Persians, Tatars, Turkmans, Kalmucks, Mongols, Tibetans, in fact, by the whole of Northern and Central Asia, all the way to China, just as much as by the Russians themselves. Erivan, the capital of Russian Armenia, which next morning stood basking in a sun what made it dangerous to go out except under an umbrella, is a thoroughly Eastern town, with just a little Russian varnish in one or two of its streets. It is Eastern of the Persian type, which is very different from the Arab Orientalism of Cairo or Tangier, or the half French, half Osmanli Orientalism of Stamboul. Many of the houses, especially in the outskirts, open off narrow lanes between high mud walls, and are surrounded by groves and vineyards. There are no shops, for all the buying and selling goes on in the bazaar, a complex of long straight brick arcades, in which the dealers and handicraftsmen sit upon divans behind their wares, sipping tea, or smoking gout of their kalians, or long flexible water pipes, and scarcely condescend to answer you when you ask the price of an article. Each trade has an arcade or two itself; the bakers are in one, the fruit-sellers in a second, the shoemakers in a third; in a fourth, carpets; in a fifth, leather goods, and so forth. Persians, Tatars, and Armenians are all represented, the last being decidedly more anxious to do business than the other two. The bazaar begins to be crowded about 5 A.M., and thins off in the forenoon, reviving a little in the quarters where food is sold towards the time of the evening meal. In front of it lies the great Meidan, a sort of square or open space, where the road to Persia meets the road to Tiflis and Europe. Men in sheepskin hats, shuffling along in their loose, low-heeled slippers, and women covered from head to foot with a blue checked robe, are flocking hither to buy food from every part of the city, and clustering like bees round the stalls which bakers and fruit-sellers have set up here and there through the Meidan, and where heaps of huge green and golden melons, plums, apples, and above all, grapes of the richest hue and flavor, lie piled up. Hard by stand the rude country carts or pack-horses that have brought the fruit, with the Armenian peasant in his loose grey cotton frock; while strings of camels from Persia or the Caspian coast file in, led by sturdy Tatars, daggers stuck in their belts, an old matchlock slung behind, and a huge sheepskin cap overshadowing the whole body. Sometimes a swarthy, fierce-eyed Kurd from the mountains appears; sometimes a slim and stealthy son of Iran, with his tall black hat and yellow robe. It is a perfectly Eastern scene, just such as any city beyond the frontiers would present, save that in Persia one would see men crucified along the wall, and both there and in Turkey might hear the shrieks of wretches writhing under the bastinado. One forgets Russia till a mounted Cossack is seen galloping past with dispatches for Alexandropol, where the Grand Duke, attended by the governor of Erivan, is now holding a great review. It is just such a scene as Ararat, whose snowy cone rises behind in incomparable majesty, may have looked down upon any day for these three thousand years. As noon approaches, the babbling rills of life that flow hither and thither in the bazaar are stilled; the heat has sent every one home to slumber, or at least to rest and shade; the fruit-sellers have moved their stalls, the peasants have returned to the country; Ararat, too, has hid his silvery head in a mantle of clouds. Only the impatient Western traveler braves the arrows of the sun, and tries to worry his Armenian driver into a start across the scorching plain. The population of Erivan is greatly mixed, and, of course, no one knows the proportions of the various elements. Till 1827, when Paskievitch captured it, and won for himself the title of Erivanski, it belonged to Persia, and a good many Persians still remain in it, fully a quarter of the whole number of inhabitants. Nearly as many more may be Tatars, less than a half Armenians; the balance consists of Russian officials and troops, with a few Greeks and other nondescript foreigners, including, of course, several Germans. Go where you will in the world, as a friend said to me who has traversed nearly every part of it, you will always find a German; they are more ubiquitous than the English themselves. Life flows on in the old channels, little affected either by Russian conquests or by the reviving hopes of the Armenian nation. Like most towns in a country, which has been so often the theatre of destructive wars, it has few antiquities, though is claims to have been founded by Noah, and appeals to its name, which in Armenian is said to mean “the Apparent,” as evidence that it was the first dry land the patriarch saw. Another tradition goes still further back, holding that it was Noah’s dwelling before the Flood took place. Be this as it may, it has now no sights to show except the mosques and the ancient palace of the Shah, or rather of his lieutenant, the Sardar of Erivan. The most trivial details of Eastern life are fascinating to those whose childish imagination has been fed by the Bible and the Arabian Nights. To see people sitting or sleeping on the flat roofs, or talking to one another in the gate through which a string of camels is passing, to visit mosques and minarets and bazaars, watch the beggar crawl into the ruined tomb of a Muslim saint, and ramble through a grove of cypresses strewn with nameless, half fallen gravestones, to stand by the baker or the shoemaker as he plies his craft in his open stall, and listen to the stories told by the barber, even when one does not understand a word, with the sacred mountain of the Ark looking down upon all, this seems like a delightful dream from far-off years, and one wakes with a start to perceive that it is all real, and that in the midst of it stands an unsympathetic Frank, unable to rid himself of a sense of mingled contempt and pity for the “natives,” anxious to examine what he has come so far to see, and then press on to something further. One considers how long it would take to tame down a restless Western spirit to the apathy, the acquiesciveness, the sense of boundless time before and around which these people have been steeped in for so many generations. With the end of our pilgrimage full in sight, and the moon, on whose light we must depend for night marches, waning fast, we had no wish to linger in Erivan, especially as the letters we bore enabled us to get horses without trouble or delay. Both in Tiflis and all the way along from Tiflis to Erivan, we had about Mount Ararat, the side from which to approach it, the modes or chances of ascending it. Little, however, could be learned except that the point we
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must make for was the frontier military station of Aralykh [Aralik, Turkey], lying on the right (western) bank of the Araxes,1 about twenty-five miles from Erivan. Accordingly, on the morning of September the 9th, we drove off from Erivan under the blazing noon, having purchased and stowed away in the tarantass a good stock of bread, tea, and delicious grapes, grapes well worthy to have grown on Noah’s vine. The road combined in a singular manner two apparently incompatible evils, roughness and softness. It was strewn with rocks, over which we jolted with a violence that obliged one to hold on for fear of being thrown out; it was deep in dust, which rose round us in blinding clouds. Cultivation did not appear till we began to approach the Araxes, where not only is the soil deeper, but tiny canals from the river or the few tributary streams, which it receives from the left, diffuse fertility. This Araxes plain is much the richest part of Armenia, being both hot and well watered, while the rest of the country is high, cold, and dry. It is, in fact, a country of lofty open plateaus separated by ranges of bare mountains; the plateaus 5000 to 7000 feet, the mountains 8000 to 12,000 feet above the sea. The climate is therefore mostly a rigorous one, running into violent extremes of winter cold, and unrelieved in summer by the sheltering or moistening influence of forests. The plateaus I have mentioned, like that on which Erzerum stands, are covered with snow till April, the passes of the mountains much later; and of course little but corn and other distinctively northern crops can be raised on them. But this great valley of the Araxes which intersects the mountain land is here only 2700 feet above the sea, and as the latitude is that of Seville or Baltimore, one is not surprised to find the heat overpowering even in September, and to see fields of cotton and tobacco bordering the road. A prettier crop than cotton makes it would be hard to name, with its yellow flowers, abundant low leafage and pods snowy white as they burst. Lines of lofty poplars sometimes enclose the road, and give a temporary defense against the sun for which we are duly grateful, though they hide Ararat, on which we had been keeping our eyes fixed since morning, hoping that the clouds which were shifting themselves uneasily round his top would part sufficiently to let us have a glimpse of it. The vineyards, loaded with purple fruit, would have been too great a temptation to men so hot and thirsty but that they were enclosed by high walls of mud, with a sort of crow’s nest on a scaffolding in the center, where a peasant was perched to watch for and scare away depredators. In the villages we passed, the houses were all of clay, which looked as if it could scarcely resist a moderately energetic thunderstorm; their walls spotted with lumps of mud which have been stuck on wet where the original structure had begun to show holes or chinks. An Armenian house gets renewed in this fashion like an Irishman’s coat, till there is none of the first fabric left. These houses are usually built at the side of or round a small courtyard, enclosed by a high mud wall with one door in it; round two or three sides of the yard the rooms are placed, which have no apertures for light—one can hardly say windows—except into the yard, and little or no furniture. In some the cattle are housed with the family; those of a better sort have a byre on the other side of the yard, distinct from the living rooms, and sometimes many such small subsidiary erections. The interior is dark, and with scarcely any furniture, perhaps a low stool or tow, and a rough carpet or piece of matting to sit or sleep upon. In summer life goes on chiefly upon the flat roofs, also of clay, where the men sit smoking or eating melons, and where, or else in the gardens, they sleep at night. These villages in the middle of the fields, surrounded by vineyards and by groves of the elæagnus, with its handsome brown fruit, and apricot or willow, are mostly inhabited by Armenians, who labor on the soil, getting water from the Araxes by a multitude of channels that run hither and thither through the tilled land. Of the Tatars many are shepherds, accustomed in summer to wander up to the hills with their flocks; some, however, have permanent dwellings in the plain, and do a little husbandry. Their hamlets are generally even ruder and meaner than the Armenian, and their way of life more repulsive. When communications have to be made, Tatar is the medium, not only because it is the lingua franca of all these countries, but because the Armenians, who are quick at languages, learn it far more readily than the Tatars do Armenian. A good deal of traffic goes on along this road, which is the only highway from Tavriz, the chief commercial city of Northern Persia, to Erivan and Russia generally. After five hours’ driving from Erivan, and changing horses twice, we suddenly turned to the right off the post-road, with its double line of telegraph wires, and, passing through some thickets, emerged on to a long stretch of open ground, marked here and there with wheel tracks, across which we came in two or three miles to the banks of the
1 Aras is, I believe, the Persian form of the name, Arax the Russian; but it is quite as well known under the ancient name Araxes, which is at least as old as Herodotus. He, however, confounds our river with the Volga and the Oxus.
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Aras. Things have not changed much here in the last nineteen hundred years. The Araxes—pontem indignatus Araxes—is spanned by no bridge all down its course, and all who wonder how to cross its historic flood must swim, or wade, or ferry. Wondering how we were to get over, we looked with some concern as well as admiration at the wide stream, as wide as the Thames at London Bridge, that swept along between banks of clay which rose ten or twelve feet above the present level of the water, but which in winter are no doubt often covered. The driver, however, promptly ran his horses down the bank and plunged in; when to our astonishment the stream turned out to be only two feet deep. The water, the muddiness of which had prevented us from seeing how shallow it was, scarcely rose to the horses’ knees, and did not come into the bottom of our low tarantass; though its flow was so rapid that fording may be pretty dangerous after heavy rains above. On our way back, some days afterwards, we crossed in a ferry-boat stationed a little lower down, which is worked by a rope, and I had then the pleasure of a plunge into this famous river, whose water is not cold enough to do the most exhausted bather any harm. It seemed to have a fuller current than the Kur at Tiflis, yet a wonderfully scanty one, considering the length of its course; this, of course, is easily explained by the great dryness of the country it drains. Passing through a crowd of picturesque Kurds who had been driving their cattle through by the same ford, and envying the big grayish-white buffaloes which were cooling themselves in the water, we crossed a tract intersected by numerous channels drawn from the river for irrigation, bordered with tall reeds, and enclosing fields of rice, already reaped, and cotton whose pods were just bursting with white fluff. In the reedy marshes, which these channels feed, there is abundance of wild hogs. They come out at night, and ravage the rice-fields of the Tatars; and as the Mohammedan scruples of the latter prevent them from touching, and practically therefore from hunting down, this unclean animal, the hogs have a fine time of it. At the Russian station of Aralykh, there is always kept a detachment of Cossacks, and the colonel in command is the chief military authority over the skirts of the two Ararats, charged to guard the frontier and look after the predatory bands that are said to hang about it. The summit of Little Ararat is the meeting-post of the Russian, Persian, and Turkish empires, and every one knows that border lands have been from time immemorial the haunts of dangerous or turbulent characters, since they can find an easy escape from the jurisdiction against which they have offended into another that knows nothing about them. The mountains are inhabited only by a few wandering Kurds. It will appear in the sequel that we saw, with our own eyes, no trace whatever of banditti. But as the colonel, who was a very sensible man, particularly begged us not to ramble more than a mile from the station, offering an escort if we wished to go farther, one could not but suppose there must really be some hidden dangers in these apparently deserted slopes. Robbers have for many generations been made an excuse for not exploring the mountain to find the Ark. In hearing about this, we were often reminded of the lines in Bishop Blougram’s Apology— “Such a traveler told you his last news, He saw the Ark a-top of Ararat; But did not climb there since ‘twas getting late, And robber bands infest the mountain’s foot.” Aralykh is not fortified, for there is no attack to be expected from these wretched banditti, whoever they are, nor does Russia appear to fancy an invasion from Turkey or Persia likely enough to be worth guarding against. It is merely a row of wooden barracks, neatly painted, with a smith’s and carpenter’s shop, cottages for the army followers, and so forth, scattered round it, and a few trees, giving a little shade in summer and shelter from the violent winter winds. The situation is striking. It is exactly on the line where the last slope of Ararat, an extremely gentle slope of not more than two or three degrees in inclination, melts into the perfectly flat bottom of the Aras valley. Looking up this slope, the mountain seems quite close, though in reality its true base, that is, the point where the ground begins to rise sharply, is fully four hours (twelve miles) distant. On this its north-eastern side, one looks right into the great black chasm [Ahora Gorge], and sees, topping the cliffs that surround that chasm, a cornice of ice 300 or 400 feet in thickness [Cehennem Dere with Abich I ice cliff], lying at a height of about 14,000 feet, and above, a steep slope of snow, pierced here and there by rocks running up to the summit. A little to the west of south, and about seventeen miles distant, rises the singularly elegant peak of Little Ararat, appearing from this point as a regular slightly truncated cone, which in the autumn is free from snow. In the plain, and only a few miles off to the southwest, a low rocky eminence is seen, close to the famous monastery of Khorvirab, where St. Gregory the Illuminator, the apostle of Armenia, was for fourteen years confined in a dry well by his cousin, King Tiridates. So at least says the Armenian Church. The very ancient ruins on it are sometimes taken to be the site of the famous city of Artaxata, which, according to Strabo, was build for King Artaxias (who, revolting from Antiochus the Great, founded an Armenian kingdom) by Hannibal, after he had left Antiochus, and before he sought his last refuge with Prusias of Bithynia. Others place Artaxata nearer to Erivan on the river Medzamor, and at some distance from the present bed of the Araxes, which, according to Tacitus (Ann. Xiii. 41) flowed under the walls of Artaxata. It was one of the two capitals of Digran or Tigranes, the great Armenian conqueror, and captured by Lucullus, when, after defeating Mithridates of Pontus, he carried the Roman arms against Tigranes, the son-in-law and ally of the latter, into these remote regions, which even Alexander had not entered. A century and a half later it was again taken and razed to the ground by Corbulo, one of the generals of Nero, and was subsequently
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rebuilt by Tiridates, a protégé of Nero’s, under the name of Neronia. When, about A.D. 370, it was again taken and burnt by the Persians, it is said to have contained a population of 200,000 total, 40,000 of them Jews. At Aralykh we were received with the utmost courtesy by the officer in command, Colonel Temirhan Aktolovitch Shipshef, a Mohammedan noble from the Kabarda, on the north side of the Caucasus, and a man of many and varied accomplishments. At night, it was terribly hot, for we were enjoined to keep the windows shut to avoid the feverproducing miasma from the adjoining marshes. Even our concentrated solution of carbolic acid, though it was strong enough to burn a hole in my forehead, did not wholly repel the mosquitoes whom these marshes rear. Concerning Ararat we had much discourse, the upshot of which was that nobody at Aralykh knew anything of former ascents, nor of how it ought to be attacked, but that we should have horses and Cossacks to take us to Sardarbulakh [Serdabulak in later times], a small military outpost high up on the way which leads over the pass between Great and Little Ararat to Bayazid, and as much farther as horses or Cossacks could go. A day, however, was needed to make preparations, and while these went forward, we got the heads and spikes of our ice-axes fitted with shafts by a German carpenter attached to the station, and rambled out under umbrellas over the slope that rose almost imperceptibly to the southeast, an hour’s walking on which seemed to bring us no nearer to the mountain. It was an arid waste of white volcanic ash or sand, covered with prickly shrubs, among which lizards and black scorpions wriggle about. We ought, of course, to have gone—any energetic traveler would have gone—to examine the ruins of Artaxata, but the overpowering heat and the weariness of the last few days and sleepless nights, which began to tell as soon as we began to rest, made us too languid even for so obvious a duty. So we dawdled, and panted, and dozed, and watched the clouds shift and break and form again round the solemn snowy cone till another evening descended and it glittered clear and cold beneath the stars. Chapter VI None of the native peoples that behold from the surrounding plains and valleys the silvery crest of Ararat know it by that name. The Armenians call it Massis, or Massis Ljarn (ljarn meaning “mountain”), a name which we may connect with the Masius of Strabo (though his description of that mountain does not suit ours); the Tatars and Turks, Aghri Dagh [Agri Dagi], which is interpreted as meaning “curved mountain,” or “painful mountain”; the Persians, Koh i Nuh, “the mountain of Noah,” or, according to Sir John Chardin, Sahat Toppin, which he interprets to mean “the Happy Hillock.” It has received among geographers the name of Ararat, which the Russian use is now beginning to spread in the neighborhood, and which the ecclesiastics at Etchmiadzin have taken as the title of a monthly magazine they publish, only from its identification with the Biblical mountain of the Ark, an identification whose history is curious.
The only topographical reference in the Scripture narrative of the Flood is to be found in the words, Genesis viii, 4,—“In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month,” “the Ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat,” which may be taken as equivalent to “on a mountain of (or in ) Ararat.” The word Ararat is used in three, or rather two, other places in Scripture. One is in 2 Kings xix. 37, and the parallel passage in Isaiah xxxvii. 38, where it is said of the sons of Sennacherib, who had just murdered their father, that “they escaped into the land of Ararat,” rendered in our
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version, and in the Septuagint, “Armenia.” The other is in Jeremiah li. 27, “Call together against her” (i.e. Babylon) “the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz.” The question then is, what does this Ararat denote? Clearly the Alexandrian translators took it for Armenia; so does the Vulgate when it renders in Genesis viii. 4 the words which we translate, “on the mountains of Ararat,” by “super montes Armeniae.” This narrows it a little, and St. Jerome himself helps us to narrow it still further when, in his commentary on Isaiah xxxvii. 38, he says that “Ararat means the plain of the middle Araxes, which lies at the foot of the great mountain Taurus.” Besides, Moses of Chorene, the well-known Armenian historian of the fifth century, speaks of a province or district he calls Ajrarat, lying on the Araxes, and which some have tried to identify with the name of the Alarodians in Herodotus. Now as our modern Mount Ararat, Aghri Dagh, is by far the highest and most conspicuous mountain of that region, no one who looked at it, already knowing the story of the Flood, could doubt that it was the first part of the dry land to appear as the waters dried up, so much does it rise above all its neighbors. The identification, therefore, is natural enough: what it is of more consequence to determine is how early it took place; for as there is little or no trace of an independent local tradition of the Flood, we may assume the identification to rest entirely on the use of the name Ararat in the Hebrew narrative. Josephus says that the Armenians called the place where Noah descended the disembarking place (άποβατήριον), “for the Ark being saved in that place, its remains are shown there by the inhabitants to this day,” and also quotes Nicolas of Damascus, who writes that “in Armenia, above Minyas, there is a great mountain called Baris (is this word the Armenian Masis?), upon which it is said that many who escaped at the time of the Flood were saved, and that one who was carried in an Ark came ashore on the top of it, and that the remains of the wood were preserved for a long while. This might be the man about whom Moses, the law-giver of the Jews, wrote.” This άποβατήριον has usually been identified with the town of Nakhitchevan (called by Ptolemy Naxuana), which stands on the Araxes, about thirty-five miles southeast from our mountain, and whose name the modern Armenians explain as meaning “he descended first,” which would seem to show that in the first century of our era—and how much sooner we cannot say—the Armenians living round the mountain believed it to be the Ark mountain. They might have heard of the Bible narrative from Jews, who were already beginning to be scattered through these countries (there is a story that some of those carried away by Shalmanezer were settled in Armenia and Georgia); they might know the Chaldaean legend of the Flood, which was preserved by Berosus, to whom Josephus so often refers, and a version of which has been found on clay tablets in the ruins of Nineveh and deciphered by the late Mr. George Smith. The curious thing is that this Chaldee legend fixed the spot of Noah’s landing in a quite different region, although one which was sometimes included in the wide and loose name Armenia, viz. in the mountain land (called by the Jews Qardu) which rises to the east of the Upper Tigris, that is, northeast of Nineveh and Mosul, in the direction of Urumia. This country was called in ancient times Gordyene, a name which appears in the Hebrew Qardu, and in our modern name Kurds, as well as in the Karduchi of Xenophon. As its mountains, although far less lofty than our modern Ararat, are of great height, and visible far away into the Assyrian plain (Mr. Layard saw Aghri Dagh from the summit of one of them), it was natural for the inhabitants of that plain to assume that they were the highest on earth, which the Deluge would be the last to cover, and where the vessel of safety would come to land. The Jews also, probably at the time of the Captivity, took up this notion, and it became the dominate one among them, is frequently given in the Talmud, and by Josephus himself, in a passage where he mentions that in the country of Adiabene, and in the district of Carrae (others read “of the Cardi” = Kurds), there were preserved the remains of the Ark. Probably he thought that the disembarking place mentioned in the beginning of his treatise was here, for he quotes Berosus as stating that it was among the Kurds, who in those days are not mentioned so far north as they wander now. Berosus’ words are, “It is said that there is still some part of this ship in Armenia at the mountain of the Cordyaeans ( πρòς τω ορει τωυ Κορδυαίωυ), and that some people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they take away and use chiefly as amulets for the averting of mischief.” But probably Josephus’ ideas of the geography of these regions were vague enough, and he may not have known that from the land of Ajrarat, on the middle Araxes, to Gordyene is more than 200 miles. From the Jews, this idea that Gordyene was the Biblical spot passed to the Syrian Church, and became the prevailing view throughout the Christian East, as it still is among the Nestorians, who dwell hard by. It passed also to the Muslims; and Gudi, the mountain where the Ark rested according to the Koran, is usually placed by them in the same Kurdish land, near the spot where there seems to have stood for several centuries (it was burnt in A.D. 655, but may have been rebuilt later) a convent to which tradition pointed as the guardian of the sacred fragments. Those who assume, as many Oriental scholars do, that the original tradition of the Flood is to be found in Assyria, naturally prefer this latter identification, since the mountains of Southern Kurdistan, the Qardu land, are quite high enough to satisfy the narrative, and must have been always familiar to the Chaldees, whereas the Araxes valley lies far away to the north, and the fact that its summits are really loftier would in those times be little known or regarded. Without the aid of our modern scientific appliances, men’s ideas of relative height are even vaguer and less capable of verification than their ideas of distance. On the other hand, the view which holds the Ararat of the Bible to lie in Northern Armenia, near the Araxes, can appeal not only to the undoubted fact that there was in that region the province called Ajrarat, but also to the reference to a “kingdom of Ararat” in Jeremiah li. 27, which could hardly apply to Gordyene. And one does not see why the Old Testament writers, whose geographical knowledge was in some points a good deal wider than is commonly assumed, should not have heard of the very lofty summits that lie in this part of Armenia. Full liberty is therefore left to the traveler to believe our Ararat, the snowy sovereign of the Araxes plain, to be the true Ararat, and
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certainly no one who had ever seen it rising in solitary majesty far above all its attendant peaks could doubt that its summit must have first pierced the receding waves. The modern Armenian tradition of course goes for nothing in settling the question, for that tradition cannot be shown to be older than our own era, and is easily accounted for by the use of the word Ararat in the book of Genesis, which the Armenians, when Jews or Christians came among them, would of course identify with their Ajrarat. Once established, the tradition held its ground, and budded out into many fantastic legends, some of them still lingering in Armenia, some only known to us by the notices of passing medieval travelers. Marco Polo, whose route does not seem to have led him near it, says only, in speaking of Armenia:—“Here is an exceeding great mountain: on which it is said the Ark of Noah rested, and for this cause it is called the mountain of the Ark of Noah. The circuit of its base cannot be traversed in less than two days; and the ascent is rendered impossible by the snow on its summit, which never dissolves, but is increased by each successive fall. On the lower declivities the melted snows cause an abundant vegetation, and afford rich pastures for the cattle which in summer resort thither from all the surrounding countries." But the Franciscan friar, William of Rubruk, who, in 1254, a little before Marco Polo’s time, had on his return from Karakorum passed under Ararat, says that here upon the higher of two great mountains above the river Araxes the Ark rested, which mountain cannot be ascended, though the earnest prayers of a pious monk prevailed so far that a piece of the wood of the Ark was brought to him by an angel, which piece is still preserved in a church near by as a holy relic. He gives Massis as the name of this mountain, and adds that it is the mother of the world: “super Massis nullus debet ascendere quia est mater mundi.” Sir John Maundeville, of pious and veracious memory, has also a good deal to tell us. After speaking of Trapazond (Trebizond), and stating that from there “men go to Ermonye (Armenia) the Great unto a cytee [city] that is clept [called] Artyroun (Erzerum), that was won’t to ben [been] a gode [good] cytee and a plentyous, but the Turkes han gretly wasted it,” he proceeds:—“Fro Artyroun go men to an Hille that is clept [called] Sabisocolle. And there besyde is another Hille that men clepen [called] Ararathe: but the Jews clepen it Taneez, where Noes Schipp [Ship] rested: and zit is upon that Montayne: and men may see it a ferr in cleer wedre: and that Montayne is well a 7 Myle high. And sum men seyn that they have seen and touched the Schipp; and put here Fyngres in the parties where the Feend went out whan that Noe seyd ‘Benedicite.” But thei that seyn such Wordes seyn here Wille, for a man may not gon up the Montayne for gret plentee of Snow that is alle weyes on that Montayne nouther Sommer ne Winter; so that no man may gon up there: ne nevere man did, sithe the tyme of Noe: saf a Monk that be the grace of God broughte on of the Planes down, that zit is in the Mynstre at the foot of the Montayne. And besyde is the Cytee of Dayne that Noe founded. And faste by is the Cytee of Any [Ani], in the whiche were 1000 churches. But upon that Montayne to gon up this Monk had gret desir; and so upon a day he wente up and whan he was upward the 3 part of the Montayne he was so wery that he myghte no ferthere, and so he rested him and felle to slepe; and whan he awoke he fonde himself liggynge at the foot of the Montayne. And then he preyed devoutly to God that he wolde vouche saf to suffre him gon up. And an Angelle cam to him and seyde that he scholde gon up; and so he did. And sithe that tyme never non. Wherfore men scholde [should] not beleeve such Woordes [Words].” This laudable skepticism of Sir John’s prevailed, for it has long been almost an article of faith with the Armenian Church that the top of Ararat is inaccessible. Even the legend of the monk, which, as we find from Friar William, is as old as the thirteenth century, is usually given in a form, which confirms still further the sacredness of the mountain. St. Jacob (Hagop), as the monk is named, was consumed by a pious desire to reach and venerate the holy Ark, which could in seasons of fair weather be descried from beneath, and three several times he essayed to climb the steep and rocky slopes. Each time, after reaching a great height, he fell into a deep sleep, and, when he woke, found himself at the foot of the mountain. After the third time, and angel appeared to him while he still lay in slumber, and told him that God had forbidden mortal foot ever to tread the sacred summit or touch the vessel in which mankind had been preserved, but that on him, in reward for his devout perseverance, there should be bestowed a fragment of its wood. This fragment he placed on the sleeper’s breast, and vanished; it is that which is still preserved in the treasury at Etchmiadzin, or, as others say, in the monastery of Kjeghart; and the saint is commemorated by the little monastery of St. Jacob, which stands, or rather stood till 1840, on the slopes of Ararat, above the valley of Arghuri, the spot of the angel’s appearing. Every succeeding traveler has repeated this tale, with variations due to his informant or his own imagination: so, though the reader has probably heard it, I dare not break through a custom so long established. Among these repeaters is Sir John Chardin, who traveled through Armenia and Persia towards the end of the seventeenth century, and whose remarks upon it are as follows. They show the progress which criticism had been making since the days of the earlier Sir John. “This is the Tale that they tell, upon which I shall observe 2 Things. First, that is has no coherence with the relations of ancient authors as Josephus, Berosus, or Nicolaus of Damascus, who assure us that the Remainders of the Ark were to be seen, and that the people took the Pitch with which it was besmeared as an Antidote against Several Distempers. The second, that whereas it is taken for a Miracle that no Body can get up to the Top: I should rather take it for a greater Miracle that any Man should climb up so high. For the Mountain is altogether uninhabited, and from the Halfway to the Top of all, perpetually covered with Snow that never melts, so that all the Seasons of the Year it appears to be a prodigious heap of nothing but Snow.” Whether Chardin himself believed the Ark to be still on the top of the mountain, does not appear. In two views of it which he gives, showing also Erivan and Etchmiadzin, the Ark appears, in shape exactly the Ark of the nursery on
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Sunday afternoons, poised on the summit of Great Ararat. But this may be merely emblematic; indeed I have not found any author who says he has himself seen it, though plenty who (like the retellers of ghost stories) mention other people who have. Religious fancy has connected many places in the neighborhood with the Biblical narrative. Not to speak of the sites which have been suggested in the Araxes valley for the Garden of Eden, the name of Arghuri [Ahora or Turkish Yenidoğan] itself is derived from two Armenian words which mean, “he planted the vine”; it is taken to be the spot where Noah planted that first vineyard which is mentioned in Genesis ix. 20; and till 1840, when the village was overwhelmed by a tremendous fall of rocks, shaken down by the great earthquake of that year, an ancient vine stock, still bearing grapes, was pointed out as that which had been planted by the patriarch’s hands. The town of Marand [in Iran, 2003], the Marunda of Ptolemy (in Armenian = “the mother is there”), is said to be called after the wife of Noah, who there died and was buried; and (as has been mentioned already) the name of another still considerable town, Nakhitchevan, in the Araxes valley, is explained to mean, “he descended first,” and has therefore been identified with the άποβατήριον of Josephus aforesaid. There too was shown, perhaps is still shown, the tomb of Noah. Modern historians and geographers have been hardly less fanciful than Armenian monks; some derive the Tatar name Aghri or Arghi Dagh from the word Arca. Some imagine a relation between this and the Argo; others connect the word baris (mentioned above as an ancient name for the mountain) with a supposed Oriental word meaning “boat” (see Herodotus, ii.96), or with the Armenian baris (= exit); in fine, there is no end to the whimsical speculations that attach themselves to the mountain. What is certain is that the word Ararat, though it is a genuine old Armenian name for a district, and is derived by Moses of Chorene from Arai jarat, “the fall of Arai,” a mythical Armenian king slain in battle with Semiramis, has never been the name by which those who lived round the mountain have known it, albeit it is found in the Armenian version of the Bible just as in our own. Of the other legends that cluster round the mountain, I shall mention only two. One of them connects it with the so-called Chaldaean worship of the stars, and affirm that upon it stood a pillar with a figure of a star; and that before the birth of Christ twelve wise men were stationed by this pillar to watch for the appearing of the star in the east, which three of them followed, when it appeared, to Bethlehem. The other, of a very different kind, relates to a spring, which bursts forth on the side of the Great Chasm, above the spot where the convent of St. Jacob stood. There is a bird called by the Armenians tetagush, which pursues and feeds on the locusts whose swarms are such a plague to this country. Now, the water of this sacred spring possesses the property of attracting the tetagush, and when the locusts appear, the first thing to be done is to fetch a bottle of it, and set it on the ground near them, taking care not to let it touch the ground upon its way. The bird immediately appears; the locusts are devoured, and the crops are saved. It is a pity the Canadians have no tetagush to set at their destroying beetle. Before finally quitting the realm of fancy for that of fact, I will repeat an observation by which more than one orographer of distinction, struck by the remarkable geographical position, which Ararat occupies, has suggested a sort of justification for the Armenian view that it is the center of the earth. It stands in the center of the longest line of the old continent, stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to Behring Straits. It is also in the line of the great deserts and of the great inland seas from Gibraltar to Lake Baikal, that is, in a line of almost continuous depressions. It is almost exactly equidistant from the Black Sea, the Caspian, and the northern end of the great Mesopotamian plain, which at no distant period was probably also part of the ocean bed. Taking the two Ararats together, they form an elliptical mass of about twenty-five miles in length from northwest to southeast, and about half that width. This mass rises on the north and east out of the alluvial plain of the Aras, whose height is here from 2800 to 2500 feet above the sea, and on the southwest sinks into the valley or rather plateau of Bayazid [Doğubeyazit], which lies between 4000 and 5000 feet above sea-level, and also discharges its waters towards the Aras. It is therefore quite isolated on all sides but the northwest, where a depression or col about 7000 feet high connects it with a long ridge of volcanic mountains, which, under the names of Pambak, Synak Dagh, and Parly Dagh, runs away to the westward between the basins of the Aras and Murad Su (Eastern Euphrates), and connects itself south of Erzerum with the great range of the Bingöl Dagh, or northeastern Taurus, as well as with the southern offsets of the Anti-Caucasus. Over against it to the north, nearly forty miles away, rise the three volcanic pinnacles, fragments of a broken crater rim, of Ala Göz (13,436 feet); to the east, beyond the wide valley of the Aras, is the great plateau of the Kara Bagh, some of whose highest volcanic tops exceed 11,000 feet, while on the south, beyond Bayazid and the Upper Euphrates, ranges nearly equally lofty run away down towards the Lake of Van in the south and the Lake of Urumia in the southeast. Orographically and geologically, Ararat is connected with all these, but the plain immediately around it is wide enough to give it that air of standing quite alone which so greatly contributes to its grandeur, and speaks so clearly of its volcanic origin. Out of the great elliptical mass I have described rise two peaks, their bases confluent at a height of 8800 feet, their summits about seven miles apart. The higher, Great Ararat, is 17,000 [16,945 or 5137 meters] feet above the sea-level, the lower, Little Ararat, 12,840 feet [12782 feet or 3896 meters]. They are very similar in geological structure, but sufficiently dissimilar in appearance, like the sisters in Virgil—“Facies non omnibus una, Nee diversa tamen, qualem decet esse sororum”—to enhance the effect of one another. For while Little Ararat is an elegant cone or pyramid, rising with steep, smooth, regular sides into a comparatively sharp peak, Great Ararat is a huge, broadshouldered mass, more of a dome than a cone, supported by strong buttresses, and throwing out rough ribs or ridges of rock that stand out like knotty muscles from its solid trunk. The greatest length of this dome is from northwest to
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southeast. Towards the northeast, that is, on one of its long sides, it descends very abruptly towards the Aras plain, forming in places ranges of magnificent black precipice, capped with ice-beds many hundreds of feet in thickness, and pierced by a profound glen or chasm. On the opposite or southwest side the fall is somewhat less rapid; towards the southeast, where the peak faces Little Ararat, it is steep indeed, but in most parts not precipitous (this is the side up which I ascended); while towards the northwest the declivity is longer and more gentle, a succession of terraces, separated by moderately difficult slopes, falling away into an immense fan-shaped base, which spreads far into the Araxes plain. This is, therefore the side on which occur the only considerable fields of snow or rather névé (the others being too abrupt for much snow to lie), and it was by advancing over them that Parrot [1829 ascent] effected the first ascent of the mountain. The upper slopes, where not snow-covered, are extremely rough and broken, seamed by gullies, the larger of which are no doubt volcanic fissures, the smaller probably produced by winter storms, rising here and there into lofty towers and ridges of rock, and strewn with prodigious masses of loose stone, broken by the weather into wildly fantastic shapes. All this part, above 10,000 or 11,000 feet, is almost wholly bare of vegetation. The middle part of the declivity is somewhat less rugged, and the lowest slopes of all, by which the mass subsides into the plain, are singularly smooth and uniform. On the northeast side these basal slopes, as I may call them, are two. First comes one which rises from the Aras marshes at an angle of about 2½ degrees for some six miles, and then another, which rises for, say, four miles, at an angle of 4½ degrees. After this second, the steep part of the mountain begins. Its average angle on the northwest declivity is about 17 degrees, on the southeast 25 to 30 degrees. Both peaks are entirely composed of igneous rock, and there is no question that they belong to what may be called the grand volcanic system of Northwestern Asia, the main lines of whose action are indicated in a general way by the direction of the chief mountain chains, such direction being supposed to correspond to axes of elevation, or, as it is sometimes expressed, to lines of fissure. Along these lines of fissure, continuously or at intervals, the igneous masses forming the highest part of such chains were from time to time ejected. One such line, or perhaps more than one, is represented by the Caucasus, where, besides the granitic mountains on the axis, there are several comparatively modern volcanic summits, such as Elbruz, Kazbek, and Basarjusi. Another line of elevation, marked by volcanic outbursts, appears in the northeastern ranges of Taurus; another in the range dividing the upper valleys of the Kur and Aras. Still nearer to Ararat, the great mass of Ala Göz, on the north, and the continuation of that mass to the east and southeast in the mountains that surround the Goktcha lake, are all volcanic, composed chiefly of trachyte rock. The valley of the Aras itself is filled by recent alluvial deposits, out of which rise isolated palæozoic hills composed of carboniferous limestone or Devonian strata, which appear again farther to the south, in the hills through which the Aras takes its way to Nakhitchevan and the Persian border; while farther to the south and west, newer sedimentary rocks range southwards, pierced here and there by the volcanic outbursts which reach as far as Lake Van. The only geologist of eminence who has carefully examined Ararat is Hermann Abich [1845 expedition with Armenian guide and engineer/officer General Chodzko [Khodzko] from the Georgian capital of Tiflis [later Tiblisi]], now one of the patriarchs of the science; and probably the best thing I can do is to abridge his view of its structure and history, so far as I can gather it from the various papers, which he has contributed, to different scientific journals. He holds the inner and original part of the mass to be composed of trachyte and trachytic tuffs, poured out at a comparatively early period in dome-shaped hills, three of which, placed along a line of fissure running nearly northwest and southeast, were Little Ararat, Great Ararat, and the rounded plateau called, from a small pond or pool upon it (ghöll = lake, in Tatar), Kip Ghöll, which lies about four miles northwest by west of the top of Great Ararat. The eruptive forces which raised these hills having, after an interval of quiescence, resumed their activity in comparatively recent times, probably in what we call the pleiocene age, violent splitting and bursting of the trachytic rocks went on, mainly along the old lines of fissure, and vast quantities of lava of a doleritic or basaltic character were poured out from various points along these fissures. The pressing-up from beneath of the edges of the fissures gave to the summits of both Great and Little Ararat their present form; no eruptions taking place from the actual tops, although some of the fissure-vents which discharged streams of doleritic lava were not far below these summits, while a number of minor cones were raised and craters formed along the sides of the mountain, especially to the southeast of Great Ararat, and on Kip Ghöll, where several large and well-marked crateriform hollows may be still made out. Along with this splitting, there went on a process of elevation, by which the southern edge of one huge cleft was raised to be the present summit of Great Ararat, while its other side remained at, or sank to, a much lower level; other rifts were also formed at right angles to the principal axis, one of which was the origin of the remarkable chasm on the northeast side of the mountain, which bears much similarity to the famous Val del Bove on Etna. Its present shape and dimensions—it is nearly 9000 feet deep, and surrounded by monstrous precipices—are probably, like those of the Sicilian valley, due to subsequent erosion; but there may well have been eruptions from it in some earlier stage. A somewhat similar, but smaller, chasm penetrates deep into the mountain on the opposite or southwestern side. According to this theory, there never was a great central crater at the summit of either Great or Little Ararat. The forms of those two peaks are due to the elevating and rending forces which, operating on pre-existing trachytic masses, squeezed up the edges of the clefts they opened into comparatively sharp points, while prodigious and longcontinued eruptions sometimes from these clefts, sometimes from cones of eruption built up round the principal orifices along their line, increased the external volume of the mountain, and in the case of Great Ararat turned it from a comparatively sharp cone, similar to Little Ararat, into the broad-shouldered, grandly buttressed mass which it now
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presents. Unlike these two loftier summits, Kip Ghöll would appear to approach more nearly the normal type of a modern volcano, having been built up, not so much by a general upheaval, as by external accretion from the lava, scoriæ, and ashes, ejected from its craters; and the gentler inclination of the northern slope of the peak of Great Ararat would be accounted for by the fact that behind Kip Ghöll to the southeast, in the direction of that peak, there were other similar craters which filled up the depression between it and Kip Ghöll, and gave to the northwest face of the mountain its present appearance of a series of descending terraces. Subsequent denudation continued through many thousands, or millions, of years, and that process of decay and leveling which all mountains undergo has worn down the inequalities of the sides, has given to Little Ararat its figure of a wonderfully regular pyramidal cone, has filled up some and scooped out others of the fissures on Great Ararat until the former seem to be merely shallow troughs running down the mountain face, while the latter are profound gorges such as the great chasm, has obliterated many of the lateral craters by breaking down their rims and raising the level of their bottoms. To criticize this theory, which perhaps retains too much of the old upheaval doctrines of von Buch and Élie de Beaumont to be altogether acceptable to British geologists, would require far wider geological knowledge than I possess, as well as a more careful study of Ararat itself than I had time for. The existence, however, of the great fissures to which Herr Abich attributes so much is unquestionable; one in particular, on the southeast side of the mountain, runs down for many thousand feet, bordered by lofty cliffs of black or reddish porphyritic trachyte, and has every appearance of having discharged currents of lava. I can also confirm what he says as to the absence of any trace of a crater on the summit of Great Ararat. The top (which I shall describe in the following chapter) forms a small undulating plateau of snow, with two rounded heights or bosses rising out of it; there is no appearance of a circular hollow, and although the cap of névé is thick enough to obscure in some degree the structure of the rocky ground beneath, it could hardly have its present form it there really lay underneath it sharp cliffs surrounding a basin, such as are seen in most volcanoes. Nothing, for instance, could be less like the snowy summit of Hekla, where there is a beautiful crater almost surrounded by an arête, than is the top of Ararat. Similarly, the top of Little Ararat is nearly flat, with many vast blocks and masses of rock on it, but no central depression, no rim of cliffs. It would, however, be rash to infer from the absence of a crater now that none ever existed on these summits, for many volcanoes might be cited whose central crater has been almost or even quite obliterated, though the general structure of the mountain enables us to conclude its former existence. It may therefore be that on Great Ararat the crater had been, at the time when volcanic action through its chimney ceased, almost filled up within by the ejection of solid matter from that chimney, so that the crateral form had almost disappeared. Or, again, it is possible that, in the immense period that has elapsed since the last eruption from the summits, the sides of the crateral basin which then existed have been completely broken down by decay, the destructive action of the atmosphere being doubly powerful at this prodigious height, where frosts and storms are constantly raging. Or, lastly, the summits, as we now see it, may be the remains of one side of a large crater, the other sides having been destroyed by some paroxysmal eruption, as the one side of Somma, the ancient Vesuvius, was destroyed in the tremendous outburst of A.D. 72. Supposing that there once existed a central vent of eruption, opening at the top of Ararat, it would be in the usual order of volcanic phenomena for this main vent, whose presence had determined the height and original shape of the mountain, to pass into a state of quiescence while the minor eruptive points on the flanks still remained active, and perhaps became more numerous. A great volcano has been compared to a great tree, which dies down from the top. When the explosive forces become weaker, they are no longer able to raise the molten masses from within to the height of the central orifice, but produce a crack somewhere in the sides; this becomes a crater, is perhaps raised into a cone, and through it minor eruptions go on. The repetition of the process multiplies these secondary vents all round the great central chimney, which probably continues to emit steam and light ashes, but no longer discharges molten rock, while the parasitic cones and craters cover the skirts of the mountain with large deposits of scoriæ and ash, and send into the plain below far-reaching streams of lava. This is the process now going on in many famous volcanoes, of which I may again take Hekla as an instance. Although the soil of its central crater is still hot in some places, and emits a little sulphurous vapor, no eruption has issued thence for a long time; and the last one, that of 1845, was from a chasm about 1000 feet below the top. So, too, most of the lava flows of Etna have taken place from lateral vents; no less than 700 of which have been counted on its sides. Such parasitic craters are very conspicuous on Ararat. On the northwest there are several on the large dome-shaped heights of Kip Ghöll; on the southeast, a good many lie close together on the ridge which unites Great to Little Ararat, behind the spring and station of Sardarbulakh, some of them looking as fresh as if they had been burning last week. The most conspicuous secondary cone of eruption is one which rises boldly on the east-southeast slope, between Sardarbulakh and the top, and from the plain below looks like a huge tooth stuck on the mountain side. Its top is about 13,000 feet above the sea-level. From these craters all sorts of volcanic materials have been ejected, trachytes, endesites, and basalts of various descriptions, with pitchstones, ashes whose consolidation has formed tuff beds, scoriæ like that slag from a furnace, pumice, and in some places at the southwestern foot of the mountain, obsidian, a sort of volcanic glass, black or dark green like the glass of a bottle. A remarkable bed or dyke of this obsidian is also to be found between Erivan and Daratchichak, where it crosses the high-road; it is made by the workmen of Tiflis into handsome ornaments, but is less clear and glossy than that of the famous obsidian mountain Hrafntinnuhryggr, in Iceland. When the first of Ararat became extinct is mere matter of guess; it may have been six thousand or sixty thousand years ago. All that can be said is that no record exists of any eruption in historical times. Stories indeed there are in the
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Armenian historians of mountains emitting fire and smoke—this is alleged to have happened in A.D. 441—and of darkness prevailing for thirty days, but they do not point to Ararat in particular, and are too vague to enable us to set any store by them. A German traveler named Reineggs alleges that in February 1785, from a great distance to the northeast, smoke and flames were seen to issue from Ararat, but nobody has believed his entirely unconfirmed assertion. No other volcano in these countries, or indeed in Western Asia at all, can be shown to have been active within time of human memory, although, as has been said already, there are hundreds of extinct volcanic chimneys between Constantinople and Afghanistan. It is only in hot springs, naphtha wells, sometimes in those bubbling pools of mud which are called mud volcanoes, and which occur at both ends of the Caucasus, and now and then in a solfatara, a hollow or crevice emitting vapors which deposit sulfur, and, above all, in earthquakes, that the presence of the terrible subterranean forces reveals itself. One of the most remarkable features of Ararat is the surprising height of the line of perpetual snow. This, which in the Alps averages 8500 to 9000 feet, which in the Caucasus varies from 10,000 feet on the southwestern to 12,000 feet on the northern slopes, rises here to nearly 14,000 feet. It is, of course, different on different parts of the mountain; lower on the northwest, not only because the sun does not strike there with such force, but also because the slopes are more gentle. They descend, as I have said, in broad terraces, which are covered with glittering fields of unbroken névé, while on the steeper southeast declivity the snow appears chiefly in vast longitudinal beds, filling the depressions between the great rock ridges that run down the mountain, giving it, as Parrot has remarked, the appearance, from a distance, “of a beautiful pointed collar of dazzling white material on a dark ground.” One at least of these rock ridges continues bare of snow to within a hundred feet of the summit, a fact which cannot be completely explained by their inclination, since it is not always too steep to permit snow to lie, nor even by the fact that they are mostly covered by loose volcanic blocks, off which snow melts more readily than from a smooth, solid surface; it is probably, therefore, to be also referred, as Abich suggests, to the decomposition of the minerals contained in the rock. The lowest point at which I noticed a permanent snow-bed on the exposed southeast side is about 12,000 feet above the sea; but in the deep dark valley on the northeast of the mountain, which is sometimes called the Great Chasm [Ahora Gorge], sometimes the Valley of St. Jacob, from the little monastery aforesaid, the snow descends even lower. Here is to be found the only true glacier on the whole mountain, those glaciers of which the older travelers talk as seen on its upper sides being either mere beds of névé or, in one or two instances on the northwest slope, what are sometimes called glaciers of the second order. In the chasm, however, there is not merely an accumulation of masses of half melted ice that have fallen from the prodigious ice-wall that fringes the top of the cirque in which this chasm ends, but really a glacier [called the Black Glacier extending up to the Araxes Glacier], small and almost covered with blocks and stony rubbish, but with the genuine glacier structure, and united to the great snow mass of the mountain above by one or two snow-filled glens which run up from its head. It is nearly a mile long, and from 200 to 400 yards wide, with its lower end about 8000 feet, its upper nearly 10,000 feet above the sea-level, and bearing a moraine. The great height of the snow-line on Ararat, which seems extraordinary when we compare it with the Alps or the Caucasus, which lie so little farther to the north—Ararat is in latitude 39º 42’, Elbruz in latitude 43º 21’, Mont Blanc in latitude 45 50’—becomes easy of explanation when it is remembered how many causes besides distance from the equator govern the climate of any given spot. The most powerful influence in determining the point at which snow remains through the year is the rainfall. It is the greater moisture of the air that fixes the snow-line on the outer Himalaya, immediately north of the Bay of Bengal, at about 14,000 feet above the sea, while, as one advances north into Tibet, it rises steadily in the drier air, till it reaches 19,000 feet. So on the part of the Caucasus which looks towards the Black Sea, and receives the south-western rains coming thence, the snow-line is 2000 feet lower than on the colder, but far drier, northeastern slopes. Now Ararat stands in an exceptionally dry region, whose rainfall is only 10 or 12 inches in the year. The upward rush of air from the plain produces another phenomenon on Ararat, which is the first thing to strike every observer. The top is generally, at least during the months of summer and autumn, perfectly clear during the night and till some time after dawn. By degrees, however, as the plains begin to feel the sun, their heated air mounts along the sides of the mountain, and, when it reaches the snow region, is condensed into vapor, and forms clouds. Springing out of a perfectly clear sky, usually about three or four hours after sunrise, these clouds hang round the hill till sunset, covering only the topmost 3000 feet, constantly shifting their places, but never quite disappearing, till sunset, when they usually vanish, the supply of hot air from below having stopped, and leave the peak standing out clear and sharp in the spotless blue. So it stands all night, till next morning brings the envious clouds again. The phenomenon is just the same as that which those who climb the Southern Alps, to gain a view over the plains of Italy, have so often noted and reviled; one sees it to perfection in Val Anzasca, where the southeast face of Monte Rosa is nearly always cloudwrapped after 11 AM. Here, however, it seems even stranger, for the other mountains round the Araxes plain, being unsnowed, remain perfectly bare and clear; through the whole sky there is not a cloud except round this one snowy cone. It is a phenomenon, which the explorer of Ararat has to lay his account with, and which makes it useless to hope for a perfect view, except in the early morning. Although the snow-fields on the mountain are not very extensive, they are quite large enough to supply streams to water its sides; and the want of such streams is due to the porous character of the volcanic soil. At the height of about 13,000 feet, one finds plenty of lively little brooks dancing down over the rocks from the melting snows. But as they descend, they get lost in the wilderness of loose stones that strew the middle slopes of the mountain, and are only
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faintly heard murmuring in its deep recesses, mocking with sweet sounds the thirsty wayfarer. Towards the base these streams sometimes, though rarely, reappear in fountains, as they usually do in limestone countries; but they are then even more quickly swallowed up in the alluvial soil of mud and consolidated ash which, sloping gently eastwards, extends from the foot of the rocks to the bed of the Aras. Hence Ararat is painfully dry throughout; one finds it hard to imagine it dripping and steaming after a flood. Sometimes you see a gully whose torn sides and bottom strewed with rounded blocks show that in winter a torrent rushes down; but all autumn long you may wander round and round it, meeting scarcely a brook and rarely even a spring. This is strange and dreary to a traveler accustomed to the mountains of Western Europe, all alive with streams, or even to one coming straight from the Caucasus. Nevertheless, the middle zone of Ararat is covered with good pasture, greener than on most of the Armenian mountains, for here the proximity of the snows moderates the temperature, and there is a reasonable dew-fall, besides the showers which the great mountain gathers. The nomad Kurds wander with their flocks and herds, seeking the upper pastures during the heat of summer, and in winter retreating before the snow to the edge of the steppe land. Here and there they have planted two or three little fields of wheat or barley, and by them built sorry grass-covered huts, but by far the greater number live entirely on the milk and flesh of their cattle, and, when the winter cold becomes too severe, migrate quite down into the valleys that surround the mountain, where, at least on Turkish soil, they often quarter themselves on the Armenian villagers. Their favorite summer camping grounds on the mountain are two, the high open plain which lies between Great and Little Ararat, 7000 to 8000 feet above the sea, and the before-mentioned alpine plateau of Kip Ghöll, a comparatively level tract, where waters descending from the snow-beds above have formed a small lake or rather pond [Lake Kıp or Küp/Kip], about half an acre in size, and made an oasis of fine herbage at a height of nearly 12,000 feet. Enormous blocks of stone, which have fallen from the sides of the neighboring extinct craters, lie around, and give good shelter; it is the pleasantest high station on Ararat, and the best from which to ascend the summit with tolerable comfort. Except these Kurds, a few Tatars at New Arghuri [Arghuri or Ahora was destroyed in 1840, 36 years before Bryce’ expedition], where there is a little bit of cultivation, and possibly some casual Persian robbers straying upon the slopes, there is not a human being all over the vast area of the two mountains. Not only this pastoral zone, but the whole mountain lies in Central Armenia generally, singularly bare of wood. Here and there a single tree, of no great height, may be discerned in sheltered situations, about 5000 or 6000 feet above the sea; but the only wood of any extent is on the skirts of Little Ararat, at a height of 7500 feet, and is composed of low birches. The Kurds cut it down for firewood, so perhaps it may be merely the relic of a much larger forest. No coniferous tree is to be seen anywhere; nor even an isolated birch at a greater height than 8000 feet. In the month of September, when I visited the mountain, everything is parched; the flowers which love the middle slopes have nearly all withered, and most even of the alpine plants have lost their petals. It is, therefore, an unfavorable time of botanizing; and as I passed over the best botanical region, between 8000 and 12,000 feet, in the darkness of the night both going and returning, there was little chance of observing or gathering rare species. Those which I saw mostly belonged to the same genera as the alpine plants of Europe; such as Gentiana, Campanula, Saxifraga, Draba, Cerastium. One Cerastium in particular ascends to an enormous height, fully 14,000 feet. On the whole, the flora, though interesting, seemed to be scanty. This is usually the case on volcanic mountains, partly because bare stones or rock covers so large a part of their surface, partly because they are so dry, partly, perhaps, owing to the presence of iron or sulphurous ingredients in the soil. The Cryptogamia, except lichens, are particularly poor, as always in a dry air; very few mosses were to be seen, and no ferns, except two scrubby bits of our common English Lastrea Filix mas. In full summer the show of plants is doubtless finer, especially in the middle part of the mountain, where I passed for a mile through thickets of rose-bushes hanging on the steep sides of a rocky buttress. Of wild creatures, other than human, there is no great variety, which is natural enough when one considers the want of wood and shelter, but is perhaps not what might have been looked for by those who hold that on this spot all the species of animals were once seen together, descending to disperse themselves over the globe. On the upper crags, the ibex, or wild goat (it is not quite clear which), as well as the wild sheep (Ovis Musimon), are found; and a small species of fox has been seen on the snows 15,000 feet above the sea. Lower down there are wolves and lynxes, and in the marshes of the Araxes abundance of wild swine. The botanist Tournefort says he saw tigers, but nobody has believed him; perhaps they were wild cats or leopards. The tiger is found on the southwest shore of the Caspian, round Lenkoran, but there is no evidence of it so far west as this. So far as my own observation goes, the mountain is very ill supplied with life: I saw no quadrupeds, scarcely any birds, except a few vultures and hawks, not many insects even. Of lizards and scorpions, there is great plenty on the lowest slope, but these, of course, belong rather to the fauna of the plains. From what has been said already, the reader will probably have gathered how utterly unlike Ararat is, not only in details, but even in general effect, to any great mountain in those ranges, such as the Alps or Pyrenees, with which we are most familiar. It is so dry, so bare and woodless, so generally uniform in its structure, having neither spurs running out nor glens running in, even the colors of its volcanic rock have so little variety, that a traveler, especially an artist, might think it unpicturesque and disappointing. Even of scenery of the sterner sort, precipices and rock gorges, there is not much to be seen on the mountain itself, save in the Great Chasm, whose head is surrounded by appalling cliffs, and on the upper southeastern slope, where ranges of magnificent red crags run down from the summit. The noble thing about Ararat is not the parts but the whole. I know nothing so sublime as the general aspect of this huge yet graceful mass seen from the surrounding plains. The color is as simple as the form. From a gently inclined pedestal of
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generally whitish hue, formed, as has been said, of volcanic sand and ashes, the steep slopes rise in a belt of green 5000 feet wide; above this is another zone of black volcanic rock, streaked with snow beds; highest of all the cap of dazzling silver. At one glance the eye takes in all these zones of climate and vegetation from the sweltering plain to the icy pinnacle, ranging through more than 14,000 feet of vertical height. There can be but few other places in the world where so lofty a peak (17,000 feet) soars so suddenly from a plain so low, 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea, and consequently few views equally grand. The great summits of the Himalaya, like those of the Alps and the Atlas, rise from behind high spurs and outliers, at some distance from the level country; while the giants of the South American Cordilleras and of Mexico, all of them, like Ararat, volcanic, rise out of high plateau, and therefore lose to the eye a good deal of their real height. Orizaba, for instance, though 17,000 feet high, stands on a base of 7000 feet in height; Chimborazo reaches 21,000 feet, but the plateau of Riobamba beneath it is nearly 10,000 feet above sea-level. The Peak of Teneriffe springs up out of the sea, but its height, 12,000 feet odd, falls considerably short of that of Ararat, and this seems to be true, also, of the lofty volcanoes along the coast of Northern Japan. Any one who is familiar with the Alps, which I take as best known to us, must have been surprised to notice how seldom he saw, near at hand, any single unbroken mountain slope of great vertical elevation. A few points one remembers, such as Courmayeur, where nearly 12,000 feet of Mont Blanc are seen; or Val Anzasca, where, from a valley about 4000 feet above the sea, Mone Rosa ascends, in what the eye thinks a precipice, to 15,000; or Randa, below Zermatt, where the peak of the Weisshorn, 11,000 feet above the spectator, seems to hang over head. These instances, however are instances of a view from a valley, where other hardly inferior heights lie round; here in Armenia the mountain raises himself, solitary and solemn, out of a wide, sea-like plain. The only exception, so far as I know, to the admiration which it has excited in the minds of the modern travelers who have seen it is supplied by the famous French botanist Tournefort (in the beginning of the eighteenth century), who says, “This mountain, which lies between the south and south-southeast of the Three Churches (the Tatar name for Etchmiadzin) is one of the most dismal and disagreeable sights on the face of the earth.” One wonders whether a time will again come when men of taste will think so differently from ourselves. Ararat has, at present, another claim to importance, in which, so far as I know, it is singular among famous mountains. It is the meeting-point, the cornerstone, of three great empires. On the top of its lower peak, Little Ararat, the dominions of the Czar, the Sultan, and the Shah, the territories of the three chief forms of faith that possess Western and Northern Asian, converge to a point. From this point the frontier between Persia and Turkey trends off to the south-southwest, while that of Turkey and Russia, running along the ridge that joins Little to Great Ararat, mounts the latter, keeps along its top in a north west direction, and then turns west, along the watershed of volcanic mountains, Pambak and Synak, which divides the Russian province of Erivan, including the middle valley of the Aras, from the Turkish pashalik of Bayazid. This is no accident, nor has Ararat been taken as a boundary merely because it was a convenient natural division; it is rather a tribute to the political significance of the name and associations of the Mountain of the Ark. When in 1828 the Czar Nicholas I, having defeated the Persians, annexed the territory round Erivan, his advisers insisted on bringing Ararat within the Russian border, on account of the veneration wherewith it is regarded by all the surrounding races, and which is reflected on the sovereign who possesses it. To the Armenians it is the ancient sanctuary of their faith, the center of their once famous kingdom, hallowed by thousand traditions. He who holds Ararat is therefore, in a sense, the suzerain of the most vigorous and progressive Christian people of the East. To the Mohammedans, Persians, Turks, Tatars, and Kurds, the mountain, though less sacred, is still an object of awe and wonder from its size, its aspect, and the general acceptance among them of the tale of the Flood. In these countries one still sees traces of that tendency, so conspicuous in the ancient world, but almost obliterated in modern Europe, for men of one race and faith to be impressed by the traditions and superstitions of another faith, which they may even profess to disbelieve and hate. No Irish Protestant venerates the sacred island in Lough Derg; but here the fanatical Tatars respect, and the Persian rulers formerly honored and protected, Etchmiadzin and many another Christian shrine; while Christians not infrequently, both in the Caucasus and farther south through the eastern regions of Turkey, practice pagan or Mohammedan rites which they have learnt from their neighbors, and even betray their awe for the sacred places of Islam. A remarkable result of this superstitious reverence for Ararat is to be found in the scarcely shaken persuasion of its inaccessibility. A Persian Shah is said to have offered a large reward to any one who should get up; but nobody claimed it. There is also a story told of a Turkish pasha at Bayazid who was fired with an ambition to make the ascent, and actually started with a retinue for the purpose. He meant however to do it on horseback, and in fact went no farther than his horse would carry him, which was of course a long way below the snow-line. The first recorded ascent was made, in A.D. 1829, by Dr. Frederick Parrot, a Russo-German professor in the university of Dorpat, whose name is attached to one of the pinnacles of Monte Rosa. He was beaten back twice, but on the third attempt reached the top with a party of three Armenians and two Russian soldiers. The description he gives is perfectly clear and intelligible; and its accuracy has been in most respect confirmed by subsequent observers. There is not, and ought never to have been, any more doubt about his ascent than about De Saussure’s residence on the Col du Géant; and the enterprise, considering how little was then known about mountain climbing, the most modern of all our arts or sciences, and how much superstitious prejudice he had to overcome in order to persuade the natives to aid or accompany him, was not unworthy to be compared with that of the great Genevese. Nevertheless, in spite of the evidence he produced, that of two Russian soldiers who had gone with him, in spite of his own scientific attainments, and the upright and amiable
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character which shines through every line of his book, Parrot’s account was disbelieved, not only by the people of the neighborhood, but by several men of science and position in Russia and elsewhere, and he died before justice had been done to his success. Two of the Armenians whom he took with him to the summit, on being examined, declared that they had ascended a considerable distance but had seen much higher slopes rising above them; and this became the conviction of the whole country-side. When Herr Abich made his ascent in 1845—it was the third, the second having been that of Spassky Aftonomof, who went up in 1834 in order to ascertain whether it was really true that the stars are visible at noon from the tops of the highest mountains—he reached the eastern summit, which is only a few feet inferior in height to the western, and six minutes’ walk from it, and finding the weather threatening, returned without going on to the western. The consequence was that, when, anxious to destroy the popular superstition, he produced his companions as witnesses before the authorities at Erivan, to make a regular deposition, they turned round on him, and solemnly declared and swore that from the point which they had reached a great part of the horizon was covered by much more lofty mountains. This of course actually strengthened the Armenian belief, nor did it yield to the fact that General Chodzko, while conducting the triangulation survey of Transcaucasia, reached the top with a large party, moving slowly upwards from August 11 to August 18, and stayed there three days in a tent pitched on the snow. A party of Englishmen who ascended in 1856, from the Turkish side, were assured by Turks and Kurds that the mountain was inaccessible, and considered themselves the first to climb it, evidently doubting both Parrot and Abich. And at this moment, I am persuaded that there is not a person living within sight of Ararat, unless possibly some exceptionally educated Russian official in Erivan, who believes that any human foot since Father Noah’s has trodden that sacred summit. So much stronger is faith than sight; or rather, perhaps, so much stronger is prejudice than evidence. As I have mentioned these ascents, a word or two may be said regarding the routes taken. Parrot had his headquarters at the then existing monastery of St. Jacob, on the edge of the great chasm of Arghuri; he mounted from this to the west; encamped on the second occasion at Kip Ghöll, on the third and successful one at a point somewhat higher than Kip Ghöll, just under the perpetual snows, and reached the summit by a long march over the terraces and generally gentle slopes of névé, which sink from it on the northwest side. This way is not to be recommended to a solitary climber, because the ice slopes are occasionally steep enough to require some step cutting—they repulsed Abich on his third attempt—and here and there a crevasse may be met with; however, a solitary ascent is not to be recommended in any case. But I believe it to be, on the whole, the easiest and least fatiguing route, and the best for a party. Notwithstanding which, it seems to have been only once followed since Parrot’s time. Abich’s fourth and successful ascent in 1845—he deserves scarcely less credit than Parrot for the tenacity with which he clung to his purpose under so many difficulties—was made up the southeastern face from Sardarbulakh; and it was on this side that both Chodzko and the Englishmen of 1856 mounted. As I shall have to describe it in giving my own experiences, nothing more need be said of it here, further than to remark that it is probably the best route for a single man or a very small party, since it involves, at least in the autumn, very little snow work. No one seems to have climbed the southwestern slope looking towards Bayazid and the alpine lake Balykh Ghöll; but Herr Abich, who has reconnoitered this side, told me in Tiflis that he believed it to be quite practicable. The chief advantage of the southeastern route, besides the scantiness of snow, lies in the fact that it is entirely in Russian territory, so that one need have less apprehension of robbers, and can use the Cossack station at Sardarbulakh (of which more later) as a base of operations. The last event of importance in the history of Ararat is the great earthquake of 1840. I have more than once spoken of the profound chasm, which on the northeast side of the mountain, over against Aralykh, runs right into its heart. This chasm ends in a sort of cirque hemmed in by tremendous walls of black or grey lava and tuff conglomerates, capped by other precipices of ribbed blue ice, while at the bottom of the cleft, almost covered by masses of stone that have fallen from above, is to be found the only true glacier on the hill. Near the mouth of this chasm there formerly stood a pleasant little Armenian village of some two hundred houses, named Arghuri, or Aghurri, whose inhabitants, raised above the heats of the plain, and out of the track of war, had led a peaceful pastoral life for many generations, dwelling in the midst of their orchards and vines, feeding their flocks in the alpine pastures above them, and cultivating a few fields where the generally stony soil permitted the spade or plough to be used, and the stream from the glacier spread vegetation over the slopes. They boasted not only of the Patriarch’s vine, bearing grapes delicious to eat, but which Heaven, in memory of the fault they betrayed him into, had forbidden to be made into wine; but also of an ancient willow trunk, which had sprung from one of the planks of the Ark. Not far above the village, on the spot where the angel of the legend had appeared to the monk, stood the little monastery of St. Jacob, eight centuries old, and still higher was a tiny shrine beside a spring of bright clear water, the spring of the tetagush legend; while on the opposite side of the glen the Persian Sardar or viceroy had erected a sumptuous summer villa to which he was accustomed to retire from the scorching heats of Erivan. Setting apart the wandering Kurds, this was the only inhabited spot on the mountain, the place in which its traditions centered, and where they were faithfully preserved. Towards sunset in the evening of the 20th of June 1840 (old style), the sudden shock of an earthquake, accompanied by a subterranean roar, and followed by a terrific blast of wind, threw down the houses of Arghuri, and at the same moment detached enormous masses of rock with their superjacent ice from the cliffs that surround the chasm. A shower of falling rocks overwhelmed in an instant the village, the monastery, and a Kurdish encampment on the pastures above. Not a soul survived to tell the tale. Four days afterwards, the masses of snow and ice that had
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been precipitated into the glen suddenly melted, and, forming an irresistible torrent of water and mud, swept along the channel of the stream and down the outer slopes of the mountain, far away into the Aras plain, bearing with them huge rocks, and covering the ground for miles with a deep bed of mud and gravel. Even now, after thirty-seven years, the traces of this convulsion are distinctly visible; in some places the precipices from which the masses fell show a fracture mark fresh as of yesterday. The direction of the shocks, which were felt as far as Tiflis, the Caspian, and the Lake of Urumia, was from the center of Great Ararat, towards the northeast. It was reported in Europe at the time that Ararat had broken out in eruption; but for this story there is no foundation: the dust which accompanied the great rock fall was probably mistaken for smoke by those who saw it from a distance. Doubtless the blast was produced by the fall of the rock masses. Since then a few huts have again arisen somewhat lower down the slope than the site of Old Arghuri and without the mouth of the chasm; here dwell a few Tatars—for the Armenians (several, happening to be away from the village, escaped) do not seem to have returned to the desolated spot—and pasture their cattle on the sides of the valley which grass has again begun to clothe. But Noah’s vine and the primeval willow, and the little monastery where Parrot lived so happily among the few old monks who had retired to this hallowed spot from the troubles of the world, are gone for ever; no Christian bell is heard, no Christian service said, upon the Mountain of the Ark. Chapter VII At 8 AM, on the morning of the 11th of September, we set out from Aralykh to ascend the mountain. We had arranged to start at sunrise, knowing how terrible the heat would be for the first part of the road, but to get a large party under way is always troublesome, and certainly not least so in these countries, where there is no sense of the value of time, and no conception of the conditions of a successful mountain expedition. Indeed, what with the collecting of the soldiers, the packing of provisions, the hundred little things that occur to one’s mind at the last moment, a compass, snow spectacles, warm gloves, and, above all, the indispensable lemons, more than three hours would have been consumed had we been in any hands but those of our genial and energetic host. The last thing was to write a few lines home, wondering what the next lines would have to report, and then we filed out of the cantonment amid adieux and good wishes given in strange tongues. We were nine in all, six soldiers of the Cossack detachment, the gentleman who had undertaken to interpret, and our two selves. The soldier in command was a Kurd named Jaafar, a man of great mental as well as bodily force, in whom the colonel reposed full confidence, and whose singularly keen and expressive glance made us wish that we could have held some direct communication with him. Remembering that on the same day of the year, five years ago, I had started to climb the Schreckhorn, and three years before, the Maladetta, it amused me to think how unlike this cavalcade of ours was to the parties of loud-voiced Englishmen and stalwart guides that issue from an Alpine inn before daylight to “do” some stimulating peak or pass. We were all mounted, though certainly on no fiery chargers, and might rather have been taken for a reconnoitering or marauding party, sent to plunder some village across the Persian border, which lay six miles off. The Cossacks were of course fully armed and equipped, while my friend and I, in addition to pistols stuck in the belt, brandished heavy ice-axes, the management of which, together with that of the bridle and a big white umbrella, required some dexterity. An umbrella and a horse do seem rather incompatible, not only with one another, but with a mountain ascent; but we would willingly have looked even more ridiculous for the sake of some protection against the fiery shower of beams that descended from the cloudless sky, and was reflected from the whitish wastes over which we took our way. If Great Ararat is the most majestic, Little Ararat may claim to be the most elegant of mountains; the eye is never tired of its beautiful lines. The two peaks are connected by a rough-topped ridge which forms the back of the sloping plain I have described, and also marks the frontier between the Russian and Turkish empires. Over it is the path to Bayazid, distant some nineteen miles to the southwest, while five miles to the east, on the northeastern side of Little Ararat, one enters the territories of the Shah. The place is therefore particularly well suited for predatory operations, since, when the marauders are attacked on any one of the three soils, they can promptly retire into one of the other two, and snap their fingers at justice, just as evil-doers in England used to be fond of establishing themselves on the boundary between two counties, where they could slip away from the sheriff of either. Hence Russia, who cares more about the security of the subject than her neighbors do, has placed here a sort of small frontier guard, consisting of seven or eight armed Cossacks, who remind the mountain Kurds of the existence of the Czar, and keep an eye on the border depredators, who, lurking about in Persia or Turkey, now and then swoop down on the Aras valley for a little booty. Before 1828, when Persia still held all of what is now the Russian side of Ararat, this plain of Sardarbulakh was a regular stronghold of the robber Kurds, who not only spoiled and murdered travelers attempting to pass this way to Bayazid, but constantly plundered the villages of the plain and the two highways of commerce which pass along the two sides of the mountain. The height above the sea of this sloping plain varies from 8818 feet, which is given as the height of the pass leading to Bayazid, and 7000 feet; and Sardarbulakh in the middle is 7514 feet. Its lumpy volcanic hillocks—I have called it a plain, but it is far from being level—are covered with good grass; and about a mile off, near the foot of Little Ararat, appears the only bit of wood on the whole mountain—a grove of low birches, whose dimensions the wasteful Kurds are rapidly reducing. Near the birch trees is a sort of subterranean village, huts formed by hollowing out the ground and laying a few boughs, covered with turf, across the top, through which comes such light as can penetrate. These huts are often uninhabited: I fancy it is mostly when cold weather comes on that the Kurds take to them.
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[Douglas W. Freshfield, detailing his 1868 ascent of Ararat in Travels in the Central Caucasus and Bashan stated the following about these huts]: On a knoll 300 feet above the plain we found the group of huts, which have been used as a resting-place by most of the explorers of Ararat. These queer dwellings are underground burrows, constructed like the villages on the Georgian steppes. A door of twisted twigs, on being opened, reveals a hole in the hillside, which forms the mouth of a long, winding, dark passage leading into two or more chambers lighted by holes in the roof. The floor of these horrid caverns is the natural soil, and their atmosphere is earthy and tomb-like, while the darkness that pervades them adds to their depressing effect. The roofs are formed of branches covered with turf, and as there is nothing outside to distinguish them from the solid ground, it is easy to walk over them unawares. One of our horses, while grazing, suddenly sank into one of these dangerous traps, and was left, with only its forequarters emerging from the ground, in a position from which it was extricated with great difficulty. There is a tale told that there was once an Armenian village, inhabited by people whom the Sardar had transported hither, but who forsook the place when his power ended. Sardar, or Sirdar, a name with which AngloIndians are familiar, means general or governor, and was the title of the Persian governor of Erivan. Sardar-bulakh is therefore translated as the Sardar’s well. It is, of course, the presence of drinkable water that has made the Kurds and Cossaks fix themselves here, for (as has been said already) there is no other constant spring nearer than the valley of Arghuri, four hours’ journey. There would then remain little more than an hour’s daylight to reach a higher camping ground, where, of course, we should have much less chance of sleep than there below in the tent which the Cossacks had vacated for us. Yielding, therefore, most unwillingly to circumstances, and believing that we were practically abandoning our chances for the morrow, I suggested that we should remain and sleep at Sardarbulakh, and make a start upwards as soon as the moon rose, shortly after midnight. This idea, like anything that delayed a move, was accepted. While all this was going on, there was another scene in progress, which served to appease our impatience. The two Cossack tents stood on a grassy slope, about forty yards above the well which gives its name to the place; and to this well there now came, driving their flocks before them, another band of Kurds, who had just crossed the flanks of Little Ararat from Persia in search of fresher pasture. The well is an elliptical hollow, about ten feet long by five broad, surrounded by a sort of rude, loose wall of lumps of lava, with the water in it, when we first saw it, about three feet deep. One could see where the spring rose into it from under the wall, sweet, clear, and cool. As the water lay too deep sunk for cattle to reach it, troughs were set up all over the pasture round; Kurdish boys and girls brought brazen bowls and carried the water in these to fill the troughs, whence the patient creatures drank. The sheep, whose bleatings filled the air, were mostly either light brown, or black, or white, not much larger than those of the Scotch Highlands; the goats, however, were thoroughly Oriental, mostly white, with long, soft hair, and large, pendant ears, just like the scapegoat of Mr. Holman Hunt’s picture. For nearly two hours the process of watering went on, boys and girls and women coming and going round the well, and ladling out the water till hardly any was left in the bottom. Every one was armed with a knife or sword, at least, sometimes huge old pistols, sometimes a musket or matchlock besides. On the head was a woolen cap, having strips of silk or cotton cloth wound round it to form a rude kind of turban. The women’s dress was rather brighter in colors, and their striped or embroidered short petticoats, below which cotton drawers descended to the ankle, were extremely pretty; the cap was generally of scarlet cloth; in their nostrils and ears jewels were hung, while round their necks they bore a profusion of ornaments, strings of gold and silver coins and beads, and colored stones; even the bareheaded girls, whose plaited locks fell over the shoulders, had always such a necklace. Unlike their Mohammedan sisters of the plains, their faces were unshielded by a veil, and they showed no shyness or timidity in the presence of the Cossacks and ourselves. Each, like the Fates in Catullus, bore a distaff in one hand, with a lump of wool upon her wrist, and this they plied as they drove the flocks before them. So picturesque a scene, or one that brought so vividly to mind the first simple life of the world, unchanged in these earliest seats of mankind, we had never seen before. On each side a towering cone rose into heaven, while in front the mountain slope swept down into the broad valley of the Aras. Returning at sunset to the tent, we found some Cossaks sent out to meet us by the watchful Jaafar, who feared we might be picked off by stray marauders, and looked rather reproachfully at us for having gone forth alone. Supper was prepared, the Cossacks cooking theirs and ours in a big pot over a fire kindled on the hillside, which lit up their figures and the still more picturesque figures of the Kurds, who crouched round it just like the brigands in an opera scene. After the meal, which consisted of boiled mutton and milk, both procured from the Kurds, we had some of the unfailing tea, and lay down for a little sleep. One feels little inclined for sleep on these occasions; we stayed long outside watching the Cossacks and the stars, by whose light it was just possible to make out the lines of Little Ararat in front. The silence of the mountain was astonishing. About 1 AM we got off, thirteen in all, and made straight across the grassy hollows for the ridges which trend up towards the great cone, running parallel in a west-northwesterly direction, and enclosing between them several long narrow depressions hardly deep enough to be called valleys. The Kurds led the way, and at first we made pretty good progress. The Cossacks seemed fair walkers, though less stalwart than the Kurds; the pace generally was better than
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that with which Swiss guides start. However, we were soon cruelly undeceived. In twenty-five minutes there came a steep bit, and at the top of it they flung themselves down on the grass to rest. So did we all. Less than half a mile farther, down they dropped again, and this time we were obliged to give the signal for resuming the march. In another quarter of an hour they were down once more, and so it continued for the rest of the way. Every ten minutes’ walking— it was seldom steep enough to be called actual climbing—was followed by seven or eight minutes of sitting still, smoking and chattering. How they did chatter! It was to no purpose that we continued to move on when they sat down, or that we rose to go before they had sufficiently rested. They looked at one another, so far as I could make out by the faint light, and occasionally they laughed; but they would not and did not stir till such time as pleased themselves. We were helpless. Impossible to go on alone; impossible also to explain to them why every moment was precious, for the acquaintance who had acted as interpreter had been obliged to stay behind at Sardarbulakh, and we were absolutely without means of communication with our companions. One could not even be angry, had there been any use in that, for they were perfectly good-humored. It was all very well to beckon them, or pull them by the elbow, or clap them on the back; they thought this was only our fun, and sat still and chattered all the same. When it grew light enough to see the hands of a watch, and mark how the hours advanced while the party did not, we began for a second time to despair of success. I fancy we passed, in a grassy hollow at about 9000 feet above the sea, the spot, which they call the Hermitage, which seems to be the site of General Chodzko’s meteorological camp of July and August 1850. He told me there was a spring there, but either it is dry at this season or else we missed it. There was pasture in many places, but we saw no cattle. What we were able to remark and enjoy was the changing aspect of the sky. About 3 AM, there suddenly sprang up, from behind the Median mountains, the morning star, shedding a light such as no star ever gave in these northern climates of ours, a light that almost outshone the moon. As we scrambled along a ridge above a long narrow winding glen filled with loose blocks, one of the Kurds suddenly swooped down, like a vulture, from the height on a spot at the bottom, and began peering and grubbing among the stones. In a minute or two he cried out, and the rest followed: he had found a spring, and by scraping in the gravel had made a tiny basin out of which we could manage to drink a little. Here was a fresh cause of delay; everybody was thirsty, and everybody must drink. When at last we got them up and away again, they began to dawdle and straggle; after a while two or three sat down, and plainly gave us to see they would go no farther. By the time we had reached a little snow-bed whence the now strong sun was drawing a stream of water, and halted on the rocks beside it for breakfast, there were only two Cossacks and the four Kurds left with us, the rest having scattered themselves about somewhere lower down. Accordingly I resolved to take what I wanted in the way of food, and start at my own pace. We were now at a height of about 12,000 feet. Everything lay below us, except Little Ararat opposite. The Kurds never come higher on the mountain than their flocks can find pasture, and on this side at least the pasture does not reach so high as where we were. Moreover, they have a superstitious reverence for he mountain, scarcely less than that of the Armenians: only, while the Armenian faithful believe it to be guarded by angels, the Kurds hold it to be the favorite haunt of devils and Jinn, who are ready to take vengeance on the disturber of their revels. The shepherds, therefore, avoid the heights as much as possible. It was an odd position to be in: guides of two different races, unable to communicate either with us or with one another, guides who could not lead and would not follow, guides one-half of whom were supposed to be there to save us from being robbed and murdered by the other half, but all of whom, I am bound to say, looked for the moment equally simple and friendly, the swarthy Iranian as well as the blue-eyed Slav. At eight o-clock I buckled on my canvas gaiters, thrust some crusts of bread, a lemon, a small flask of cold tea, four hard-boiled eggs, and a few meat lozenges into my pocket, bade good-bye to my friend, and set off. Rather to our surprise, the two Cossacks and one of the Kurds came with me, whether persuaded by a pantomime of encouraging signs, or simply curious to see what would happen. The ice-axe had hugely amused the Cossacks all through. This slope, a sort of talus or “screes,” as they say in the Lake country, was excessively fatiguing from the want of firm foothold, and when I reached the other side, I was already so tired and breathless, having been on foot since midnight, that it seemed almost useless to persevere farther. However, on the other side, I got upon solid rock, where the walking was better, and was soon environed by a multitude of rills bubbling down over the stones from the snowslopes above. The summit of Little Ararat, which had for the last two hours provokingly kept at the same apparent height above me, began to sink, and before ten o’clock I could look down upon its small flat top, studded with lumps of rock, but bearing no trace of a crater. Mounting steadily along the same ridge, I saw at a height of over 13,000 feet, lying on the loose blocks, a piece of wood about four feet long and five inches thick, evidently cut by some tool, and so far above the limit of trees that it could by no possibility be a natural fragment of one. Darting on it with a glee that astonished the Cossack and the Kurd, I held it up to them, made them look at it, and repeated several times the word “Noah.” The Cossack grinned, but he was such a cheery, genial fellow that I think he would have grinned whatever I had said, and I cannot be sure that he took my meaning, and recognized the wood as a fragment of the true Ark. Whether it was really gopher wood, of which material the Ark was built, I will not undertake to say, but am willing to submit to the inspection of the curious the bit which I cut off with my ice-axe and brought away. Anyhow, it will be hard to prove that it is not gopher wood. And if there be any remains of the Ark on Ararat at all—a point as to which the natives are perfectly clear—here rather than the top is the place where one might expect to find them, since in the course of ages they would get carried down by the onward movement of the snow-beds along the declivities. This
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wood, therefore, suits all the requirements of the case. In fact, the argument is, for the case of a relic, exceptionally strong: the Crusaders who found the Holy Lance at Antioch, the archbishop who recognized the Holy Coat at Treves, not to speak of many others, proceeded upon slighter evidence. I am, however, bound to admit that another explanation for the presence of this piece of timber on the rocks at this vast height did occur to me. But as no man is bound to discredit his own relic, and such is certainly not the practice of the Armenian Church, I will not disturb my readers’ minds, or yield to the rationalizing tendencies of the age by suggesting it. Fearing that the ridge by which we were mounting would become too precipitous higher up, I turned off to the left, and crossed a long, narrow snow-slope, that descended between this ridge and another line of rocks more to the west. It was firm, and just steep enough to make steps cut in the snow comfortable, though not necessary; so the ice-axe was brought into use. The Cossack who accompanied me—there was but one now, for the other Cossack had gone away to the right some time before, and was quite lost to view—had brought my friend’s alpenstock, and was developing a considerable capacity for wielding it. He followed nimbly across; but the Kurd stopped on the edge of the snow, and stood peering and hesitating, like one who shivers on the plank at a bathing-place, nor could the jeering cries of the Cossack induce him to venture on the treacherous surface. Meanwhile, we who had crossed were examining the broken cliff, which rose above us. It looked not exactly dangerous, but a little troublesome, as if it might want some care to get over or through. So, after a short rest, I stood up, touched my Cossack’s arm, and pointed upwards. He reconnoitered the cliff with his eye, and shook his head. Then, with various gestures of hopefulness, I clapped him on the back, and made as though to pull him along. He looked at the rocks again, and pointed to them, stroked his knees, turned up and pointed to the soles of his boots, which certainly were suffering from the lava, and once more solemnly shook his head. This was conclusive; so I conveyed to him by pantomime that he had better go back to the bivouac where my friend was, rather than remain there alone, and that I hoped to meet him there in the evening, took an affectionate farewell, and turned towards the rocks. There was evidently nothing for it but to go on alone. It was half-past ten o’clock, and the height about 13,600 feet, Little Ararat now lying nearly 1000 feet below the eye. I am no disciple of that doctrine of mountaineering without guides which some English climbers have of late preached zealously by example as well as precept, and which others, among them so high an authority as my friend Mr. Leslie Stephen, have wisely set themselves to discourage. But if there is any justification for the practice, that justification exists when guides are not to be had. Here not only had the Cossack and the Kurd refused to come on, but they really could not have been of use if they had. They were not guides in any sense of the word; they were an escort. They had never been so high in their lives before, knew nothing either of climbing in general or of this particular mountain, were not properly equipped for the work. In fact, their presence could have been no gain in any way, except that, if one of us had hurt himself on the rocks, the other two might have carried him down or taken news to the party below. What had happened was so obviously what might have been, and indeed had been, expected, that it would have been folly for a man to come so far unless he was now prepared to proceed alone. The weather looked pretty steady, although clouds were gathering round the top, and there seemed to be so little snow on this side that the usual risks of solitary mountaineering were absent, and a single climber would be just as well able to get along as a party. Convincing myself by these reasonings that there was nothing rash in proceeding, I fell to work upon the trachytic crags in front, but found them so nasty that it soon became necessary to turn off to the left (west). There I emerged on a very long, straight slope of volcanic stones, fragments of trachyte, basalt, amygdaloid, and so forth, lying at so high an angle (probably over 33 degrees) that they were often rolling down of themselves, and always gave way under the foot and hand, so that I slipped down nearly as much as I went up. It was nearly two hours’ incessant toil up this bit of “screes,” owing partly to its nature, but chiefly to the state of fatigue and breathlessness in which I found myself, and which was no doubt due to the thinness of the air. Having never before experienced, even on the top of Monte Rosa, any of the discomforts ascribed to this cause, I had fancied that my present sensations, which had begun in crossing the first slope of stones at a height of only 12,300 feet, were caused simply by want of training and of sleep. Now, however, when between every two steps one had to stop and gasp for breath, it was plain that the rarity of the air must be the real cause, though there was not headache, nausea, gushing of blood from the nose and ears, nor any other of those symptoms of mountain sickness on which the older travelers dilate. Oddly enough, it grew no worse as I mounted; in fact, was felt rather less at 17,000 feet than at 13,000. Why this was so, or why I should have felt it so low on Ararat at all, I cannot explain: the phenomena of the subject are odd altogether, and seem to deserve more study than they have received. The practical question at this moment was whether with knees of lead, and gasping like a fish in a boat, I should be able to get any farther. Another element of difficulty was added by the clouds, which had now established themselves, as they usually do at this hour, a good way down from the top, and might prevent me from finding it, or at least beguile me into a wrong track, which there would not be time to retrace so as to reach the desired goal. With these grounds for reflection I sat down to eat an egg and take stock of the position. The conclusion was that, whenever a “bad place” presented itself, or three o’clock arrived, it would be prudent, indeed necessary, to turn back were the top never so near. “Bad places” are more serious things when one is alone, especially in descending, not so much because you lose the help of a companion as because they are more likely to affect the nerves and oblige the climber to proceed with more deliberation. In this case, moreover, time was everything, because the place of bivouac must be
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reached by 6 PM, after which there would be no light fit for walking, and a night without food or wrappings in the open air, even at 12,000 feet, might have had permanently disagreeable results. This repulsive stone slope abuts at its upper extremity upon a line of magnificent black cliff, from which there were hanging several glittering icicles, 200 feet long, frozen waterfalls in fact, produced by the melting of the snow on the snow slope behind. Before reaching this, I had grown so weary of the loose stones, up which it was difficult to advance except by a succession of spurts with the aid of hands and ice-axe, as to turn still farther to the left, and get on to another rock-rib, composed of toppling crags of lava, along whose farther or western side, the arête itself being too much broken, it was possible to work one’s laborious way over the fallen masses. Here a grand sight, perhaps the grandest on the whole mountain, presented itself. At my foot was a deep, narrow, impassable gully, a sort of gigantic couloir, in whose bottom snow lay where the inclination was not too steep. Beyond it a line of rocky towers, red, grim, and terrible, ran right up towards the summit, its upper end lost in the clouds, through which, as at intervals they broke or shifted, one could descry, far, far above, a wilderness of snow. Had a Kurd ever wandered so far, he might have taken this for the palace of the Jinn. This gully is, no doubt, one of those ancient volcanic fissures with which the mountain is seamed, and from which great part of its lava has been discharged. The same phenomenon appears in most volcanic regions; in Iceland, for instance, tremendous eruptions have taken place from similar rifts or gjás, as they are called there, opening on the sides or even at the base of a mountain. This particular fissure, which axis of the mass, midway between the craters of Kip Ghöll on the northwest and Little Ararat on the southeast, and indicates the line along which the volcanic forces acted most powerfully. Following its course towards the base of the cone, I could see that line prolonged in a series of small cones and craters along the top of the ridge, which connects Great and Little Ararat. Some of those craters, into which I looked straight down from this point, were as perfect as if their fires had but just cooled, each basin-shaped hollow surrounded by a rim of miniature black cliffs, with heaps of ashes and scoriæ piled on their sides. In the bottom of one or two water had gathered in greenish tarns or pools. Not knowing how far the ridge I was following might continue passable, I was obliged to stop frequently to survey the rocks above, and erect little piles of stones to mark the way. This not only consumed time, but so completely absorbed the attention that for hours together I scarcely noticed the marvelous landscape spread out beneath, and felt the solemn grandeur of the scenery far less than many times before on less striking mountains. Solitude at great heights, or among majestic rocks or forests, commonly stirs in us all deep veins of feeling, joyous or saddening, or more often of joy and sadness mingled. Here the strain on the observing senses seemed too great for fancy or emotion to have any scope. When the mind is preoccupied by the task of the moment, imagination is checked. This was a race against time, in which I could only scan the cliffs for a route, refer constantly to the watch, husband my strength by morsels of food taken at frequent intervals, and endeavor to conceive how a particular bloc or bit of slope which it would be necessary to recognize would look when seen the other way in descending. Fortunately, the clouds were really clouds, and not a generally diffused mist, so that, when I was not actually in them, it was possible to see clearly all round. Two courses were open. One, which would probably have been the better, was to bear off to the right, and get up the low cliffs at the top of the long stone slope which I had deserted, on to the upper slopes of rock, or gently inclined snow, which lead to the top. The other was to turn back a little, and descend to the left into a vast snow basin lying immediately southeast of the summit, and whose northwest acclivity formed, in fact, the side of the summit. This acclivity looked a likely place for crevasses, though I do not remember to have seen any, and was steep enough to require step cutting. Its névé would have been quite practicable for a party, but not equally so for a single man, who might have had some trouble in stopping himself if once he slipped and went off. Luckily there was on the east side of the basin, close under the range of precipice on the projecting point of which I was standing, though separated from it by a narrow snow-bed, a steep slope of friable rocks, quite free from snow, which ran up to a point where the clouds hid them, but where there seemed no sign of any cliff to bar the way. Forced to decide between a course which was difficult, but almost certainly practicable, and another probably easier, but possibly impracticable, I could not hesitate long in choosing the former. Retracing my steps a little from the precipice, and climbing along the border of a treacherous little ice-slope, where there was fortunately some handhold on the rocks enclosing it, I got into the great snow basin aforesaid, just where the gully or fissure I have already mentioned descends from it, and attacked the friable rocks. Their angle (38 to 43 degrees) would have made them simple enough if they had only been firm, but they were so rotten that neither hands nor feet could get firm hold, and I slipped down and scrambled up and floundered about pitiably, having no longer steel enough in the muscles for a rush. Among these rocks I was saluted by a violent sulphurous smell, much like that of a battery of cannon just fired off, and perceived at the same time patches of whitish and reddish-yellow stuff efflorescing from the ground, reminding me of similar deposits noticed on Hekia and the half extinct volcano of Krabla in Iceland. This was delightfully volcanic, and I began to look about for some trace of an eruptive vent, or at least for hot vapors betraying the presence of subterranean fires. Nothing of the kind, however, was to be seen. The shape of this basin makes it probable that it was really a former seat of volcanic action; but the smell and the efflorescence are no doubt due—as Abich, who (as I afterwards learnt) had observed them, remarks—to the natural decomposition of the trachytic rock, which is full of minute crystals of iron pyrites (sulfide of iron). This, in disintegrating under the moisture of these heights, gives off sulfuric acid gas, whence the smell, and combines with the lime and alumina present in the felspar of the same rock to form sulfates of lime and alumina, mixed with more or less sulfate of iron or chloride or iron, which gives the reddish or
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yellow hue. Lumps of these and other minerals are seen lying about; I found one, a piece of gypsum, with handsome crystals, on the surface of the snow close to the top. Abich further suggests that the process of chemical change which goes on so briskly here may be one cause of the freedom of these rocks from snow, an extraordinary phenomenon when one considers that they run up to very near the summit (17,000 feet). Not only is some heat evolved in the decomposing process, but the sulfates thereby formed themselves act as solvents, just as common salt does when you sprinkle it on an ice-covered door-step. All the way up this rock-slope, which proved so fatiguing that for the fourth time I had almost given up hope, I kept my eye fixed on its upper end to see what signs there were of crags or snow-fields above. But the mist lay steadily at the point where the snow seemed to begin, and it was impossible to say what might be hidden behind that soft white curtain. As little could I conjecture the height I had reached by looking round, as one so often does on mountain ascents, upon other summits, for by this time I was thousands of feet above Little Ararat, the next highest peak visible, and could scarcely guess how many thousands. From this tremendous height it looked more like a broken obelisk than an independent summit 12,800 feet in height. With mists to the left and above, and a range of black precipices cutting off all view to the right, there came a vehement sense of isolation and solitude, and I began to understand better the awe with which the mountain silence inspires the Kurdish shepherds. Overhead the sky had turned from dark blue to an intense bright green, a color whose strangeness seemed to add to the weird terror of the scene. It wanted barely an hour to the time when I had resolved to turn back; and as I struggled up the crumbling rocks, trying now to right and now to the left, where the foothold looked a little firmer, I began to doubt whether there was strength enough left to carry me an hour higher. At length the rock-slope came suddenly to an end, and I stepped out upon the almost level snow at the top of it, coming at the same time into the clouds, which naturally clung to the colder surfaces. A violent west wind was blowing, and the temperature must have been pretty low, for a big icicle at once enveloped the lower half of my face, and did not melt till I got to the bottom of the cone, four hours afterwards. Unluckily, I was very thinly clad, the stout tweed coat reserved for such occasions having been stolen on a Russian railway. The only expedient to be tried against the piercing cold was to tighten in my loose light coat by winding round the waist a Spanish faja, or scarf, which I had brought up to use, in case of need, as a neck wrapper. Its bright purple looked odd enough in such surroundings, but as there was nobody there to notice, appearances did not much matter. In the mist, which was now thick, the eye could pierce only some thirty yards ahead; so I walked on over the snow five or six minutes. To mark the backward track, I trailed the point of the ice-axe along behind me in the soft snow, for there was not longer any landmark: all was cloud on every side. Suddenly, to my astonishment, the ground began to fall away to the north; I stopped, a puff of wind drove off the mists on one side, the opposite side to that by which I had come, and showed the Araxes plain at an abysmal depth below. It was the top of Ararat. Two or three minutes afterwards another blast cleared the air a little to the west, which had hitherto been perfectly thick, disclosing a small snow valley, and beyond it, a quarter of a mile off, another top, looking about the same height as the one I stood on. Remembering, what I had strangely forgotten on the way up, that there are two tops—one sees them distinctly from Erivan and Aralykh—I ran down the steep, soft sides of the snow valley, across it in the teeth of the blast, and up the easy acclivity to the other top, reaching it at 2:25 PM. It is certainly the higher of the two, but the difference is not great, only some thirty feet or so, and I cannot understand how General Chodzko comes to speak of it as amounting to thirty-six meters. The longitudinal depression between them is 100-150 feet deep. Both tops are gently sloping domes or broad convex hummocks of snow, on which there is not a trace of rock, nor a trace of the crosses which first Parrot and afterwards Chodzko set up, just as little as of Noah’s ship itself. One thought of the pictures of childhood, the Ark resting on a smooth, round grassy eminence, from which the waters are receding, while the Patriarch looks out of the window, and compared them with this snow-filled hollow, just large enough to have held the vessel comfortably, raised 15,000 feet above the surrounding country. Neither is there any sign of a crater. You might describe the whole top as a triangular undulating plain, rather more than half as big as the Green Park in London, descending gently on the northwest, with extensive terraces like fields of névé, less gently towards the northnortheast, but steeply on all other sides, and on the east breaking off, after a short snow-field, in the tremendous precipices that overhang the chasm of Arghuri. There was nothing about it to suggest an extinct volcano, were it not known to be one. But in the ages that have elapsed since the time when eruptions took place from the great central chimney of the dome, a time probably far more remote than that when the minor cones that stud the flanks of the mountain were active, all sorts of changes may have taken place, and the summit we now see may be merely the bottom of an ancient crater, whose craggy rim has been altogether broken away. Looking around, it was hard to imagine that volcanic fires had ever raged on such a spot, robed as it now is in perpetual winter. Immeasurably extensive and grand as the view was, it was also strangely indefinite. Every mountaineer knows that the highest views are seldom the finest; and here was one so high that the distinctions of hill and valley in the landscape were almost lost. Ararat towers so over all its neighbors, much more than Mont Blanc or even Elbruz do over theirs, that they seem mere hillocks on a uniform flat. The only rivals are in the Caucasus, which one can just make out all along the northern sky. Kazbek and Elbruz, the latter 280 miles away, are visible, but I could not be sure that I saw them, for the sky was not very clear in that direction. Beyond the dreary red-brown mountains of the Karabagh one strained to discover a line that might be the Caspian or the plain of the lower Kur, but, of course, at such a distance (260 miles) it would be impossible to distinguish a sea-surface. Besides, the Caspian is below the horizon; so one must reject, unless the aid of refraction be called in, the stories of mariners who, sailing on it, have been able to
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make out the white cone of Ararat. Nearer at hand, only forty miles to the north, rose the huge extinct volcano of Ala Göz, with its three sharp black rocky peaks enclosing an ancient crater, in whose bottom were patches of snow; and, nearer still, the dim plain of Erivan encircled the mountain to the north and east, with the Araxes winding like a faint streak of silver through it. A slight rise in the ground showed where Erivan itself lay, but the bright green of the orchards and vineyards round it was lost at this distance, though, standing in the market-place of the city, Ararat seems to tower right over the spectator’s head. Northwest the upper valley of the Araxes could be traced as far as Ani, once the capital of the Armenian kingdom, and the great Russian fortress of Alexandropol, and the hills where Kars, its enemy, looks forth defiance. To the south and southwest the eye ranged over a wilderness of bare red-brown mountains, their sides seamed by winter torrents that showed in the distance like dark lines, not a tree nor a patch of green on their scorched and arid slopes, scarcely even a fleck of snow on their tops, though many rose more than 10,000 or 11,000 feet above the sea. Prominent among them was the long stern line of hills that enclose the upper course of the Euphrates (the Eastern Euphrates or Murad Su), whose source could be distinguished about forty miles to the south, beyond the hollow where Bayazid lies, the houses of which were hidden by a low ridge. Still further to the south, from the shores of the Lake of Van, rose the great volcanic peak of Sipan Dagh, and to the southeast the stupendous masses of Savalan Dagh, that look over all Azerbijan to the waves of the Caspian. Neither the Lake of Van nor the still larger Lake of Urumia was visible; for both, though high above the sea, are enclosed by lofty hills. But far beyond them, more than two hundred miles away, I could just descry the faint blue tops of the Assyrian mountains of Southern Kurdistan, the Qardu land, where Chaldee tradition places the fragments of the Ark, mountains that look down on Mosul and those huge mounds of Nineveh by which the Tigris flows. Below and around, included in this single view, seemed to lie the whole cradle of the human race, from Mesopotamia in the south to the great wall of the Caucasus that covered the northern horizon, the boundary for so many ages of the civilized world. If it was indeed here that man first set foot again on the unpeopled earth, one could imagine how the great dispersion went as the races spread themselves from these sacred heights along the courses to the great rivers down to the Black and Caspian Seas, and over the Assyrian plain to the shores of the Southern Ocean, whence they were wafted away to other continents and isles. No more imposing center of the world could be imagined. In the valley of the Araxes beneath, the valley which Armenian legend has selected as the seat of Paradise, the valley that has been for three thousand years the high-road for armies, the scene of so much slaughter and misery, there lay two spots which seemed to mark the first and the latest points of authentic history. One, right below me, was the ruined Artaxata, built, as the tale goes, by Hannibal, and stormed by the legions of Lucullus. The other, far to the northwest, was the hollow under the hills in which lies the fortress of Kars, where our countrymen fought in 1854, and where the flames of war were so soon again to be lighted. Yet how trivial history, and man the maker of history, seemed. This is the spot which he reveres as the supposed scene of his creation and his preservation from the destroying waters, a land where he has lived and labored and dies ever since his records begin, and during ages from which no record is left. Dynasty after dynasty has reared its palaces, faith after faith its temples, upon this plain; cities have risen and fallen and risen again in the long struggle of civilization against the hordes of barbarism. But of all these works of human pomp and skill, not one can be discerned from this height. The landscape is now what it was before man crept forth on the earth; the mountains stand about the valleys as they stood when the volcanic fires that piled them up were long ago extinguished. Nature sits enthroned, serenely calm, upon this hoary pinnacle, and speaks to her children only in the storm and earthquake that level their dwellings in the dust. As says the Persian poet: “When you and I behind the veil have passed, O but the long long while the world shall last, Which of our coming and departure heeds As the Seven Seas should heed a pebble’s cast.” Yet even the mountains change and decay. Every moment some block thunders from these crags into the glens below. Day by day and night by night frost, snow, and rain are loosening the solid rock, and the ceaseless action of chemical forces is dissolving it into its primal elements, setting free the gases, and delivering over the fragments to torrents that will sweep them down into the plain. A time must come, if the world lasts long enough, when even the stately peaks of Ararat will have crumbled away and be no more. “Of old hast thou laid the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of the hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years fail not.” In addition I am bound to say that the view, spite of the associations it evoked, spite of the impression of awe and mystery it gave, was not beautiful or splendid, but rather stern, grim, and monotonous. The softer colors of the landscape seemed to be lost; the mountains, seen from above and seldom showing well-marked peaks, were uncouth, rough-hewn masses. One had a sense of vast sterility and dreariness as the vision ranged over this boundless expanse of brown, and sought, almost in vain, a point to recognize. For most of these huge mountains are nameless on our maps; and these bare valleys are peopled by races of whom we know little except that they live now much as they may have lived when that first dispersion of mankind took place. Then suddenly, while the eye was still unsatisfied
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with gazing, the curtain of mists closed round again, and I was left alone in this little plain of snow, white, silent, and desolate, with a vividly bright green sky above it and a wild west wind whistling across it, clouds girding it in, and ever and anon through the clouds glimpses of far-stretching valleys and mountains away to the world’s end. The awe that fell upon me with this sense of utter loneliness made time pass unnoticed; and I might have lingered long in a sort of dream had not the piercing cold that thrilled through every limb recalled me to a sense of the risks delay might involve. It was half-past two o’clock, so that only four hours of daylight remained; there might be some difficulty in retracing the morning’s path, even by the help of the piles of stone set up. It was clear therefore that the hope of descending the summit towards the west and north for the sake of better examining its structure, which no one seems to have properly described, must be abandoned. So I ran down the easy slope into the little valley between the two tops, climbed the snow wall of the eastern one, and followed the marks made by my ice-axe in the snow back to the spot where I had left the rocks. The mist was now so thick that it would otherwise have been impossible to hit the right direction; for though I had a compass, on a volcanic mountain like Ararat, with plenty of iron in the rocks, one could not have trusted it. I have seen the needle on the basaltic top of Ben Nevis point every way in succession. Once on the slope of friable rock, the way was pretty clear, since a snow-bed lay on each hand, though the treacherous nature of the surface made caution necessary and progress slow. Towards the bottom I was tempted to try a glissade on the narrow left-hand snow-bed, but it turned out to be much too rough and too hard for the purpose; so my glissade ended in a slip and some bruises, the only little mischance which befell me during the day. A few minutes more brought me to the upper end of the great fissure of eruption already mentioned, along whose eastern side I had climbed in the morning. Surveying the declivity below me from the top of this rock-rib, it seemed possible to descend by a route considerably shorter than that which I had then followed, viz. by striking diagonally across the slopes of loose rock towards the east-southeast, instead of due southeast down the cone. Taking this line, which presented no great difficulty except where the loose, angular blocks became so large that much time was lost in climbing over and among them, I dropped down at last upon a large snow-bed,1 and in crossing it had the ill-luck to break off the spike of my ice-axe, which had been unskillfully fixed by the military carpenter of Aralykh. It was well that the inclination was not steep enough to make the rest of the way dangerous; by caution and the use of the head of the ice-axe to cut steps or take hold of the ice, I got safely across, and on to another mass of loose rocks, down which I pursued the same south-eastward course, and thought I began to recognize the long ridge up which we had toiled in the morning. To the left rose the sharp peak which is called, in Tatar, Tach Kilissa, and at the foot of it, on the top of the ridge I have just mentioned, was the spot where my friend and the Cossacks had halted; the spot I had now to make for. By this time the sun had got behind the southwestern ridge of the mountains, and his gigantic shadow had already fallen across the great Araxes plain below, while the red mountains of Media, far to the southeast, still glowed redder than ever, then turned swiftly to a splendid purple in the dying light. Quickening my pace as the risk of missing the encampment became greater, feeling, in fact, that it was now a race against the onward striding night in which defeat would be serious, I caught sight at last of two Cossacks loitering on the edge of the slope of sand and gravel which had proved so fatiguing in the morning, and after a while made them hear my shouts. When I reached them, it was six o’clock; and though at this height (12,200 feet) there was still good twilight, Aralykh and the ruins of Artaxata below lay already shrouded in gloom. Twenty-five minutes’ more walking brought us to the place where the Kurds and the other Cossacks had bivouacked. We examined the provisions, and found that nothing but a lump of bread, a mere scrap of meat, two eggs, and thimbleful of cold tea were left. Happily neither of us had much appetite; the sun had kept hunger at bay for him, and meat lozenges had done the same for me; so our frugal evening meal was soon dispatched. A little hot tea would have been welcome—four weeks under the scepter of the Czar had made us perfect slaves to tea; but as there was neither fuel, nor water, nor a vessel to boil it in, the hope was no sooner formed than abandoned. Accordingly, about half-past seven, we lay down on the hillside,
1 At the point where I crossed, it is a kind of tongue from a wider snow-field above, up which Messrs, Freshfield and Tucker and their Swiss guide seem to have made their spirited attack on the mountain in 1868. They went (as far as I can gather) from Sardarbulakh right up past Tach Kilissa, and were prevented from reaching the summit only by illness, the result of long travel in Russian telegas. See the very interesting account of their expedition in Mr. Freshfield’s ‘Central Caucasus.’
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my friend valiantly on the top of the ridge, I a yard or two below him on the eastern side, the Cossacks and Kurds all round where they severally pleased, and we courted sleep. Although rather tired, we found the position too novel, and lay half conscious in a drowsy reverie; dropping off at last to wake with a start at midnight, when the moon’s pale horn was just showing over the Median mountains. How we got safe down was a marvel to us at the time. There was no track, but the Kurds seemed to have an idea where they were going. Many were the halts which the Cossacks made, stretching themselves on the grass to laugh and talk; nor was it now worthwhile to hurry them. At length the morning star rose in unearthly brightness, and not long after we came to a sweet little grassy plain, where two or three Kurds, whose flocks were pasturing hard by, had lit a fire of withered bushes, to which our Kurds led us up in a friendly way, bidding us (as we guessed) warm ourselves. The Cossacks had nearly all gone on out of sight, and we were (as it afterwards struck us) entirely at the mercy of these wild, swarthy fellows, on whose glittering daggers and matchlocks the firelight played. However, they had no thought of mischief; perhaps, if it had occurred to them, the sense of hospitality, which is proverbially strong in the East, would have restrained them from harming those with whom they had eaten. Then between four and five o’clock another glorious dawn began; and just before sunrise we reached the tent at Sardarbulakh, much to the relief of Jaafar’s mind, and flung ourselves down on the tent floor to sleep the sleep of the weary. Roused again at eight or nine o’clock—both the watches had stopped, so we could only guess at the time of day—we ought clearly to have gone up Little Ararat, and obtained from his top a fuller notion of his great brother’s structure. Provisions, however, ran short, and the Cossacks were anxious to return to Aralykh, taking back with them their comrades whom we had found in the two tents, as the post was to be withdrawn for the season. Accordingly the tents were struck, everything packed on the baggage horses, the Kurds paid for their day’s and night’s service on the hill. Then, before starting, the Cossacks gathered in a ring in front of the spot where the tents had stood, and began singing Russian songs. The words we, of course, could not follow—I believe they were mostly camp songs, some commemorating military exploits, some farewells to departing comrades—but the airs, usually lively, but occasionally tender and plaintive, dwelt long in our memory. One stood in the middle and led, firing off a gun at intervals, the others sometimes singing with him, sometimes merely joining in the refrain or chorus. The voices were good, and the time perfect. Before noon we bid a regretful farewell to Sardarbulakh, and rode down into the plain, this time taking a track outside of the buttress of Takjultu, instead of behind it, and thence across the arid slopes to Aralykh, which we reached about four o’clock without further incident, though once during the way an alarm was given that there were strange people about. Owing, I suppose, to the bracing quality of the keen dry air, we were much less fatigued than we had expected to be. Colonel Shipshef welcomed us with characteristic heartiness, and we spent a pleasant evening with him, lamenting more than ever that unhappy event at the tower of Babel, which made our communications so limited. Next morning we mounted the tarantass once more, and drove off across the Araxes and through the dusty villages back into the furnace of Erivan. Two days later I found myself at the Armenian monastery of Etchmiadzin, near the northern foot of Ararat, and was presented to the archimandrite who rules that illustrious house. It came out in conversation that we had been on the mountain, and the Armenian gentleman who was acting as interpreter turned to the archimandrite and said: “This Englishman says he has ascended to the top of Massis” (Ararat). The venerable man smiled sweetly. “No,” he replied, “that cannot be. No one has ever been there. It is impossible.”
Chapter VIII After returning to Erivan from Ararat, we made a hurried expedition to the famous monastery of Etchmiadzin, which claims to be the oldest monastic foundation in the world, and has for many centuries been the seat of the Armenian Patriarch or Katholikos, the spiritual head of all true Armenians, in whatsoever empire, Russian, Turkish, Persian, Austrian, or British, they may dwell. It is distant about thirteen miles, some two hours driving, from Erivan, and the journey gave us our first experience of that wonderful vehicle the Russian telega—a cart, or shallow lidless box, about six feet long by four wide, set upon wheels with no pretence of springs or anything in the nature of springs. A little hay was thrown in, among which we were told to squat. We put in a traveling bag, but soon found it impossible to sit upon that, or on the sides of the box itself, for the jolting knocked one about like a pea on a hot iron. As soon as the pace was quickened they become so violent that we could only hold ourselves in the cart by grasping its sides, and a whisky flask which had been safely lodged in my companion’s breast coat-pocket was shot out like a cannon ball, and flung to a distance in the road, where of course it broke into a hundred pieces. How people manage to travel for many continuous days in such vehicles without grievous bodily harm, it is hard to understand, but the thing is done. There was something inexpressibly solemn in the great desolate plain that lay around us under the dying light—a plain in which Armenian tradition places the site of the Garden of Eden. The curse of the flaming sword might well be thought to have clung to it, for few spots on earth have seen more ruin and slaughter than this Araxes valley. It has been the highway through which the Eastern conquerors and marauders, from the days of the Sassanid kings Shapur
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and Chosroes Nushirvan, down through those of the Saracen and Turkish and Mongol and Persian invaders, have poured their hosts upon the fertile shores of the Euxine. Here the Romans strove with the Parthians; here Alp Arslan overthrew the Armenian kingdom of the middle ages; here, down to our own days, Turks and Persians and Russians have carried on a scarcely interrupted strife. From Kars to Djulfa there is hardly a spot of ground that has not been soaked with blood, hardly a village that has not many times been laid in ruins. Yet when the storm is past, the patient peasant returns; he draws water again from the ancient canals whose network covers the plain, and remembers these scourges of mankind only in vague traditions, where the names of Nimrod and Semiramis are mingled with those of Tamerlane and Nadir Shah. We drove straight to the monastery, prowled for some time in the deepening night round its lofty walls, much like those of a medieval fortress, and at last made out a gate, to which after long hammering there came a porter. When he opened and saw that we were foreigners, he brought at last a young Armenian gentleman from the Armenian colony in Southern Russia, who was able to speak French. Our troubles were then at an end; we were received with much friendliness by the archimandrite, and lodged in guest-chamber overlooking the great front quadrangle. Etchmiadzin is the ecclesiastical metropolis of the Armenian nation, and has been so, though with a long intermission (AD 452-1441), since the year A.D. 302, when, according to tradition, the first Christian church in Armenia was founded here by St. Gregory the Illuminator, on the spot whereon the Savior had descended in a ray of light. The place was then called, from some ancient king who had founded it, Vagarshabad, a name still retained by the neighboring village. The word Etchmiadzin means in Armenian, “The only-begotten descended.” Tiridates, or Dertad, the reigning monarch whom Gregory then enlightened (Enlightenment is the technical Armenian term for conversion), was the first king who embraced Christianity along with his people, Constantine’s socalled conversion not happening till either twelve or thirty-seven years later, according as one reckons to the battle of the Milvian Bridge or to his baptism. Armenia, therefore, is the first country to have enjoyed the privileges of an ecclesiastical establishment, although the attacks of the Persian fire-worshippers, and of various Mohammedan Khalifs, Sultans, and Shahs in later times, gave it a very troubled and precarious existence. At first the bishop of Etchmiadzin was a suffragan of the metropolitan of Caesarea in Cappadocia, by whom Gregory had been consecrated; but when the Persian kings established their supremacy in the next century, they broke this link between Armenia and the Roman Empire. Shortly afterwards came the Council of Chalcedon, whose decrees the Armenian Church first hesitated, and finally, in A.D. 491, refused to accept, thereby severing herself from the Orthodox Eastern Church. So to this day she remains out of communion with the Greek patriarch of Constantinople, as well as with the Church of Russia, and is held both by them and by the Roman Church to be tainted with the Monophysite heresy, which the fathers of Chalcedon condemned. Ever since those days, though attempts at reconciliation were occasionally made, and seemed for the moment to be successful, she has remained a perfectly independent ecclesiastical body, owning no superior above her own Patriarch or Katholikos, who is, in fact, a sort of administrative Pope, but of course without infallibility. He is chosen by the whole body of Armenian bishops throughout the world, who meet here for the purpose, and is then confirmed by the Czar, who protects him and enforces his authority. The present church is supposed to contain some bits of wall as old as the fourth century, the main body of it being ascribed to the seventh or eighth; but I found it impossible to get any information on the spot which could be relied on, and the architectural style in these countries varies so little from one century to another that only a practiced and skilful archaeologist could undertake to pronounce on the date of a building from examining it. Like nearly all the older churches of Russia, as well as of the East, it is small—small, that is to say, compared with its fame or importance— perhaps a little larger than the Temple Church in London. It is cruciform, with exceedingly short transepts and a short apse—in fact, you might call it a square with four shallow recesses—the interior rather dark, with an air of heaviness which is scarcely redeemed by the frescos on the walls, drawn and colored in the usual style of Persian arabesque, with birds, flowers, and various conventional ornaments. However, any cheerful decorations of this kind are welcome after the revolting pictures of hell and judgment that adorn the walls of so many Russian and Greek churches. There are two patriarchal thrones, one on each side of the apse, and a tabernacle over the central altar under the dome marks the spot on which the Savior descended. Here a slab of marble covers the hole through which St. Gregory drove into the earth all the devils that in his day infested Armenia, and gave false oracles in the heathen temples. On this very spot there had stood a shrine and image of the goddess Anahit, just as the hill of Monte Casino. On the whole, the interior is impressive, with a certain somber dignity, and an air of hoary antiquity [showing characteristics of age, especially having gray or white hair] about everything; its pictures, some of them portraits of sainted patriarchs, and other decorations, have little artistic merit, but they are less offensive to the Protestant eye than the black Madonnas incrusted with precious stones which are the glory of Russian or other Orthodox places of worship. Externally the church has little that is distinctive about it. The tall central cupola rises into an octagonal spire, or rather conical tower, of the usual Armenian type, and is said to date from the seventh century, though I cannot believe it to be anything like so old. A learned ecclesiological writer (Dr. Neale), however, insists that the ground plan of the church is rather Byzantine than Armenian, and his reasons, so far as I can judge of such a matter, seem to be sound. Of true Armenian architecture the finest and most characteristic specimens are to be found in the ruined city of Ani, some thirty miles from here, towards Kars, and just within the Turkish border. What struck me as the oldest and most interesting are the two refectories. Old also is the library, to which we had come with great expectations, hearing of its treasures in the way of ancient manuscripts. Unfortunately there was not
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one on the spot who could tell us much about them, and I doubt if there is any one who knows much. The stock of printed books is quite small, not reaching 2000, and of course the great majority are in Armenian, most of the newer ones in Russian. There seems to be little ground for hoping that any Greek or Latin manuscripts, unless, possibly, of late ecclesiastical writers, remain to be discovered here; it is rather to Orientalists that researchers into the libraries of the Armenian monasteries are to be recommended. The treasure, or, as we should say, the sacristy, in which the holy relics that constitute the great glory of Etchmiadzin are kept, is a new building at the east end of the church. Unhappily we could not gain admittance, owing to a cause which might seem to cast a painful light on the want of security, or at least of confidence, among even the respectable ecclesiastics of this country. There is but one key to the treasury, and that key is kept by the patriarch, who carries it with him wherever he goes. He was then in a cool mountain retreat some miles away on the slopes of Ala Göz, and we were therefore obliged to forego the hope of seeing the head of the holy spear wherewith the Roman soldier pierced the side of Christ. It is asserted to have been brought to Armenia by Thaddeus the Apostle, and has therefore a far more respectable pedigree, so to speak, than the rival “holy lance” which the Crusaders discovered at Antioch with such magnificent results, or than that which Sir John Maundeville tells us he saw at Constantinople in the possession of the Eastern Emperor, not to speak of other claimants. In this treasure-house there is also a fragment of Noah’s Ark, obtained, according to the legend stated in an earlier chapter, by the monk St. Jacob; and, what is the most curious of all, a withered mummy hand enclosed in a casing of silver, which purports to be the very hand of St. Gregory the Illuminator. This hand is actually used to this day in the consecration of every patriarch, who being touched by it receives the grace, as it were, direct from the founder of the Armenian Church. It is an instance of the carrying out, on its physical side, of the doctrine (I will not say of apostolic succession) of the transmission through earthen vessels of spiritual gifts, and their communication by physical means, which one is startled to find still in full force in an important and respectable branch of the Christian Church. In the middle ages nothing would have seemed more natural or impressive; in the nineteenth century it looks a little different. Besides the cells of the monks, who number from twenty to thirty, there are, on the west side of the great square, apartments for the patriarch and for the archbishops, bishops, and archimandrites from other monasteries, who are frequently to be found here, consulting him on the affairs of their churches, or attending the general and supreme synod, which sits, almost in permanence, under his presidency. Finally there is the seminary, a sort of school or college for the education of young Armenians chiefly, but not exclusively, with a view to their entering the priestly office. There were about eighty boys or young men then attending, who are of course lodged in the monastery, and for the most part remain in it from the beginning to the end of their education, coming often from great distances. Among those present in the dining hall some were from the heart of Persia, others from Cilicia, others from all sorts of places scattered through Asia Minor. The well-marked national type of countenance, the dark eyes and straight, black hair, came out strongly; and the quick intelligence of many of the faces was no less characteristic. The school labors under serious disadvantages from the difficulty of procuring competent teachers, and the state of blank ignorance in which so many pupils come. A magazine called ‘Ararat’ has recently been established; it is printed at the monastery, and of course in Armenian; nor is the press of Etchmiadzin idle in producing educational manuals, the class of books which are (strange as a British parent may think it) at present most scarce among the Armenians of these countries. It was a Friday, but they made no difficulty about giving us a substantial meat supper, some one probably knowing that the English do not regard those church fasts which are so prodigiously important in these countries. It is really quite a new light to a Westerner to find that the chief difference, in the wilder places, between Christians, pagans, and Mohammedans, consists in the times or rules of fasting. There seemed to be very few other guests in convent at the time of our visit. Probably it was the dead season; the heat was oppressive; there were fevers about; the Patriarch, to confer with whom most of the ecclesiastical visitors come, was absent in the mountains. He is named Kevork (George). Now, like almost all the great old shrines, like Santiago, Einsiedeln, St. David’s, Loretto, it has lost this source of wealth, and has also lost the visitors who halted at it as they passed along what was once the great trade route from Trebizond by Erzerum and Erivan to Tavriz and Northern Persia. The trade from Persia to the Black Sea now goes entirely through Turkish territory, I suppose in order to avoid Russian custom-houses, by way of Bayazid on the southwestern side of Ararat. The village of Vagarshabad, lying a few hundred paces from the monastic fortress, is quite an insignificant place, with scarcely any trace of its former greatness. Only one mass of ancient brick building marks the place where there once stood, according to Armenian historians, 20,000 houses, the place where Tiridates reigned, at the time of his conversion, over a powerful kingdom. These Oriental cities, being mostly built of unburnt brick, and without great public structures, perish very swiftly, and leave little trace behind. Usually only the churches remain; and so here, near the convent, here stand two churches, probably more ancient than the cathedral itself, those of St. Rhipsime and St. Caiana, who were martyred in the time of Tiridates. Rhipsime was a virgin of exquisite beauty. Accompanied by a band of maidens, she had fled from Rome to escape the addresses of the reigning emperor, whom, as a pagan, she could not espouse. Tiridates was equally smitten by her charms, and when she refused him for the same reason, he put her to death with hideous tortures, and killed at the same time her nurse Caiana. The present condition of the monks leaves much to be desired, as far as knowledge and education goes, but in general their monastic life will fairly bear a comparison with that of most Western as well as Russian foundations. Their dress is becoming: it consists of a long black robe of a thin serge or tissue, not so thin as crape, and a peaked cap, from which a sort of veil of the same material falls back over the neck and shoulders. On the whole they impress a
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traveler perhaps more favorably than the inmates of convents generally do; inferior as they are in learning and polish to the brethren of that famous Western foundation, the mother of all Western monastic houses and the home of their founder, which is perhaps the chief rival of Etchimiadzin in antiquity and historical fame—the great Benedictine abbey of Monte Casino. Unfortunately the situation of Etchimiadzin is by no means healthy, placed as it is in an excessively hot plain, on the banks of a stream which, being diverted into a number of channels for the purpose of irrigation, loses itself in feverproducing marshes. Except in the large convent garden just outside the walls, which borders the magnificent stonefaced fish pond, or reservoir, formed by a late patriarch, there are no trees anywhere near; the landscape is bare and open all the way from the glens of Ala Göz. The glory of the place is its view of Ararat, which rises full in front with indescribably majesty, covered on this side with snow for a good way down. We could not take our eyes off it all the time we remained. Doubtless the neighborhood of the holy mountain adds sensibly to the veneration which the oldest seat of their faith and the storehouse of so many relics commands from all pious or patriotic Armenians. The Armenians are an extraordinary people, with a tenacity of natural life scarcely inferior to that of the Jews, and perhaps more remarkable, since it has not been forced upon them by such unremitting persecution. They have been a nation known by their present name ever since the days of Herodotus1 at least, and probably a good deal earlier. Under the Persian empire they seem to have retained their own princes, merely paying tribute to the Great King, and marching in his armies, as they did under Xerxes against Greece. Not very long afterwards Digran, whom the Greek and Roman writers call Tigranes, threw off the suzerainty of the Parthian Arsacidae, who had become the chief power of Western Asia, and made Armenia the center of an empire which stretched from the Orontes to the Caspian. As he had supported his father-in-law, Mithridates of Pontus, against the Romans, he was attacked and his power shattered by Lucullus, who penetrated to the capital of Artaxata, at the northeast foot of Ararat. The conversion of this Tiridates by his cousin, St. Gregory the Enlightener, whom he had confined for fourteen years in a dry well, is the turning-point in the history of the nation. From that day Armenia became the bulwark of Christianity in Asia. Overrun and ravaged by the Persian fireworshippers, the first race or faith that set the example of religious intolerance and persecution, who at last extinguished the Arsacid kingdom about the year 440 AD; then, after the fall of the Persian power, by the Mohammedan khalifs of Bagdad; sometimes supported, sometimes abandoned by the Byzantine emperors, and torn all the while by internal dissentions and revolutions, she rose in the ninth century to be again a state of some importance in the world. The first flood of Arab conquest had subsided; the Roman emperors had even recovered lost territory; the Abbasside sovereigns had seen their dominions seized by a swarm of local potentates. Armenia was now ruled by the dynasty of the Bagratians, a family who claim to be descended from King David the Psalmist, and who may very possibly be really of Hebrew origin. Their capital was Ani, between Etchmiadzin and Kars, the magnificent ruins of whose churches and palaces remain to attest the transitory splendor and wealth of the kingdom they ruled. This Bagratid race gave a line of kings to Georgia, while some of its branches established themselves in Mingrelia and Imeritia. The family still exists, and ranks high among the nobility of Russia; one of them was the Prince Bagration, who was killed at Borodino in the Napoleonic campaign of 1812. This mediaeval Christian kingdom had bloomed in the lull of Muslim invasion caused by the decay of the great Bagdad khalifate. The storm that followed proved more fatal. The aggressive movement of Islam passed into the hands of a lately converted and fiercer race, the Turks, who were pressing in from the steppes of the Oxus. In the eleventh century the great Seljukian sultan Toghrul Beg conquered Persia, and became the master of Bagdad and the protector of the impotent khalif. His successor, Alp Arslan (the valiant lion), overran Armenia and Georgia in 1066 (the year of another famous conquest); the Romans of Constantinople, on whom Armenia had leaned, regarding with comparative indifference the miseries of Monophysite heretics. Malek Shah, the successor of Alp Arsian, completed the conquest; Ani was sacked, and the Christian throne of Armenia finally overturned in 1075; while the Turkish arms were carried as far as the Caucasus and the Euxine.
1
Herodotus speaks of them as living on the Upper Euphrates, but conceives of the Saspeires as occupying the eastern part of what we should call Armenia, placing the latter between the Medes and the Colchians. Perhaps his Saspeires are the Iberians.
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In the repeated invasions and devastations of their country which occupied these weary years, a great part of the Armenian people were driven from it, and scattered over the adjoining lands, especially through Asia Minor, where their descendants still constitute a large element, probably nearly one-fourth, of the entire population; while the void which they left was partially, but only partially, filled up by the immigration of half nomad Mohammedan Tatars or Turkmans, whose villages now lie scattered through Russian and Turkish Armenia. The existence of Armenia as an independent state was at an end; and her later history, which I have neither the knowledge nor the time to describe, is little more than a dreary record first of warfare between the Byzantine emperors and the Seljukian Turks, then of devastations by the Mongols and the hosts of Timur, still later of a long and indecisive contest between the Ottoman sultans and Persia for the possession of these once flourishing provinces. But the Armenian people survived. In 1827 the Czar Nicholas went to war with Persia, and wrested from here the whole upper valley of the Araxes, including Etchmiadzin itself. War with Turkey followed in 1828: the invaders under Paskievitch penetrated as far as Erzerum, and when they retired on the conclusion of peace in 1829, a multitude of Armenian subjects of Turkey followed them across the border and settled in Russian territory, where, unsatisfactory as we may think their condition, they are infinitely better off than they were under the Sultan or the Shah. I do not say that the Armenians love Russia, but neither do they hate her. The reviving sentiment of nationality, the generally diffused belief that the Ottoman power is sickening towards death, the spread of education, the easier intercourse with the West, the prosperity of individual Armenians in the foreign countries where they have established themselves as merchants, have all of them stimulated the hopes and aspirations of the more instructed classes, so that one even begins to hear of schemes for the erection of an Armenian state. At present Armenia is a mere geographical expression, a name which has come down to us from the ancient world, and has been used at different times with different territorial extensions. The country, if one can call it a country, has no political limits, for it lies mainly in the dominions of Turkey, but partly also in those of Russia and Persia. It has no ethnographical limits, for it is inhabited by Tatars, Persians, Kurds, and the mixed race whom we call Turks or Ottomans, as well as by the Armenians proper. It has no natural boundaries in rivers or mountain chains, lying, as it does, in the upper valley of the Euphrates, Tigris, Aras, and Kur. Wherever they go, they retain their faith, their peculiar physiognomy, their wonderful aptitude for trade. In Constantinople and most parts of Asia Minor, as well as in Transcaucasia, commerce is to a great extent in their hands; and they are usually found more than a match for either Jews or Greeks. Here, in their own country, however, they are chiefly peaceable, stay-at-home peasants, living in low, mud-built cottages, or sometimes in underground dwellings, tilling the soil just as their ancestors may have done thirty centuries ago, very ignorant, poor, and unambitious, scarcely distinguishable in dress and in some of their habits, except, of course, so far as religion comes in, from the Tatars who are interspersed among but never intermingled with them. Here, in Russian territory, the women go about unveiled, just as in Europe. According to Baron Haxthausen, an able German who traveled here thirty years ago, the young wife is for a year permitted to speak to no one save her husband, and to him only when they are alone; she may then talk to her baby, and after an interval to her mother-in-law, then to her sister-in-law, next to her sister, last of all to other women, but always in a whisper. Domestic slavery of course there was, as everywhere under Persian and Turkish rule; but all Armenians not slaves were equal: there was neither serf on the one hand nor any noble caste on the other. While every second Georgian you meet calls himself a prince, no Armenian seems now to claim any title of rank. Physically the Armenians are middle-sized, with a swarthy, yellowish complexion, less yellow, however, than that of the Persians, who are said to be (linguistically) their nearest relatives, black, straight hair, a forehead rather wide than high, and a large nose. The women are often handsome, with an erect carriage, regular features, and fine dark eyes. The language they now speak differs widely from that in which their ancient literature, dating from the fourth century, is preserved, and in which their worship is still conducted. They call it, and themselves, Haik, claiming to be descended from an eponymous hero Haik, who was the brother of Karthlos, ancestor of the Georgians, and the son of Thorgamos or Thogarmah, who was the son of Gomer the son of Japheth. It belongs to the Iranian group of the IndoEuropean family, and is said to be copious and strong, though certainly not melodious. The earliest inscriptions found in the country are in a cuneiform character; somewhat later, in Graeco-Roman times, the Greek alphabet was used by the Western, the Syriac by the Eastern Armenians, until, in the beginning of the fifth century, St. Mesrop invented the present Armenian character, and thereby, it has been thought, gave a considerable impetus to the independent national feeling of the people. The Turkish and Mongol invasions had destroyed what little learning or wealth had been left in the country. Some have risen to posts of high dignity. For instance, the commander of the invading Russian army in Asia at this moment, General Loris Melikoff, is an Armenian, as is the present governor of Daghestan. Their family, properly Melikian (ian is a patronymic in Armenian, like Mac or Ap), is one of the oldest and most respectable in Armenia. There are, I believe, thirty other Armenian generals in the service of the Czar. Nothing can be more pitiable than the condition of these poor people. They are not only (like the Rayahs of Bosnia and Bulgaria) plundered and outraged by rapacious tax gatherers and zaptiehs, they are also constantly exposed to the robberies of the marauding Kurds, who live among them, roving over the mountains in summer, and in winter descending to quarter themselves upon the Christian villagers, where they slay and pillage to their heart’s content. In fact, the sheep-dogs are little better than the wolves; the burning and plunder of the bazaar at Van, last
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winter, was the work, according to the uncontradicted narrative that reached this country, not so much of Kurds as of Turkish soldiers. Why, it may be asked, do the Armenians not rise in rebellion against these outrages, as their forefathers did against the Seleucids or the Parthians? Partly because they are unarmed, partly because the population is thin, with Tatars, Kurds, and Ottomans scattered among them, buy mainly because ages of slavery have broken the spirit of the nation, because there is no one to lead them, no means of combined action, no such prospect of sympathy or support from European powers as even the people of Herzegovina or Bulgaria might have looked for. Better the Czar than the Sultan, is the feeling of both; but better any sort of local independence than either Czar or Sultan. Their remote geographical position renders it difficult for any Western power to help them.
Chapter IX Before taking leave of Armenia, I wish to say a few words about the Kurds, who dwell scattered among the other inhabitants through nearly the whole of its area, and have recently won for themselves a horrible fame by the massacres which they are using their service under the Sultan’s banner to perpetrate. They area remarkable race: indeed, of all that we saw on our journey, their encampment on Ararat interested me most. For there is something very striking in coming for the first time upon that nomad like which still prevails over so large a part of our globe, and once prevailed even more widely. Though a part of this wide area is called Kurdistan upon our maps, they are nowhere its sole inhabitants. Tatars, or Osmanli Turks, or Persians, or Armenians, always occupy the valleys and towns, while they cling to the heights, seldom or never taking to agriculture, but living on the milk and flesh of their flocks. Their number has been guessed at a million; of course there are no means of ascertaining it. In person they are mostly rather stout and strongly built than tall, with splendid chests and arms, swarthy complexions, small deep-set eyes of blue or grey, black hair, and a large mouth. The women, who are freer and more independent than those of Persia and Turkey, and are even said to have separate property, do most of the work; robbery is the favorite pursuit of the men, whose dark faces and fierce restless glance give them a menacing appearance that does not belie their character. Nevertheless, those who know them best believe them to be a race of great natural gifts, more apt to learn than Tatars and more vigorous in action than Persians. They are certainly much less fanatical; indeed, many (not to speak of those Nestorian Christians who are said to belong to this race, nor of the Yezidis, or so-called devil worshippers) have the reputation of being very indifferent Muslims. It is a proverb among their neighbors that no saint will ever come out of Kurdistan. In fact, the theology of many consists chiefly in a belief in Jinn, Peris, and Sheyts (devils). It is not from religions hatred, but simply in the exercise of their profession of robbers, that they are the scourge of the Armenian peasantry, whose villages they often attack and plunder. Some of those of higher rank learn Arabic in order to read the Koran; they have, I fancy, no literature of their own, except wild songs; but their national airs are described as being not only melodious, but full of a pathetic melancholy. Their tongue, of which there are many widely diverse dialects, is, so far as I can ascertain, a distinct branch of the Iranian family, though it has adopted a good many Persian words. The first authentic mention of them seems to be that which we find in the Anabasis of Xenophon [401-399 B.C.], who describes the furious resistance offered to the passage of the Ten Thousand Greeks by the Karduchi of the Upper Tigris, about 150 miles south of Ararat. They were then quite independent of the Great King, and carried on constant war with their neighbors, especially the satrap or prince of Armenia. Nor does it appear that they were ever really subdued by any succeeding potentate, Macedonian or Parthian, Arab or Turk. Later writers call them Gordeyeni or Kordueni; a word which appears also in the Hebrew name Qardu for the country northeast of Mosul, referred to in a preceding chapter. Their name for themselves is said to be Kart or Kartman. At present they profess a sort of loose allegiance to the Sultan, but are practically their own masters, paying little or no tribute, and divided into small clans, each of which obeys its own chief. Individually valiant fighters, they have too little idea of discipline or concerted action to be valuable in war. Those who now dwell in Russian territory, and who number about 10,000, live pretty peaceably, and occasionally, like our friend Jaafar, take service with the stranger, just as the great Saladin, the only world-famous man whom the Kurdish race has produced, did in the armies of the Seljukian princess. Of our journey back from Erivan to Tiflis, there is little to tell that is worth the telling. As it was, we traversed for the second time the dreary uplands that lie north of Erivan and the stern, silent shores of the Goktcha lake. The lovely wooded glen, which leads from the pass down to the village of Delijan, and which in coming, we had passed through at night. As this glen is a famous place for robbers my experiences there may be worth mentioning. Descending it in the dusk, I had walked on alone before the tarantass, and was taking short cuts from one angle of the winding road to another when the vehicle with my companions in it passed me, and went on ahead, leaving me ten miles to walk. Night fell before I had got far, and with night there appeared an unexpected annoyance in the shape of fierce dogs, which darted out when I passed a dwelling. Every woodman or peasant keeps several of these creatures, of a ferocity that has been famous since the time of Strabo, who says they were able to pull down a lion. Something of this strength they have certainly lost in the eighteen centuries since then, but is was not without difficulty that I could keep them at bay by volleys of stones. They can hardly have taken me for a robber, because the robbers are on excellent terms with the peasantry.
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Only yesterday somebody coming this way from Tiflis had seen one or two armed horsemen peering round a hillside, and had escaped them only by galloping to the station, which luckily was near. After this, it was urged by the postmaster, to go on at night would be downright folly. Such is the perversity of human nature that the more these stories were told, the less we believed them; and probably we should have disbelieved them altogether could the usual innkeeper’s motive have been discovered. The same stories reappeared; the same advice was even more solemnly tendered. However, it was now near midnight, Tiflis was only two hours away, and our impatience to rest in a civilized bed instead of on a post-house floor made us ready to face dangers more substantial than these seemed to be. “No,” we answered; “you may say what you like, but we shall go on; tonight shall see us either murdered or in Tiflis. But if it is any satisfaction to you, or protection to us, give us two or three tchapars to ride beside the tarantass.” To this the postmaster demurred, and, after beating about the bush for a good while, at last muttered, “We are more afraid of our own people for you than of the Tatars.” After this there was no more to be said; we called for horses, and drove off alone, amid many warnings, first that we would be brought back stripped and wounded, and, secondly, that even if we escaped the band, some stray marauder would certainly climb on to the carriage as we entered Tiflis, and cut away the portmanteau which was tied behind. Nothing, however, happened, except that once or twice in the darkness, for it was as black as a wolf’s mouth, with thunderstorms growling in the distance, we ran into Tatar carts making for the city, and were nearly capsized. At 2 AM we entered Tiflis. Desiring to see something of the coast of Asia Minor, and especially of Batum and Trebizond, we chose the route by Poti, and on the 22nd of September took our seats in the train for the Black Sea. After a good many miles of this narrow glen, the hills recede a little, and the town of Gori appears lying in a small plain at the foot of a castellated rock, where a broad shallow stream comes down from the Caucasus to mingle its sparkling waters with the muddy Kur. From the top of the rock, nearly 200 feet above this plain, there is a magnificent view over the Caucasus to the north, most of the great peaks between Elbruz and Kazbek being visible. At 6:30 AM next morning we started in our host’s company for the place we had halted at Gori to see, the Petra of the Caucasus, the rock-city of Uphlis Tzikhé. They led us up the face of the crags by a steep winding path, partly built up of stones, partly cut out of the cliff, to the top, where we found ourselves suddenly in the midst of the city, a city with streets, palaces, shops, private houses, all hewn in the solid rock without a fragment of masonry or a piece of timber anywhere through it. The people who lived here were no mere brutish troglodytes, but a cultivated race. Returning to Gori, we took the mid-day train, the same, which had brought us from Tiflis yesterday, for the west. We had very nearly missed it, for the ticket for the luggage we had left at the station had been lost. An appeal to let us have the goods despite the want of the ticket would have failed in France or Germany; but with these good-natured people it ultimately succeeded, and they even kept the train, the one train of the day, full of officers and troops, waiting for fifteen minutes while this difficulty of ours was adjusted; an instance of indulgence to unpopular England which a little surprised us. We tried to read, but were too stupid to keep awake, and fell into a slumber broken by hideous dreams. About midnight the lagging train crawled at last into the terminus at Poti, and we drove, under the blackest night I can remember, across the wooden bridge, through seas of mud, to the miserable inn of the most miserable town that ever a traveler was condemned to halt in. Better a hungry bivouac under the snows of Ararat than those dank bedrooms and clammy sheets, heavy with such a smell of putrid slime that one feared to lift the frowsy carpet and find beneath it a bottomless abyss of foulness. The steamers, which run from Poti to Constantinople and Odessa, leave only once a week. So at last we settled down to the conclusion that, if the bar continued impracticable tomorrow, there was nothing for it but to retrace our steps to Tiflis, and go home over the Dariel Pass, and by railway from Vladikavkaz to Odessa, a circuit of about eleven hundred miles. This seemed too absurd to be true. Chapter X Except a few turbaned Ottomans, all, both Christians and Turks, wear the red fez, and the poorer ones their brilliant crimson sash, with more or less of picturesque variety in jackets. Nothing strikes a Westerner with more disgust than the way he sees women treated in Mohammedan countries. It is not so much the enforced seclusion that revolts you as the tacit assumption that women are inferior creatures altogether, unfit to be companions for men. Constantinople is one of the few places in the world, which surpasses all expectations. It is more beautiful, more unique, more commanding than any description has prepared you to find it. As everybody knows, it consists of three parts: firstly, Stamboul [Istanbul] proper, the city of Constantine, standing on the site of old Byzantium between the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn (a long narrow inlet off the Bosphorus); secondly, Galata, a town which grew up in the later middle ages, also in Europe, but on the opposite or northeast side of the Golden Horn, and Pera, an extension of Galata up the steep hill which rises behind it; and finally, on the other or Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, the towns of Scutari and Kadikeui (Chalcedon), with their far-stretching suburbs. If ever a war is undertaken on behalf of Constantinople, let us understand that is not for the sake of the Turks, but for aesthetic reasons only: to preserve the loveliness of a city that is unique in the world and could never be replaced. In these circumstances not only war, but conquest also, is obviously against Russia’s interest. All this is, of course, perfectly well known and foreseen by intelligent Russians, who cannot understand why foreigners should not credit them with perceiving what is so obvious. It is felt most strongly by the Emperor and his advisers, on whom a
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responsibility rests such as no statesman in a parliamentary country is ever required to face. It made them hand back from war when the popular excitement against the Turks, who had perpetrated the Bulgarian massacres and seemed on the point of crushing Servia and Montenegro, was blazing high over the whole country. Chapter XI Though I have not written this book with any political purpose, I am unwilling to lose the opportunity of stating the conclusions to which, as it seems to me, any unprejudiced observer must be led by traveling through Russia and Asiatic Turkey. Seeing is like nothing else. I do not mean that it necessarily gives one new ideas; indeed, the largest and most careful study of these countries could hardly enable a man to develop any views absolutely new on a question, which has been so thoroughly thrashed out during the last few years. But seeing with one’s own eyes and hearing people on the spot talk—people who are, so to speak, themselves part of the problem—brings home to one certain facts and principles with a force and clearness which no amount of reading can give. One seems to perceive better what are the main and essential, what the secondary and accidental, factors in the problem. I will therefore try to state, as shortly as possible, the main impressions which this journey gave me as to the condition and prospects of Transcaucasia and the adjoining provinces of Turkey, the attitude of Russia, and the interests of England, premising only that I went with a mind which, so far as it was prejudiced, was prejudiced against Russia, which I had learned from childhood to look upon as the enemy of freedom, the power which oppressed Poland, and had enabled Austria to crush Hungary. Antagonisms of race and religion are far less fierce than in Turkey, Mohammedan races living contentedly under a Christian government. European ideas and inventions are beginning to be known, and may in time lay hold of the still sluggish minds of the people. The two great obstacles to moral and material progress are the want of schools, which the government is just beginning to establish more generally, and the co-existence—I can hardly say mixture—in the population of so many diverse and mutually repellent elements. Each race, Georgians, Armenians, Tatars, Persians, Lesghians, Mingrelians, Russians, Germans, is too weak numerically to absorb the rest, and too distinct in religion, language, and habits to blend on equal terms with any of the others. This is a phenomenon that constantly meets one in Eastern countries, and deserves more attention than it has received, as being not only a consequence, but a cause, of their unprogressive state. The difficulty of fusing these races, or even of uniting them under a common system of law and administration, lies in the fact that the one force which controls them, the only channel in which most of their life flows, is religion. They have no patriotism, in our sense of the word, for they have neither a historical past (being mostly too ignorant for that conception) nor a country they can call exclusively their own. Religion is everything, since it includes their laws, their literature, and their customs, as well as their relation to the unseen world; and religion is not a fusing but a separating, alienating, repellent power. In ancient times there were in Western Asia and Europe pretty nearly as many religions as there were races, but these religions were not mutually exclusive, and required from their believers no hostility to other deities. Hence the ease with which the Roman empire drew so many diverse nations into its bosom, and formed out of them a sort of new imperial nationality. The rise of Christianity altered all this, since it claimed to be a world religion, which could own and brook no rival. Mohammedianism repeats the same claim, with a fierceness which the comparative barbarism of its professors has in the course of time rather intensified than diminished, while Christianity has learned to look with more tenderness or apathy on forms of error. The different sects of Eastern Christians, though united in their aversion to Islam, from which they have suffered so much, have quite enough mutual jealousy to prevent any cordial political union. Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Bulgarians, would each and all of them prefer a Mohammedan government to that of any of the others, if such a government were a less detestable tyranny than that of the Sublime Porte now is. The problem is one far more difficult than Western or Central Europe had to deal with in the Dark Ages, when so many different races lay weltering together on the same territories, for then the omnipresent, all-pervading power of the Church was a unifying and assimilating power, which formed new nations by linking men of different blood and speech in the bond of a common faith. Here the force of religion is a centrifugal force: its lessons are fear and hatred. Even in religious matters, while certain advantages are accorded to the dominant church, the worst evil a Roman Catholic or Protestant suffers is that he is forbidden to proselytize, and, if he marries a wife of a different persuasion, must suffer his children to be brought up in the Orthodox Eastern faith. Hardships, no doubt, these are, but hardships trifling compared to those, which we were recently inflicting on Roman Catholics in Ireland. The Russian Church has never been theologically intolerant, but religion and loyalty or patriotism—words which mean much the same thing to a Russian—are so closely intertwined that one must not expect the lesson of religious liberty to be learnt in a day. Russia’s difficulties in the Caucasian countries, as in her other Asiatic provinces, arise from the want of two things, men and money. She has not got men to spare for colonization, seeing that, in addition to Siberia, Turkestan, and her newly acquired vast and fertile territories on the river Amur, she has far more land at home than there are people to cultivate it. When he can have a rich farm on the Don or Lower Volga for next to nothing, the peasant is not likely to cross the Caucasus or the deserts of Central Asia. As a way to conclude James Bryce’s chapter and give him honor, here are some memorable quotes from him:
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“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” “There is a hearty Puritanism in the view of human nature which pervades the instrument of 1787 [United States Constitution]. It is the work of men who believed in original sin, and were resolved to leave open for transgressors no door which they could possibly shut.” “Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its existence.” “Three-fourths of the mistakes a man makes are made because he does not really know what he thinks he knows.”
Henry Finnis Blosse (H.F.B.) Lynch (1862-1916) summited Mount Ararat in September 1893 as well as visited Ani. Lynch’s detailed mind convinced himself to take several years to produce, edit and validate his classic two-volume set of books on his travels entitled Armenia: Travels and Studies. His family ran Lynch Brothers, a firm that traded with, and ran shipping lines in, Persia and Mesopotamia. He had already travelled widely in these regions before their geographical closeness to the Caucasus, together with the persecution of the Doukhobors, attracted him to the Akhalkalak district of Tiflis province, Russia in September 1893. His observations were published in his article "Queen Lukeria of Gorelovka" in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 93, Issue 553 (June, 1896). Chapter 5
1893 British Author, Geographer, and Parliamentarian H.F.B. Lynch Editor’s Note: The most interesting selections of Lynch’s classic two-volume set Armenia: Travels and Studies have been placed here. Nachalnik rose from his chair and summoned his servants about him. He cursed the mongrel race of horsekeepers, Persians or Tartars, the blood of brigands all. Who could tell in what holes these thieves were hiding? We should go by the post, and post horses must be found. Arrived at Aralykh, the Cossacks would mount us on their own horses; and we should no doubt be able to impress some animals in the neighbourhood for the transport of our tents. His emissaries flew in all directions, with the result that, within the respectable space of three hours, a post car, drawn by a pair of horses, was standing at our door. The first is this valley of the Araxes, with its more narrow continuation westwards through the district between Kagyzman and Khorasan; the second is the plain of Pasin; the third the plain of Erzerum. Yet while the plains of Pasin and of Erzerum are situated respectively at an altitude of 5500 and 5750 feet, the valley of the Araxes in the neighbourhood of Erivan is only 2800 feet above the sea. Both on the north and south of this considerable depression, even the plainer levels of the tableland attain the imposing altitude of 7000 feet, while its surface has been uplifted by volcanic action into long and irregular convexities of mountain and hill and hummock. When we come to investigate the underlying principle, we find that, along a line of upheaval which has been uniform in a direction from north-west to south-east, two mountains have been reared by volcanic action, their axes following the line of upheaval and their summits 7 miles apart. The springless troika bumped heavily on the projecting slabs of massive boulders, embedded in the fairway. The road which leads through this stony region is little better than a natural track. At Kamarlu you leave the region of gardens, and make direct for the margin of the river, which flows between high banks through a melancholy district of wasteland and cracking soil. In his yellow stream, of which the width at this point can scarcely exceed eighty yards, it is difficult to recognise with becoming emotion the haughty flood of the Araxes; yet the river is still crossed by fords or ferries, and still retains, I believe, the ancient distinction that it does not brook a bridge. A young Russian officer in white linen tunic received us at the door. As we passed within the house, the burly figure of Rudolph was seen emerging from the shades. Our host had lodged the whole party in his quarters, and would not hear of our living in our tents. At Aralykh there are stationed a squadron of Cossacks and a detachment of regular cavalry. The regulars are employed in protecting the customs, and the Cossacks in hunting the Kurds. It was interesting to notice the contrast—in demeanour as well as in habits—between the polished young lieutenant of regulars and the kind but boisterous colonel of Cossacks. How small are the differences between opposite nationalities when compared with such essential divisions as these!
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Chapter XII – Ascent of Ararat A narrow strip of plantation runs at the back of Aralykh, on the south, sustained by ducts from the Kara Su or Blackwater, a stream which leads a portion of the waters of the Araxes into the cotton fields and marshes which border the right bank. Within this fringe of slim poplars, and just on its southern verge, there is a little mound and an open summer-house—as pleasant a place as it is possible to imagine, but which, perhaps, only differs from other summerhouses in the remarkable situation which it occupies and in the wonderful view which it commands. It is placed on the extreme foot of Ararat, exactly on the line where all inclination ceases and the floor of the plain begins. It immediately faces the summit of the larger mountain, bearing about southwest (Frontispiece). Yet, although Aralykh lies at the flank of Ararat, confronting the side, which mounts most directly from the plain to the roof of snow, the distance from a perpendicular drawn through the summit is over 16 miles. First, there is a belt of loose sand, about 2 miles in depth, beginning on the margin of marsh and irrigation, and seen from this garden, which directly adjoins it, like the sea-bed from a grove on the shore. On the ground of yellow, thus presented, rests a light tissue of green, consisting of the sparse bushes of the ever-fresh camelthorn, a plant which strikes down into beds of moisture, deep-seated beneath the surface of the soil. Although it is possible, crossing this sand-zone, to detect the growing slope, yet this feature is scarcely perceptible from Aralykh, whence its smooth, unbroken surface and cool relief of green suggest the appearance of an embroidered carpet, spread at the threshold of an Eastern temple for the services of prayer. Beyond this band or belt of sandy ground, composed no doubt of a pulverized detritus, which the piety of Parrot was quick to recognise as a leaving of the Flood, the broad and massive base of Ararat sensibly gathers and inclines, seared by the sinuous furrows of dry watercourses, and stretching, uninterrupted by step or obstacle, hill or terrace or bank, to the veil of thin mist which hangs at this hour along the higher seams. It was the morning of the 17th of September, a period of the year when the heats have moderated; when the early air, even in the plain of the Araxes, has acquired a suggestion of crispness, and the sun still overpowers the first symptoms of winter chills.1 All the Cossacks at the time quartered in Aralykh—the greater number were absent on the slopes of the mountain, serving the usual patrols—had been drawn up in marching order, awaiting the arrival of their Colonel, who had contrived to keep the secret by expressing his willingness to accompany us a few versts [Russian measure of linear distance equivalent to about two thirds of a mile] of the way. My cousin and I were riding with the Colonel, and the purpose of these elaborate arrangements was explained to us with a sly smile; the troop with their Colonel were to escort us on our first day’s journey, and to bivouac at Sardar Bulakh. The order was given to march in half column. It was perhaps the first time that an English officer had ridden at the head of these famous troops. We crossed the last runnel on the southern edge of the plantation and entered the silent waste. For a while we slowly rode through the camelthorn, the deep sand sinking beneath our horses’ feet. It was nearly one o’clock, and the expanse around us streamed in the full glare of noon. A spell seems to rest upon the landscape of the mountain, sealing all the springs of life. Only, among the evergreen shrubs about us, a scattered group of camels cropped the spinous foliage, little lizards darted, a flock of sand-grouse took wing. Our course lay slantwise across the base of Ararat, towards the hill of Takjaltu, a table-topped mass, overgrown with yellow herbage, which rises in advance of the saddle between the mountains, and lies just below you as you overlook the landscape from the valley of Sardar Bulakh. Gullies of chalk and ground strewn with stones succeed the even surface of the belt of sand, and in turn give way to the covering of burnt grass which clothes the deep slope of the great sweeping base, and encircles the fabric with a continuous stretch of ochre, extending up the higher seams. Mile after mile we rode at easy paces over the parched turf and the cracking soil. When we had accomplished a space of about 10 miles, and attained a height of nearly 6000 feet, the land broke about us into miniature ravines, deep gullies, strewn with stones and boulders, searing the slope about the line of the limit where the base may be said to determine and the higher seams begin. I noticed that by far the greater number among the [Cossacks]—if, indeed, one might not say all—were men in the opening years of manhood—lithe, well-knit figures, and fair complexions, set round with fair hair. At a nearer view the
1
At Aralykh the thermometer ranged between 60º and 70º Fahrenheit between the hours of 6 A.M. and 9 A.M. on the several mornings. At the mid-day it rose to about 80º.
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feature which most impressed me was the smallness of their eyes. They wear the long, skirted coat of Circassia, a thin and worn khaki; the faded pink on the cloth of their shoulder-straps relieves the dull drab. Their little caps of Circassian pattern fit closely round their heads. Their horses are clumsy, long-backed creatures, wanting in all the characteristics of quality; and, as each man maintains his own animal, few among them are shod. Yet I am assured that the breed is workmanlike and enduring, and I have known it to yield most satisfactory progeny when crossed with English racing blood. As we rounded the heap of grass-grown soil which is known as Takjaltu, we were joined by a second detachment of Cossacks, coming from Akhury. Our men were acquainted with every cranny; we had halted near the site of their summer encampment, from which they had only recently descended to their winter quarters in the plain. As we dismounted we were met by a graceful figure, clad in a Circassian coat of brown material let in across the breast with pink silk—a young man of most engaging appearance and manners, presented to us as the chief of the Kurds on Ararat who own allegiance to the Tsar. In the high refinement of his features, in the bronzed complexion and soft brown eyes, the Kurd made a striking contrast to the Cossacks—a contrast by no means to the advantage of the Cis-Caucasian race. The young chief is also worthy to be remembered in respect of the remarkable name which he bears. His Kurdish title of Shamden Agha has been developed and embroidered into the sonorous appellation of Hasan Bey Shamshadinoff, under which he is officially known. It is here that the Kurds of the surrounding region gather, as the shades of night approach, to water their flocks at the lonely pool, which is known as the sirdar’s well. On the summit of the lesser Ararat there is a little lake, formed of melted snows; the water permeates the mountain, and feeds the sirdar’s pool. Close by, at the foot of the lesser mountain, is the famous covert of birch—low bushes, the only stretch of wood upon the fabric, which is entirely devoid of trees. At its feet, where its train sweeps the floor of the river valley in long and regular folds—far away in the east, towards the mists of the Caspian—the sandy ground breaks into a troubled surface, like angry waves set solid under a spell, and from range to range stretch a chain of low white hummocks, like islands across a sea. Just there, in the distance, beneath the Little Ararat, you see a patch of shining white, so vivid that it presents the appearance of a glacier, set in the burnt waste. It is probably caused by some chemical efflorescence, resting on the dry bed of a lake. All the landscape reveals the frenzy of volcanic forces, fixed forever in an imperishable mould; the imagination plays with the forms of distant castles and fortresses of sand. The wreath of cloud which veils the summit till the last breath of warm air dies has floated away in the calm heaven before the western lights have paled. The long-backed Cossack horses had been groomed and watered and picketed in line; the men were sitting smoking in little groups or were strolling about the camp in pairs. A few Kurds, who had come down with milk and provisions, stood listlessly looking on, the beak nose projecting from the bony cheeks, the brown chest opening from the many-coloured tatters draped about the shoulders and waist. The space of level ground between the two mountains cannot much exceed three-quarters of a mile. On the east the graceful seams of Little Ararat rise immediately from the slope upon our right, gathering just beyond the covert of low birchwood, and converging in the from of a pyramid towards a summit, which has been broken across the point. The platform of this valley is a base for Little Ararat—the rib on the flank of the greater mountain from which the smaller proceeds. Whether its want of connection with the roof of Ararat, of the inherent characteristics of its uppermost end, be sufficient evidence to justify the supposition of Abich that this ridge at its head marks a separate eruptive centre on the flank of Ararat, I am not competent adequately to discuss. I can only observe that it is not difficult to find another explanation. It is possible that the ridge where it narrows to the summit has been fractured and swept away. This peak, or sharp end of the causeway, to whatever causes its origin may be ascribed, is a distinguishing feature on the slope of Ararat, seen far and wide like a tooth or hump or shoulder on this the south-eastern side.2 Although the most direct way to the summit region leads immediately across the zone of boulders from the camp by the sirdar’s pool, yet it is not that which most travelers have followed, or which the natives of the district recommend. This line of approach, which I followed for some distance a few days after our ascent, is open to the
2
It is alluded to by some travelers under the name of Tash Kilisa.
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objection that it is no doubt more difficult to scale the slope of snow upon this side. The tract of uncovered rocks, which breaks the snowfields, offering ladders to the roof of the dome, is situated further to the southeast of the mountain, above the neck of the valley of the pool. Whether it would not be more easy to reach these ladders by skirting slantwise from the higher slopes, is a question which is not in itself unreasonable, and which only actual experience will decide. It was in this manner, I believe, that the English traveler, my friend the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, made an ascent which, as a feat, is, I think, the most remarkable of any of the recorded climbs. Starting from the pool at one o’clock in the morning, he reached the summit, alone, at about two in the afternoon, accomplishing within a space of about six hours the last 5000 feet, and returning to the point from which he started before sunrise on the following day. We ourselves were advised to follow up the valley, keeping the causeways upon our right, and only then, when we should have reached a point about southeast of the summit, to strike across the belt of rock. At twenty minutes before two on the 18th of September our little party left camp in marching order, all in the pride of health and spirits, and eager for the attack. Thin wreaths of cloud wrapped the snows of the summit—the jealous spell which baffles the bold lover even when he already grasps his prize. We had taken leave of the Cossack officers and their band of light-hearted men. Our friends were returning to Akhury [Ahora] and Aralykh, the one body to hunt the Kurds of the frontier, the other to languish in dull inactivity until their turn should come round again. Four Cossacks were deputed to remain and guard our camp; we ourselves had decided to dispense with any escort and to trust to our Kurdish allies. Of these, ten sturdy fellows accompanied us as porters to carry our effects, their rifles slung over their many-coloured tatters beside the burden allotted to each (Fig. 35). With my cousin and myself were the young Swiss, Rudolph Taugwalder, a worthy example of his race and profession—the large limbs, the rosy cheeks, the open mien without guile—and young Ernest Wesson, fresh from the Polytechnic in London, burning to distinguish himself. My Armenian dragoman followed as best he was able until the camp at the snow was reached; his plump little figure was not well adapted to toil over the giant rocks. Of our number was also an Armenian from Akhury, who had tendered his services as guide; he was able to indicate a place for our night’s encampment, but he did not venture upon the slope of snow.
A little stream trickles down the valley, but sinks exhausted at this season before reaching the sirdar’s well. In the early summer it is of the volume of a torrent, which winds past the encampment, like a serpent of silver, uttering a dull, rumbling sound.3 It is fed by the water from the snow-fields, and there is said to be a spring which contributes to support it at a height of nearly 11,000 feet.4 The spurs on our right descend from the shoulder of Great Ararat, from the causeway of which it forms the head, and are seen to diverge into two systems as they enter the narrow pass. The one group pushes forward to the Little Ararat and is lost in confused detail; the other and, perhaps, the larger system bends boldly along the side of the valley, sweeping outwards towards the base. At three o’clock we reached a large pool of clouded water, collected on a table surface of burnt grass; close by is an extensive bed of nettles, and a circle of loose
3 4
Madame B. Chantre, À travers l’Arménie Russe, Paris, 1893, p. 219. Markoff, Ascension du Grand Ararat, in Bulletin de la Soc. Roy. Belge de Géographie, Brussels, 1888, p. 579.
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stones. This spot is, no doubt, the site of a Kurdish encampment, and appeared to have been only recently abandoned by the shepherds and their flocks. The further we progressed, the more the prospect opened over the slopes of Ararat; we were approaching the level of the tops of the ridges, which skirt the valley side. Passing, as we now were, between the two Ararats, we again remarked that the greater seemed no higher than the lesser, so completely is the eye deceived. In the hollows of the gully there were small pools of water, but the stream itself was dry. By half-past three we had left the gentle water-course, and were winding inwards, up the slope of Great Ararat, to cross the black and barren region, the girdle of sharp crags and slippery boulders which is drawn round the upper seams of the mountain, like a succession of chevaux de frise. We thought it must have been on some other side of Ararat that the animals descended from the Ark. For a space of more than three hours we laboured on over a chaos of rocks, through a labyrinth of troughs and ridges, picking a path and as often retracing it, or scrambling up the polished sides of the larger blocks which arrest the most crafty approach. The Kurds, although sorely taxed by their burdens, were at an advantage compared to ourselves; they could slip, like cats, from ledge to ledge in their laced slippers of hide. In one place we passed a gigantic heap of boulders, towering several hundred feet above our heads. The rock is throughout of the same character and colour—an andesitic lava of a dark slaty hue. A little later we threaded up a ravine or gully, and, after keeping for awhile to the bottom of the depression, climbed slowly along the back of the ridge. I noticed that the grain or direction of the formation lay towards east-southeast… It was seven o’clock, and we had no sooner halted than the biting frost numbed our limbs.5 The temperature in the tent sank below freezing before night was done. The sheep skin coats which we had brought from Aralykh protected us from chill, but the hardy Kurds slept in their seamy tatters upon the naked rocks around. One among them sought protection as the cold became intenser, and we wrapped him in a warm cape. It was the first time I had passed the night at so great an elevation—12,194 feet above the sea—and it is possible that the unwonted rarity of the atmosphere contributed to keep us awake. But, whether it may have arisen from the conditions which surrounded us, or from a nervous state of physical excitement inspired by our enterprise, not one among us, excepting the dragoman, succeeded in courting sleep. The regular seams which mount to the summit stretch continuous to the crown of snow, and are inclined at an angle which diverges very little from an average of 30º. The gradients from which these higher seams gather—the slopes about our camp—cannot exceed half that inclination, or an angle of 15º. Our plan was to cross the stony region about us, slanting a little east, and to mount by the rocks on the western margin of the snow-field, adhering as closely as might be possible to the side of the snow. It was in the execution of this plan—so simple in its conception—that the trained instinct of the Swiss availed. Of those who have attempted the ascent of Ararat—and their number is not large—so many have failed to reach the summit that, upon a mountain which makes few, if any, demands upon the resources of the climber’s craft, their discomfiture must be attributed to other reasons: to the peculiar nature of the ground traversed, no less than to the inordinate duration of the effort; to the wearisome recurrence of the same kind of obstacles, and to the rarity of the air. Now the disposition of the rocks upon the surface of the depression is by no means the same as that which we have studied in connection with the seams which lie below. At twenty minutes to seven, when the summit of Little Ararat was about on a level with the eye, we paused for a while and turned towards the prospect, now opening to a wider range. The day was clear, and promised warmth; above us the snowy dome of Ararat shone in a cloudless sky. The landscape on either side of the beautiful pyramid lay outspread at our feet; from north-east, the hidden shores of Lake Sevan, to where the invisible seas of Van and Urmi diffused a soft veil of opaline vapour over the long succession of lonely ranges in the south-east and south. The wild borderland of Persia and Turkey here for the first time expands to view. And now, without any sign or warning, the mysterious spell which holds the mountain begins to throw a web about us, craftily, from below. The spirits of the air come sailing through the azure with shining gossamer wings, while the heavier vapours gather around us from dense banks serried upon the slope beneath us, a thousand feet lower down. The rocks still climb the increasing gradient, but the snow is closing in. At eleven we halt to copy an inscription, which has been neatly written in Russian characters on the face of a boulder stone. It records that on the third day the
5
Temperature at 8 P.M., 18º F., and next morning at 5.45 A.M., 28º F.
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eighth month of 1893 the expedition led by the Russian traveler Postukhoff passed the night in this place. At the foot of the stone lie several objects: a bottle filled with fluid, an empty tin of biscuits, a tin containing specimens of rock. At half-past eleven I take the angle of the snow slope, at this point 35º. About this time the Swiss thinks it prudent to link us all together with his rope. The surface of the rocks is still uncovered, but their bases are embedded in deep snow. It is now, after six hours’ arduous climbing, that the strain of the effort tells. The lungs are working at the extreme of their capacity, and the pressure upon the heart is severe. At noon I call a halt, and release young Wesson from his place in the file of four. His pluck is still strong, but his look and gait alarm me, and I persuade him to desist. We leave him to rest in a sheltered place, and there await our return. From this time on we all three suffer, even the Swiss himself. My cousin is affected with mountain sickness; as for me, I find it almost impossible to breathe and climb at the same time. We make a few steps upwards and then pause breathless, and gasp again and again. The white slope vanishing above us must end in the crown of the dome; and the boulders strewn more sparsely before us promise a fairer way. But the further we go, the goal seems little closer; and the shallow snow, resting on a crumbling rubble, makes us lose one step in every three. A strong smell of sulphur permeates the atmosphere; it proceeds from the sliding surface upon which we are treading, a detritus of pale sulphurous stones. At 1:25 we see a plate of white metal, affixed to a cranny in the rocks. It bears an inscription in Russian character, which dates from 1888. I neglect to copy out the unfamiliar letters; but there can be little doubt that they record the successful ascent of Dr. Markoff, an ascent which cost him dear. A few minutes later, at half-past one, the slope at last eases, the ground flattens, the struggling rocks sink beneath the surface of a continuous field of snow. At last we stand upon the summit of Ararat—but the sun no longer pierces the white vapour; a fierce gale drives across the forbidden region, and whips the eye straining to distinguish the limits of snow and cloud. Vague forms hurry past on the wings of the whirlwind; in place of the landscape of the land of promise we search dense banks of fog. Disappointed perhaps, but relieved of the gradient, and elated with the success of our climb, we run in the teeth of the wind across the platform, our feet scarcely sinking in the storm-swept crust of the surface, the gently undulating roof of the dome. Along the edge of a spacious snow-field which dips towards the centre, and is longest from northwest to southeast, on the vaulted rim of the saucer which the surface resembles, four separate elevations may conveniently be distinguished as the highest points in the irregular oval figure which the whole platform appears to present. The highest among these rounded elevations bears northwest from the spot where we first touch the summit or emerge upon the roof. That spot itself marks another of these inequalities; the remaining two are situated respectively in this manner—the one about midway between the two already mentioned, but nearer to the first and on the north side; the other about south of the north-western elevation, and this seems the lowest of all. The difference in height between the north-western elevation and that upon the southeast is about 200 feet; and the length of the figure between these points—we paced only a certain portion of the distance—is about 500 yards. The width of the platform, so far as we could gauge it, may be some 300 yards. A single object testifies to the efforts of our forerunners and to the insatiable enterprise of man—a stout stake embedded upon the northwestern elevation in a little pyramid of stones. It is here that we take our observations, and make our longest halt.6 The distance down and up from where we stand to that summit may be about 400 yards; but neither the Swiss nor ourselves consider it higher, and we are prevented from still further exploring the summit region by the increasing violence of the gale and by the gathering gloom of cloud. The sides and floor of the saddle between the two summits are completely covered with snow, and we see no trace of the lateral fissure which Abich, no doubt under different circumstances, was able to observe. We remain forty minutes upon the summit; but the dense veil never lifts from the platform, not does the blast cease to pierce us through. No sooner does an opening in the driving vapours reveal a vista of the world below than fresh levies fly to the unguarded interval, and the wild onset resumes.
6
The temperature of the air a few feet below the summit out of the gale was 20º F. The height of the north-western elevation of the south-eastern summit of Ararat is given by my Hicks mountain aneroid as 17,493 feet. The reading is no doubt too high by several hundred feet. The Carey aneroid gives a still higher figure, and the Boylean-Mariotti mercurial barometer entirely refused to work.
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Chapter XIII – The Heart of Ararat The Swiss and myself determined to try a glissade down the snow slope; my cousin preferred to adhere to the rocks. I was aware of the danger of the glissade down Ararat, and we therefore planned our course with care. We broke the descent at several points, made errors on the side of caution, and glided safely into one of the inlets about the base of the cone. It was still some distance to the encampment; we proceeded with the utmost leisure across the boulder-strewn waste. At last we beheld the lake of snow, and our tiny tent beside it, and the gaunt figures of the Kurds. These also perceived us, and sent us a cry of greeting, which vibrated in the still air. Wesson and the dragoman were there to meet us; my cousin arrived almost at the same time. Our climb had been accomplished without a single mishap, and all except dragoman, who pleaded that he had been half frozen in camp, were pleased with the day’s work. It was twenty minutes past six o’clock; yet I thought it best to strike our tent and seek a less exposed and less elevated spot. After a toilsome walk of about half an hour we found some grass in a little valley, and there composed ourselves for the night. The journey to Erivan, by way of Tiflis, can be performed in luxury; from Erivan you can drive in a Victoria to the foot of Ararat; on the mountain you have need of nothing but a tent and a cook. The Kurds are well-behaved, and will provide you with milk and mutton, of which it is a treat to taste. The old lawless times are passing into legend, thanks to the vigorous rule of the Tsars. The Russian officials abound in real kindness of disposition; and, if you can only succeed in patching a peace with the system, you feel that they really wish you well. We returned to Aralykh on the 22nd of September after an absence of nearly six days. The cantonment of Aralykh faces the jaws of the great chasm which extends from the snowy roof to the base of Ararat, and lays the heart of the mountain bare (Fig.. We were anxious to penetrate within these dark recesses, and after a day’s rest, carried our project into effect. It is a melancholy reflection that nothing is lasting—that the strength of the earth withers and the strength of the human body, that faith dies and the closest friendships dissolve. In the world of sense Time is all-powerful, and nothing escapes destruction at his hands.7 This painful lesson is written with terrible emphasis on the fabric of Ararat, where it fronts the historic river and the historic plains. Another earthquake, and the massive roof may tumble headlong into the abyss which now yawns beneath its cornice of snow. I have already observed that Herrmann Abich was able to remark a lateral fissure between the two highest elevations in the surface of the crown of the dome. He suggests that this fissure may have been caused by the convulsion of 1840, to which the present configuration of the chasm is due.8 It would therefore appear that Time has already taken a decisive step towards the overthrow of the uppermost portion of the cone. The chasm itself and the subsidence of the flank of the mountain date from an epoch beyond the range of history. Tournefort, who visited Ararat in 1701, presents us with such a vivid picture of the rent side of the giant, which one cannot doubt that the essential features of the chasm existed in his day.9 The little monastery of St. Jacob, which, prior to the catastrophe of 1840, stood within the recesses of the gulf, probably occupied the same site when it was first erected in the early Christian times. The reader may not be acquainted with the story of the catastrophe, and may like to learn or to recall it in this place. Several travelers have presented us with a description of the locality as it existed before those events.10 Some 10 miles from the banks of the Kara Su, on the base or pedestal of Ararat, at a height of some 5600 feet above the sea, or 2900 feet above the plain,11 was situated the Armenian village of Akhury or Arghuri—the only village, we are informed by Dubois, which had hazarded a position on the side of the mountain,12 and a place which boasted a remote antiquity.
7
Sophocles, Edipus at Colonus, l. 610 seq. Abich, Besteigung des Ararat, in Baer and Helmersen’s Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Russischen Reiches, St. Petersburg, 1849, vol. xiii. p. 63. He supports this suggestion by the fact that neither Parrot nor Spasky Avtonomoff mentions the existence of such a fissure. But whether you may be able to see any trace of it or not must depend upon the state of the snow. 9 Tournefort, Voyage du Levant, Paris, 1717, vol. ii. pp. 357 seq. See also Ritter, Erdkunde, vol. x. p. 507. 10 I refer my reader to the works of Tournefort (already cited), Parrot (Reise zum Ararat, Berlin, 1834), and Dubois de Montpéreux (Voyage autour du Caucase, Paris, 1839-45, vol. iii.). 11 The measurements are my own. Dubois speaks of Akhury as being five leagues distant from the Kara Su. 12 Parrot says the same thing, op. cit. p. 108. 8
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According to Armenian tradition, it was there that Noah built the altar, and offered up the burnt sacrifice, after his departure from the Ark and safe descent of the mountain, with his family and the living creatures of every kind. It was at Akhury or Arghuri—a name which is said to signify in the Armenian language he has planted the vine13—that, according to the same tradition, the patriarch planted his vineyard and drank to excess of its wine. The inhabitants would point to an ancient willow of stunted growth, bent by the action of snow and ice; it stood in an isolated spot above the village, a rare object on a mountain which is almost devoid of trees. They believed that it drew its origin from a plank of the Ark which had taken root; and they would not suffer any damage to be done to the sacred object, or the least of its branches to be taken away. The population amounted to about 1000 souls;14 the houses numbered some two hundred, and were built of stone with the usual flat roofs. The settlement owed its prosperity, and even its existence, to a stream which then, as now, issued from the jaws of the chasm, fed by the melting ice and snow. It was placed at the open exit from the gorge, where the trough flattens out into the base. The church and the larger portion of the village were on the right bank of the stream; on the left, opposite the church, stood a square-shaped fortress, built of clay after the fashion of the country. A near eminence was crowned by the walls of a spacious palace, which served as a summer residence for the Persian sirdars of Erivan. It was indeed a delightful resort during the heats of summer. A cool draught descended from the snows of the summit region; and the little stream supported considerable vineyards and orchards, so that the traveller, on approaching Akhury, could take refuge from the glare of the plain in quite a little wood of apricot trees. The church—said to have been called Araxilvank (Arakelotz Vank?)—was reputed to have been built on the site of Noah’s altar. It dated from the eighth or ninth century; and to such a height had the ground about it risen since its foundation, that the two side doors had become embedded in soil up to the crossbeams. Just beyond this pleasant oasis you entered the chasm, and, after proceeding for nearly two miles up its boulder-strewn hollow, you reached the little monastery of St. Jacob, which stood on the edge of a natural terrace a few hundred feet above the bottom of the gulf, immediately overlooking the right bank of the stream. The chasm had at this spot a depth of some 600 to 800 feet,15 and the elevation of the site of the monastery above sea-level was 6394 feet.16 Parrot, who established his headquarters in this lonely cloister, has handed down to us a charming illustration of the place, and a pleasant description of the chapel, with its walled enclosure and garden and orchard, the residence, at the time of his visit, of a single monk. Like the church of Akhury, it commemorated a religious event in the story of Ararat. A monk of the name of Jacob, afterwards bishop of Nisibis, reputed to have been a contemporary and relative of St. Gregory, was seized with the desire to convince the skeptics of the truth of the Biblical narrative, and to assure himself of the presence of the Ark on the summit of Ararat by the evidence of his own eyes. In the pursuit of this purpose he made several attempts to scale the mountain from the north-east side. On each occasion he fell asleep, exhausted by the effort; as often as he awoke, he would find that he had been miraculously transported to the point from which he had set out. At length God looked with compassion upon his fruitless labours, and sent an angel who appeared to him in his sleep. The Divine message was to the effect that the summit was unattainable by mortal man; but the angel
13 For a discussion of the name see Parrot, op. cit. p. 110. Ritter (Erdkunde, x. 508) also refers to Brosset (Bulletin de l’ Acad. de Sc. de St. Pétersbourg, 1841, vol. viii. p. 43), but is in error when he says that Brosset spells it Arghuri. He actually spells it Acorhi, and throws doubt upon the popular derivation of the name. It would appear that the old Armenian name for the place was Akuri or Agguri, and that later Armenian writers turned the word into Ark-uri in order to extract the signification which I have given in the text. I have adopted the spelling of the Russian official map, which practically reproduces the old word. Dr. Belck has made the ingenious suggestion that the Adduri of the Assyrian inscription of Shalmaneser II (859-824 B.C.)—a name which is applied to the mountains whither Arame, king of Urardhu or Ararat, fled before the armies of the Assyrian monarch—may be represented by the Armenian Akuri or Agguri (Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, 1893, p. 71). That the ancient name of a district often survives in that of a town in these countries is proved by the analogy of the town of Van, which bears the name of the kingdom of which it was formerly the capital, the Biaina of the Vannic texts. 14 Wagner (op. infra cit. p. 166) says that at the time of the catastrophe the Armenian inhabitants numbered nearly 1600 souls, besides Kurdish labourers. 15 Von Behagel (apud Parrot, op. cit. 2nd part, p. 183) says 1000 feet. I quote Parrot p. 147. 16 Parrot, op. cit. p. 147. Von Behagel (loc. cit.) says that it was 3258 Paris feet, or 3472 English feet, above the plain of the Araxes.
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deposited on his breast a fragment of the holy Ark, as a reward for his faith and pains.17 Beyond St. Jacob’s, on the same or eastern side of the chasm and on the edge of the precipice, was situated a tiny shrine, built of hewn stone, at an altitude of about 1000 feet above the monastery.18 It stood by the side of one of the rare springs which are found on Ararat—a well of which the waters are still deemed to possess miraculous powers, and which still attracts numerous pilgrims from the plains. As you followed the gulf still further, the sides increased in steepness and the abyss in depth, until, at a distance of about two and a half miles from the cloister,19 it ended in an almost perpendicular wall of rock which towered up to the snowy cornice of the dome. Tournefort, whose description is in other respects fantastic, has used language to portray the aspect of the upper end of the chasm which would be true at the present day. He speaks of the terrible appearance of the ravine, one of those natural wonders which testify to the greatness of the Saviour, as his Armenian companion observed. He could not help trembling as he overlooked the precipices, and he asks his readers, if they would form some conception of the character of the phenomenon, to imagine one of the loftiest mountains in the world opening its bosom to a vertical cleft. From the heights above, masses of rock were continually falling into the abyss with a noise that inspired fear.20 On the evening of the 20th of June 1840 a terrific earthquake shook the mountain, and not only the shrine and cloister, but the entire village of Akhury with the sirdar’s palace were destroyed and swept away. An eye-witness, who was pasturing cattle on the grassy slopes above the chasm on the side opposite to the shrine and the well, tells us that he was thrown on to his knees by a sudden reeling of the ground, and that, even in this position, he was unable to maintain himself, but was overturned by the continuing shocks. Close by his side the earth cracked; a terrific rolling sound filled his ears; when he dared look up, he could see nothing but a mighty cloud of dust, which glimmered with a reddish hue above the ravine. But the quaking and cracking were renewed; he lay outstretched upon the ground, and thus awaited death. At length the sounds became fainter, and he was able to look towards the ravine. Through the dust he perceived a dark mass in the hollow, but of what it was composed he could not see. The sun went down; the great cloud passed away from the valley; as he descended with his cattle in the failing light, he could see nothing within the abyss except the dark mass. Another spectator has left us an account of the various phases of the phenomenon, as they were experienced from a standpoint below the village. He happened to be working in a garden a few versts from Akhury, on the side of the plain. His wife and daughter were with him; two of his sons appeared towards evening and brought him a report about his cattle. Two riders, returning to the village, exchanged a few words with the party, and rode on. The sun was beginning to sink behind the mountains, and he and his people were preparing to go home. In an instant the ground beneath their feet oscillated violently, and all were thrown down. At the same time loud reports and a rolling sound, as if of thunder, increased the panic into which they fell. A hurricane of wind swept towards them from the chasm and overturned every object that was not firm. In the same direction there arose an immense cloud of dust, overtopped, towards the upper portion of the ravine, by a darker cloud, as of black smoke. After a momentary pause the same phenomena were repeated; only this time a dark mass swept towards them from the direction of the village with a rolling and a rushing sound. It reached the two riders; they were engulfed and disappeared. Immediately afterwards the two sons were overtaken by the same fate. The mass rolled onwards to the gardens, and broke down the walled enclosures. Large stones came tumbling about the unfortunate peasants; and a great crag swept down upon the prostrate witness, and settling by his side, caught his mantle fast. Extricating himself with difficulty, he succeeded in lifting his unconscious wife and daughter from the earth, and in flying with them over the quaking ground. After each shock they could hear the sound of cracking in the chasm, accompanied by sharp reports. They were joined by fugitives, escaping from the neighbouring gardens, and they endeavoured to make their way to Aralykh. It was morning before they reached their goal; during the night the sounds and shocks continued, always fainter but at periodic intervals. This catastrophe was followed on the 24th of June by a second and scarcely less momentous collapse. On this occasion a mass of mud and water burst from the chasm, as though some colossal
17 Parrot, op. cit. p. 135; Dubois, op. cit. vol. iii. p. 471. Most travellers tell this story with amplifications and variations. It is to be found in its earliest form in Faustus of Byzantium (book iii. chap. x.). 18 Parrot, op. cit. p. 205. 19 Von Behagel, apud Parrot, loc. cit. 20 Tournefort, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 368 seq.
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dam had given way. Blocks of rock and huge pieces of ice were precipitated over the base, and the flood extended for a space of about thirteen miles. Not a trace was left of the gardens and fields which it devastated, and the Kara Su was temporarily dammed by the viscous stream.21 It is to the credit of the times in which we live that no such event could now occur in Russian territory without exhaustive and local scientific investigation, while the results of the catastrophe were still fresh. The task of reporting to the Government was entrusted to a Major of Engineers, who was ordered to open an enquiry on the spot. His account was to the effect that masses of rock were precipitated into the chasm from the overhanging heights; that they were accompanied in their descent by vast quantities of snow, unloosed by the sinking foundations of the uppermost seams. A river of boulders and snow and ice streamed with lightning rapidity down the gulf, buried the cloister and the village with all its inhabitants, and choked up the trough of the abyss. The earthquake was attended by the opening of fissures in the ground, from which there issued water and sand, and even flames.22 The mention of this last phenomenon appears to have aroused the curiosity of men of learning, and to have excited in them a strong desire for further light. The site was visited in 1843 by a German man of science, Dr. Wagner, and in 1844 by the great geologist Herrmann Abich, whose researches are always careful and complete.23 These two authorities unfortunately arrived at opposite conclusions as to the character of the convulsion. Wagner begins by discrediting the account of the Russian Major, and suggests that he had never left the walls of Erivan, having lost his travelling money at play. He considers it absurd to suppose that the mass which destroyed Akhury and the fragments of rocks which were projected far and wide can be attributed to the operation of purely seismic forces, dislocating the crown and sides of the abyss. They must have been due to eruptive volcanic action, of which he thought he could see the traces at the upper end of the chasm, the site, according to his view, of one of the old craters of Ararat. They were impelled through the air by steam and escaping gases from a fissure in the bottom of the ravine. We must therefore form the conception of an eruption accompanied by an earthquake, not of a landslip effected by seismic shocks.24 That this theory is open to objection on the simple ground of probability, it does not require scientific knowledge to perceive. In the first place an eruption of Ararat is unknown within the historical period; in the second, the destruction of Akhury was only one of many catastrophes, which were occasioned by earth movements on the same day. On that same evening the valley of the Araxes was visited by a violent earthquake, and thousands of houses were overthrown.25 It is true that Wagner supposes an eruption of steam rather than of fire, and favours the hypothesis of vast reservoirs of water beneath the mountain having burst in upon the molten mass below. But this ingenious supposition is rendered unnecessary and improbable by the minute researches of the next trained worker in the same field. Abich asks how it would be possible for eruptive action to have broken forth in a narrow valley—on such a scale that huge crags of 100 to 150 feet in circumference were propelled for a distance of over three miles26—without leaving any trace of volcanic ejectamenta on the adjoining heights and on the slopes beyond. A careful examination of the disposition and character of the debris, as they were disclosed within the trough of the chasm, as well as on the surface of the base of the mountain, established in his mind the veracity in all essentials of the official version of the Russian Major of Engineers. He observed that the fragments of rock which are strewn over the basal slopes before the entrance to the chasm is reached, become concentrated as you proceed, and are collected into long ridges of
21
The testimony of these witnesses is given by Abich, Geognostiche Reise zum Ararat, with two drawings of the chasm, in Monatsberichte der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin, series 2, vol. iv. 1846-47. The account is reproduced in his Geologische Forschungen in den kaukasischen Ländern, Vienna, 1882, part ii. pp. 395 seq., and illustrated by a fine geological view of the chasm in the Atlas, plate vi. It can best by understood in the reprint. See also Wagner, op. inf. cit., and Ritter, Erdkunde, x. pp. 507 seq. 22 See the summary of this report in Ritter, Erdkunde, x. pp. 509 seq. 23 See Moriz Wagner (Reise nach dem Ararat und dem Hochland Armenien, Stuttgart, 1848, contained in Widermann and Hauff, Reisen und Landesbeschreibungen, Lieferung 35), and Abich in op. cit. 24 Consult the argument in Wagner, op. cit. pp. 176 seq. 25 See Ritter, Erdkunde, x. 510; and for former earthquakes see Dubois, op. cit. vol. iii. p. 474; Abich, Geolog. Forsch. Part ii. pp. 390 seq. with map. 26 “5 versts in a direct line” are Abich’s words, op. cit. p. 413.
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boulders, which issue from the mouth of the gulf. Yet not a single one among these fragments was found to be identical in nature with the fragments on the adjacent valley sides. How account for this striking circumstance on the hypothesis of an eruption from fissures along the base of the valley? When he came to investigate the origin of these piled-up boulders, he discovered that they exactly corresponded with the rock of the seams, which are found along the upper end of the chasm, overhanging the abyss. He was even able to ascribe approximately the former position of the largest of the crags, which recline upon the base to a site on the left wall of the chasm, immediately beneath and supporting the snows. From his writings we may extract the following explanation of the phenomena to which the destruction of Akhury was due. The upper structure of Ararat had been seriously weakened on the north-eastern side by the slow but persistent action of snow and ice, and by the corrosive tendencies of veins of sulphurate of iron. The earthquake precipitated portions of the higher seams into the chasm, together with masses of snow. A dense cloud of dust was induced by the falling rocks, and the setting sun lent to this cloud a lurid hue. Immense quantities of boulders were hurried down the trough of the chasm, accompanied by a stream of mud and melting ice. The course of this composite current was directed upon the village by the configuration of the left wall of the chasm. As the sides of the valley fell in, its upper portion became obstructed at the neck or narrow, which still exists about at the point where the little shrine used to overlook the abyss. A mighty dam was formed by the fallen masses, and the head of the valley became a huge morass. Further lapses of rock and snow took place from the summit region, and the heats of June dissolved the frozen elements in the morass. On the 24th the dam yielded to the overpowering pressure, and the second act of the catastrophe was fulfilled. As a result of this earthquake, the ridge enclosing the uppermost end of the chasm was found to have acquired about double its former extent. The height of the precipice had also increased considerably, especially on the eastern side. The summit remained intact, but the fabric of Ararat lay henceforth exposed to its innermost core.27 We set out at a quarter-past eight in the morning, mounted on little hacks. The Armenian Makar, who had accompanied us on the previous expedition, was deputed to be our guide. It took us some twenty minutes to cross the belt of sand and camelthorn at a pace of about six miles an hour. Then the ground commenced to rise with more perceptible acclivity, and we made our way across the massive base. The still air, and the restfulness of the stately fabric before us exercised upon us their now familiar spell. Grey clouds enveloped the snows of the summit region, collected above a veil of tender mist. We were pointed towards the entrance to the chasm, and we noticed that, in that direction, there exists a considerable concavity in the surface of the base. One might almost form the conception of a flaw in the mountain, extending to the pedestal upon which it is reared. On either side of us, but more especially on our left hand, the rounded contours of the basal slopes were curving inwards to a wide depression, up the trough of which we rode. Is this feature the result of landslip and of floods issuing from the chasm, or was the pedestal always weaker upon this side? I am inclined to ascribe it in part to an inherent defect in the structure, which has been enlarged and accentuated in the process of centuries. It would appear that the streams of lava which fed the base on the northwest and southeast were not directed in equal volume to these north-eastern slopes. Such a distribution of the molten matter, which contributed to build up the fabric, would account, at least in some measure, for the subsequent subsidence of Ararat on this its north-eastern flank. As we proceeded, this hollow formation became more pronounced; we were approaching the mouth of the chasm. We observed how much more copious was the flora which covers this portion of the base. In place of the burnt herbage over which we had ridden on our journey to Sardar Bulakh, we here admired an abundant growth of low and thorny bushes of which the tiny and delicate pink and white flowers were showered upon a ground of grey and green (Atraphaxis spinosa). Long streamers of sansola (Kochia prostrata, Schrad.) bent towards us, and gigantic yellow grasses rose like spears (Calamagrostis epigejos, Roth.). The stream, which issues from the chasm—exhausted at this season—feeds and fertilizes the sandy soil, and, perhaps, the layers of mud, which were left by the flood of 1840, have not been without effect on the nature of the land. We were reminded of that catastrophe by the huge fragments of conglomerate rock, which are strewn over the hollow throughout a considerable area. On our return I took a photograph of the largest of these crags, where it lay, among bouquets of spangled atraphaxis, outlined against the
27
Ritter, Erdkunde, x. pp. 512, 513.
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sky (Fig. 38). Abich informs us that the fragment which lies immediately in front of it was incorporated with it at the time of his first in 1844; the mass then measured at the base 285 feet in circumference, with a height of 45 feet.28 I have already said that this careful investigator was able to trace its origin to a site at the upper end of the chasm, overhanging the abyss. According to his theory, it must have fallen in after the first act of the catastrophe, and been transported in the course of the second act to its present place. It was pushed down the trough of the ravine and over the gently incline of these basal slopes by the action of the viscous stream, until that action lost its force when the stream was freed from the compression of the gorge and radiated outwards over the pedestal.29 To us plain people the position of these crags was a source of amazement, and the Greeks would have made the chasm the residence of a Cyclops who hurled such missiles at adventuresome men. At half-past ten we halted at a small Kurdish village, situated at the mouth of the chasm. These Kurds have erected hovels of loose stones with roofs of mud, and they can boast or deplore, in the person of a starshina, a direct official connection with the Russian Government. It was amusing to see a Kurd in the dress of a Russian dignitary stepping out to meet his European visitors. He wore a dark blue coat; a large brass badge of office hung upon his breast. Ever since the great convulsion the Kurds have haunted the site of Akhury, rummaging for anything valuable in the buried ruins. Makar explained to us that we were now standing where once stood the prosperous township, with its ancient church and pleasant gardens. The woods of apricot, the rich vineyards have disappeared entirely; it would be difficult to discover a single tree. Just west of the miserable hamlet you still remark the deep watercourse, which is the principal vent for the drainage of the ravine. The channel is dry at this season, and is overhung by steep banks some 100 to 150 feet height. We observed that these banks are composed of a sandy soil, inlaid with rocks. Yet the valley, even in autumn, is not entirely devoid of water; here and there we were refreshed by the sight of growing grass, and by the sound of little runnels. The trough of the ravine has at this point an elevation above sea-level of about 5570 feet, while its sides, which are formed by the cleft in the base of the outer sheath of the mountain, are as yet scarcely more than 200 feet high. It extends almost in a straight line, and in a southwesterly direction, to the very heart of Ararat. The flanking cliffs rise and the valley narrows, until the formation assumes the proportions of a gulf many thousands of feet in depth, overhung by the snows of the summit region. Imagine a gigantic cutting, with a length of several miles, at the uppermost end of which an almost perpendicular precipice supports the snowy roof of Ararat! Even from this standpoint we could perceive the vertical seams at the head of the chasm, shadowed walls of grey rock with veins of orange hue, the higher ledges sprinkled with the first snows of autumn and half concealed by light, dissolving mist. We mounted to the top of the cliff on the right or eastern side of the ravine, in order to obtain a view on either hand. Towards the east stretched the contours of the upper portion of the base, clothed with withered grass and strewn with stones. Abich tell us that these fragments are different in origin and character from the boulders and stones in the trough of the ravine; and, as we have seen, he uses the fact as a powerful weapon against the eruptive theory which Wagner propounds. Looking across the valley, our eyes rested on a little settlement on its opposite or western flank. It occupies a higher site than that of the Kurdish village, and may have been about a mile distant from where we stood. It interested us as well by its lonely and dangerous position as by an adjacent and isolated group of trees. It is called New Akhury, and, according to the official statistics, contains a population of some 400 Tartar inhabitants. It is the seat of a Cossack station, and bids fair to increase in size before the next earthquake shall sweep it away. Makar directed our attention to some fallen gravestones, not many yards distant from where we stood. They are the remains of the cemetery of the old Akhury, and among them we admired several crosses with rich chasing in the old Armenian style. We found them overgrown with a thick, orange-hued lichen, resembling the appearance of rust. He told us that many of his relations had been buried in this graveyard, and he pointed out in particular a group of seven stones. He said that they marked the graves of seven brothers who had been killed in the gardens of the vanished township by the attacks of a single snake. After regaling ourselves with delicious milk and eating an egg or two, we started at noon on our excursion up the ravine. We made our way along the eastern side of the chasm, sometimes picking our course as we might among the
28 29
Abich, Geolog. Forsch. part ii. p. 412. Abich, op. cit. pp. 413, 414. It is evident that he had Wagner’s objections in his mind.
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boulders, at others following a beaten path on higher ground. Not far beyond the hamlet we noticed a little spring, of which the water was trickling over. The next object to excite our interest was the peculiar formation of the floor of a side valley, in which we found ourselves at half-past twelve. Throughout an area of some 350 by 200 yards the ground was perfectly level, like a billiard table, with a smooth surface of sand and little pebbles. The length of this round ellipse followed the direction of the main ravine, which lay at the site of the shrine, but perhaps a little lower down. The site itself has an elevation above sea-level of about 7500 feet30. The camera has belittled the natural features, and I must ask my reader to interpret my picture with the help of the reflection that the snows, which overhang these perpendicular precipices, are nearly 17,000 feet high. We penetrated further up the romantic valley, along the bed of a dry watercourse. Skirting the buttresses of the eastern wall, we observed that they were composed of a compact grey andesite with something of the appearance of slate. Seams of a rock similar in character, but which have turned red in weathering, lend variety to the surface of these bold bastions; while the dark face of the wall which mounts to the summit region is scored by extensive veins of that decomposed and orange-hued lava which spells destruction wherever it appears. The bottom of the ravine is covered by a deep beach of boulders, worn by the action of ice and water. Animal life is represented by a flock of crows or jackdaws, which croak and circle round you as you advance. Behind the lofty wall of rock which is seen on the left of my illustration, in jagged outline against the snows, a glacier descends from the summit region which is probably the only true glacier on Ararat, and which I should judge to be gradually decreasing in extent. According to Abich, the long ridges which have the appearance of piles of boulders, and which are seen in his illustration descending the trough of the chasm to a point some distance below St. Jacob’s Well, were composed in 1874 of compact and dirty glacier ice, covered over with stones and débris. He informs us that in 1844 there was a direct but deeply buried connection between this ice and the ice in the circus at the lower end of the glacier; and that in 1874 this connection had been severed, and the ice-hills themselves had decreased about onethird in height.31 On the top of these ridges he discovered a series of marshes and little lakes, of which the largest was several hundred paces in circumference. I cannot testify myself to the present condition of these ice-hills; I cannot even say that they exist. I did not see any ice in the trough of the chasm, although it was evident that its present condition was largely due to ice action, and although we admired a little lake of glacier water, set like a turquoise in the waste of mud and stones. It is computed that the actual glacier descends as low as a level of about 8000 feet—a notable fact when we consider that the line of perpetual snow on this side of Ararat is as high as 14,000 feet. We lingered for some little space in the ravine beyond St. Jacob’s Well, waiting for the clouds to lift. But they hung jealously about the upper slopes of the precipices, whence a mist descended upon us like rain. The mountain thundered; from time to time the mist was gently parted, and gave passage to the sun. If we were disappointed of a clear view of the higher regions, we were at least able to appreciate to the full the vista down the weird chasm to the fair landscape of the plain. The comparative straightness of the gulf renders such a prospect possible, even from its uppermost end. No projecting spur or interposed eminence obstructs the continuous stretch of the hollow outlines to the distant campagna of the riverside. On the horizon were the crinkled mountains in the direction of Lake Sevan, flushed with tints of delicate yellow and amethyst, lightly shaded with opal hues. Deep gloom lay upon the floor of the abyss, and only the pools of blue glacier water caught the brilliance of day. On the open base beyond these shadows the sinuous lines of dry watercourses led the eye into the expanse of the plain; and we could still see the recumbent blocks which once hung in pinnacles above the spot upon which we stood. Evening was drawing in when we again reached the entrance to the chasm. We skirt the Kurdish village, we pass a pool of water and a group of barefooted Kurdish girls. Away on our left are the mud houses of the Tartar settlement,
30
This was the reading of my Hicks mountain aneroid, which was working well, and it agrees with Parrot who says that the shrine stood about 1000 feet above the cloister, i.e. at about 7400 English feet. I fear, therefore, that Madame Chantre is in error in ascribing to the site of the cloister, much lower down, an elevation of 2250 metres or 7382 feet (L’Arménie Russe, p. 238). Monsieur Chantre, in his monograph on Ararat, confuses the site of the shrine with that of the cloister, an error which was also made by my Armenian guide (Annales de Géographie, Paris, 1893-94, vol. iii. pp. 81-94). 31 Abich, Geolog. Forsch. part ii. p. 412, and see for the glacier, etc. pp 397, 399, 400. The illustration is contained on Table VI. of his atlas. Parrot appears to be silent on the subject of this glacier; but Von Behagel, his companion, offers some remarks upon it (Parrot, 2nd part, p. 184). I may also refer my reader to Dr Markoff’s article in the Bulletin de la société royale Belge de géographie, 1888, p. 589.
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and the green clump of trees. To these succeed the bouquets of pink and white atraphaxis, and the scattered crags of conglomerate rock. A flora of great variety starts from the sand and among the stone. While we are crossing this upper region of the base, the sun disappears behind the still, grey clouds; the blue zenith pales and fades. A full moon rises from the grey clouds, wreathing the landscape with soft lights…
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE The identification of Mount Ararat with the mountain upon which the Ark rested is at least as early as the adoption of Christianity by the Armenians, and may have been originally made by Jewish prisoners of war. But there does not appear to have existed in the neighbourhood of Ararat an independent local tradition of the Flood; and the mountain is still locally known not as Ararat, but as Masis to the Armenians, and as Aghri Dagh to the Tartars. It is, however, called Ararat in Armenian literature as early as Faustus of Byzantium, who uses the name in relating the story of St. Jacob of Nisibis (Faustus, iii. 10, the name appears to have been wrongly spelt Sararat by the copyists). The Ararat of Scripture is the Assyrian Urardhu; and the “mountains of Ararat” of Genesis viii.4 must be sought within the country of Urardhu. Dr. Belck has quite recently examined, in the light of his remarkable researches into the lore of the Vannic texts, the question of the original geographical application of the term Urardhu (Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, Berlin, 1899, pp. 113 seq.); it appears to have spread from a district in Kurdistan, southwest of Lake Urmi, to the country about Lake Van. It would, therefore, seem that the tendency of the term has been to travel north; for the Urardhu or Ararat of the historical period is the province about Mount Ararat, one of the great divisions in the kingdom of the Arsakid monarchs of Armenia, and well known under the name of Ararat to Agathangelus and the earliest Armenian writers. Mount Ararat could scarcely have been known to the peoples of the lowlands, among whom the Biblical legend of the Flood originated. Various aspects of the subject are well discussed by Suess (Das Antlitz der Erde, Leipzic, 1885, vol. i. pp. 25-92; Die Stintfluth), Bryce (Transcaucasia and Ararat, edition of 1896, pp. 211 seq.), and Sayce (Dictionary of the Bible, London, 1898, sub voce Ararat). The fabric of Ararat composes an elliptical figure with an axis from northwest to southeast. The base plan measures about 28 miles in length, and about 23 miles in width. The fabric is built up by two mountains: Great Ararat (16,916 feet above the sea) and Little Ararat (12,840 feet). Their bases are contiguous at a level of 8800 feet, and their summits are 7 miles apart. Both are due to eruptive volcanic action: but no eruption of Ararat is known to have occurred during the historical period, and the summit of the greater mountain presents all the appearance of a very ancient and much worn-down volcano with a central chimney or vent, long since filled in. I have already described the summit region of Great Ararat. The estimates or measurements of my predecessors are at variance with one another in detail; but one may assert that it consists of two separate elevations, divided one from the other by a depression some 100 to 150 feet in depth. The more easterly is much the larger, having the character of a spacious platform of saucer-like form. The more westerly presents the shape of a symmetrical cone, when seen from the platform; and is in connection with the snow-laden and almost horizontal bastions at the head of the northwestern slope. Both elevations have about the same height; but, if anything, the more westerly is the higher.32 The reader will be able to distinguish them in my photograph (Fig. 37), as well as to observe how they mingle together as mere crinkles in the crown of the dome. Parrot was inclined to think that the Ark came to rest in the depression between the two elevations. Yielding in height to the most lofty peaks of the Caucasus in the north (Elburz, 18,525 feet), which are visible from the summit, and to Demavend (over 18,000 feet) in the belt of mountains which rise along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, Ararat is by far the loftiest of the mountains of Armenia, and is over 1000 feet more elevated than the highest peak in Europe, Mont Blanc (15,780 feet). Moreover, Elburz and Kazbek, Mont Blanc, and even Demavend, all rise among a sea of mountains, of which they are little more than the highest crests. The isolation of Ararat is not its
32
Feodoroff, the companion of Parrot, measuring from the valley of the Araxes, estimated the difference at 7 feet; Khodzko at 120 feet; Bryce at “some 50 feet or so,” all in favour of the more westerly elevation. My reader will notice that in the photograph (Fig. 37) the more easterly, viz. on the left hand, appears to be slightly higher; but this circumstance is due to the fact that it stands out a little in advance of its neighbour, when seen from the side of the country between Erivan and Aralykh.
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least interesting feature—a feature which I would fain hope is already imprinted upon my reader’s mind. The plains which it overlooks belong to three empires; the frontiers of Persia, Turkey, and Russia meet upon its slopes. It has been estimated that as late as the month of May the colossal mountain is covered with snow to a level of 9000 feet below the summit; and the appearance of this immense white sheet from the blooming campagna of the valley of the Araxes is one of the fine sights in the world. But by the month of September the snowy canopy will be confined to the dome of Great Ararat; and the limit of perpetual snow on the side facing the plain on the north is not less elevated than from 13,500 to 14,000 feet above the sea. The extensive depression through which the Araxes flows collects the heats of summer; and the warm air from this reservoir ascends the northern slopes of the mountain, melting the snow to a height which is greater than might be expected in this latitude.33 Further east-wards the irrigation is supplied by the Kirk Bulakh, a stream of which the name signifies forty springs, and which has its sources at no great distance from Erivan. Such abundance of running water should secure to this growing city a large measure of prosperity under settled government. As the centre of the most populous of the Armenian provinces of the Russian Empire, to which it gives its name, it is already a place of some pretensions. But the inhabitants do not at present number more than 15,000, of whom half are Tartars and half Armenians. This total also comprises about 300 Russians, whose most conspicuous units are the drivers of the carriages on hire, belonging, I believe, exclusively to the Molokan sect.34 Erivan does not possess any monuments of first-rate merit or of great antiquity. Her origin is obscure. Noah may quite well have lived here before the Deluge, as one of the earliest of modern European visitors was informed by his Armenian friends.35 The popular derivation of the name is from the Armenian verb erevel, and it is said to signify appearing. The place would, indeed, be about the first locality in the plain region to appear to the eyes of the patriarch of old.36 Hither he may have been directed in his steps and those of his family when the waters had receded from a world renewed. This may be the site of the original city of Noah, perhaps preserved beneath the soil upon which is built the present town. The more learned are inclined to a much later foundation, but do not yield in point of philological plausibility to the champions of the identification with Noah’s city. They say that the name has been shortened from Erovantavan, which they render the place where Erovant was defeated. Erovant or Ervand was an Armenian monarch of the first century who was vanquished in this region by the lawful heir to the throne of the Arsakids at the head of a Persian army. The event and the survival of the name Erovantavan are attested by Moses of Khorene.37 [Proceeding to Etchmiadzin,] I was received by an Armenian gentleman, of the handsome aquiline type of face, who addressed me in fluent English. He had been interpreter to the delegates to the Berlin Congress, and more recently had been much in the society of the Katholikos, residing at Jaffa (Jerusalem). Baron Scrapion Murad—the first name is the equivalent of Mr.—holds a position of the first importance in the counsels of His Holiness at this junction in his career. He is the shrewd man of the world, who weighs you in the balance with a single glance of his intelligent eyes. I appear to have emerged on the right side of the scale; for his formidable scrutiny rapidly relaxed into an amiable smile. We passed from this outer room into a chamber with a daïs at the further side; and presently the Katholikos entered and mounted the daïs, begging us be seated on two chairs which were placed on the floor below, but quite close to his own arm-chair.
33
In estimating the level of the zone of perpetual snow on Ararat I am leaving out of account those smaller or greater collections of snow which owe their subsistence all through the summer to special circumstances, such as shelter from the sun. Mr. D. W. Freshfield (Exploration of the Caucasus, London, 1896, vol. i. p. 55) gives 10,000 feet as a fair figure for the snow-level in the central chain of Caucasus. 34
According to the Jesuit, Père Monier, who wrote an account of the mission at Erivan in the eighteenth century, there were only 4000 inhabitants of the town proper in his day. Of these only one-fourth were Armenians (Lettres Édifiantes, Mémoires du Levant, Paris, 1780, vol. iii. p. 25). In the thirties of last century the usual estimate seems to have been 2500 families or at least 10,000 souls, of whom some 700 to 1000 families were Armenian (Smith and Dwight, Missionary Researches, p. 279; Sijalski, Aufenthalt in Erivan, Das Ausland, Augsburg, 1839). The Armenians are rapidly turning the tables upon the Tartars. 35 Chardin, edit. Paris, 1811, vol. ii. p. 169. 36 “Erivân, apparens, quia regio ista prima apparuit Noe cum descenderet ex monte Ararat” (Villotte, Dict. Arm. p. 273, quoted by Langlès ap. Chardin, loc. cit.). 37 Moses of Khorene, vol. ii. p. 46.
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I do not remember having ever seen a more handsome and engaging face; and I experienced a thrill of pleasure at the mere fact of sitting beside him and seeing the smile, which was evidently habitual to those features, play around the limpid brown eyes. The voice too is one of great sweetness, and the manner a quiet dignity with strength behind. The footmen and the daïs and the antechamber were soon forgotten in this presence—forms necessary to little men and perhaps useful to their superiors, though they are always kicking them off when they are not stumbling among their folds…first, which adjoins the central altar, is inscribed with the name of Petros Katholikos (Peter II. 1748) and is said to have been a present from the Pope.38 The second, situated further east, is that which was occupied by the Katholikos during the service which I attended. It is the gift of Armenians during the pontificate of Astvatsadur (171525). The treasury and room of relics contain many interesting objects. To these chambers is allotted the building on the east of the church. Both are entered from the interior and through doors in the east wall, that on the north of the apse communicating with the treasury, and that on the south with the apartment containing the relics. Among the treasures are several objects, which deserve the attention of the student of art, examples of mediæval Armenian craft being, I imagine, none too frequent. I observed a crystal cross, said to belong to the Bagratid period, and some other crosses reputed to have come from Ani. A gold crown, inlaid with jewels, is ascribed to King Tiridates, and, whatever its origin, is a very interesting object. The same may be said of a silver saucer with repoussé figures dating from the pontificate of Nerses IV (1166-73). There are a quantity of jeweled mitres and embroidered stoles and ornaments for the church. There are seals of the pontiffs and coins of the Rupenian (Cilician) dynasty. Some store is set upon a head of Dionysus which is believed to be of Egyptian origin. The monastery has become possessed of a most curious object in the shape of a huge caldron, standing on three legs, and having as handles four tigers in the act of climbing. It was found not many years ago in a cloister near Tiflis; buried within it was a bell. An inscription round the rim gives the date of the Armenian era 781 or A.D. 1331. In the chamber of relics are preserved a fine collection of Episcopal staves surmounted by a cross above a knot of hissing serpents’ heads (Fig. 56, Nos. 1 and 2). Many are of exquisite workmanship. The principal relics are the hand and arm of St. Gregory, preserved in a silver gilt case; the head of the holy spear, reputed to possess the power of staying epidemics;39 a fragment of the Ark, which is attached a jeweled cross; the head and arm of St. Thaddeus, the apostle; the hand and arm of St. Jacob of Nisibis; a panel carved with a crucified Christ, said to be the work of St. John the Apostle and to have been procured by Ashot Patricius; finally a box containing relics of St. Ripsime. The chapels of the martyrs, which are churches rather than chapels, are situated within short walks from the monastery. Thus St. Gaiane is not more than about a quarter of a mile distant in a southerly direction. St. Ripsime is a little further, say three-quarters of a mile; it is placed to the east of Edgmiatsin [Etchmiadzin, Armenia just across the Araxes from Aralyk and Ararat] and is the first building which you see as you drive from Erivan, on the very outskirts of the trees and greenery. Shoghakath is a near neighbour of Ripsime on the side of the great cloister. Of these the largest and certainly the most interesting is that which commemorates the brave deeds of the beautiful virgin from Rome. In designing the church of the Holy Ripsime the architect has been faithful to the essential features of that of Edgmiatsin—the quadruple apse and the central dome. But the problem before him was how to eliminate the unsightly projections of the apsidal arms, and how to rear the whole fabric by successive stages to the crown of the dome. His solution of the problem, if somewhat rudimentary and fantastic, is certainly successful from the point of view of looks (Fig. 57 and plan). My reader will of course eliminate the portal and belfry in appreciating this piece of architecture. They were added, the portal in 1653 by the Katholikos Philippos, and the belfry in 1790. He will observe that the outer wall compose a rectangular figure; and a moment’s reflection will show him that such a figure could only be presented by a stupendous thickening of the wall on either side of each apse. This difficulty has been in part surmounted by the introduction of niches, two for each apsidal recess. These external niches are nearly six feet deep on the north and south sides, a little shallower on the west and east. The treatment of this feature is quite inchoate; but we shall see it in perfection at Ani. At the same time it is evident that provision had to be made for
38 Telfer (Crimea and Transcaucasia, London, 1876, vol. i. p. 231) seems to refer this throne, which he ascribes to Pope Innocent XI., a gift to James IV. (1655-80). 39 See Morier, Second Journey, pp. 323 seq.
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a side chapel on either side of the apse on the east. These have been supplied according to a design which I have not seen elsewhere, although it appears to be repeated in the church of Sion in the valley of the Tana, a tributary of the Kur, erected at the end of the tenth century.40
Chapter XVII – To Ani And To Kars Descrying horses in the direction of Ani, we galloped forward and overtook them; they proved to be our missing cavalcade. They had passed the river at a place lower down than where we had crossed it, and were pursuing their way in a most leisurely manner. After opening one of the cases in order to replenish the slides of the camera, we returned to the glen, and again forded the stream. We spent a considerable time at the cloister and in its neighbourhood; it was certainly the most remarkable building which we had yet seen. Reserving a description of its ancient church and halls of audience, I shall only refer to a couple of illustrations in this place. The one (Fig.93) shows the ensemble of the monastery; but, having been taken from the east, where the ground is open and the landscape tame, misses the peculiar characteristics of the site. The other (Fig.94) may convey some conception of the appearance of the glen, when seen from the river-bed below the cloister. From the flat and water-worn bottom rises a little tongue of higher land, upon which stand the remains of two little chapels. On the cliff above the ravine you see the pier of a ruined gateway, outlined against the sky. The track to Ani leads up the cliffside and passes that ruin, which stands on the plain in which the still-distant city lies. It was late afternoon when we reached the walls of the ancient capital (Fig. 70), and passed within the great gateway. No massive doors creaked upon their hinges; we rode through empty archways into a deserted town. From among the débris of the public and private buildings rose the well-preserved remains of a number of handsome edifices – here an elegant church, there a polygonal chapel. An old priest with a few attendants were the sole inhabitants – they and the owls. We had only to follow the track to be brought to the humble tenement in which the priest lived. He stepped forth to meet us, a grey head, a feeble figure; he walked with difficulty, and with the demeanour of a man who is awaiting death. He told us that he had dwelt here since 1880, the only custodian of these priceless architectural treasures, and the only exponent of the topography of the site. He had been attacked in his house by a band of Kurds in 1886; they had inflicted knife wounds, and stripped him of everything he possessed. We remained two whole days within the walls of Ani, examining the creations of a vanished civilisation, and collecting material with which I propose to deal in a separate chapter. At nine o'clock on the morning of the 19th of October we took leave of our aged host; and, leaving the city by the same gate through which we had entered it, pursued a track, which leads in the direction of Kars. Clouds were clinging to the hill slopes upon our point of course and concealing the shield-shaped mass of Alagoz. Lost fragments of opaline vapour lay on the surface of the grassy plain. Here and there we perceived the ruins of little chapels and other buildings, or the scattered débris of masonry. From these suburbs we looked back upon the bold line of the city walls, with their double girdle and towers at regular intervals. It seemed as though the stream of life had wandered off into other channels, leaving behind this eloquent evidence of its former course. We could not descry the form of man or of animal in the landscape; even the sky was without a wing.
40
See Dubois de Montpéreux, op. cit. vol. iii. p. 213, and the Neale’s Holy Eastern Church, The Patriarchate of Antioch.
Edgar James Banks (1866-1945) was an Assyriologist who did much of his archaeology in the first several decades of the early 1900s, was the first American to climb Mount Ararat in 1912, and crossed all the deserts from Turkey to Aden (Yemen) the same year. In 1900, Banks applied for and received permission from Ottoman authorities to dig in the modern-day city of Bismya, Iraq, site of the ancient city of Adab. Edgar J. Banks is responsible for most of the small cuneiform collections at universities, historical societies, seminaries, and museums throughout the United States. According to Banks biographer, Dr. Ewa Wasilewska of University of Utah, “He imported at least 11,000 such relics to the United States, and some estimates suggest the number may have been as many as 175,000 pieces.” When universities re-discovered boxes from Banks over the years, they typically found clay Sumerian cuneiform tablets dates 24002100 B.C. wrapped in tissue paper, complete with a translation. Banks led an interesting life, a summary of which can be found in the excellent article, "The Forgotten Indiana Jones," by Dr. Ewa Wasilewska in The World and I Magazine (www.worldandi.com). Banks himself wrote several books, and one of them, Bismya or The Lost City of Adab (1912), has been made available online by the University of Chicago Library (www1.lib.uchicago.edu). In hope of gaining access to archaeological sites, Banks secured a position in Baghdad in 1898 as an American consul to the Ottoman Empire. In 1900, Banks was chosen as leader of a proposed archaeological expedition to Ur. The venture, called the Oriental Exploration Fund (Babylon Division), was sponsored by the University of Chicago and financed by John D. Rockefeller. During the wait for permission to excavate, Banks supported himself by becoming acting professor of ancient history at Robert College (now known as Bosporus University in Istanbul). He also acted as assistant to the American ambassador to Ottoman Empire, John Leishman, with whom he became close friends. Banks received his long-awaited permit on October 3, 1903. It had taken Banks three years to obtain the Ottoman sultan's permission to begin his dig. Even then, he could not excavate Ur. Nor could he choose any other prominent sites. His excavations were to be at Bismya, the site of ancient Adab, in Iraq. Banks’ work at this site showed that Bismya (ancient Adab) had been inhabited for at least 2000 years and the expedition uncovered a massive ziggurat, several temples, a palace, at least one archives of tablets, private houses and a cemetery. In 1921, film director Cecil B. DeMille invited Banks to become a consultant on movies that concerned biblical stories. Few recognize the name Edgar James Banks, despite that fact he was involved in the international politics of the Middle East well before T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) even visited the region. Chapter 6
1912 Edgar Banks Edgar J. Banks wrote the following article, “To the Summit of Mount Ararat,” which was published in Open Court Vol. 27, 1913, pages 398-410 and is available at the Boston Public Library. “You cannot ascend Ararat, Effendi. No man has ever been to the top of the mountain, and no man ever can. Ararat is the mothe of the world, and Allah forbid that any man see her face. Men
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come from England and from France, and they go into the mountain for three days or for four days or for a week, and then say they have climbed to the summit, but they speak not the truth for when they reach a certain place in the mountain, Allah casts a deep sleep upon them and bears them back to the base. Seek not to go up Ararat, Effendi, lest you too become a man of lies.” The aged Kurd, who would dissuade me from climbing Ararat, was sincere. He was expressing the belief of most of the Kurds and Armenians and Turks and Persians who live in the little villages about the base and on the sloping sides of the great mountain. And yet in the wonderfully clear air the summit of Ararat, all white with snow, was distinctly visible; it seemed an easy climb of but an hour or two. The belief that the summit of Ararat is unattainable dates back at least several centuries, perhaps even to a great antiquity. Sir John Mandeville, the tale of whose wonderful travels was written about A.D. 1332, refers to it. He says: And there beside is another hill that men clep [call] Ararat, but the Jews clep it Taneez, where Noah’s ship rested, and yet is upon that mountain. And men may see it afar in clear weather. And that mountain is well a seven mile high. And some men say that they have seen and touched the ship, and put their fingers in the parts where the fiend went out, when that Noahs said Benedicte. But they that say such words, say they will. For a man may not go up the mountain, for great plenty of snow is always on that mountain neither summer nor winter. So that no man may go up there, no man never did, since the time of Noah, save a monk that, by the grace of God, brought one of the planks down, that yet is in the cluster at the foot of the mountain. Ararat is of special interest, not only because of its unusual beauty and height, but because of the story that Noah’s Ark rested there. However to connect the story with this particular peak is somewhat difficult. In ancient Assyrian times the name Ararat referred to the entire mountain range, rather than to an individual peak. St. Jerome, an early Christian writer, speaks of Ararat as the plain of the Araxes, which lies at the northern base of the mountain. The tradition to which Sir John Mandeville refers, is still repeated by the natives, for they still tell how Hagop or St. Jacob frequently tried to reach the summit, but was always brought back to the base during the night. Finally when he succeeded, he brought back a plank from the ark, and some of the pitch with which the Ark was smeared. The plank was shown in the monastery at Aghurri until 1840, and the pitch was sought for its wonderful medicinal properties. The pictures of Ararat of two centuries ago plainly show the Ark standing on the summit of the mountain between two peaks. On August 7, 1912, with my companion, Dr. Gibson of Chicago, I arrived at Erivan... We discovered that Ararat was under military control, and that special permission from the government must be had before we could climb it... Our first stop was at Etchmiadzin, the seat of the head of the Gregorian church. The little place has always been associated with the mountain...and carefully preserved in a chamber of the church, in the rear of the altar, is a piece of dark wood, three inches long and an inch in width, carved with the figures of Christ and of the Virgin Mary. The priests claims that it is a part of the ark. Our first night on the mountain was spent in a little Kurdish village near the entrance to the great chasm which reaches into the very heart of the mountain. Aghurri is a modern town near the site of an earlier town of the same name. There it is said that Noah settled after he left the ark. There he cultivated the vine, and there he made the wine of which he drank. Seventy years ago his very vine used to be pointed out. There, too, used to grow the willow trees which sprang from the planks of the ark. But these interesting things may be seen no more, for on June 29, 1840, an earthquake shook the mountain to its foundation; a part of the mountain fell upon the village and completely buried it. Huge rocks, thousands of tons in weight, were hurled for miles down the slope. The shrine of Saint Jacob, far in the gorge, together with the plank from the ark, perished. At night fall we found a camping place on a projecting rock, by the side of a great snow field, about fourteen thousand feet in height. The Kurds called the place Kis Kalesi, or Maiden's Castle... Here we heard the streams of water trickling far down beneath the rocks, and melted snow was our drink. Finally a thousand feet from the summit we reached the last barrier of great diorite rocks; beyond, the slope was not so steep, but loose stones of reddish porphyry, mixed with ashes, made climbing even more difficult. When half way up the ash field we observed the strong odor of sulphur, yet no fissures in the mountain side could be seen. In the hollow between the two summits it is said that the Ark rested. At the edge of the snow-capped summit, there projected from the snow two wooden poles which once supported a large wooden box. It was placed there by some Russian officials several years ago to contain a book, that all who climbed the mountain might record their names, but the strong wind had broken the poles and hurled down the box, and we found it half buried in snow and ice. Once a Russian flag waved above the box, but the flag, now in shreds, was also frozen into the ice. Near the box is a pile of stones; search among them revealed a bottle and a tin box containing the names of those who had reached the summit. Of the few names which I saw, all were written in Russian; one man, more ambitious than the others, had left there a bronze plate engraved with his name and a date. The Summit of Ararat is frequently very cloudy, even when it is perfectly clear in the valley below. During the daytime
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the hot air from the valley rushes upward, and reaching the snow fields near the summit is cooled. Thus the clouds are formed. An hour upon the summit chilled us through. The descent to the camping place took less than half the time of the ascent.
Clifford L. Burdick (1894-1992) had a long career as a mining and creationist geologist. Burdick was one of the first modern-day flood geologists since his mentor George McCready Price and Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) creationism influenced his thinking during the 1920s. Burdick’s findings have at times caused both amazement and controversy. In 1945 he published one of the first convincing scientific critiques of radiometric dating, “The Radioactive Time Theory and Recent Trends in Methods of Reckoning Geologic Time.” In 1946 Burdick published an extensive field report on alleged fossilized human footprints accompanied by casts and photographs at the Paluxy River, Texas. In the late 1960s, he made an extremely important discovery while conducting post-graduate research for a Ph.D. in Geology when he was the first researcher to find “young” fossil pollen in “old” rocks in the Grand Canyon and subsequently published a creationist guidebook called Canyon of Canyons. Burdick was close friends with one of the first people interested in finding Noah’s Ark, Captain Benjamin Franklin Allen, who was also SDA and was attracted to sensationalist research. Because of his scientific background and studies, Clifford Burdick was a principal member of the earliest creationist research organizations including the Deluge Geology Society, Footprint Research Committee, Amazing Discoveries, Sacred History Research Expedition (SHRE), Creation Research Society (CRS), and the Noah’s Ark-focused Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF). Chapter 7
1945-1974 Clifford Burdick Clifford Burdick’s life is so fascinating and controversial that a few more thoughts should be shared before diving into his geological assessment of Mount Ararat. Burdick’s 1945 paper critiquing radiometric dating had a large impact on The Genesis Flood author and Institute of Creation Research (ICR) founder Henry Morris, Ph.D., which convinced Morris that he “no longer had to dabble with the gap theory or some other means of allowing a great age for the earth.” Ronald Numbers states this in his book The Creationists: According to Burdick, radioisotope dating suffered from the same glaring weakness that undermined calculations based on sedimentation: the assumption of uniformity. As corroborating testimony he cited the prewar warning of Watson Davis (1896-1967) in the “Science News Letter” that “the radioactive ‘time clock’ method of determining the age of the earth may be proved wrong if uranium can be split up in the strange new manner” conceived by physicists—an eventuality subsequently demonstrated in dramatic fashion by the detonation of the first atomic bombs. Clifford Burdick primarily studied geology, mineralogy, and geochemistry at Milton College, the University of Wisconsin, and finished his Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Arizona, which involved a geologic description of a mountain chain in Arizona. Burdick’s Ph.D. dissertation had taken several years to conduct. Burdick only failed his oral exams when he was very sick and the Geology Dept. review committee refused to allow it to be rescheduled or a second chance. Otherwise, he would have received a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Arizona. The reality is that one of the University of Arizona oral committee professors had branded him a creationist and demanded that he be refused a degree. Years later, another one of the professors on his Ph.D. committee admitted that Burdick got a raw deal and confessed that at the time he did not have the courage to defend him when the committee found out Burdick was a creationist. The Creationists describes some of the dilemmas with Burdick’s accreditation: No one epitomized Larry G. Butler’s concerns about creation science more than Clifford L. Burdick, the most energetic researcher in the Creation Research Society (CRS) and the most frequent recipient of its funding. And not surprisingly, no one took greater offense at Butler’s critique of creationist research. “Larry, I don’t feel that we voluntarily seek sensationalism,” protested the aging geologist, whose fame rested in large part on his extravagant claims about human and dinosaur tracks found in the same ancient rocks. “If this seems sensational, I feel its only because it’s the kind
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of evidence that God in his providence has dumped in our laps.” Sensationalist or not, Burdick , according to Henry Morris, for a decade did “more research for the Society, at greater personal sacrifice, than anyone else, all of it in areas of critical importance.” By 1960 he had completed enough advanced work to sit for the comprehensive examinations required for a Ph.D. in geology at the University of Arizona. Three days before the scheduled orals a professor on his examining committee discovered an article on flood geology that Burdick had written for an Adventist magazine, “Signs of the Times,” and reportedly announced that he could never vote to award a doctorated to the author of such a scientifically heretical work. The news of this discovery panicked Burdick. For years he had carefully concealed his creationist leanings—and his earlier failure at the University of Wisconsin—and he reckoned the odds at a thousand to one that his professors might discover his true thoughts. “I might go thru a dozen more institutions without they [sic] ever getting next to my inner feelings,” he later said wistfully. “I saw the handwriting on the wall; I knew my goose was cooked,” he wrote of the traumatic ordeal. “The emotional shock [Burdick was age 66] induced a severe case of acute indigestion, and I was unable to eat hardly anything for the three days prior to the test. The graduate school granted me a postponement until I got back on my feet, but the geology dept. would not O.K. it, even though I was sick. I think they really wanted to take advantage of that opportunity to ‘scrub’ me. I sensed the air of hostility the moment I entered the examination room. I should have stayed in bed. I ‘browned out’ several times during the exam, and could not answer even the most simple questions, that I knew as well as my own name. Even at that I was told I passed as far as knowledge of geology went, but I just ran out of gas and could not answer the reasoning questions, and being sick did not make too good an impression.” The committee, no doubt grateful that Burdick’s poor performance spared them the embarrassment of passing a student who repudiated the very foundations of historical geology, refused to grant him a second chance, despite repeated appeals and a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination. Burdick’s case soon became a case celebre among creationists, incontrovertible proof of the academic prejudice awaiting anyone who dared challenge the dogma of evolution. “Although he had completed his doctoral thesis and his oral examination, he was denied his doctorate,” went the much-told story. “Because he was a creationist he was denied his degree and he was no longer welcome at the university.”
Geologic Description of Mount Ararat by Clifford L. Burdick This article presents a geologic survey of the observations made during the 1966 expedition to Mt Ararat sponsored by the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) of New York. Eastern Turkey consists of a relatively barren undeveloped area. Tectonically it is very active, and unstable structurally. The region has been folded, faulted, and intruded with basic types of volcanic rock, such as andesite and basalt. Mt. Ararat is 17,000 feet high, and at its greatest height perhaps measured nearer 20,000 feet. Evidently the cover rocks were Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestone, and in places like Mt. Ararat were domed up by rising magma which burst through channels along fault lines. During the Flood period at least three blankets of basaltic or andesitic lava were extruded over the original Ararat which may have only been about 10,000 to 12,000 feet high originally. Much of the lava is in rounded blocks called pillow lava, having a conchoidal appearance indicating it flowed out from the fractures while under water. After subsidence of the floodwaters, almost the whole northeast side of the mountain blew up forming the Ahora Gulch. Rock fragments and ash from this eruption cover about 100 square miles. Greater Ararat is covered with an ice cap down to the 14,000-foot level. This cap is hundreds of feet thick and divides into 12 "fingers" or glaciers. An analysis of five rock samples is given and also a list of fossils found by Abich.
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Mount Ararat is one of the best-known mountains historically, but also one of the least known geologically. For some reason some scientists have shied away from that area, perhaps because of its very Biblical connection. Two German geologists have made geological observations of the Ararat area: Hermann Abich1, about 1845: and M. Blumenthal2 some 110 years later. Abich, it appears, was not afraid to mention the Flood and the Ark of Noah in connection with Ararat, but not so with Blumenthal. Geological evidence concerning Mount Ararat is unavailable to American science while geological data for most other parts of the world is quite abundant. In 1946, an archeological company was organized in California, the Sacred History Research Expedition, with the objective of helping to fill this empty void scientifically by means of archeological, geological, glaciological, and other projects planned. Dr. Kinnaman, the famous American archeologist, was to be a member of the expedition. Col. Koor, the Russian soldier-archeologist, was to lead us to some 20 archeological sites in need of investigation. But perhaps the time was not yet ripe. Twenty long years passed before this study of the Ararat area became reality. In 1966, ten scientists and mountain climbers actually arrived at camp on Mount Ararat to begin this important work. George Vandeman was chairman of the board of the Archaeological Research Foundation of New York, and a prime mover in the organization. Ralph E. Crawford of Washington; Drs. Calvin and Agatha Thrash of Columbus, Georgia; Wilber Bishop [who was the creator of Little Debbies] of Cleveland, Tennessee, and Sam Martz of Nashville, were directors of the Foundation. Dr. Lawrence Hewitt of Huntsville, Alabama was leader of the expedition [other Archaeological Research Foundation members said that Hewitt as well as Harry “Bud” Crawford viewed themselves as CIA spies attempting to take photos of the Russian nuclear plant across the border], assisted by Harry Crawford of Denver, who had previously scaled the mountain to its peak. Nicholas van Arkel of Holland was in charge of the glaciological work, mapping the ice cap—some 17 square miles in extent. Two Swiss mountaineers ably assisted van Arkel [Alex Staub and Theo Koehler]. Alva Appel of Washington, D.C. and William Dougall of Seattle assisted Mr. Crawford in mountain climbing and recording general observations of interest, (even hoping that one such observation might happen to be some remains of Noah’s Ark, as per rumors that natives from time to time had stumbled on portions of the original wood). Dr. Hewitt, besides giving leadership to the expedition, made a botanical study of the mountain and gathered and pressed some 150 plants and flower specimens. [Two other individuals in the 1966 expedition stated that this alleged “botanical study” was simply a last-minute attempt to make the four weeks on the mountain look scientific.] Mr. Eryl Cummings of Farmington, New Mexico, assisted me in making geological observations and in gathering rock samples. Although the Archaeological Research Foundation was the organizational unit, it operated largely on contracts with the United States armed forces, and with the Turkish government. The Turkish military command furnished transportation, as well as an interpreter and a soldier guard. The U. S. military command furnished tents, bedding, supplies and great quantities of food (C Rations). Since the expedition operated largely in a sensitive military zone, some of the scientific data gathered were of a classified nature. Eastern Turkey is a relatively undeveloped and semi-desert area, lying across a recognized earthquake zone, composed largely of volcanic rock. The people native to that area have to work hard to make a living, and the Turkish government welcomed this scientific expedition gathering data on biology geology, glaciology, soil chemistry and related aspects of the region. Much of our work during the summer of 1966 revolved about the Mount Ararat region, which created general interest because of its historical connection with the Ark of Noah. The Armenians, who have inhabited that area for many centuries, call the mountain, Masis; the Turks call it "Agri Dagh," or painful mountain. The Persians call it Koh-i-Nuh, that is, the "Mountain of Noah." GEOMORPHOLOGY The central backbone of Turkey between Ankara and Erzurum is composed of a treeless, barren series of mountain chains of folded and uplifted Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestone. This is the central watershed and the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This limestone has been intruded in places by volcanic rocks, as at Kayseri (Caesarea), the locale
1
Abich. Herman, "Die Besteigung des Ararat im Jahre 1845," Boitrage z. Kenntuis d. russischen Reiches. St. Petersburg, 1849. Blumenthal. M. "Der Vulcan Ararat," Rev. Fac Sc Univ. Istanbul, Series B. Tome XXIII. No 3-4. 1958. Parrot, F. Reise zum Ararat. Berlin, 1840.
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of excavations for Hittite artifacts. The Hittite museum in Ankara is well worth visiting. South of Kayseri is a multi-peaked, snow-capped mountain of some 15,000 feet elevation, known as Erciyes. From Erzurum, east to the Russian-Iranian border, the landscape consists mainly of volcanic rocks, except for occasional outcrops of limestone. Much of this volcanic rock is on the borderline between basalt and andesite, the samples collected from Persia being the most basic (mafic) as are also the Tendurek mountains southwest of Mount Ararat, and the Hama, Kale and Pamuk mountains to the west. The swampy plain between Doğubayazit and Ararat is some 4,500 feet above sea level, but on the north and east sides of Ararat the Aras river valley is between 2,500 and 3,000 feet above sea level. Some 50 miles northwest of Mount Ararat along the Aras river is an extensive salt mine with a thickness of some 400 feet. Southeast of Little Ararat near the Iranian border is a deep round hole in the basaltic rock about 100 feet in diameter caused by a meteorite that struck the ground in 1910, drilling a clean round hole deep into the earth. Greater Ararat is perpetually covered with an ice capping down to the 14,000-foot level in summer. This ice cap is hundreds of feet thick and as it flows down the sides of the mountain, it divides into twelve "fingers" or glaciers, three of which are the Parrot, Abich I and Abich II glaciers, the latter of which tumbles down a vertical precipice thousands of feet into the Ahora Gulch, with a mighty roar that can be heard for miles. Two of our mountain climbers [Alva Appel and Bill Dougall], who were camping in the Gulch, were nearly buried [15 feet away] when 100,000 tons or so of ice and snow came roaring down the Gulch. The comparatively high snow line is due to the light precipitation and the upward rush of air from the Aras plain. This plain is the veritable breadbasket for both Turkey and Russia. Although the upper and lower zones on the mountain are sterile, the middle zone, from 5,000 to 11,500 feet, is covered with good pasture upon which the Kurdish sheep and goat herders depend. Mount Ararat is about equidistant from the Black Sea and the Caspian, the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. Around Mount Ararat gather many traditions connected with the Deluge. Koor, the Russian soldier-archeologist, lists some 20 such archeological sites, which should be investigated. Both the ice cap and the resulting glaciers move over rough terrain, which breaks them into segments separated by crevasses. Often new falls of snow drift over these crevasses, thus hiding them from view. Climbers sometimes fall into them. In 1965, a 21-year-old Oxford student Christopher Trease tried to climb the mountain alone, and was never again heard from. It was presumed that he fell into a crevasse. In 1970, his Oxford friends searched diligently, but unsuccessfully for some sign of him. Around 1968, an Austrian doctor was separated from his party in a blinding snowstorm on Ararat and was never heard from again. Search parties were unable to find him. It has been thought that he too suffered the same fate. Our mountain climbers never climbed the mountain in less than groups of three tied together with nylon ropes. Even so, two of them actually fell into crevasses, but were pulled free by their companions. The dangers are many. Storms of wind of 100 miles an hour and temperatures of below zero made life disagreeable for our glaciologists. Also, our geologists were caught out on the mountain in a thunder-storm in pelting sleet and rain, and the ensuing fog made it difficult for them to find their way back to camp late at night, soaking wet, cold and exhausted. Without a good sense of direction and a flashlight, they might have been "victims" of Ararat. Traditional places include the Garden of Eden in the valley of the Aras river; Marand is the burial place of Noah's wife; at Ahora (Arghuri) was the spot where Noah planted his first vineyard. Incidentally, we noticed this summer that a vineyard is still located there. The monastery of St. Jacob was also situated here until both it and the village of Ahora were destroyed in 1840 by an earthquake and resulting avalanche, which came thundering down Ahora Gulch [water, morainal material, ice, and mudflows wiped out the town of Ahora or Arghuri]. James Bryce, the British statesman, author, and later ambassador to Washington once climbed Mount Ararat and he wrote of his experiences in a book, Transcaucasia and Ararat. I know of nothing so sublime as the general aspect of this huge yet graceful mass seen from the surrounding plains: no view which fills the beholder with a profounder sense of grandeur and space than that which is unfolded, when, on climbing its lofty side he sees the far-reaching slopes beneath, and the boundless waste of mountains beyond, spread out under his eye. Its very simplicity of both form and color increases its majesty. All lines lead straight up to the towering, snowy summit. There can be but few places in the world where so lofty a peak soars so suddenly from a plain so low, and consequently few views equally grand. The mountain raises itself solitary and solemn out of a wide sea-like plain. STRUCTURE The structural trends of eastern Turkey are in a northwest, southeast direction, such as the Aras river flowage, and the "lining-up" of the triple volcanic peaks, Alagoz, on the Russian side of the Aras river, and Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat, in Turkey. These triple peaks are in a line, because that is the direction of strike of the elongated fault in the basement complex up through which the molten magma flowed.
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Tendurek mountain crater lake Courtesy of Doris Bowers 1986
If the fractures are shallow, as in the August 19, 1966 quake, no lava is emitted, but when the fault extends many miles deep, it taps the area where the temperature exceeds the melting point of basalt, about 1,200 degrees Centigrade. The fault or fracture relieves the surface pressure, and the hydrostatic pressure forces the liquid magma to the surface, much as oil is blown out when an oil gusher is drilled. The Tendurek mountains to the west and southwest of Ararat are also volcanic extrusions along faults parallel to the Alagoz-Ararat fault and are part of the complex fault system which winds and twists in a generally north-south lineament through the Dead Sea in Palestine and across the Red Sea into eastern Africa, comprising what is known as the East African Rift. This fault or rift is signalized by volcanism and blockfaulting, indicating tension faults. The Dead Sea, about 1,300 feet below sea level and the deepest land depression on earth, is a graben, or fault-block, that has dropped down when the tension drew the crust apart. I followed the most recent fault for some 50 miles from Varto, the epicenter of the August 19 quake, to a point between Erzurum and Ararat. This most recent faulting, which caused the severe earthquake, which wrecked the city of Varto and caused some 2,000 deaths, was minor in displacement as compared with the scars left by the earlier faulting which took place presumably at or soon after the Flood Period. The recent rift caused a displacement of mere feet, while the "original" fracture zone was probably miles wide in places, and furnished a channel-way up through which flowed mountains of magma. This may have taken place at the time of the volcanism, which formed the Alagoz-Ararat mountain chain. Apparently the PaleozoicMesozoic limestone complex, which covered parts of the region, was severely deformed, compressed, folded, and in places like the Ararat area domed up when the rising magma burst through. This doming effect is most evident when one views the same limestone formation on all sides of Mount Ararat. The beds dip away from the mountain on the
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Turkish, the Russian, and the Persian (Iranian) sides. There were several eras of volcanic events. Professor Nazmi Oruc of Atatürk University at Erzurum told me that his soil sample study from well drillings in the Aras valley showed at least three periods of volcanism, the layers of lava being interbedded with sediments. West-southwest of Ararat and west of Diyadin occurs a thick bed of basalt overlaid with limestone, apparently conformable. A river flows through the limestone, and the latter has been folded into an anticline, which has fractured along the axis. This fracture has permitted ground water to penetrate down to the limestone-lava contact. The lava was apparently not very cool when the limestone was laid down, for it heated the water to the boiling paint, and the steam pressure has forced steady geysers to shoot from the surface. This water flows down the sides of the geyserite or tufa and is caught in pools similar to the hot water pools in Yellowstone Park. Some of these pools are just the right temperature for bathing, and are usually put to such use. This hot springs tufa is varicolored like that in Yellowstone. Local Turkish authorities hope eventually to make a park or national monument of this hot springs-geyser area. The orogeny of the hot springs bespeaks fast tectonic activity, cataclysmic action, and does not fit long-ages geology. Seemingly, basaltic extrusion was quickly followed by deposition of limestone before the hot lava cooled. If this limestone, designated Cretaceous, was laid down some hundred million years ago, surely the lava would have lost its heat long ago, for the limestone covering the basalt is not very thick. In fact one wonders how it could have retained its heat this long even if the rock was formed at the time of the Flood! The Genesis record tells us that, early in Creation week, the whole earth was covered with water similar to the flooding by the Deluge: the difference being that the whole earth was originally almost a perfect globe, without mountains and ocean basins. There was less water then to cover the earth than now. Then, the record tells us, the Creator formed the ocean basins, and dry land by diastrophism or uplift. The water ran off the land into the basins; as most geologists agree that the ocean basins existed from earliest times. We are not informed how high the continental cratons or mountains were, but presumably not as high as now. Genesis mentions rivers; among them is the Euphrates, which rises not too far from Mount Ararat. A river drainage system needs high land for its source. Evidence gathered at Mount Ararat indicates that the original mountain was much lower than the present one and was of different composition or at least of different texture and different color. The metrological differences will be discussed later, but the original Mount Ararat apparently was not more than from 10,000 to 12,000 feet in height. The present peak is about 17,000 feet, and at its greatest height perhaps measured nearer 20,000 feet. Erosion has worn it down. During the Flood period—in the broad sense—at least three blankets of basaltic or andesitic lava were extruded over the first Ararat. Volcanic eruptions have taken place periodically ever since, but with subsiding activity. More recent flows have been extruded from cracks lower down on the mountain as each succeeding extrusion had less force than the preceding one. Ararat is known as a shield type of volcano. This section would not be complete without mentioning what was perhaps the most violent eruption associated with Ararat. This did not occur in 1840 as some have surmised; it was infinitely more terrific. Very likely some time after the floodwaters had subsided, almost the whole northeast side of the mountain blew up. A long deep gash was opened in the mountain, known now as the Ahora Gulch. This is many miles long and thousands of feet deep and wide, and a conservative estimate would be that from one to two cubic miles of rock debris and volcanic ash was blown from the mountain. Large surface fragments were hurled miles away down toward the lower slopes of the northeast side, where they are yet visible. Lighter volcanic ash was blown into the upper atmosphere and settled down as light-colored whitish tuff on the east and northeast sides of the mountain. This ash covered some 100 square miles of surface to a thickness of from hundreds of feet near the mountain to a few feet, ten miles away. Thus, a sloping pediment of some 3-5 degrees was formed, which is similar to those seen in the desert Southwest in Arizona. As a result, varied rock specimens of the whole Ararat area are found in the Ahora Gulch. This is the type of volcanic eruption that buried Pompei and Herculaneum. Presumably Noah and his family had left the area by that time. The original Ararat had been deeply blanketed before that, and the only part of the original Ararat now exposed is that at the head of the Ahora Gulch where the giant explosion opened it up. Little Ararat and other parasite cones are of more recent origin for Little Ararat is smoother and less gullied and eroded than Greater Ararat. The only forests in the whole area are located on the eastern [and northern] slopes of Little Ararat.
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STRATIGRAPHY Abich and others in the past have done stratigraphic studies in the limestone formations of eastern Turkey. They identified index fossils and others belonging to late Paleozoic, mainly Permian; also Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous of the Mesozoic, besides some of the early Tertiary. The following are Abich's classifications, taken from the DoğubayazitIgdir area: Devonian, gray limestone:
Atrypa reticularis Atrypa aspera Spiriferseminai
Mississippian, dense Productus auritus limestone: Dalamella michellini Pennsylvanian, dark Fusulina verneuili limestone: Productus intermedius Fusulinella lenicularis
Collection of fossils found by explorers 1984 Courtesy of Doris Bowers
Permian, limestone, shale:
Goniatities albichianus Reticularia Spirigera Zaphrentis lepticonica
Clifford L. Burdick – Geologist Triassic, limestone, dolomite:
Xenodiscus-Arten Pseudomonotis-Arten Paratirolites-Arten Goniatites abichianus
Jurassic: (Ammonites)
Soninia sowerbyi Lytoceras mediternaeum Sphaeroceras bullatum
Cretaceous:
Mortoniceras texanum Parapachydiscus neubergeri Cyclasteraturicus
Eocene:
Discocyclina archiaeri Nummulites irregularis Asterodiscus
Oligocene:
Nummulites incrassatus
Plincene:
Planorbis Clupea lanceoplata Cardium protractum Tapes greganus Orbicella defancei
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These fossils are all invertebrates. PETROLOGY As already mentioned, eastern Turkey lithologically consists mainly of two types of rock, Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestone intruded by volcanic rock, much of it being an andesitic-basaltic complex on the borderline between andesite and basalt. For that reason it is not practicable to map off certain parts of the mountain as basaltic and other parts as andesitic, since composition varies from place to place, not permitting a mapable unit. The central highlands of Turkey consist in large part of a whitish limestone interspersed with volcanic rocks. The eastern part of the country is mainly volcanic, interspersed with limestone. Many of the faults cutting through the mountain of Ararat have been filled with a red intrusive rock that resembles a sandstone, but strangely enough is of essentially the same composition as the black and gray basalt and andesite, the difference being that the black magnetite has been oxidized to a red geothite. Following is a typical mineralogical composition: Sample No. 1 augite 3% rimmed with geothite hypersthene 5% rimed with geothite andesine (55) 52% glass 40% partly devitrified magnetite trace The augite is a triclinic pyroxene, while hypersthene is orthorhombic in crystal structure. These pyroxenes are more typical of basalt than andesite, but the plagioclase is andesine, from which the rock andesite gets its name. The high percentage of glass indicates that the rock was quickly "frozen" or cooled, so that solidification took place quickly, too fast for crystals to form. Sample No. 2 was a gray-black rock taken from the 12,000-foot level to the north of the Ahora Gulch. The mineral composition is strangely like sample No. 1, although macroscopically it does not much resemble it. Sample No. 2 augite 1% hypersthene 10% andesine (43) 87% magnetite 1% apatite trace (Apatite is a phosphorus oxide)
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As alluded to in the section on Structure, the Ahora Gulch exposes the inner core of the original mountain which is distinct in color and texture from the volcanic rock. It is coarse-grained porphyry with a light buff color and much pyrite. This indicates a deep-seated intrusive that cooled slowly, permitting the coarse phenocrysts to form first. Then the whole mass was uplifted through the cover-rock, allowing the remainder of the magma to cool more quickly and form finegrained crystals and glass. This inner core may represent the original mountain dating from Creation. Sample No. 3 was collected from several places in the Ahora Gulch. Sample No. 3 Andesite porphyry bastite 5% (replaces a pyroxene) glass trace (inclusions in plagioclase) hypersthene trace (poikolitic inclusions in plagioclase) andesine 50 94% sphene trace leucoxene trace apatite trace Sample No. 4 is also a sample from the Ahora Gulch from the inner core of the mountain. Its mineralogy is similar. Sample No. 4 augae 4% hypersphene 10% andesine (55) 30% (rims are andesine 50) magnetite 2% glass 53% apatite trace Sample No 5 is also from the same source as the two previous, but the rock is a basalt rather than an andesite, because the plagioclase is more basic-labradorite. Sample No. 5 Basalt-porphyry augite 1% hypersthene 3% labradorite 35% glass 56% hematite 5% These samples are typical, and it would not be necessary to give details on more samples. GENERALIZED STRATIGRAPHY FOR EASTERN ANATOLIA Basement – The outcrops of the basement are similar and usually metamorphosed. Here are some of the outstanding plutons in this region: 1) Bitlis massif 2) Ozalp massif 3) Golesor massif 4) Diyadin massif 5) Movasor massif 6) Tirman massif. These are granitic or granitoid in mineral composition, and more or less metamorphosed. At least three metamorphic facies are evident: a) garnet-schist (katazone); b) amphibolite, biotite, muscovite, epidote-schist and gneiss, (mesozone); c) chlorite, actinolite, sericite, and epidote-schists (epizone). The schists often interfinger with crystalline limestone. There are many varieties of gneiss, such as plagioclasegneiss, amphibolite-biotite gneiss. Gradations appear between igneous and metamorphic rocks. There is nothing to
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indicate the age of these plutonic and metamorphic rocks except that they appear to be the oldest rocks that outcrop. They may belong to the Precambrian or Paleozoic. Many varieties of limestone exist, mostly altered to some extent. They may be laminated, cross-bedded, foliated, partially crystallized, fine or coarse-textured, cherty or marly. Often they contain hydrocarbons. No fossils have been found in the crystalline limestones, but the unmetamophosed limestone contain Fusulina in places. Near Ozalp green mica-schists underlie white, grey and black thinly-foliated calc-schists. The gneiss exposed to the west of Diyadin contains bands rich in garnet, rutile, and zircon. Some of the metamorphic rocks measure up to 1000 meters in thickness. Devonian – The reddish schist-sandstone series at the base of the Permian limestone, which occurs near the Permian border around Aybey Mountain, south of Little Ararat near the Persian border, passes down into limestone, in which have been found some brachiopods of possible Devonian age. Alternating layers of limestone and schist occur in the neighborhood of Dumbat (P. Bonnet).3 Also Hermann Abich reported the occurrence of fossiliferous Devonian rocks north of Mt. Maku in Persia.4 Permo-Carboniferous – Many fossils of unquestioned Permo-Carboniferous age have been found in this region. The following invertebrates were found in two small hills at Ciftlik village in Baskey district, east of Igdir, occurring in black to red limestone and yellowish argillaceous schists: Caninia cylindrical SCOULER; Zaphrentis sp.; Syringopera sp.; Athyris sp.; and Fenestella sp. H. Abich found specimens of Zaphrentis near there but on the Russian side of the border, near Khorvirat. At Mount Aybey again there are abundant Fusulinidae and some Gastropods (Bellerophon) on the altered faces of the gently folded dark-greyish-blue Permo-Carboniferous limestones. S. Erk5 identified the following Permo-Carboniferous fauna: Schwagerina multiseptata (Schelwein); Schwagerina sp.; Schubertella sp.; Stafella sp.; Ammodiscus sp.; Cancellina primigena (Hayden); Reichelina minuta ERK; Ozavainella sp.; Pachyploia sp.; Cribrogenerina sp.; Lenticulina sp.; and Cymnocodium tenellum PIA. Fusulinidae are abundant in the limestones at Kalus, northwest of Doğubayazit, indicating a Permian age. The color is typically black. Mesozoic – The Triassic, Jurassic, and Lower Cretaceous rocks have been missing in this area, the only Mesozoic rocks being those from the Upper Cretaceous. These rocks are often associated with Lower Tertiary rocks and also ophiolites as a complex, and extend over wide areas. J.H. Maxson6 referred to this as the “Hakkari complex,” and E. Altinli pointed out that this complex forms the most important upthrust of southeast Anatolia.7 This complex consists of pink limestones and conglomerates resembling the “wildflysch” of the Alps. The whole rests unconformably on Permian limestones. Red and grey limestones with serpentine form breccias. Radiolarian beds and siliceous chert occur in the vicinity of the extrusions. Some limestone masses have been hydrothermally metamorphosed and their colors changed to yellow and brown. The pink limestones are silicified and impregnated with iron oxides wherever they are in contact with large ophiolite bodies. The Upper Cretaceous occurring south of Guzeldere is multicolored with alternating beds of grey limestone and marl, with the following microfauna: Globigerina asper (EHRENBERG); Globigerina bulloides; Globigerina cretacea (d’ORBIGNY); Globigerina (BRADY); Globorotalia of. Crassata (CUSHMAN); Globortruncana rugosa MARIE; Pseudotextularia elegans RZEHAK; Praelveolina dordonica; Omphalocyclus macroporus LMK; Siderolites vidali DOUV. North of Lake Van the Upper Crataceous series extends to the south from Mount Samkar. It consists mainly of bedded green sandstones, but passes down into grey sandy limestones and greenish-blue marly limestones. These
3
Bonnet, Description Geologique de la Transcauscaise, Meridionale Mem. Soc. Geol. France. Nouv. Serie T. XXV Mem. #53, 1947. Abich, Hernan, 1859 Vergleichende Geologische, Grundzuge der Kaukasischen Gebirge mem. Acad. Imp. Ser B, Sc. Math. Et. Phys., Bd. VII, St. Petersbourg. 5 S. Erk, TURKIYE Jeologi Haritas, Mineral Research Exploration Institute Ankara, 1964. 6 J H. Maxson, 1937, Reconnaisance of the petroleum possibilities of the Van District, M.T.A. Rep. #682, Ankara, Turkey. 7 Altinli I.E., Geology of Southern Hakkari Rev., Fac. Se. Univ. 1st serie B. tome XIX fasc. I. 4
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limestones dip into the waters of Lake Van. This series also contains a sill of olivine basalt about 100 meters thick. The total thickness of the upper Cretaceous series is about 600 meters. THE TERTIARY Paleocene – This series is mainly seen in the regions east of Lake Van. They consist of: grey and multi-colored shales (100 meters); soft and red limestones with calcite (veins 50-60 meters); multicolored marls with limestone intercalations (150-200 meters). These formations were identified with the following fossils: Globorotalia crassata group; and Globigerina triloculinoides PLUMMER. Eocene – Rocks of this age are also to be found in the Lake Van area, represented by white limestones eastwards to Ozalp, and at Sosam village east of Van green-grey marls and sandstones underlie the limestones. They are from 200300 meters thick and contain the following fossils: Assilina granulosa d’ARCHIAC; Nummulites atacicus LEYMERIE; Nummulites irregularis DESHAYES. In the Mus area are found red and green shales, marls, and sandstones with thick conglomerate bands, and these fossils: Globorotalia wilcoxensis CUSHMAN AND PONTON; Globigerina trilocularis d’ORBIGNY; Laffittenia sp.; Quinqueloculina sp.; Eorupertia sp.; Cibicides sp.; Orbitoides sp. In other areas from Doğubayazit to Sirvan and the Zap river occur other Eocene microfossils: Nummulites of . uroniensis A.HEIM; Nummulites striatus BRUG; Assilina mamillata d’ARCH; Discocyclina douvillei SCHLUMB; Corallina cossmanni SHCLUMB. At Yukaribernuaz the following fauna was found: Nummulites millecaput BOUBEE; Nummulites aturicus JOLY AND LEYM; Nummulites oroniensis; Discocyclina sella d’ARCH; Operculina pyramidum SCHWAGER; and Porosoma sp. Northeast and east of Doğubayazit occur greenish marls and siltstones and thin-bedded limestone intercalations and cream or white Nummulitic limestone, from which were found: Nummulities contortus DESH; Nummulites striatus BRUG; and Discocyclina sp. etc. Oligocene – One outcrop of this age outcrops in a narrow zone near the village of Hamurkesen, northeast of Karakose. There are alternating beds of dark grey sandstone and conglomerates. Oligocene outcrops are also situated north of Mus, consisting of grey marl, sandstone, and impure limestone, with these fossils: Nummulites intermedius d’ARCH; Nummulites fichteli MICHELOTTI; Operculina alpine H. Douv; Lepidocyclina dilatata (MICH); Globigerina bulloides d’ORB; and Operculina sp. Miocene – This information is composed in part of grey, sandy limestones, overlying Permian limestone. In places the Permian is overlain by a greenish marl and creamy limestone. South of Horosan there is an assemblage of multicolored marl, siltstone and fine-grained sandstone. The facies near Doğubayazit consists of alternations of limestone, overlying Upper Cretaceous. There are both fresh water fossils and marine fossils. Oysters and Echinoids have been found near Korzut: Lepidocyclina dilate MICHELOTTI; Nephrolepidina margimata MICHELOTTI; Amphilepidina sp.; Operculina complanata; Isastrea turbinate DUNCAN; Astrocoenia; Ostrea squarrosa; Echinolampas acuminatus; Chlamys; Sponge spicules; Bryozoa; Crinoids; Brachiopods; Gastropods; Ostracods; and Algae. Pliocene – Typical exposures can be seen at Hinia, Bulanik, west of Igdir, and near the southern escarpment of the Carpanak peninsula. These rocks consist of thick-bedded conglomerates with flat pebbles in yellowish sandstone. The pebbles weather easily, possibly indicating crushing with great overburden when the material was yet soft. There are also greenish-brown marls in alternations with conglomerates.
QUARTERNARY Alluvium – Large areas of alluvium occur in the valleys and axial depressions. Terraces – Terraces are common along the rivers, where alluvium has been deposited during times of high water. Terraces occur along the Aras River. Around the shores of Lake Van are remnants of terraces at 10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 meters above the lake, indicating stages in the recession of flood waters, during the drying up process. Talus Cones – On the flanks of the Bitlis massif occur talus cones, which coalesce into aprons. Important occurrences are south of Doğubayazit and along the northern flanks of Ararat. Karst Topography – Karst features are found especially in Permian, Eocene and Miocene limestones. Glaciation – The mountain glaciers are dwindling remnants of Quarternary glaciation, and the topographical effects are to be seen in U-shaped valleys, moraines, cirques, some occupied by glacial lakes. The largest glacier or snowcap in Turkey covers the top of Mount Ararat, occupying some seventeen square miles in extent according to the recent
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measurements of glaciologist Nicholas van Arkel. This ice cap divides into eleven finger glaciers following the canyons down the mountainside. Travertine – There are many warm springs emitting carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The largest deposit of travertine deposited from these hot springs is at Edrimet, one north of Hinis Creek, issuing from Mermer Mountains. Another notable deposit of travertine occurs west of Diyadin. This overlies a large outcrop of basalt, which evidently furnished the heat for the hot water. Lakes – There are more than 29 lakes in the general area of Ararat, the largest being Lake Van, actually the largest in Turkey. Some are dammed by lava flows, some by differential erosion, some by ponding along stream courses, some in craters, two cirques, one by artificial damming, two occupying structural depressions, such as synclines.
PLUTONIC AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS Intrusive rocks from plutons are indeed scarce in the Ararat area. One occurs southwest of Kıpal, one 40 km south of Karayazi and one between Diyadine and Tashcay. In the first place occurs leucocratic, holocrystalline granite. In the other locations occur both granite and diorite which have metamorphosed marble. Ultrabasic Rocks – Ophiolites of Upper Cretaceous age are related to magmatic activity. They occur more frequently along intensely folded zones of intrusion. The periodotites are serpentinized. Submarine basaltic intrusions occur, such as diabase and spilite. Large laccoliths occur with various compositions. Red and green pillow lavas occur in a greenstone mass south of Catak. These submarine pillow lavas were ejected under water, forming the conchoidal fractures peculiar to that type of rock. The age of inundantion is uncertain but might be related to the Flood. Volcanic Rocks – Basalt, andesite and pyroclastics have extensive outcrops north of Lake Van and around the Ararat region. Volcanic activity apparently took place at repeated intervals during the Cenozoic Era and right up to almost historic times. Discrimination between basalt and andesite is often difficult in the field, for one borders on the other. For that reason differentiation is also difficult even in thin sections. Plateau basalts form extensive sheets in many places. Volcanic cones and cinder cones are aligned along fissures treading in four points of the compass, north-south, east-west, southwest-northeast, and northwest-southeast. The Ahora Gulch fracture through the Greater Ararat lines up in a northeast-southwest direction, while the axis of the AraratTendürek-Süphan-Nemrut lineament has the same trend. When it is realized that the Ahora Gulch and its SE counterpart that cuts through the mountain is aligned along this lineament, this helps to explain the existence of the Ahora Gorge. The mountain grew from extrusions up through this old fracture, and the explosive phase naturally followed the same fracture system. There are fractures in other directions through which flowed later lavas on the side of the mountain; and many of these fractures are filled with red dikes, indicating oxidation of black iron to red. In many places the volcanics are in the form of tuffs and ignimbrites with basalt interbedding. The tuff may be black, grey, sandy, pumaceous, or even white, as on the east slope of Mount Ararat. Basaltic sheets cover extensive areas, and are scoriaceous, that is vesicular, indicating rapid ascension from deeper levels where pressure was greater and the gases were formed when the pressure was released on coming to the surface. Much of the basalt weathers spheroidally, suggesting underwater extrusion. Tendürek volcano has two cones, each with a crater. The eastern cone is known as Hell Mountain; the western one is Gulizar Tepesi. The main body is andesitic, grey in color, while the basalt that flowed through the radial fractures in the sides of the cone is black, with a basaltic capping. Around its base are cinder cones, spatter cones, scoria mounds, and through the fissures pyromagma was ejected. The upper part of the cone was destroyed by explosion, with the expulsion of much ash. The main body of the eastern cone is andesitic, grey in color, while the basalt that flowed through the radial fractures in the sides of the cone is black. Around its base are cinder cones, spatter cones, scoria mounds, and through the fissures pyromagma was ejected. The upper part of the cone was destroyed by explosion, with the expulsion of much ash. During historic times the volcano erupted pumice. An oval lake occupies the crater 150 meters by 75 meters. The hot springs around Tendürek are related to the volcanism. One lava flow is scarcely distinguishable from another. The type is common, that is, lava with blocky surfaces. Greater Ararat is a compound volcano, comprising two strato-volcanoes. Greater Ararat ejected much more lava than Little Ararat. Lava was ejected from the central cone as well as two notable cones on the flanks at 3,300 and 3,800 meters elevation. The mountain has no visible typical crater with ice top, although there is a crater lake on the northwest side of Kıp Göl. The flank volcanoes are known as parasitic and are aligned along radial fissures in the sides of the mountain. Little Ararat is lined up southeast of Greater Ararat and has a separate central magma pipe. Around this pipe, lavas, breccias, and tuffs accumulated to form a strato-volcano. The main crater of Little Ararat ejected hypersthene-rich andesitic lava, while the flank eruptions were of basalt with olivine and andesine. The last eruptions were very recent. Suphan is a strato-volcano built up mainly of andesite and obsidian, the obsidian indicating quick cooling as under water. The main cone is mostly grey hornblende-rich coarse-textured andesite. The concavity of the caldera has been
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preserved. Tongues of viscous andesitic lava with convex surfaces crept down the slopes, forming heaps of volcanic breccia. The basaltic phase came to an end with an ignimbritic eruption. Nemrut is a young shield volcano. Its crater is filled with lakes. Olivene basalts and andesitic lava ejected from the same vent are interbedded with tuffs. Twenty separate flows have been counted. Welded tuffs were deposited in and filled the old Bitlis valley, suggesting that Nemrut grew with strong explosive activity, same as the Ahora Gulch on Ararat. There was Pelean activity and katmaian nuees ardentes. The main body is composed of grey-hornblende andesite but covered with pumice. Pelean ash showers falling into floodwaters became agglutinated. Explosions, which form calderas, are a sign of old age. Basaltic pyroclastics are less common than andesitic types and preceded the flows. The tuff and breccia exposed along the Doğubayazit road overlie andesites and underlie recent basalts of Mount Ararat. Therefore the explosive type of volcanic eruption on Mount Ararat was neither the earliest nor the latest events in volcanic activity. TECTONIC HISTORY Almost continual magmatic and volcanic activity with regional and dynamic metamorphism has resulted in a complex structural framework. The Bitlis mountain system is the backbone of that part of East Anatolia to the west of Lake Van. Its eastern slope was deflected to the northeast, possibly by pressure from the Arabian shield. There is believed to be a northwesterly directed overthrust. The Ozalp mountain system covers a limited area. The Sarigold range is larger and is covered by volcanics. An overthrust near the Tirman mountains is directed southward. The Diyadin mountain range has conspicuous depressions. Its range is covered with fossiliferous Permian strata. It is possible that folding took place during older orogenic phases. These ranges are of anticlinal type and the valleys represent synclines. The throughs were perhaps folded during Alpine orogeny, in Tertiary time. Folds – Secondary undulations on the limbs of major folds are common; in places these folds are overturned. Isoclinal folds are due to tight folding. These are drag folds along fault planes. North of Catak along the road are intricate crenulations, accompanied by faults and shears. Difference in competence between limestone and shale produced disharmonic folding. Intense volcanic activity during the Upper Cretaceous led to confused structures. Crenulate folding is quite common in the ophiolite and limestone areas. Foliation had developed in soft rocks that they often resemble schists. Overthrusts – There appear too many large overthrusts and imbricated structures in the area, many occurring along old dislocations in the Cretaceous ophiolite zones, North of Sirvan, Upper Cretaceous formations are thrust over LowerMiddle Miocene beds. Near Gercus appears a window eroded through the Upper Cretaceous in which middle and lower Miocene conglomerates are revealed. At Binik Upper Cretaceous Paleocene is thrust over Miocene marl so that the age of the thrust is post-Miocene. South of Buyuktuzla Miocene passes under Upper Cretaceous indicating the evidence of a thrust although the evidence seems to be more fossil inversion. The direction of thrusting is southward. North of Narh, crystalline schists are thrust over volcanic Upper Cretaceous. Most of these overthrusts are directed southward, but south of Narh Upper Cretaceous is thrust over Miocene in a northward direction. At Gelye Creek upper Cretaceous formations have been dragged over Permian in an easterly direction. At Mount Capala Permian is thrust over Eocene, while Istindar Permian is thrust over Upper Cretaceous. Also along Arpit Creek west of Gevas, Permian limestone is thrust over the Cretaceous formations. The displacement is more than 10 kms. North and West of Karacahasan village, south of Karayazi the Upper Cretaceous is thrust over Miocene sandstone. Near Doğubayazit there is an imbricate structure, extending from the frontier station past Kalus knoll to the Persian frontier, the thrust being directed to the northeast. At Kalus the Fusulina limestone is thrust over the Eocene limestone. West of Ihea Upper Cretaceous is thrust over Eocene marl in the north and Eocene limestone in the south. Faults – Most of the faults in the area are younger than Lower Middle Miocene and younger than the overthrusts. One fault is of recent age, post-dating the basaltic flows. There are numerous shears and joints. Near Doğubayazit lithologic discontinuities suggest the existence of east-west trending faults. One appears at Milladric and appears to be a strike-slip fault extending to the north of the district. These longitudinal faults have the same trend as that of the major
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Hasankale fault. The marine beds of Oligocene age at Tuzluca are bounded by two faults. Miocene limestone at Kahnispi, northwest of Patnos, exhibits a high-angle normal fault in the west. Near the high pastures of Urik the Bitlis range is blockfaulted.
PALEOGRAPHY The presence of greywackes in the Ararat range suggests the former existence of a eugeosyncline, in which the rapid subsidence and sedimentation prevailed and shale and marine limestone were deposited. Permian sandstone, shale and marine limestone were deposited. The age of the intrusive granites and diorites is uncertain. The red beds are primary in origin and were formed in a warm and humid climate, quite different from that at present. White and black sandstones, greywackes, chloritic, micaceous, and silty shales were deposited. Greenstones8 are the manifestations of initial magmatism and are characteristic of the eugeosyncline. They existed along fault planes. After the greenstones, basic submarine extrusions and andesites formed pillow lavas. During later times lagoonal and terrestraial environments prevailed due to the dry climate. Periodic andesitic and basaltic lavas were ejected along faults related to earlier orogeny. During the Miocene the most important volcanic lineanment was formed, that is, the Ararat-Süphan-Nemrut axis. Basaltic flows reached the waters, forming pillow lavas. MINERAL DEPOSITS The metalliferous and fuel deposits are few and far between in Eastern Anatolia; but non-metalliferous deposits are most important. Iron – Hematite and specular iron ore occur at Kavakalti, south of Mukus. They occur in crystalline schists in limestone intercalations. Chromite – Some chromite fragments have been found in Pleistocene pebbles at Sehbag, near Van. Copper – Malachite has been found in Upper Cretaceous sediments and andesites northeast of Sirvan between Akcazer road and Hizne Creek. There are many old workings. The pyrite and auriferous chalcopyrite are related to submarine extrusions, as noted in the inner core of Mount Ararat at the head of Ahora Gulch. Magnesite – Magnesite occurs in serpentine in the form of veinlets and small lenses. Sulphur – Small amounts of sulphur have been precipitated in springs emitting hydrogen sulphide. Specks of orpiment have also been found. Oil – The most important oil seepage in Turkey occurs through a dislocation zone in the Upper Cretaceous along the Neft Stream near Korzut Village. The seepage is through a breccia zone in a fault plane striking S45 degrees East. It is believed that the oil originates in the underlying Permian limestones. The oil can be used directly in engines without any processing. From a well near the oil occurrence carbon dioxide gas is emitted, and oil patches can be seen in the water. However, no really good oil structures have been noted in this district. Lignite – At Palatks Creek, near Eleskirt, lignite occurs under marls and tuffs. It is extracted by driving tunnels. The formations south of Horasan contain thin lignites, At Sahmanis coarse and fine detrital contain thin lignite seams varying in thickness from a few centimeters to 1.10 meters. Salt – Salt has been mined at Tuzluca since ancient times. The salt occurs in Oligocene marls. There is little trouble from water in the mine, and drifts have been driven along the seams of salt, which are imbedded with shaly seams. At
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Igneous, not metamorphic facies.
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Akuzla and Kirmizituzla salt occurs in Miocene beds along the axis of a basin. Near there is a big outcrop of gypsum, indicating a drying up of arms of the sea. It is possible to get salt from five locations southwest of Sirvan. Soda – Lake Van is rich in soda, and investigations are under way as to the economic possibility of its extraction. Gypsum – There are gypsum beds at Canik and at Ruscan village, north of Aktuzla and Kirmizituzla, only the first being worked. Cement – A study is being mad of the possibility of making cement from Tertiary rocks. In conclusion, the following experience is worth of note. A man brought a fossil breadfruit, or closely allied to it, for our inspection. This fruit suggests a warmer climate in the past. There is ample evidence from both the Arctic and Antarctic that the climate was warmer at one time. Abich reported that in the earthquake of 1840 an avalanche of mud and water came down Ahora Gulch burying not only Ahora and St. James monastery, but covering the valley glacier to such a depth that it insulated and preserved the ice from melting to any great extent until the present. The writer noted the same situation on the Parrot glacier on the northwest side of the mountain, where the lower end of the glacier is covered deep with talus and volcanic debris. In summer where the cover is thin and toward the terminal moraine the ice melts and lets the cover rock drop into the canyon. This is also true of the Ahora glacier. In the bottom end of the Parrot glacier the melting water carries the smaller fragments downstream, but boulders weighing tons are still perched up on ice necks many feet above the glacial floor. Eventually this neck will melt and the rock will roll down hill. The largest stream flowing down the mountain of Ararat comes down the Ahora Gulch and joins the Aras River. One wonders why there are not more streams, until it is realized that the surface of Ararat is very rough and porous and the youthful morphology of the mountain explains why fine sediment has not yet filled the interstices. For that reason the water from the melting snow sinks deep into the rock cover and may come to the surface down in the valley as springs or artesian wells. Jacob’s Well, in Ahora Gulch, where ARF camp was made, is fed by seepage down the mountainside in an aquifer of tuff sandwiched between lava flows. Other exposures also show beds of tuff covered with lava flows, indicating that the volcanic explosion was not the final tectonic event on Ararat. On the north side of Ahora Gulch the strata dip about 10 degrees to the northwest, while across the canyon the black rocks dip about the same amount to the southeast, perhaps indicating that at the time of explosive eruption subterranean forces domed up the mountain as the explosion took place, forming an anticline of the remaining beds. Up through this fracture evidently flowed the later lava flows that built up the mountain to its full height, for the layers at the top dip parallel to those on the southeast side of the Ahora Gulch. Furthermore there is evidence that the black volcanics on the southeast side of Ahora Gulch are later than the original core of the mountain, for the bottom layers on the left going up the canyon are a volcanic breccia, indicating that they were formed from broken up previous volcanic flows, while the original core seems undisturbed except for the tilting. The sunken ring or moat around the mountain calls for an explanation. Ararat apparently followed the same pattern as other volcanoes. As it grew it domed the surrounding rock strata to make room for the rising magma. After the volcano reached its ultimate height and maturity, it gradually reached the old age phase, and the lava began to drop back down the lava conduits into the bowels of the earth forming what is known as a caldera. As the molten magma drained back into the lower crust, it left a void or hollow, and the weight of the cover rocks caused the crust to collapse and fill the voids, thus leaving a sunken ring around the mountain, now occupied by poorly drained swampland. Instead of Ararat forming a drainage pattern radiating from the mountain, the watershed drainage flows to the Aras and Tigris and Euphrates apparently as if it did not know that Ararat existed, thus suggesting a more recent birthday for Ararat. The original drainage system may have been established from the days of Creation. Everything about Ararat suggests youth. It has been brought out before that the bursting forth of Ararat domed the surrounding rocks such as in Ahora Gulch and the limestones surrounding Ararat, but our investigations on the shoulders of Ararat near the Ahora Gulch showed a strange tectonic phenomenon—underthrusting—that is the upwelling magma pushed the deeper rocks aside as it made room for the rising magma, while the surface rock cover was more stationary. This was deduced from “S” bends or folds in the rock exposures. Cataclysmic Flood Geology – Mount Ararat is easily associated with the Ark of Noah and the Flood in the thoughts of many people. Often the question is asked: what evidences, if any, are found around the mountain to substantiate the flood concept? The answer would be that, if the flood was world-wide as we believe ample evidence indicates, then we should find such evidences not only around Mount Ararat but most anywhere. However, since this paper is an outline in brief of some of the main points of the geology of the Ararat area, I will attempt to point out a few evidences of the flood, which were identified in the summer of 1966.
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Possible "Pillow Lava" on Mount Ararat at about 14,000 feet. Notice the sun gleaming off the smooth surfaces and the density of the lava 1984 Courtesy of Doris Bowers One such evidence has been described concerning the geysers and hot springs west of Diyadin. (See section on Structure.) In time past, these geysers were apparently much more active, as volcanic activity was greater in times past. Some lava was perhaps poured out under water while the flood was at its height, for stresses were built up in the crust of the earth, as it was out of isostatic balance due to the shifting of sediments from one place to another. The Hawaiian Islands were built up from the bottom of the ocean, some 11,000 feet deep, by volcanic extrusion. When lava is extruded under water it is cooled quickly and solidifies so rapidly that crystals often have no time to form, like obsidian; or when very small crystals are formed, much of the basalt and andesite composing upper Ararat was of this type. The lava is often found in rounded blocks called pillow lava because they are of pillow-like appearance having conchoidal fractures. Much of the basalt on Ararat had semicircular fractures, typical of underwater extrusion. When did the waters reach the 11,000-foot level on Mount Ararat? There is the puzzle of the upturned limestone beds surrounding Mount Ararat, on the Turkish, Russian and Persian sides. Near the city of Doğubayazit these limestone formations, some 1,000 feet in thickness, are tilted from as much as 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal to almost vertical. The true cause is apparent, although others have not apparently sensed it. The strata dip away from Mount Ararat on every side just as the surface dirt crust does when a seedling bursts up through. Evidently Mount Ararat burst up through the limestone beds to form a near 20,000-foot peak or series of them; and, thus provided shelter for the Ark from the tempestuous storm as the waters began to recede. The Genesis account says that strong winds blew to dry up the floodwaters. If the standard geologic column is right, then these limestone formations were laid down some 100,000,000 years before Mount Ararat came into existence, at a time when the greatest land inundation from the sea took place. For that reason, I wonder if perhaps the Cretaceous period and the Flood may not be synonymous? And, carrying the comparison a bit further, would that not place Creation week way back in the Precambrian? We, of course, have presented our reasons for not accepting the validity of orthodox time scales, such as 100,000,000 years in earlier issues of Creation Research Society publications. According to Genesis geology, we could scarcely visualize a universal deluge between Creation and the Flood, for the Euphrates valley, we believe, was the cradle of civilization. Limestone is precipitated under water; therefore, such sedimentary rock must have been laid down during the inundation of the earth by the flood waters—the early part perhaps—since Mount Ararat was apparently elevated to its full height during the latter period of the flood, to provide the above-mentioned haven for the ark. There are small peaks on the top of Greater Ararat, which might well have provided that haven.
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This may not sound so much like fanciful speculation when one reads some recent findings of the Lament Geological Observatory at Columbia University. The New York Times News Service for Jan. 3, 1967, reported: The findings also concern a layer of sediment 1,000 feet thick beneath the floor of the Atlantic. It apparently has lain undisturbed for 70 million years. The layer across the Atlantic floor appears to be a relic of a cataclysmic occurrence at the end of the Cretaceous period, 70 million years. During the Cretaceous, oceans covered much of the present-day continents. Toward the end of the period the land rose out of the sea (or the seas subsided). Water cascading off the land carried sediment that was laid down in the deep basins. This may account for the deep buried layer. If we but substitute the word "Flood" for "Cretaceous" in the above statement, the Lamont Geological Observatory has given a very graphic, and presumably accurate, picture of just what happened at the close of the flood period. We can detect fracture patterns running across the ocean bottoms, which may have been deepened to make room for the floodwaters "cascading" off the continents. Greater deepening of the ocean basins was probably compensated for by a corresponding rise in the height of the continental blocks. Findings of ocean floor research are described in the December 2, 1966 issue of Science. As the waters further subsided, isolated epeiric-seas were formed by arms of land cutting off small bodies of water from the ocean. As the winds of hurricane force dried up these in land seas, salt was precipitated. I examined one such salt mine a few miles northwest of Mount Ararat. The salt was laid down in layers exactly as the limestone and sandstone and shale were, interbedded with thin layers of silt and dust. After the salt was precipitated, the wind evidently blew dust over the salt layer, then a stronger gale may have caused a tidal wave to bring in a fresh flooding of the basin. Then, as the winds died down, evaporating water again precipitated a new layer of salt. I counted as many as fifteen to twenty such layers in one place. Such surges of water can be attested to by two mountaineers in the expedition [Bill Dougall and Alva Appel]. They were camping somewhat below the bottom end at the glacier that flows down the bottom of the Ahora Gulch. A terrific roar from above rudely awakened them when the glacier above the Gulch broke loose, and some 100,000 tons of ice and rock came cascading down almost to where the men were camping. Needless to say they hastily moved their camp to safer ground. The top of Mount Ararat, down to about the 14,000 feet level, is permanently ice-capped. This means the cap is a static entity: as the snow continues to fall, the ice-cap builds up. As a consequence of this buildup, ice "flows" outward as a Rheid, that is, a material that under continued pressure flows like a viscous fluid. As the Ararat ice cap flows outward in all directions it divides into about a dozen fingers or glaciers flowing down various canyons. As is typical of all glaciers, the Ararat glaciers are eroding agents, carrying tremendous quantities of rock debris from higher to lower levels. This means that each year the total height of Ararat is a little bit lower than the previous year. If we knew the annual rate of erosion, we might be in a position to estimate the altitude of Ararat at the time of the Flood. Scientists from the United States Geological Survey have found that glaciers in Alaska have no fixed rate of advance: that sudden surges cause what they call "catastrophic advances," at speeds from 10 to 100 times the normal rate. The normal now is usually stated as from one to two feet per day. "The cause of these surges is not completely understood," said Dr. Mark F. Meier, research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey office, Tacoma, Washington. Summary Eastern Turkey consists of a relatively barren, undeveloped area quite without tree cover. Tectonically, it is very active, and unstable structurally. The region has been folded, faulted, and intruded with basic types of volcanic rock such as andesite and basalt. Previously the cover racks had been Paleozoic and Mesozoic limestone, but these have been eroded, folded and faulted by frequent orogenic activity, forming volcanic mountains, among which are the Tendurek range, and also the Alagoz-Ararat system. These mountains are found along fault lines, which provided channels through which molten magmas hewed from deep zones in the earth's crust, or upper mantle, where the temperature is well above that of the melting point at basalt, about 1,200 degrees Centigrade at one atmosphere pressure. (At depth, the hydrostatic pressure greatly raises the melting point of rock.) On the north and east of Ararat lies the Aras River fault block, at about 2,500 feet to 3,000 feet elevation as compared with the Doğubayazit (southwest) side of Ararat at about 5,000 feet. The rim of Ararat around the mountain forms a depression ring or "moat" of marshy land, not well drained. Perhaps a “collapse cauldron” caused this. That is, after a volcano attains its greatest height of activity, the magma settles back into the "bowels of the earth." Leaving an empty void, which recedes to lower levels, like the terrain around Long Beach California, after Signal Hill was drained of oil. The original core of Ararat was andesitic and basalt porphyry. During and since the flood period, the total height was raised thousands of feet by successive cycles of volcanic extrusion. The Mount Ararat region contains abundant evidences of cataclysmic geologic activity, as well as signs of the complete inundation of Mount Ararat and the whole area by floodwaters.
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Photo showing sedimentary layers and alleged fossils on Mount Ararat. Photo taken from the west rim of the Ahora Gorge at the top near the edge of the Cehennem Dere looking almost directly south. If you were to raise the camera you would be looking right at the peak. You may see the top of the Ahora Gorge from Ark Rock but only the portion above the Cehennem Dere and up to the east peak (therefore – not much). You cannot see the Cehennem Dere from Ark Rock – there is a “ridge” of glacier between the two above the north canyon.
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Addendum by Rex Geissler The issue of fossils on Mount Ararat has been a hotly debated topic. Note that the fossils listed by Dr. Abich in the preceding article and those found by the recent researchers including myself were not found on the heights of Mount Ararat but in the nearby Doğubeyazit and Igdir areas across the valley floor of Ararat. In fact, most of the explorers in this book have found many fossils near Doğubeyazit. However, in regard to fossils on Ararat, no fossil evidence has ever been verified scientifically although there are a few people who claim to have found them. Ahmet Arslan, who has climbed Agri Dagh about sixty times, told Geissler that he had personally found hundreds of fossils on Mount Ararat, a number of which are currently in his Virginia home, but this has not been verified. Dick Bright reported that Keban Holding Company's Nurettin Ergucu (Chairman of the Board), Cavit Kiliccote (President), and Muammer Coskun (member of Board of Directors), who personally knew the Turkish Ministers of the Interior and Defense, told him of fossil evidence such as sea horses, seashells, and other fossils of ocean origin which have been found as high as 14,000 feet on Ararat.9 In 1969, when he was 73 years old and near the summit of Ararat, John Libi claimed that he found a layer of water-borne fossils. Elfred Lee put together a 360-degree view of the 1969 SEARCH team photo map of the Parrot Glacier and Navarra ice cap areas. Lee included a 1960s photo taken by ARF and SEARCH climber Harry “Bud” Crawford of alleged fish and seashell fossils found near Ark Rock or possibly the western rim of the Ahora Gorge. Bud Crawford and the other members of the 1967 ARF team could see the fish and seashell fossils with the naked eye just a few feet away but could not get across the crevasse to take close up photos because they did not have rope with them at the time. We were searching along the northern edge of the Ahora Gorge and there is absolutely no passageway between the Ahora Gorge and the Parrot Glacier. That’s when I found the fossil layer and the actual fusion line between the old and new mountains. The fossil layer was at 14,800 feet. It was a sedimentary layer between 18 and 20 inches thick and looked like seashell fossils. It was in a spot that I couldn’t get over to without rope. Because of all things [going on] I didn’t have a rope that day. And I, climbing with an inexperienced boy and if I was left dangling, I’m sure he would have left me to dangle for awhile. Although the photo above is not close enough to make a positive identification and more research is absolutely required, it could be a sedimentation layer and possibly contain some fossils. Ray Anderson stated the following to Geissler, “On my first trip to the mountain with Dr.Hewitt, I remember him pointing out a couple of plant fossils just below the snow and ice on the east side of the Ahora Gorge. Botany studies on the mountain was a passion with him and he would stop constantly looking for any thing that resembled plant life. He mentioned that on some of his previous trips on the mountain he had seen other plant fossils as well as a fish fossil up near the edge of the glacier.” Petroleum expert Scott Van Dyke told Geissler the following: “We only saw shale during our climb in 1983. It was on the northeastern side of the mountain, above 10,000 feet. We did not see any other sedimentary layers.” A statement below backed up Lee's recollection along with the same photo below (and another photo showing a rock sea-salt crystal supposedly from the 14,000-foot level on Mount Ararat was also shown in the 1993 movie The Incredible Discovery of Noah’s Ark) in Nathan Meyer's book, Noah’s Ark Pitched and Parked. The book Noah’s Ark-Opposing Viewpoints stated, “There are also cube-shaped salt clusters, as big as grapefruit, which Harry “Bud” Crawford found on Mount Ararat 7,000 feet high and several hundred feet in the mountain and there was a sedimentary layer of limestone at 14,200 near Ark Rock.” However, no evidence of this has ever been validated. And one should remember that the SEARCH President (Ralph Crawford who was the father of climber Bud Crawford) tended to spin the story to make it sound good which gave rise to so much interest in SEARCH. Also, many of the SEARCH Foundation expeditions discussed in the quote were really the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) expeditions in 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, and 1968, before the SEARCH spin-off took much information from ARF and started their own group.
9
Richard C. Bright, The Ark, A Reality? (Guilderland, New York: Ranger, 1988), p.338.
Clifford L. Burdick – Geologist
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In order to understand the creationist background of geologist Clifford Burdick, the following is part of an interview done by Gerald B. Heyes in the July 1987 edition of Science for the Layman. One of the first modern-day Flood geologists, Clifford Burdick’s findings have at times caused controversy and amazement. In 1945 he published one of the first scientific critiques of radiometric dating, and among his many important discoveries he found ‘young’ fossil pollen in supposedly ‘old’ rock in the Grand Canyon. Burdick has authored more than 50 published papers. Heyes: Dr. Burdick, how did you become a creationist? Burdick: As a science teacher I taught the evolutionary point of view—as I had been instructed. Eventually, I met up with the well-known biblical geologist of early this century, George McCready Price. Our friendship lasted until he died in 1962. He gave me lots of material to read and helped me see the creationist position and that evolutionists were not reasoning logically. George was really the pioneer creationist who startled the world after the famous Scopes Trial of 1925. You see, most people were convinced that the evolutionists had proved their case in that trial, but George got many of them on the creationist side. It took two or three years to get evolutionary thinking out of my system. I give him the credit. Heyes: What was the state of the creationist movement at that time? Burdick: Rather fragmentary. They were just beginning, mainly through Price’s work, to show the fallacies of the evolutionists. In my opinion Price was a little weak on some aspects of geology, such as the Ice Age, and a good segment of the budding creationist movement still straddled the fence. Some believed in a short biblical age; others believe the Gap Theory—that the world was destroyed and remade before the time for Adam and Eve. Heyes: How did support for creation grow through all this? Burdick: After the Scopes Trial, in Tennessee, everybody seemed to feel evolution was proved. It took someone like Price to pop the balloon. He got geologists like Byron Nelson and myself interested, as well as biologists such as Frank Marsh and Harold Clark. Each of us in turn became a stronger advocate of the creation position. There were others too, like Ben Allen, who actively backed early projects such as the search for Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat. Heyes: What was your involvement in the search for Noah’s Ark? Burdick: Well, first off you have to realize the impact of a bona fide sighting of such an Ark fitting the biblical description if it were found at that location. While it might not prove the biblical Flood account, it would satisfy one of the main predictions of a literal global flood model. Ararat is so high—17,000 feet [5165 metres]—that only a catastrophic worldwide flood would allow a boat to rest there. I got involved in the search after speaking with Benjamin Allen. Eryl Cummings and others had reported that a Russian military group had sighted the Ark, and others broadcast this over the radio. Some of this group had come to the United States because of the Bolshevik Revolution. I remember meeting one of them, an accomplished archaeologist [probably Colonel Alexander Koor]. We had a difficult time raising funds for the project. We tried to reach Ararat in 1946, but didn’t get there. But we went 20 years later when a man by the name of Ralph E. Crawford raised the money. I have made several expeditions since, and even filed a geological report of the area with the U.S. and Turkish Governments. Heyes: What is the status of the search for Noah’s Ark so far? Burdick: Many other scientists and myself were involved in a documentary movie called In Search of Noah’s Ark. Nobody has yet fully documented finding the Ark, though I was involved in analyzing salt crystals and some petrified wood from the area. The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson did a write-up in February, 1979, about my work with the crystals, and some of this news got on television. A Frenchman [Ferdinand Navarra] found hard wood embedded in ice and brought it to New York, but I really can’t say whether it is like the wood of that area. Some think it may be related to a railroad the Russians built in the early 1900s. The project is now being run mostly by geologist John Morris of the Institute for Creation Research—the son of ICR president, Dr. Henry Morris. I introduced John to the area in 1971 while lecturing on a Middle East tour with the BibleScience Association. We spend several days together, and I passed on lots of data about Mount Ararat to him…Nothing conclusive can be said, bu the area is covered by a huge glacier, and exceptionally warm summers are needed to melt the ice-cap. These summers cycle about every 15 years. Heyes: You have been credited with publishing one of the first convincing scientific critiques of radiometric dating [1945]. Where did you get the data to write this article? Burdick: The data were all there in the literature of the field, but were not really what the layman would see. Of course, I had experience as a mining geologist. One time I discovered one of the largest copper sites in the North American continent, and did they ever mine it! So I was able to gather data from my reading and research, which evolutionary geologists either passed over or called “anomalous.” Of course, that’s a fraction of the information you can gather today. What is interesting about this radiometric dating is that Willard Libby, the Nobel Prize winner who invented the carbon-14 method, assumed an equilibrium condition between the production of carbon-14 and its disintegration. It was a critical assumption. Well, we found that the system has not yet reached a steady state, which means the earth cannot be more than thousands of years old, because it only takes about 30,000 years to reach equilibrium based on the half-life of carbon-14. Heyes: Could you tell us about your work in the Grand Canyon and with fossils?
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Burdick: Over the years I made many trips to the Grand Canyon, lecturing and leading tour groups. I found many evidences for creation, which contradicted the geologic column. The kind of sorting, sedimentation and cyclic depositions found in the canyon walls speak of receding floodwaters on a massive scale. Another point concerning the canyon is that some rare fossils even of jellyfish and vertebrates have been reported in Precambrian formations. These are way out of order if you accept evolutionary chronology…In 1974 I published a creationist guidebook of the canyon called Canyon of Canyons, which is not full of the standard evolutionary explanations. The Grand Canyon was once “Exhibit A” for evolutionists, but it is now “Exhibit A” for creationists. I found “young” fossil spores and pollen in “old” rocks…We found no graded evolutionary series of simple to complex plant pollen and spore types. In fact, we found the same types from top to bottom…I developed a new method so that spores and pollen were more readily separated and more easily seen and photographed under the microscope. Some tried to duplicate my work, and could not, because they used the old methods of separation, and told me that my work which they originally liked so well suddenly was now sloppy. Heyes: What changes have you seen take place in creationism since the early days? Burdick: We have a lot more outstanding scientists and better data now. More information is coming from geology, paleontology and the like. Gentry’s work with radiohaloes from short-lived isotopes, and Barnes’ work with the earth’s magnetic field decay… Biologists such as William Tinkle, Walter Lammerts and Frank Marsh have demonstrated experimental limits to genetic variability of the different kinds of plants and animals. I’ve been in this work over 40 years and have made findings in field geology, which have punctured many of the main theses of the geologic age column. Most notable was the information from my work at Antelope Springs in northern Utah. I went up there in August 1968 with William Mesiter. A couple of months before, he had found a human sandal print with several trilobites right inside the human print in shale. I found a couple of child’s footprints at the same location. Other geologists, including Dr. Melvin Cook of the University of Utah, corroborated the finds.
Aaron Jacob (A.J.) Smith (1887-1960) was the President of Central Florida Bible Institute and Dean of Bible School and College (now John Wesley College) and the first American to lead an organized expedition (Oriental Archeology Expedition) in search of Noah’s Ark. The team included Walter Wood, Wendell Wayne Ogg, E. J. Newton, Edwin B. Greenwald, Dr. Necati Dolunay, and two Turkish Army Captains. Smith published a booklet about the expedition entitled On the Mountains of Ararat in Quest for Noah’s Ark, excerpts of which are published here. One will note in the Introduction how there was dissension about how much effort to put into searching for alleged eyewitness Reshit vs. exploring the mountain itself. The Fundamental Wesleyan Society, to a large extent, is a continuation of Dean Smith’s ministry and emphasis. Chapter 8
1949 A.J. Smith, Dean Introduction: I [A.J. Smith] wish to register my protest here concerning some erroneous reports made by an unqualified, unscrupulous person concerning the expedition. A great work remains to be done. To telescope into twelve or fifteen days a work that ordinarily would consume from four to six weeks is unreasonable. That such a monumental project should be accomplished in so brief a time, is an insult to human intelligence. The fact that we did not have sufficient time was merely one of the reasons why we did not undertake further explorations, there was a change in the weather for the worse also; however, the principal cause was rebellion on the part of some of the members of the expeditionary group against pooling their money to help finance Mr. Resit, who claimed to have seen the Ark in the fall of ’48 [1948], to have him come and point out to us the object of our quest. Another barrier was the fact that members of the expedition did not cooperate fully with me in the execution of the work. The insatiable craving on the part of some for publicity, when the matter of making releases to the press was the prerogative of the head of the expedition. Such contemptuous conduct future expeditions must guard against and render their repetition impossible. I wish to state, too, that I received by far superior treatment and consideration from the Turks that from members of my own group. Great changes for good have taken place in Turkey since the days of reformation and revolution in 1922. First, there has been the emancipation of womanhood. The barrier that formerly existed that kept women from acquiring an education or to hold jobs in stores, offices, schools, had been removed. One now sees women in practically all places of business, and they are efficient and dependable. The Turkish people have a great love for home and family life. There is a deep affection that exists between parents and children. Evil speaking and backbiting is considered base and one who is guilty of it a pest of society. There is, however, considerable quarreling going on, but it does not often terminate in blows because before it comes to that, an intercessor has stopped in and reconciled the two, or at least changed the situation. It was a modern miracle that we got the permit to explore Mount Ararat. I wish to register my protest here concerning some erroneous reports made by an unqualified, unscrupulous person concerning the expedition. Anyone who thinks we had a vacation had better change his mind. The mountains are rugged, rocky, and steep; the gorges and crevices, deep and perilous. We ran out of food and water. We spent almost eight weeks in Turkey before we got our permit to travel in the restricted area east of the Euphrates River. To telescope into twelve or fifteen days a work on Ararat that ordinarily would consume from four to six weeks is unreasonable. That such a monumental project should be accomplished in so brief a time, is an insult to human intelligence. The insatiable craving on the part of some for publicity, when the matter of making releases to the press was the prerogative of the head of the expedition. I wish to state too, that I received by far superior treatment and consideration from the Turks than from members of my own group. The climax to the many reports of the previous discoveries of Noah’s Ark was reached when the press in America reported in the fall of ’48 that a Turkish farmer had reported in Istanbul that a Kurdish mountaineer had seen a large structure in the area of Mount Ararat that looked like the prow of a gigantic ship. We contacted this man too late, it took a whole month to get a reply to my first letter. Our expedition is the first and only fully-organized one that has ever had for its specific purpose the discovery of Noah’s Ark. We have made an attempt to locate the Ark; but that does not imply the ultimate failure of the Ark’s recovery. In practically every great invention and discovery, many attempts were required to finally bring to a
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successful accomplishment the inventor’s idea. The late President of the United States, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt said one time, “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.” We have paved the way for other future expeditions, and trust that others will ultimately bring to a successful completion the work which we have begun. One of the national reporters who called wanted to know if it were true that we were in Turkey for the purpose of prospecting for and discovering Uranium. He had perhaps read in the papers that one of our group, Mr. Ogg, came from Oak Ridge, Tennessee where our atomic energy plant is located, and where he had been employed for some time until he went with our group. We have been branded by the Soviets as American spies, wanting to spy on Russian atomic and military activities. Pravda speaks about Noah’s Ark as if it was a fairy tale but we know better. Another researcher, 54-year-old archaeologist Egerton Sykes, scratches his white mane in wonder as state in Time of April 25, 1949, “Rubbish! I’m darn sure I’m not going to sit up there in my winter wollies peering at a chunk of desert through a a telescope. Anyone who thinks I’m going to climb that mountain and sit on top amid the ice and snow spying on Russia through a telescope, must be insane. Besides, if the secret service were behind me, I wouldn’t have so much trouble raising money.” Since leaving Istanbul, we have been gradually climbing from the sea level along the shore of beautiful Marmara to a height here at Ankara of 6087 feet. Along the way we see farmers swinging a quarter moon-shaped knife cutting his ripened field of golden grain. We see others gathering it into sheaves and stacking it and still others beating it out of the straw, winnowing it, and conveying the precious grain into a place of storage. I left Ankara for Erzurum on August 18. Messrs. Wood, Ogg, Najati, Lieutenant, a soldier and myself went. Erzurum is where the first national congress convened July 23, 1919. It is also where the Armenian King Tirdat was converted to Christianity through the efforts of St. Gregory, and Christianity became the Armenian state religion in A.D. 303. When Christianity becomes the religion of the state in any nation, the essence of true Christianity has already been lost and merely the shell or form remains. The Armenian Church had gradually apostatized to an appalling degree, and after the fall of Constantinople in A.D. 1453, Mehmet the conqueror bestowed great power upon the patriarch of the Armenian Church, so that the incumbent had great civil power conferred upon him to exert over his flock. This was also true, even before the Armenian Church got it from the Greek patriarchate. For any spiritual offense, he could fine, imprison, or send into exile. No wonder these churches have no spiritual life today. If there is one organized Evangelical Christian Church on fire for God in all of Turkey today, I don’t know about it. The Mohammedan mosques in this city are old, dilapidated, and some are ready to collapse. If there is anything sacred about them I do not sense it. My conviction is that these people pretty well know that their religion is a farce. Womanhood has not yet been delivered from her miserable state of human slavery. With the exception of a very few who have accepted the reformation inaugurated by Atatürk, most women here were the veils over their faces, generally big shawls or veils. One pities them as they wearily trudge their way up and down the rugged stone-paved streets these hot summer days. We traveled up toward Kars where Ani has many ancient churches. The roads were terrible in places. We stopped several times and inquired about Noah’s Ark, and Mr. Reşit [pronounced “Reshit”], who claimed to have seen it last fall; but no one had even heard about him or the Ark. There was Mount Ararat as it proudly lifted its lofty, snowy white head 17,000 feet into the azure space and majestically bathing its crystal snow and ice-crowned peak in the brilliancy of an August afternoon oriental sun. This mountain of which poets have sung and sages written! Ages have come and gone, millenniums of duration have been born and faded into oblivion; but this monument of endurance has weathered all time. It has defied the untold numbers of earthquakes undauntedly—and geological changes of the deluge—and will stand unaltered as long as time endures. We calmly rested last night in the shadow of the greatest mountain on earth, historically speaking. Here stands proud, greater Mount Ararat, looking down upon all the other mountains of the great eastern Turkey ranges. This is the birth place, the cradle if you please, of the post-deluvian civilization. In talking with a military Patrolman, he said he had been on top of lower Mt. Ararat a few weeks ago, and there is a hollow on top of it that looks like a dead crater. The black sand-like substance is still sliding down the sides as if the eruption had been but a few months ago. When the close Turks or relatives greet each other, they kissed each other on both cheeks instead of one side as we westerners do. The Turkish law requires every hotel in the land to receive the police certificate from everyone who registers. The cost of the hotel for me amounts to one United States dollar. There is plenty of beef in this area, but no cold storage facilities. If you want a piece of beef steak at the restaurant, you have to order it the day before, likewise with chicken. No fish is on the market except canned sardines put up in pure olive oil at Istanbul. The duration of the winters around Erzurum is eight months, and they say it is winter all the time during that time. Practically all the buildings have flat roofs. From my window I see dry weeks and grass on some. It reminds me of the scripture that speaks of not harvesting on a roof. What keeps these roofs from leaking is a mystery to me. I understand why the people are not interested in Noah’s Ark, as they need to concentrate on their business. There is need of education on the subject of sanitation. Very little of the food there is not exposed to the common house fly. I am now instructing Mr. Najoti to wire the Governor of Mardin to contact Shukru Asena for him to contact Reşit Bay to assist us in locating the Ark. We stopped several times and inquired about Noah’s Ark, and Mr. Reşit, who claimed to have seen it last fall; but no one had even heard about him or the Ark. We passed the village of Kari and two military posts. When we got to the top of the ridge, for we had been climbing for miles, our eyes looked upon an extensive valley many miles long and almost as wide. In this valley is located the town of Igdir. Not far from Igdir is a
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small lake nestled in the hills with Mt. Ararat’s peak reflected in its calm, clear waters. I have not seen a lake in eastern Anatolia. Our exploration trip today revealed the fact that there was a great deal more snow on the north side than we had anticipated. We were amazed also at our miscalculations in regard to the accessibility of the mountain from the north and northwest. We discovered that the intervening mountains between the valley on the north side and the base of higher Ararat are just as rugged, high, and perilous to climb as those on the south side. Our preconceived notion that the ascent of Ararat from the north would be considerable easier faded into oblivion long before we reached our vantage point to survey the situation. The path we had been told led from the main highway to the east was not there. We had pass it far below, and the paths we saw were domestic animal paths leading up to the grazing slopes and mountain side, where one could easily walk or ride horse back. We were astonished, too, how far from the northern base of higher Ararat our road led us. We were actually farther away from the mountain than we were at Bayazit. I have carefully scanned the various rock formations, the valleys, the swamp west and south of highter Ararat, for evidences of a deluge. On the west side of higher Ararat, I found on our trip of August 27 what clearly appeared to me had once been the shore of a great lake. I picked up some stones from the now dead lake shore. Apparently the bottom of the lake through the thousands of years has gradually been raised by the earth. Japheth’s tomb (or Jacob’s tomb although I personally thin it should be Japheth’s tomb) is supposedly near here and the Village of Tahilke. Mr. Ogg and party started a final exploration trip to an elevation on the west side of Ararat, where a small lake was discovered. The villages near the base of Mt. Ararat are of the most poverty-stricken kind. The people live principally on chees and milk as they generally own a log of sheep, goats, and cattle. They live and dress like the poorest gypsies I have ever seen. These Turkish Kurds are known to be great warriors and are to this day not at all too friendly towards the Turkish government. We moved only about fifteen miles east of Bayazit where we stopped at a small village, a military post, named Survehan, the last post office before we reach the foot hills of the mountain. We had planned to right on to our final camping place before making the ascent, but when we arrived at Surbehan (five miles from the Russian and Iranian border) and had tea with the commanders, we were informed that we would not be allowed to go any further until a military permission had been transmitted to the commander here from the military commander of this province. In Bayazit we purchased supplies for seven days’ duration. Our caravan was a bit scattered with eleven donkeys, five horses, and a mule, carrying our luggage and supplies. An army bus with officials, a Doctor, and interpreter followed, then an army truck with some of the members of the expedition, including myself, riding with the driver, and some soldiers and their equipment, and last of all the jeep with Mr. Wood, Ogg, and Freddie. The Commander at Surbehan, Mr. Batur, showed us the village including a squash growing up in the tree, something I have never seen before. Then vines had climbed directly up the tree. When we received orders, the Turkish government loaned us canteens, pick axes, tents, straw ticks, a group of soldiers with a captain, lieutenant, and a sergeant. We hired a guide who had lived not far from the base of Mt. Ararat, and who knew the whole country round about. The commander gave us two wagons and horses. One wheel broke and a large truck was commandeered to take us the rest of the way. The peasants were very nice to us, two of the men accompanied us for a distance and carried some of us across a stream, it was too wide for some of us to jump across. A horse had been provided for me to ride on, all the others walked. When we started out, some of our explorers did not understand evidently that we were under military orders and were starting out ahead of the soldiers and were called back by Mr. Negati who told them we had to go together. They got roiled up about it and talked very indignantly to Mr. Nejati who took it all kindly but insisted on the captain’s orders. The guide kept quite a distance ahead of us all the time. It was quite a site to see our line going forward in single file—soldiers, pack animals, our groups of explorers, and interpreters. We arrived at our camping place for the night about 5 o’clock. The soldiers put up all our tents except Mr. Wood’s and Freddie’s small one. Our guide went to look for water and returned with the report that there was a hole with some, but not enough for man and animals, so they took containers and the horses down. The little quantity of water that remained and which had accumulated from rain and snow was soon exhausted but we were able to make out, by straining it for it was quite dirty. We doctored it up and it tasted good. We had taken some water with us; but it was used up. It got pretty cold during the night. We all kept our clothes on. I took off my shoes, but wished before morning I had kept them on. Two guards were on duty all night long, changing off with two new ones every few hours. Two soldiers also walked ahead of the caravan, one on each side, from two-hundred to three-hundred feet from us. We were traveling around a big mountain on the south side from where we are camping now when shouts came, “Stop and go back, we can’t get through this way with the pack animals.” So we stopped for a little while and then came to our present camping place and put up for the night. Before we did so, we discovered in what an awful dilemma we were, for there was water for neither man nor beast. We did not know what to do. In the meantime, the report came that they had found water, but there was just enough for human consumption, and none for the animals, which were stamping their feet they were so thirsty. Some of the donkeys had collapsed on the way and only with great difficulty could the men force them to get up and go on. All the donkeys had been without a drop of water for thirty-six hours. Most of the water we had brought with us had leaked out of the kegs and gasoline cans the day before. It was dusk of the second day when the report came that water had been found. There was a stampede of men and horses, with canteens, kegs, and cans to the place. There were snakes, bugs, dirt, and mud; but it was water. They drank and dipped and filled their canteens and cans, then the water was exhausted. During the night I awake as
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they had returned with the water, got a canteen, put a handkerchief over the hole and drank the dirty water, but felt no ill effects afterwards. The next day the boys cleaned the hole, dug the mud out and a fresh supply of water seeped in during the night. The wind was cold and blowing from the east. There are three tents from twenty-five to fifty feet long each, and eight feet wide. At one time, people lived here, but since fifteen years ago the Turkish government does not allow anyone in this territory. The sheep folds formed of rocks still remain. About noon, we had a scare, soldiers ran with their rifles leveled towards a high-fugged mountain, just above us to the north. They yelled at me to go for shelter. There was no room behind the big rock where the soldiers were, so I lay down behind a small one bill after some shouting back and forth. We all became calm from the great excitement when it was learned that a military reserve officer was doing patrol work up there. Later, he came down and we talked with him for he spoke English quite well. I went up the first two ridges west of our camp. On the way up, we saw some foot prints of a bear; but did not see the bear. I heard a gun shot about 5 o’clock but did not know at the time what it meant, till Mr. Harputlu asked me if I had heard the shot, I said “yes” He said “it was me, I shot an eagle who had come down from the mountain.” He said for the summer all the animals from the south side of the mountain where our camp is, move to the north of the mountain because there is no water here. The wild pigs, goats, bear and even the snakes migrate to the north side of the mountain. We returned to our base from the most perilous and difficult part of our initial exploration trip on the southeaster side of greater Ararat, also the southern part of the plateau between the two Ararats. This area around Ararat has not had a drought like this in eighty years. Our camp was located at an altitude of about ten-thousand feet. Back in Bayazit, there are open sewers running parallel with the streets, and mud sidewalks. There is but one restaurant in the city. Some people seem to think at my age—61—there would be no longer a feeling of homesickness. This may be true of some folk; but not with me. We arranged today to explore all the region that has not been gone over thus far. After hours of consultation, we decided to hire nationals to help us in our work of observation. Three men have been hired at eight lira per day—eight lira is about two and a half dollars. We furnished them with food, daggers, and letter of recommendation in case they should be questioned by the military patrol. We have offered a reward of one-thousand lira for the locating of the Ark by the searchers. A fire started in the lower slopes of the west side of higher Ararat today. It kept on increasing and spreading out till there is a large black area where the fire has swept across. The wind is blowing from the south, which drives the fire northward. Mr. Nejati says the snakes and other animals will now all move farther north before the fire. This afternoon there have been a few showers and this had caused the fire to practically become extinguished, for the time being, only to blaze up again. I see now the whole west side of the mountain is ablaze and it is a most beautiful sight to see. At two-thirty this afternoon our three scouts returned from their five-day search in the northwest and north sides of higher Ararat and reported to us their futile endeavor to find the Ark in that area. They spent the first night at what was once a village by the name of Chevirmeh, now only ruins remain. The second and third nights they spent at the lake up on the north side of higher Ararat. The lake is about 150 feet across both ways. We however, have no absolute proof of how much territory they covered, nor how thorough their search may have been. This is another reason why I believe, with others, that another expedition should be made. I have not been reconciled yet that we did not get Mr. Reşit, who claimed to have been something that resembled a huge ship, in the fall of 1948. If I had the money or the full cooperation of our group, we might have been able to get him there as the demand of Mr. Shukru Asena, his boss, was only about $250 in U.S.A. money. Some argued that after we got him there, he would ask a much larger sum since the $250 was merely to pay for the expense of the two, coming and going. A telegram came today in reply to mine that Mr. Shukru is not at his home in Derick. So I sent another message to the Governor at Diyarbakir, asking him to assist us in contacting him. A report also came last night from an elderly woman who declared that ten years ago some people went up to the top of Mt. Ararat and found the Ark up there. It would be well-nigh impossible for it to be on the top of the peak, but that is where Archdeacon Nouri claimed he had seen it in April of 1887. I see a regiment of soldiers returning from maneuvers, now they are singing, the officer on horseback is directing them. It is quite a sight to behold. They all keep perfect step, marching to their barracks on the eastern hill tops. Turkey has compulsory military service, and every man must serve two years or suffer the penalty for refusing. Certain domestic animals in eastern Turkey are considered sacred. The pigeon is looked upon as a fowl quite distinct from any other bird, for they are neither killed or eaten in the Mount Ararat area. It is believed the reason for this is that during the flood Noah let three of them out of the Ark. Today we dispatched a jeep-load of men over the ridge to the north of here and west of higher Ararat. They have followed the road around the north of the mountain for about fifty miles and inquired in the villages in that area about the Ark and for Mr. Reşit, but no one ever heard about either one of them, even the oldest inhabitants. However, it must be remembered that our group was always from ten to fifteen miles distant from the base of Mt. Ararat on this trip, and there is a strong possibility that some small hamlets may be nestled among the mountain ranges far away from the main road where the jeep traveled and far away from the main road where the jeep traveled and which were never contacted because of their isolated location. All this area on the north side, from the road up to the northern slopes of the mountain needs to be explored thoroughly either by footmen or by plane. A party also made an exploration trip to the snow line. We made another trip to the north side and later another to the extreme northeast
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side. A camping place would have to be established somewhere in that area to do justice to the research work. This will require considerable time, but the search in that area will most likely yield the object of the quest.
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Oliver Sexmith Crosby (b. 1920) of Washington, D.C. was an officer in the United States Foreign Service in Iran and stationed in Tabriz, Iran at the American consulate during the time of his ascent up Ararat. In 1951, Oliver Crosby’s party came within 150 feet of the Ararat summit as he recounted in the following article “Demavend and Ararat, 1951” from The American Alpine Journal 1954 edition pages 76-87. Crosby also climbed the Iranian mountain Demavend, the Matterhorn (first time up in 1949) as well as other Swiss, Greek, and Teton mountains. Oliver Crosby was an officer in the United States Navy during World War II in 1942-46 with 19 months duty on a destroyer escort in the North Atlantic and transferred to a cruiser in the Pacific in 1945 and ended his tour as a Lieutenant. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, received a Masters Degree from the School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, and was a Career Foreign Service Officer, serving in Athens, Tel Aviv, Tabriz, Berlin, Nicosia, Bamako, and Lagos. Mr. Crosby was United States Government Observer with the Belgian Antarctic Expedition in 1958-59 and was the United States Ambassador to the People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea (what a title!) from 1977 to 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. Chapter 9
1951 Oliver S. Crosby The rugged bulk of Ararat, towering to a height of 16,945 feet out of the plain of Dogu Bayazit, was a thrilling and awesome sight. On its higher reaches vast, glistening snowfields swept steeply upward for over three thousand feet; a hanging glacier was perched on its south face. Massive rock buttresses lent a note of power and violence to the mountain, and cold, black rivers of lava wound some gigantic octopus. Here was a mountain with character and variety to match its size! The challenge of the peak filled us with quick suffocating eagerness. We hurried to Dogu Bayazit to make the necessary arrangements with local officials, for my leave was almost ended, and time was precious. We found the local Sub-Prefect to be friendly but unenthusiastic about our climb, as they did not want cause problems with the Russians. He warned that Ararat was very dangerous, but after much argument he finally relented and granted us permission to proceed the following day. We were overjoyed. Morning found us gathered outside the Sub-Prefect’s house, studying possible routes up to the south face or along the east ridge. The day was one of the most sparkling beauty, and we were wild to be under way, but once again it was easier said than done. Even with the help of the Sub-Prefect, it took the best part of an hour to hire a driver and two oxen (!) to carry our provisions and climbing equipment. At long last we drove our jeep from Dogu Bayazit to a point just south of the mountain where we were to meet the oxen. They were late, and we had lunch. The two beasts arrived about one-thirty, were loaded up, and we took off across a two-mile flat of volcanic ash and thence into the foothills of Ararat. The going was easy, and we had plenty of time to gaze at the mountain’s great rock shoulders, its majestic snowfields, its glacier, and the tangle of ridges fanning out from its sides. The best route seemed to lead up the south ridge facing us, although the east ridge offered the advantage of a better view of Lesser Ararat. The latter was a symmetrical red-gray cone, which rose east of Ararat to an altitude of about 14,000 feet. Our inspection of the mountain was brought to a close by the gathering darkness, and it was night by the time we reached the Kurdish shepherd camp at about 11,000 feet, where we were to sleep. Our arrival caused great excitement, and we were at once surrounded by an admiring, chattering crowd which did not leave us until long after we had eaten and crawled in our sleeping bags. The three of us were up at four the next morning, dressed, ate breakfast, loaded up for the climb, and attempted to set off. But our way was blocked by one of the armed guards of the camp, who made it clear that we were not to leave. We remonstrated; two more guards came over to support the first. It was apparent that the nomads did not want us to climb their mountain, but we were not to be put off now and raised a terrible hullabaloo. Our arguments, in broken Turkish and Persian, and the nomad consultations continued, as the east grew bright and the sun rose. We were never sure just what their objection was, but finally, after four hours of wrangling, we were allowed to depart in an easterly direction. An escort was sent along to see that we did not turn in toward the south face of the mountain, so we were obliged to make the long detour around to the east ridge, crossing countless gullies, lava streams, and fields of jumbled black blocks as we slogged our way along. We soon outdistanced our escort, but by that time we were below the
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hanging glacier, and there was nothing for it but to push on around. The traverse to the east ridge took two precious hours and gained us but little altitude; it was grueling work, and finally Pierce, who had done no climbing before, could go no further. He stopped to reset a bit and then returned slowly to the nomad camp to wait for us. It was ten o’clock when Hermann and I finally turned our faces toward the summit of Ararat and began the real climb, starting up the east ridge from somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,000 feet. It was late, maddeningly late, but that could not be helped, and we were grateful to be on the mountain at all. The day was perfect, and the brilliant sunshine presented us with scores of breath-taking views of the south face of Ararat. We climbed steadily on the volcanic stone and moved up the ridge at a good pace. About 1,200 feet higher we came into snow, which the hot sun had turned to slush. There was no apparent way of by-passing it, so in we plunged, slipping and sliding and wishing that we were on solid rock once more. Near the occasional outcropping of rock the snow was swept away entirely by swift rivulets of its own water. The earth and stones of the outcroppings were oozing with water, too, and not solid enough to stand on, so we were forced to continue the uphill battle on the snow. Progress was slow and exhausting; the snow slope continued on and on, all the heat of the sun converging on us from the great white reflector. Hermann and I pushed on, striving for altitude and working hard to keep our footing. Each step, carefully kicked in, was apt to collapse in front, in back, or on one side, breaking our pace and losing us precious time. As we mounted in a steady zig-zag up the great snowy east side of Ararat, the air became noticeably thinner and colder, and we rejoiced to feel the snow harden under our boots. Finally, we stood well above the top of Lesser Ararat and were approaching the shoulder of Ararat proper at about 16,000 feet. By three-thirty, despite the fact that the sun was still well up in the sky, the cold had so increased that it seemed the chill of night was on the mountain. At the same time, a piercing wind struck us and rocked us about on our feet. The change in wind and temperature took place with phenomenal quickness as we entered the shoulder snowfields leading northwest to the mountain summit. The frigid upper reaches of Ararat had a wild, rugged look. Great boulders projected from the snow all around us, teetering on the verge of a meteoric plunge down the slope. To the left the head of the cracked and broken glacier wall was just visible, the thin strip and buttresses which rose almost 6,000 feet above our camp. Our route was plain enough and even gave promise of becoming less steep in time. We climbed on, watching the final peak of Ararat move nearer, grow larger and more distinct. It came to be four o’clock and then four-thirty as we continued our progress upward through the boulder-strewn snowfield. The angle of the snow had not declined as much as we had hoped at the shoulder, but this at least allowed us to gain altitude and approach the summit more quickly. It loomed before us, tantalizingly close, and yet we seemed to move toward it at a snail’s pace. The sun’s outline became blurred behind a white haze of fine snow torn from the mountain and hurled across its peak by the east wind. Fortunately, this wind was at our backs, but still it reached into our muscles and lungs. The sun had no warmth to offer as it shown palely through the snow-filled air, and I began to recognize the threat, which the cold held for us. Our bodies no longer generated the heat that they had as we had worked our way up the mountain, and we were chilled through if we stopped to rest more than a minute at a time. The temperature fell further. It was five o’clock. The awareness which had been growing in our minds and which we had been trying to stifle would no longer we suppressed. We were verging on the point of no return. There was no doubt that sufficient daylight remained to proceed to and reach the summit, which now lay directly ahead and some 150 feet above us, but this would leave us no time for the descent. We had to get ourselves off of three thousand feet of snow and ice before dark, for a bivouac on or near the summit of the mountain was out of the questions, and the nearest descent route was apt to be tricky, as it lay over the west end of the glacier and down onto the snow beyond it. To traverse that untried route at night would be inviting trouble. Reluctantly, we turned back, left the summit route, and began the passage over the top of the hanging glacier, just above the wall’s face. The snow was hard and uneven there, extremely steep in places and interspersed with stretches of ice. For long distances we cut steps with the ice-axe and proceeded, a foot at a time, changing the lead frequently. There was perhaps an hour of daylight left when Hermann, who was leading at the time, suddenly broke through the snow and dropped into a crevasse. As he fell, he managed to catch himself with an elbow on either side and I, straddling the hole, put a hand under each shoulder and helped him scramble up. We stood there for a moment, panting and wheezing with the exertion. Handling the stiff climbing rope with stiffer fingers, we proceeded with utmost caution. The second time Hermann fell he was checked before he had got half way into the crevasse that blocked the way. Jumping across it, we continued to the end of the glacier, across the top of a swooping buttress and came upon the upper reaches of the long snow slope. It was almost seven o’clock and the sun had set, but in the gathering gloom we sped down the smooth snow, glissading part of the way and moving on the rope and axe where the going was more unsafe. The slope was sheltered on both sides, and for the first time the air about us was quiet. Gathering reserves we scarcely knew we had, we descended well over 2,000 feet in a half hour and neared the end of the snow. It was now quite dark, and we were somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000 feet. The air at this altitude was fortunately not so biting as it had been on top. We were below the glacier area and the snow was not so difficult to travel on if we proceeded slowly. Indeed it was a pity when we finally saw the last of it; from then on we moved in thick blackness, guided only by various lights in the valley, some of which we took to indicate the location of the camp a good deal to the west of our position. The sky was clear but the stars shed no useful light on the dark rocks over which we moved.
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Traveling entirely by feel, we traversed buttress after buttress, couloir after couloir, moving slowly toward the west and that special ridge which should lead us to the camp. By eleven o’clock Hermann and I were exhausted, moving in a dream. We would ease ourselves down over boulders and across noisy but invisible streams until we could go no farther. Collapsing where we stood, we would hug the black rocks and lie there numbly. After about ten minutes, the cold would seep into us, tightening every muscle into uncontrollable shakes and forcing us to our feet and onward. The night was full of blind alleys, wrong turnings that brought us to precipices or difficult couloirs. We nosed our way around each obstacle like patient measuring worms, patient because there was nothing else to do. At one o’clock we reached a cul-de-sac, for we found ourselves following down a ridge of loose rock which gradually slimmed to nothing, eaten away on both sides by converging torrents of water. There was little chance of our making it back up the crumbling ridge, and it seemed impossible to cross the cascading waters: we were trapped in the gulley, teetering on the very brink of the westernmost stream and enveloped in its clammy spray. Driven on by the cold and wet, we resumed our nosing about, moving with extreme caution. The rushing foam shone with a pale whiteness, interspersed with black spots where there were rocks or emptiness. By testing these dark islands with the ice-axe, we found a precarious bridge across the torrent. The crossing was harrowing and unbelievable, like the last minute of a nightmare in which one slips and slithers in darkness at the brink of eternity, but it was finally completed, and we were safely on the far side. The worst was now passed, for the ridge we descended became progressively less cold and less steep. We began to obtain real benefit from our frequent rest periods, and the departing numbness gave place to a great sense of peace and accomplishment. Our descent after we got off the snow was in the most complete darkness. I don't recall seeing any boulders, large or small, where we found ourselves trapped at the end of the vanishing ridge between two roaring streams. And in fact I clearly remember we had to reverse course and climb a good way back up the ridge before we could find the stream diminished to the point that we could cross, feeling our way each step we took. If we would have attempted to cross the stream, that would have been certain death, and I know for a fact that we turned back and worked our way back up the ridge, still in complete darkness, until one of the streams was small enough to cross with reasonable safety (although wetly). I can still remember the frustration, exhaustion and grim-death nature of that retracing of our steps. We made it back to camp at six in the morning. Ararat in the morning light is truly an agonizing night. And Mount Ararat is a great mountain, far more interesting to climb than Demavend. Already the memory of the agonizing night hours was fading before the priceless experiences and sights of the new day that lay before us.
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Dr. Friedrich Bender (d. May 2008) was a Kurdistan geologist for three years. Dr. Bender tells his experience in the Mount Cudi (Cudi Dagi) region searching for Noah’s Ark in his article “Down the Tigris on a Raft” published in Kosmos 52 (1956) 4th Edition pp. 149-155, Stuttgart, Germany. In 1972, Dr. Bender published the Carbon-14 dating results of the wood found on Mount Cudi. Dr. Friedrich Bender was the Director and Professor at the Bureau for Ground Research in Hannover, Germany. Bender’s wife was not sure he found Noah's Ark and stated that Bender believes in many floods and that the site has been pushed up from the plain. Chapter 10
1952-1954 Friedrich Bender, Ph.D. This unusual trip was the result of an equally unusual event. In order to clarify what is to follow, I have to mention that I worked as a geologist in Kurdistan for almost three years. Kurdistan is the wild, romantic area on the eastern border of Turkey toward Russia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. In the north it is dominated by the enormous inactive volcano Ararat, in the center by the alkali lake of Van, and in the south the young Tigris flows rapidly through chalky mountain formations toward the dusty plains of the Mesopotamic flatlands. It was in one of those chalky formations that I was caught by night, once again far from any human habitat. Fortunately, my guide Alaedin, a Kurd, had good advice. He mentioned that the Tigris was close by, and that there were numerous caves in the steep chalk cliffs along its bank. He speculated that there might also be some Nomads there. We did find the caves and also the Nomads, who normally dwell in their characteristic black tents, but who preferred the more comfortable caves as temporary domiciles. Wild characters, tall, haggard, with an aquiline nose like the Sioux Indians, were grouped around a fire in a large cave in a picturesque way. Aladin introduced me to the group in his language, and the somber faces lit up with the mention of the magic word “aleman” (German). Another guest had arrived: a Hoca (say Hodsha), one of those highly esteemed priests, who in those areas are influential in worldly affairs as well. He not only spoke Kurdish and Arabic, but also Turkish, so that I could communicate with him. Served by the “host” himself, we had mutton, rice with hot green onions, and watermelon, which was piled up on a tin-plated copper plate the size of a wagon wheel. Everyone grabbed their portions with their hands or used the thin, tough flat bread as “shovel.” Well, the table manners and the copious amounts of garlic did not unnerve me, thanks to years of training, but I was not prepared for what happened next. Suddenly, one of those wild fellows jumped up and began to circle around the fire, bellowing and howling like a mad dog. Convinced that the man had gone crazy I anticipated a general upheaval. Instead, one of them grabbed a large tambourine covered with an animal skin, and began to beat a rhythm on it. The dancer got increasingly wilder, until he suddenly stopped in the middle of a movement, not exactly a pleasant sight; glassed over, fixed eyes in a sunken face, the head shaved. And besides all that, his teeth were chattering loudly! While I was still watching him, I felt a rising vibration in the air within the cave, a vibration in rhythm with the infernal chattering of teeth. The vibration grew steadily; now some objects in the cave began to shake, and then it seized the people around me, then me and even the old Hoca next to me, until even the walls of the cave were shaking. I felt an obnoxious pressure in my chest and wanted to jump up to escape this spell. In that moment, the man reached into the fire with his bare hands, pulled out a red hot metal bar and placidly began to lick it. I saw clearly how the metal turned black where his tongue touched it. Then the dancer collapsed, bathed in sweat. The spectators murmured prayers, and the spell was broken. In the same night, the Hoca and I discussed the Koran and the Bible for hours. I was surprised at his knowledge of the Bible. When we arrived at the story of Noah, I was informed that according to the Koran the Ark had landed on the Cudi-Dag, a mountain range at the border of Turkey and Syria. He said that if I did not believe it, I could find out for myself, since there were still parts of the old vehicle buried in the sand high atop Cudi-Dag. He said he had been there himself about 20 years ago, and had seen the place with his own eyes. He mentioned that it was a holy place of pilgrimage for all true believers in Kurdistan and northern Arabia, and that no Christian had ever been there. He thought that I might be able to find a guide who could take me through the difficult terrain. This story fascinated me. For the next year, I tried to find additional source. I asked the ferryman on the Tigris by Hassan keyf; I asked the Shepard in the Eruh mountains; I asked the Nomads at the river Botan, who were coming up from Mesopotamia. All knew the old saga about the landing place of Noah’s Ark on the Cudi-Dag. Alaedin and I made two failed attempts to reach the mountain range. In the fall of 1953 the rains of an early winter forced us to retreat; in the spring of 1954 it was unusually high snowfall. Then I had a good idea: people as far back as the days of Xenophon had used inflated mutton skins to navigate the Tigris. Then why not go down the Tigris on a raft? The raft cost an equivalent of ca. 100 German Mark and consisted of 32 specially treated, inflated mutton skins, held together by some willow branches
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and a few ropes. Two oarsmen who knew the river were included in the price. Alaedin did not want to come along, as he was extremely afraid of water. Only when I presented him with a vintage model pellet gun for his services did he consent, albeit still reluctantly, to attempt the adventurous trip with me. For as long as I live I shall never forget this trip on the river swollen with the waters of spring, sitting on the inflated skins a mere 10 cm above the brownish yellow floods. Spinning, we shot past rocks jutting out of the water like the Lorelei. The commentary of the oarsment was not much help, either: here is the dead man’s curve of Suleiman (“here the brave Suleiman sank into the floods long ago”), or, this is Ali’s salt stretch (“here Ali lost his precious cargo of salt from his raft”). Once we went on land and climbed up to the lonely forests of Eruh in order to watch some bears. But we were not lucky. We only saw a cute bear cub that had been captured by the farmers of a small village. In spite of the difficulties we arrived at the Syrian border close to the old Kurdish city Cizre. We had floated downstream for about 140 km. Everywhere we had been welcomed in mudhuts and tents. When we pulled the raft on land, we saw the Cudi-range towering over the Tigris delta like a massive wall. Its tallest peaks were still snow-covered. We spent all Easter Sunday hiking over endless gravel fields toward the mountain range. Late at night we reached the Kurdish village Giroculiye, where the mud huts were glued to the bizarre cliffs of the Cudi like wasp nests. It is there that we found the man who leads the pilgrims to Noah’s landing place! He had never taken a Christian up there yet. We negotiated for hours before he consented to make an exception in my case. I think I owed this mostly to his wife who assured him that I loved very much like a blonde beduin, who had played a role in her dreams in times unfortunately long passed. It is easy to imagine how honored I felt. Before dawn on the day after Easter we started on our way, accompanied by a few Kurds equipped with spades. With sunrise the ascent became strenuous; those mountain-dwellers were not climbing slowly! Toward 8 o’clock we traversed a hillside covered with clear mountain crystals, and at 9:30 we climbed through a steep chimney, at the upper end of which I noticed something peculiar: there were large blocks of a conglomerate which was cemented by limestone sinter. They had undoubtedly originated from the dolomite outcrop. They were well rounded at the edges and up to fist size. According to my altimeter the place was about 1900 m above sea level and therefore ca. 600 m above the highest, probably diluvial gravel terraces of the Tigris valley. After we had climbed for ten more minutes, my guide showed me the place that they thought to be the landing place of Noah’s Ark at about 2000 m. It was a basin directly below the summit of the Cudi-Dag, ca. 300 m long and open toward the South, the direction of the flatland. Above the basin I found the ruins of a small mosque or protective hut made of thick, coarsely hewn blocks of rock. I noticed an inscription in peculiar characters unknown to me on one of the rocks. Presently we began to remove the snowcover, which was 1 to 2 meters thick, at several locations along the edge of the basin; I had been assured that wood pieces were to be found in the sand under the snow. We did find fine sand composed mostly of limestone with some quartz. In spite of my skepticism my excitement mounted as we discovered a brown discoloration of the sand at a depth of about 1 m, under which we uncovered black wood, which was completely decomposed. I suspected that we were looking at the remains of an ancient camp fire. But I soon discovered that there was asphalt in that wood! I had taken some chemicals along that are used in extracting bitumen, asphalt, or oil from rocks. Encouraged, we dug deeper, only to find that below 1 m was frozen solid. We could not dig in the lower areas of the basin, either, since the snow cover there was several meters high. We had no further success. Ominous thunder clouds were shrouding in the tall peaks to the North; from the West, thick fog was moving toward the Cudi; a cold wind penetrated coats and sweaters. The Kurds insisted that they had shown me hard evidence proving their theory of the landing place and had no intention to waste any unnecessary energy. So we began our descent. The way back over the gravel fields and up river across the arid chalky mountain formations was strenuous. It took almost a week. But even in the most primitive and poor villages, where the meager soil is worked with hand carved wooden spades and the flour ground between two stones we found kind hospitality. To this report I would like to add the following note: there is archeological evidence that Mesoptamia was flooded in prehistoric times. The Cudi range is part of the natural northern border of the Mesopotamic flatland. In the Cudi range there are conglomerates about 600 m above the highest gravel terraces of the Tigris valley. It is possible that these conglomerates were transported to such heights by more recent tectonic movements after their formation. There is proof of geologically very young crustal movement in other locations in eastern Anatolia. The entire high plateau between Ararat in the North and the Cudi range in the South was formerly called “Agri Daglar,” according to various Kurds, and it is possibly from that name that our “Ararat” has been derived. I personally think that this matter should be investigated. Time and again old traditions prove to contain a grain of truth, and many a successful search has begun with fewer leads than are available in this case. From another Frederick Bender report in UMSCHAU-Kurzberichte aus Wissenschaft und Technik Volume 72 (1972) 1st Edition pp. 20-21 entitled “Wood Remains from the ‘Landing Place of Noah’s Ark’ Are About 6500 Years Old” and republished in Bible and Spade 19.4 (http://www.biblearchaeology.org/publications/BAS19_4.pdf) comes the following information. Wood remains from Cudidag, a mountain range at the northern edge of Mesopotamia, were dated according to the C-14 method. They are approximately 6500 years old and therefore pre-sumeric. The place where the wood remains were found is located in an area known as the “place where a boat landed” according to the epic poem of Gilgamesh and the
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Koran. The altitude of the find at 750 m above the gravel terraces of the plain is difficult to account for if the remains are indeed from a boat. The Cudidag is a south-verging anticline (geologic ridge with steep southern flank) of Jurassic and cretaceous limestone with an axis bearing West/Northwest-East/Southeast. The steep southern flank is accompanied by two parallel main zones of disturbance, between which there are strongly disturbed and displaced limestones form the middle Eocene. To the South of it there are late tertiary land and river deposits, probably from the Pliocene, which over a large area are covered by high gravel terraces and fans of debris in terraces. At least three terrace levels can be differentiated. Their layering in regards to age is unexplained in many instances. The place where the examined wood remains were found is located in a basin at the upper southern face of the Cudidag, about 300 m northeast of the Kurdish village Kericulya at an altitude of approximately 1700 m (altitude unconfirmed) above NN and therefore about 750 m above the highest gravel terraces. The flat basin, which is open on its south side, is surrounded by thick to massive calcium and dolomite deposits of the Cudi group. On April 6, 1953, it was largely covered by snow. Underneath there was a sediment consisting of clay and fine sand which was not given a detailed examination and which was colored dark brown and blackish at a depth of 0.8 to 1.0 m and contained decomposed wood remains up to the size of a pea. Most of these wood pieces were cemented together by a sort of asphalt or tar. Kurdish guides, who considered the place of the find holy ground, did not allow further digging or more extensive examinations. After the asphalt had been removed from the wood fragments they were dated according to the C-14 method by Dr. M.A. Geyh and Dr. L. Benda in the Saxon Federal Bureau for Ground Research in Hannover, Germany and age of 6635 +/- 280 years (before 1950) was the result. A second test using all of the retrieved material confirmed this result. A possible source of error would be a contamination with remainders of the asphalt, which was assumed to be older than 50,000 years. In this case the wood would be a maximum of 400 years younger if the asphalt particles on the cleaned wood amounted to 5%, which can be considered unlikely.
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THE EXPLORERS OF ARARAT
George Vandeman (1916-2000) was the first prominent television evangelist for the Seventh Day Adventist church, one of the first tele-evangelists of any denomination, and was the author of the series, “It Is Written.” Vandeman received his Masters of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. In regard to Noah’s Ark research, George Vandeman founded the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF), of which he was Chairman and President for a number of years and one of the primary movers behind making the 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1968 Mount Ararat ARF expeditions a reality. “The Story Behind the Story” was the beginning of a manuscript that George Vandeman planned to publish about his experiences in Noah’s Ark research. When the SEARCH Foundation found wood on Mount Ararat in 1969, Seventh Day Adventist officials advised the highly visible Vandeman to pull back from his research, as they realized the authenticity of the wood was a controversial topic. Chapter 11
1960-1968 George Vandeman Malcolm Randall said, “It was on the 1960 Archaeological Research Foundation expedition that Dr. Lawrence Hewitt and Wilbur Bishop were scouting the top of the mountain by plane, looking for any tell-tale shapes in the ice lake, that they happened to make a pass down the northwest slope and over the Cehennem Dere Circ. They noticed a strange boat shaped object protruding from the end of a glacial finger, high in a crag, but neither believe that this was where the Ark might be.” George E. Vandeman – Riddle of Ararat The click of a camera started it all. When Captain Serket Kurtis, late in 1958, flew at 17,000 feet over one of the barest terrains in eastern Turkey, little did he know the stir that would be caused by a simple, routine photograph. For when it received its first careful scrutiny a year later, the world found itself once more face to face with an age-old riddle – the riddle of Ararat. What is the strange fascination that draws man to that rugged, ice-capped peak? What is it that has steeped that whole area in tradition that has clung like a cloak through the ages? Why do those who know Ararat best speak of it as the forbidden mountain? Is it only flimsy fiction imprinted on the elusive pages of forgetful centuries? Has memory played tricks? Is it only fantasy – or is there something on that mountain that would rock the world if ever it were found? That is the riddle of Ararat. I had no time for riddle. But this one refused to go away until I found myself high on the jet-powered wings of technology, bound on one of the strangest missions I had ever undertaken. My destination: Ankara. My purpose: to find out exactly what Captain Kurtis had photographed on that lonely mountain slope twenty miles south of Greater Ararat. I knew the traditions. I knew the rumors that had proved false. I knew the smiles and lifted eyebrows when Dr. Arthur Brandenberger, photogrammetry expert of Ohio State University, had studied the photograph and announced his conviction that what he saw was a petrified boat four hundred and fifty feet long. And what would a boat of that size be doing high in the Ararat range? I proposed to find out. This was no idle adventure. This would be no expedition of sportsmen climbing a mountain for diversion and hoping for some sensational find. This was serious business. Archaeologists across the land were interested in this probe into eastern Turkey. Great institutions in both Europe and America, among them the British Museum, were eagerly watching the outcome of my mission. I would be joined in a few days by Dr. Brandenberger, and by Dr. Siegfried Horn, archaeologist of Andrews University. Captain Ilhan Durupinar, Turkish cartographic expert who discovered the strange object in the photograph in the process of making NATO maps, would also join us. Other experts would be standing by in Europe ready to come if needed. And there was Haji Yearam. I could not forget Haji’s story, strangest and most convincing of all. And how could I doubt its veracity when I heard it from the lips of his friend and mine? Yet simple geography told me that if Haji’s story was true my present mission must fail. The same giant boat could not be resting high on Ararat and at the same time twenty miles south of the mountain. That was part of the riddle. Hal Thomsen was my traveling companion. Sometimes we talked. Mostly we thought. Other faces came up before me – faces of friends who had made this trip possible. Don and Mildred Loveridge in particular. I hoped Don would join me
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in a few days. His imagination had been stirred with mine as we read a newspaper story clipped from the Staats Zeitung and Herald, Woodside, New Jersey, of November 15, 1959. I had it now in my briefcase, as translated from the German: “STEREO-AIRPHOTOS AT MOUNT ARARAT SHOW PETRIFIED BOAT IN A FIELD OF LAVA, POSSIBLY NOAH’S ARK OF THE BIBLE “COLUMBUS, Ohio, 14 Nov (AP) – if Noah’s Ark is really at Mount Ararat in Turkey, then there is a discovery from a young Turk who is living in Columbus, Ohio. Serket Kurtis has filtered stereographic air photos in Turkey, from which maps can be produced, and he has made a curious discovery. “Even if it is not Noah’s Ark, Kurtis’ discovery will be something quite extraordinary. “The ‘discovery’ has not yet been verified. However, Kurtis assumes that the curious form of the discovered object could be the Ark of Noah, which is described in the Bible and in the Koran. Discovered with Stereoplanograph “The airphotos were taken a year ago on behalf of the Geodetic Institute of Turkey. But the curious object was just recently discovered in one of the photos. The ‘ark’ was not recognizable with the unaided eye. It was discovered when in Ankara Captain Ilhan Durupinar used a stereoplanograph in order to prepare maps. With this instrument this object was discovered, which could not have been created by nature itself but by human hands. Kurtis reports that Captain Durupinar has worked on thousands of square miles in this method for the preparation of maps, but has never seen a similar object in stereographic air photos. Captain Durupinar is convinced, because of his topographic experience, that this discovery must be an object created by human hand. The size corresponds with the description of the Ark in the Bible and in the Koran. The object has the form of a boat, is 450 feet long, and 160 feet wide. Expedition next spring “Kurtis said that at this time of year it is not possible to send out an expedition for the verification of the discovery, because the whole area around Mount Ararat is covered by snow. So one must wait until spring comes and the snow is melted. “The place on which, according to the airphoto, the discovery was made about twenty miles south of Mount Ararat, close to the Iranian border. This area is volcanic, mountainous, and uninhabited. It was never before cartographically registered. “Kurtis said that the object, which could be the ark, is sunk in a field of lava. Through heat the Ark might be preserved like Herculaneum and Pompeii. If it is really Noah’s Ark, then it must be 7000 (4500) years old. “Dr. Arthur Brandenberger of the Geodetic Institute of Ohio State University said after he had seen the stereophotos he also is convinced that this discovery can not be a ‘product of nature’ but possibly a ‘petrified boat’. He added that if it were really Noah’s Ark it would be a sensational discovery. “In the last years several expeditions searched in vain for Noah’s Ark near Mount Ararat. However, every time the mountain peak was scoured but not the fields of lava fifty miles south of the mountain. Nobody thought to search from the air.” Here was something different. Here was not a fanciful rumor. Here was not a wishful following of any of the existing traditions. Rather, here was an accidental discovery that had come about in the serious business of map making. It might not be a fruitful search. But could any unbiased mind ignore the possibilities? We did not intend to! Contact had been made at once, on December 29, with Dr. Brandenberger. A day was spent with him personally, also making contact with his student, Captain Kurtis. Dr. Brandenberger stated that after careful study of the photograph he was certain the object was man-made and that is was a petrified boat. He expressed himself in these words: “Mr. Vandeman, I have been skeptical about the existence of such a boat. But if this object proves to be what I am now certain it is, I will have to change my opinions. And if it is pursued and fund to be the Ark of Noah, it will be the greatest archaeological discovery of all time.” Developments from that time had been rapid, which plans passing through several stages, culminating in a trip to Turkey, accompanied by Don Loveridge, on January 17. Preliminary contacts made through friends in New York had proved fruitful, and the Turkish government, despite its initial reluctance, had promised full cooperation. [Official Letter of permission from the Turkish Government] Contacts made on our return trip with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and with the British Museum in London had revealed, on the part of both institutions, enthusiastic interest and desire to cooperate in any investigation that might be made. This is how the matter now stood. We had obtained prints from the original negative in Ankara. We had found that the boat-like object was located not fifty miles south of Mount Ararat, as incorrectly reported in the German article but in the saddle between Ararat and Tenderick, about twenty miles south. It was near the village of Dogubayzit and only a few miles from the main road to Teheran. There would be no guesswork about the location. The map-making instruments are accurate to one to two feet at a two-and-a-half mile height. As soon as the snow melted it could be easily located. And since it was at an altitude of only about 8000 feet, though surrounded by higher peaks, it should be possible to carry out our exploratory probe by helicopter.
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The purpose of our probe would be simply to identify the nature of the object – to discover whether it might or might not be a boat, made of wood, petrified or otherwise. The answers to these questions would determine whether or not any full-scale expedition by any group would be warranted. The Turkish government, despite the U-2 incident ad internal disquiet over student uprisings, still promised cooperation. On May 5 I had cabled Mr. Mayatepek that we would arrive on May 19. And on the evening of May 13 a reply to this cable had been relayed to us through the Turkish Embassy in Washington, stating that the project had been cleared with all ministries involved. They welcomed us to Turkey for the completion of our mission, and would plan to personally meet our plane. This, then, was the challenge. This was the unfinished story. Could it be that in the providence of God we were about to take part in a dramatic vindication of the Book by which all men are to be judged? That knowledge we did not have. We did have a convincing thread of evidence, Turkish permission, and melting snows. And we had asked God to give us the heart of a child. POSSIBILITY I took from my briefcase a book that had been my constant companion these last few months – a book entitled Patriarchs and Prophets, written by Ellen White. It contains the most vivid account of the Flood I have ever read. It makes it live. I could never match its language. Many scientists and businessmen who had never read the Bible were now reading Genesis, and were reading this book. I did not need to find the Ark in order to believe. Those whose faith is sanely and deeply rooted in Scripture will believe – whether or not the famed ship is ever found. But there are those who, like Thomas, need to handle the evidence. Could it be that God is about to give them the chance? STRANGE MOUNTAIN We were speeding through the night toward a strange, forbidden mountain. Ararat. Mountain of the Flood. When it comes to traditions of the Flood itself, they are so widespread as to be almost overwhelming. Dr. Richard Andree, for instance, a German scholar, compiled a collection of eighty-eight different Flood traditions. B.C. Nelson in 1949, reported on forty-one Flood stories. Mr. Edgerton Sykes, former Secretary of the British Embassy in Warsaw and a keen amateur archaeologist, has gathered together more than six hundred documents, tradition and otherwise, in Noah’s favor. Mr. Sykes family believes that the Ark is somewhere on Ararat between the 11,000 foot line and the summit, perhaps a little above the belt of shells deposited by the receding waters. He hoped, in fact, in an expedition he planned to use radar and submarine television, which had been tried out following the atomic experiments at Bikini. But Turkey refused him permission to visit Ararat. A strange characteristic of the lower slopes of Ararat is the complete absence of wind, though a keen wind blows at the higher altitudes. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT Some things larger than the Ark have been discovered more than once. Take our own Crater Lake, for instance. Located as it is, high in the Cascade Range and surrounded by tall evergreens, men could easily pass less than a quarter of a mile from its rim without ever suspecting its presence. Evidently Indians knew of it, though they seldom visited it. A young prospector discovered it in 1853. In 1862 it was “discovered” again. A third “discovery” was made in 1865. Could it be that if the Ark of Noah is now located it will not e its first discovery, but rather a positive and scientific verification that will vindicate for all time the Genesis story? Los Angeles, Calif. November 10, 1945 “Mr. A.J. Smith… “Kind friend, “I was indeed surprised that after all these years someone had traced the Noah’s Ark story back to me. The above named story has been printed and reprinted so many times all around the world and each time given a different credit that I was lost in the shuffle long ago. “Yes, I am the originator of the story which I wrote up to the best of my ability from second had facts. Despite of positive proofs lacking I believe the story to be true because of so many other reports which all fit together to form the same picture. “I published it, for the first time, in the New Eden magazine of which I am the editor…I wrote the article in story form with the purpose of making it more interesting to read.” “Very truly yours, “Floyd M. Gurley” While most of the story may be fictitious, as evidenced by this admission, yet some part of it probably originated in facts. But this story circulated around the world and many people like Bob Appel, son of Nicholas Appel who was in WW
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II, saw the same article about the Russian flyer. One has to seriously wonder, in the absence of any Stars & Stripes or other WW II articles, how many of the Stars & Stripes eyewitnesses actually saw a version of the Gurley article… THE CALL OF THE EAST What a trip it had been. A constant round of customs and permissions and unforeseen difficulties. We had purchased new camera equipment in Germany, and we never knew till we got back to the States and saw the results whether it was working properly or not. What a headache that had been to Byron Logan and Les Post, our photographers. Especially when that new camera, fortunately in its case, once fell off a donkey, and on another occasions was thrown out of a train window by an over-zealous porter. But everywhere doors had been opened. Everyone was kind. I remembered the friendship of Dr. Selim Hassan, dean of Egyptian archaeologists, who opened the doors of the Cairo Museum to us. And the British Museum had been equally cordial. Precious items were removed from their cases so that we might photograph them. It had been a killing schedule. Often we were up at one or two or three o’clock in the morning to be on our way. Traveling by night and shooting by day. Perhaps it had been good training for what we were about to experience. I could not forget the friendliness of the East. I remembered how we had wanted pictures of Jacob’s well. Like many of these old landmarks, it was now enclosed in a shrine. We must have lights. And there was no electricity. But the authorities in the village of Nablous had strung out electric cord for over a mile to give us current. I WAS THERE These had been my thoughts. But now I was there. Our plane, Turkish Airways Flight 651, put down at Ankara at 8:45 pm. It was Sunday, May 22, 1960. We had spent two profitable days in London. There we had received valuable counsel from Dr. R.D. Barnett of the British Museum. He was deeply interested in our project and desired to cooperate in every possible way. But strained relations still existed, unfortunately, between Ankara and London, making it impossible for British archaeologists to participate actively. We would not soon forget the graciousness of Dr. Barnett. Then, at nine o’clock Sunday morning, all formalities over, we had settled down in a fine new Pan-American 707 and hurtled through the skies at approximately six hundred miles an hour, bound for ancient Turkey. It was difficult to adjust to so drastic a change, from the new world to the old, in so short a time. There had been a brief stopover in Frankfurt, long enough to feel the throbbing pulse of a reviving industrial giant. One does not leave West Germany with anything but commendation for their comeback since the tragedy of World War II and the days of dictatorship. Then on to Vienna and Istanbul. In Istanbul, as we left our place, we had noted long lines of visitors and waving flags. We felt we must have happened upon a celebration of some kind. Nor were we disappointed. For Prime Minister Nebru, strong man of Southern Asia, was making a state visit. Hal and I joined in the party. Then we had boarded our Turkish Airlines plane, and in a little while had dropped down into dark, quiet, deserted Ankara. A businessman had informed us en route that only the night before a shaky government had ordered an eight o’clock curfew to curb the rioting students. The Army, too, was revolting, at least mildly, restless and concerned. We understood that the matter was entirely a domestic one, having no connection with international tensions. Now we were there. We settled for the night in the Hotel Grand Balin, room 506, which was to become the nerve center of the delicate arrangements that must begin tomorrow. Mirahsin, a young lady who was chief clerk at the hotel, became our key translator and a real help. Already we were feeling Turkish courtesy. We dropped to our knees that first night, thankful for a safe trip and asking for wisdom and guidance. Little did we know what the week held in store. We closed our prayers with, “Lord, give us the heart of the child.” Monday was the day that richly repaid our first visit in January. All suspicions were gone. We were now known, and we were friends. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Picture it if you can – the majestic, almost fantastic beauty of giant Ararat as the dawn came streaming through the crude windows of our hotel in Doğubayazit. Ararat: so dry and bare and woodless, yet so magnificent. So serene and so sublime, illuminated by the early sun. No other mountain gives the illusion of rising so near the sky. Its white summit, like a cloud suspended in the blue, seems almost detached from the earth. No man can escape the enchantment of his first view of Ararat. It etches itself forever in memory. It was so striking it was difficult to curb the urge to photograph. Yet cameras are suspect in some areas of Turkey. And we understood the battle for freedom. Americans would cooperate. The Major called for us at 5:30 and we set out by our bus for the army camp where we would pick up the horses. I shall never forget that ride. The Major sat in front, the rest of us straight in our seats, as if at military attention. Our eyes turned repeatedly to Ararat unable to escape its fascination. In the distance were the villages that had been destroyed by the earthquake of 1883 and since rebuilt.
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As we rode along the Major recounted the story of his own ascent of Ararat. And then momentarily he was interrupted by a military tramp-tramp at our side as we passed the nineteen horses that soon we would be riding. It was a two-hour walk for them. But Turkish courtesy had arranged for us the comfort of the bus. We waved to the soldier boys. And the Major resumed his story. We reached the army camp at 6:15. By 7:15 the horses had arrived and we were ready to be on our way. But first a lesson in the art of riding. The Major insisted on almost military procession. He gave me a beautiful steed and laughingly indicated that the horses understood English, for they all had “US” stamped on them! Then at the Major’s command we were off, the Major in the lead, behind him the seven members of the expedition, followed up by fifteen cavaliers of the Turkish Army. It would take a strenuous pull of uphill travel to reach our destination. Dr. Horn’s horse seemingly did not understand English as well as the others. Or perhaps he shared his rider’s interest I archaeology. At least there were a number of side expeditions. Anticipation mounted as we gained altitude. We kept trying to fit the aerial photograph into the surroundings. In a few moments our suspense would be ended. Our horses lifted us up on a grassy plateau, and the Major pulled his reins. We lined up our horses beside him at the edge of the precipice. The Major looked at his map. This was it. There, spread out before us, not more than two hundred yards away, lay the object of our search, the outline of a ship. But it was not a lava flow. And it was evidently not a ship – at least not on the surface. Rather, there on a gentle mountain slope was a giant landslide, the earthen walls of which had been packed into the form of a giant boat. We must investigate. And since the horses needed rest, we would walk down to the site. What could have caused this strange formation? Was it only a freak of nature? Or was something buried underneath that caused the earth to take this strange shape? We walked down into the center of the “ship” and looked about. Why this smooth, symmetrical, grassy area in the midst of crevasses and landslide debris? Captain Durupinar studied his photographs and his maps. Dr. Brandenberger measured off the length. It was four hundred and fifty feet. Everything checked. But it was not a lava flow. And it was not man-made. Yet the outline of a ship was clearly visible. There were the steep, twenty-foot sides, then a depression, rising again to a grass-covered mound in the center. Apparently the whole side of the mountain had dropped twenty to forty feet, leaving this boat-shaped area intact. What made it so? That day started many men thinking. It was an enigma not easily resolved. Dr. Horn selected a likely spot and the Major gave the order to dig. We had not permit for anything but surface excavation. But the soldiers began digging a trench down into the wall. There was perhaps fourteen inches of surface soil. Then the hard clay. There were a few snail shells in the topsoil. Then pieces of lava mixed with the clay. The pile of earth heaped up as they dug down, down for eight feet. We watched intently. There were no archaeological remains. Nothing manmade. At least not at that depth. We tried the other wall. And a third spot. The results were the same. Most of us joined Dr. Horn in the conviction that the physical phenomenon was not of significance in solving Ararat’s enigma. But Captain Durupinar persisted. He had a permit to explore for minerals. He could order the use of dynamite. Dr. Horn wrung his hands at that. No archaeologist uses dynamite. But others in the group outvoted him. And the Major was eager to demonstrate the skill of his men. They returned the next day with nine sticks of dynamite. That took us down another eight feet. But still we found no trace of archaeological remains. Evidently this was a freak of nature. And if it was, the site was of no further interest to us. We had ruled out one possibility ready to tackle another. Our eyes now turned to greater Ararat looming beside us, its riddle still unsolved. Disappointed? Yes. Like the rocketry expert who plans a dozen launchings but is just human enough to hope that the first might be successful. The scientific mind rarely solves his problem in a single attempt. The space man does not give up because one rocket misfires. From each apparent defeat he builds toward eventual success. No claim had been made as to what we would find. Our specific purpose was to determine whether the object revealed in the photograph was or was not a boat. It was not. But our mission was accomplished. And since the formation shown in the photograph was apparently only a freak of nature, we felt that a full-scale expedition to carry on extensive excavation at the site would not be justified. We turned back our horses. Mission accomplished. It was one more step in solving the riddle of Ararat. And the solemn, snowy cone, persistently intriguing, stubbornly silent, was even now smiling down upon us as if amused by the questions of men. But we would keep on asking! UNFINISHED STORY The story has not ended yet. Its final chapter is still to be written. It may or may not be in the providence of God that we shall help to write it. But the persistent search will continue. For if one named Noah actually did ride out that nightmare of a storm in a boat God told him to build, then men might someday yet come upon its wreckage.
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We do not know that God has preserved the ship that survived that abrupt catastrophe. We only know that He could have. And the possibility intrigues us. If the boat was held intact for this doubting generation, responsible minds reason that it could have been accomplished in one of several ways. It could have been preserved by carbonization, by ancient burning. It could have been petrified. It could have been, like the mammoths, frozen in eternal ice. The latter suggestion seems most reasonable. Four things point uncannily to the possibility that the great ship still exists, frozen on a glacier high on Ararat. One is the Haji Yearam story, eloquent in its consistency. The second is the ring of authenticity surrounding the accounts of the finding of the Ark by Turkish soldiers following the earthquake of 1883, these accounts widely reported in the world’s great newspapers. The third is the persistent thread of evidence running through the sightings of the last century and more. The fourth, and perhaps most conclusive, is the near find of Navarra at the same general altitude and location as Haji Yearam described. ????(Not the Parrot Glacier) We have followed up one lead, the aerial photo. And this probe into Turkey has yielded valuable information. We know the area and have contact with the country and peoples of the Ararat region. We are now ready fro a plateau of investigation involving exhaustive research in every area that might lead to the solving of the riddle. My good friend Dr. Lawrence Hewitt, together with a group of dedicated scientists, scholars, and vigorous-minded businessmen whose vision encompasses a contribution to all humanity, has built solidly on the fruit of this first expedition. These men have decided that the time has come to establish a strong foundation for archaeological research, commissioned to probe every part of the riddle, a group with whom the Turkish government will work, protecting the interests of all people everywhere. For if the Ark of Noah is ever found, it belongs not to one man or one nation. It belongs to the world. This group is already deep in research. And information is coming to light which may make the Haji Yearam story, with the confession of the dying scientist, a link of evidence that dare not be disregarded. In fact, the evidence already in hand places before this generation the moral responsibility of probing the complete mystery. Our minds turn now to a glacier high on the slopes of Ararat. Seldom does this giant glacier melt. But a dry river bed, bending its circuitous way down the rocky side of the mountain, is mute evidence that at times it has drained its mighty waters when in the providence of God it has yielded to the extreme heat of an occasional hot summer. We shall have to wait until the glacier melts. We know that it melted in 1857. We know that it melted in 1883. We know that it did not melt in 1952, for Navarra found only dark, well-defined outlines beneath the ice, though he was able later to dig out a piece of wood. That glacier holds a mighty potential. For the solving of the riddle would reach across both national and ideological barriers. It would reach boldly across conflicting curtains of separation that men have built, curtains that statesmen find it impossible to pierce, and turn the minds of men to the Creator. September 14, 1967 – Dear Board Members and Friends of the Foundation, I write this report at my desk in Washington soon after returning from Turkey and after counsel with the available officers here. The board members have received copies of cables sent from Turkey, except one which evidently was lost. I wanted to let you know what was happening at weekly intervals. The results of this overseas investigation were not conclusive. We did learn much. Hardwicke Knight proved genuine and directed us to the area where he saw the timbers. We checked out the Reshit story, the Russian general, and contacted Navarra. You will be interested in what actually happened. The situation in Ankara is well in hand. An excellent relationship exists between government leaders and us. Dr. Zinnur Rollas again proved his worth. This man is growing in influence daily in Turkish government circles. He is highly respected, uses his influence wisely, and has not been hesitant to openly assist our project. The United States military personnel changes constantly. There are new faces in old familiar chairs, but these new people are as cooperative and interested as the old, if not more so. Colonel E. T. Hovetter, twenty-five years with the Pentagon and now in charge of our contract, is vitally interested and extended to us complete assistance. Detachment 98 at Erzurum is now headed by a man who is genuinlely interested in our project, and he too pledges complete support. Every man in our small group did splendidly. Their loyalty to the project is unquestioned, and each man did his utmost to bring lasting credit to the Foundation. Bud Crawford was our key man on the mountain. His familiarity with the local situation and his past experience in climbing made his contribution most valuable. Dr. Vanden Hoven proved an excellent all-round expedition member. He proved a good doctor for the health of the members, French translator and a good climber. In fact, he quickly learned the art of climbing and assisted Bud in some of the most dangerous areas of the search. Hardwicke Knight was the main reason for this summer’s quiet probe. There was to be no geological work, no glaciological work, no work on any of the other background sciences. The decision was simply that we take Mr. Knight to the mountain and learn from him the area where he sighted wood in 1936. Hardwicke Knight is an archeologist with some ability. He is at present working under a grant from the National Science Foundation through the University of Hawaii, studying Polynesian history. Mr. Knight is now fifty-six years of age and not entirely rugged in health. Dr. Vanden Hoven watched over him carefully.
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Kuranda—Mona Mona Aboriginal Welfare Centre of the Seventh Day Adventist Church …I thought you would be interested in a story we heard while living on Pitcairn Island. The Otago University of Dunedin in South New Zealand felt a burdon (sp.) for Pitcairn and frequently sent some teachers to the island to do research work. The men and women were not Bible lovers and their visits were of doubtful benefit. There was one man, however, whom we asked to tell us a story in a Young People’s meeting and we sat spellbound as he told us of some of his experiences as a British Spy in Russia. During the war he was in Russia as a photographer and he traveled from place to place visiting the country. Knowing that he was being watched he fled to the area of Mt. Ararat. The weather had been very dry and the snows had melted and he followed a track out from a village and to his amazement he came to an area where there were massive timbers exposed and he felt that these could have been the remains of a large ship. As a surveyor he plotted the position and took many pictures. With these interesting pictures he made his way to the Black sea (cap.) and tried to get through to Turkey. In passing Russian Guards his films were all taken and he was dreadfully sad to lose them. He returned safely to New Zealand. I asked him why he had not told the story to the world and he simply said, “It is not safe for me to do so yet.” His name and address is, F. Hardwiche (sp?) Knight, Photographic Dept. Duneden (sp.) Hospital, Great King Street, DUNEDIN, C.1. New Zealand. If you could possibly see him or have him fly to Auckland to meet you I am sure you would value his help… Yours very sincerely, W.G. Ferris, Pastor Letter, F. Hardwick Knight Dear Mr. Vandeman My original journal has been much edited, but I do not think it would have helped me to give you a much less vague idea. I cannot remember making any entries during the actual journey across the high ground between the Persian frontier and getting down to the Black Sea. I had deliberately crossed the border south of Sadarak where the rivers permitted, in order to escape from embarrassing followers, and intended to continue southwards on the Azerbaijan side, not realizing then that that would be impossible. I was riding, and the track I followed led me further and further from the river towards the foothills. It was not far from Gigo Qishlaq (?) that I fell foul with the armed guards I told you of, and after detention was taken to the Turkish frontier at a high pass. Descent southwards now meant the risk of re-entering an inhospitable Persia, and at all events I was deterred by the darkness (as I remember it) of a probably uncrossable (sp.) river course. My progress was along the contour, proceeding from pass to pass, and must have been generally in a north-western direction, for to the west was a deep ravine that became more impossible as I continued, and in avoiding this dangerous-looking country I tended to keep high on the slopes, intending to continue until a pass or ridge gave me a view to the north across the plain to Echmiatzin, where I had been befriended. The ravine threatened every now and then, between the ridges, to turn up towards the mountain, and this possibly made me climb to a higher contour than I realized. My health apparently benefited. There always seemed to be another ridge ahead, and eventually when I got to the Hama Da pass the way ahead was stopped by a ravine and the plain to the north looked very remote in the haze. I gave p all idea of a route through Ahora to Aralek, and tried to reach Orkov. I do not know to this day where I got to. It is most likely I did after all get down onto the plain again at a place called Beri, but this part of my journey is irrelevant. My discovery, which I must admit I did not fully realize the significance of at the time, occurred during one of the rather desperate progressions to reach the final pass that would give me a view to the north, but where or when during that mentally and physically distressed actual scenes but no continuity. You know the country, and will appreciate the feelings of one alone, without the language, and uncertain if he might not be moving into an impassable country. I believe that had I ventured more to the west I would have hit a track, but then I would have made no discovery. Regarding the timbers, I can only say that they looked amorphous, imbedded, but definitely as if part of a structure, and hewn, or at least angular. Subsequent archaeological experience with wood that has been preserved by various conditions make me certain what I encountered was wood and not lignite or anything else. I did not think as far back at the time as Noah, but rather of the possibility of military maneuvers of abandoned military machinery or works, and the find was to some extent reassuring to me that I was on route for the pass and not in a cul-de-sac. I made enquiries regarding military operations on Ararat years later in the Brit. Mus. Library, and it was only then that I came to consider the more likely hypothesis of a religious refuge of peoples coming from the Lake Van or the Tigris Valley to the immediate south. Whoever they were, they must have returned again to the south, for it is through the peoples from that area, is it not, that the majority of the flood and Noah accounts appear to have spread. I have always been engaged in archaeological work in Britain, in Spain, in Russia, and recently very intensively in the Eastern-Polynesian-New-Zealand-culture area. I am past president of the Otago Anthropological Society; on Pitcairn I work for the Nat. Sciences Foundation of America, and produced the trignometrical (sp.) survey of the Island, the site
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plans, and supervised the photography. I am a professional photographer, as you know, and started as an air photographer. I am at present seeking a publisher for a textbook I have written on ‘Archaeological Recording’ covering the surveying, photography, and graphic techniques involved. On the less practical side, I think my greatest interest in the archaeological field has been what I might call the vindication of tradition, and that very much includes the Bible. You may not be with me in this, and I assure you I am nonetheless a strict scientist, but if you ever produce evidence to quieten (sp.) the school of Biblical scoffers, I for one shall be very happy that day. You must please, at all events, keep me informed of your activities in future. Meantime, I trust I can in some way cooperate. What I have always hoped to see done at the Ararat site, was that first sections should be opened up to see if any trace of a stratigraphy could be found, indicating occupation there, and then sacrificial and other fires. The possible fauna of past periods also I wanted to study, and to recover the past ecology generally. I do not know how much in this direction you have already done; I have no doubt you are very far advanced, and I trust I may sometime be permitted to catch up with your work. Yours very sincerely, (signed) F. Hardwick Knight We learned that it was possibly to engage large tractors drawing heavy bedded trailers, which can carry equipment and men to the base camp quickly. A tractor can do the work of twenty eşeks, for one-fourth the cost and in a fraction of the time the slow animals consume. Walkie-talkies were tested and found to work to a distance of fifteen miles, which is great since communication can be a life or eath issue. After pitching our second camp near the top of the Ahora Gorge, three men searched certain promising areas while Hardwicke Knight rested rom the climbing strain. On the second day, he seemed able and anxious to travel, so he led the way up a difficult climb, including sheer cliffs, to the place he felt to be the spot. Once on top, he indicated that all of his travels came immediately to mind, and he remembered the exact place where he had stood at the edge of the Gorge when he was turned back because of the precipice but outlined the area in the old mountain of Ararat where he had seen the giant timbers. There are clear demarcations between the old mountains, the original material of Ararat, and the giant volcanic cone. In fact, Bud and his climbing companions the first day located a stratum of sea life high in the demarcation area. Hardwicke, feeling that he had completed his task in positively locating the area, decided that his work was finished. We all attempted to persuad him otherwise but bronchial trouble had already set in. So when we arrived back at base camp, he prepared to leave on the morrow. We did know the area, however, which we believe is also the Navarra area. The group then decided to return to the base camp in Ahora, intending to proceed up another leg of the mountain to the righ of the Gorge, placing our camp in close proximity to the actual Knight area and thus eliminating the need for the exhausting climb up sheer cliffs each time a search was made. We felt it was practically impossible to take enough equipment up the sheer cliff to establish even a high camp from that location, for had we attempted it our high camp would have been nearly three thousand feet above out second camp in the Gorge even though the actual distance would have been less than half a mile. This took several days over the weekend. In the meantime, I went down the mountain and in six hours Providence guided me to the Reshit group. We found a guide and associate of Mr. Reshit and learned the full details of all that happened. They, too, saw wood, bu tno the full Ark as the story was told in the newspaper at Istanbul. It was well-tooled, mortised timber, howevere, protruding from the snow and ice. This was seen on two occasions as they brought others back to examine it. But no one is still living who can take us to the actual spot. This aged man’s testimony, however, fully identifies the section of the mountain as being the same as that which we were already searching. We will give further details on the Reshit situation at our next board meeting. At the least, it was evidence to support what we were doing. During the night I traveled back up to base camp by tractor. We decided that while the transfer to the right side of the Ahora was taking place by our men, I should quickly travel to Paris to appeal to Navarra, on the basis of little or no remuneration, to come in to help identify the exact spot. I knew our men might find it. But if they did not, it would be too late to call for Navarra’s help. So I set out for Paris. I met and talked with Navarra, and discovered that he had suffered near bankruptcy during the summer. It was this that had led him previously to ask us for $20,000. He faced nearly $50,000 in unpaid bills, and he was simply hoping to recoup some of it by sharing what he felt was valuable to us. In the meantime, the government had helped him out of the problem and loaned him sufficient funds to finish a demolition job near Bearritz, France, 100 miles eas of Bordeaux. The job must be done by August 31 in order to qualify for these funds and he was to begin another one on September 1. I was convinced of his sincerity. He and his family opened their hearts to me and he solemnly promised that next year, money or no money, he would lead us to the spot, and he would give us what time was necessary to make positive identification. I spent a number of hours while in France tracing the Russian general who commanded the Mount Ararat area up to the Russian revolution in 1917. But this is another piece of historical evidence that I will share with the board at our next meeting. We will have to rewrite some of our history in this particular. It was a very valuable visit. But now back to the mountain. The men had faithfully covered every portion of the Knight area, which was the only portion of the mountain not previously searched by our men. Our small group believes that there is no spot on the mountain more likely to hold the
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giant ship, or its remains, than this area. There are several huge valleys surrounded by smaller peaks, all originally part of the old Ararat range before the spouting of volcanic action erected the two huge cones to the south. So thorough was the search on these two different occasions by the two groups that it seemed useless to continue without further identification of the actual spot beneath the ice. We are of the considered opinion that our find will be of a conused array of timber beneath the ice, to be followed by a man-sized job of excavation or ice-melting such as only General Electric or some other giant corporation can do with their huge sun-focusing mirrors. We believe that this identification can be inexpensive in comparison with the costs of the past. The entire cost of the operation this year, including the visits to Navarra and the Russian general, was less than $9,500. No salary was paid to anyone, except a little sustenance for Bud Crawford’s family. We had a previous agreement that Navarra should be contacted on a no-remuneration basis if necessary. Now a word about the Cinerama group’s proposal. Eryl Cummings, hired as a field representative for three months to raise funds, made a valuable contact with Mr. Howard Minsky, vice-president of Cinerama. Various members of the board traveled to California and met with Mr. Minsky and worked out an agreement. The Cinerama people would begin immediately to gather funds in the amount of one million dollars to be in hand by January 1. These funds would support a full-scale expedition in 1968, film it in 65 mm, and finally divide the profits of the file production release with the Foundation. The film would be a travel-exploration-type filem to be given to the world market in twenty-three different languages. Many questions still need to be answered about this along with unauthorized people, not officers of the Foundation visiting Mr. Minsky. Therefore, the officers authorized Ralph Crawford and myself to investigate. Ralph, myself and our legal counsel from Latham & Watkins met with Mr. Minsky who gave us his evaluation of all that had taken place. He is a very fine gentleman. Mr. Minsky told us that the money-raising venture had been discarded. He indicated that at the urging of Eryl Cummings and other friends who had been visiting Mr. Minsky occasionally, including Dr. McReynolds (a total of fifty hours in all), he had agreed to an expedition this year. It was planned, we learned, to send a camera crew with the investigating party at a cost of $50,000, which money was to be raised not by Cinerama but by these men who were urging the immediate expedition. And what these men evidently did not understand was that the $50,000 they were to raise did not involve a Cinerama picture. It would simply be a 35 mm film of fifteen minutes in length that could be used for fund-raising and not for the world market. We developed a new plan in case a find were made this year. Mr. Minsky submitted a new budge including the 65 mm camera since the board had their heart set on it. Therefore we set out to raise one of two sets of monies—$100,000 for the total involvement in case a finder should be made, or $12,000 to $15,000 simply for an inexpensive probe. We believe it is providential that we were able to raise only $12,000 this year. Also, the Foundation has paid Eryl Cummings a total of $5,551.30 in salary and expense, plus telephone bills paid directly by the Foundation in the amount of more than $1,000 for his three months of fund-raising responsibility. There have been some questions regarding this. Cordially Yours, George E. Vandeman, Chairman G. Eric Jones, President Humanity is restless and perplexed, fearful of the future. Men are willing to probe even unpopular theories for the sake of finding truth. The times demand it. And in a divided, distracted world what could give such pause as reverting minds to the day when God took a hand in the affairs of men? God did take a hand. And He will do it again. In spite of our proud achievements, the cosmic events of our day have produced a groping humility in the minds of thinking men and women. They have been intrigued with the possibility that one day soon the Creator will again intervene with one of His great acts. That is what the Book describes. It seems almost prophetic that today’s writers seem forced to go back to a Volume finished over eighteen hundred years ago to find the phrases they feel compelled to use to describe this hour. Is it any wonder that tapping insistently at the minds of men is the suggestion that the Bible is right after al? And what could burn that suggestion more deeply into the thinking of a surprised world than the solving of Ararat’s riddle? The Ark may no longer exist except in the dust of the centuries. It may never be found. But tugging at our imaginations and at our reason is the possibility that it silently awaits discovery. If it was there in 1857, if it was there in 1883, if it was there even as late as 1952, may it not be there today? May Ararat yet yield its secret and permit its stubborn enigma to be explained? This, then, is the challenge. This is the unfinished story. Whether or not we are about to turn the page to its final chapter we cannot say. It may be that in the providence of God the world is about to see a dramatic vindication of the Book by which all men are to be judged. That we do not know. We do have a convincing thread of evidence, Turkish friendship, and a faith that covets vindication not for itself, but for others. And may God give us the heart of a child!
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Raymond Moore was the Chief Scientist of both United States Office of Education and the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF). Chapter 13
1964 Raymond Moore, Ph.D. The Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) 1964 Expedition (Operation 62/64) included the following people: Raymond Moore Ph.D., Mike Anguiti (Photographer, Mobile Oil), Wilbur Bishop, Roger Brown (Movie Photographer), Harry M. "Bud" Crawford, William Cromite (Geologist, World Book Encyclopedia), Bill S. Dougall, Lawrence Hewitt M.D., Norman Kendall M.D., Sevkit Kurtis, Gordon F. Mansell (England), Dennis R. Moore, V.L. Paul Nabors (Pilot), Sidney R. Phillips, Richard “Dick” F. E. Pownall (Everest climber), William Reed, George Silberberg (Physicist, China Lake), and George Jernigan. The Foundation gratefully acknowledges the time and effort of Siegfried H. Horn, Ph.D. Andrews University and Arthur J. Brandenberger, Ph.D. from the Geodetic Institute of Ohio State University who provided advice and assistance to the Expedition Chief Scientist. The 1964 expedition arrived in Ankara, Turkey, in the latter part of June, after having received word that all clearances for expedition personnel had been obtained from the Turkish authorities. On arrival of the main body, it was found that because of tension in Cyprus, these clearances had to be revalidated. This delay, coupled with the death of Dr. H. J. Klooster, a former Scientific Chief of the Foundation, which had necessitate selection of a new Chief Scientific Staff and consequent delays, set the stage for many misunderstandings and time-consuming conferences in Turkey, which prevented the expedition’s arrival at Mt. Ararat in time to complete the scientific studies. The aim of the Scientific Staff of the 1964 expedition was to do a valid Geological, Glaciological, Topographical and Botanical study of Mt. Ararat, and the Ahora Cut. Precise measurements were to be taken of ice movements, and complete weather stations equipment was to be set up for weather study. Mt. Ararat is located at the Iranian and Russian border in eastern Turkey. Little scientific information is available on the mountain and surrounding area. Relatively few expeditions have been made to this area. This is primarily due to the reluctance on the part of the Turkish Government to have three country nationalities in such close proximity to a military restricted zone, and of course the area is much wilder and relatively unimproved, as compare to other portions of Turkey. These two factors inhibit expeditions to this part of Turkey. Among those expeditions worthwhile mentioning is the expedition by the Swiss Cartography Professor, Imhoff, in the early fifties of this century, and those carried out by the Archaeological Research Foundation. Unofficially recorded temperatures in the lower Ahora Valley Plain rise to extremes during the summer, often reaching 112ºF to 120ºF. The area up to the 12,000-foot level abounds in swarms of mosquitoes and flies. These insects are persistent even to altitudes as high as 13,500 feet. Winds were up to 90-150 miles per hour. At the altitudes above 13,500 feet, with the warm winds coming up from the valley and meeting the cold air from the glacier, cross winds and currents of terrific velocity can and do spring up without notice, making any work above the 13,000 foot level hazardous and uncomfortable. Cloud formations normally start to form at above the 14,000 feet level in mid-morning, often towering to 20,000 feet within a few moments after starting to form, and prohibiting work above the level of visibility. Small storms spring up at a moment’s notice, and often leave as high as six inches of new snow in an overnight period. Water from the snow and glacial area of the mountain during the summer months constantly forms freshets and rivers which flow rapidly down the side of the mountain, generally disappearing within the mountain itself, prior to reaching the base. Potable water may be obtained from isolated springs. Except for isolated trails made by nomadic Kurds in pasturing and grazing their sheep and goats, there are no improved highways beyond Dogubayazit. Paul Nabors flew all around the mountain and landed at 12,500 feet elevation twice at Kıp Göl, shuttling VIPs and equipment from Dogubayazit to Kıp Göl. Paul planned to land on the summit as he had skis on the plane but the Foundation climbers did not have the summit marked in order to do so. Landing a plane at Kıp Göl in 1964 was more difficult than on the summit according to Nabors. Paul Nabors also stated that there was no National Geographic expedition during the entire time ARF was on the mountain. An unfavorable climate was created for the expedition by the tense situation between Turkey and Greece, with increasing suspicion of the U.S., particularly after the early Acheson recommendation (favoring Greece) and the many anti-U.S. demonstrations. These harassed Operation 62 to the end as it was the sole expedition on Ararat in 1964. At least five major 1964 expeditions were planned for Ararat. None succeeded except this Foundation. And it was invited to return in 1965. However, because of these issues and maneuvers announced for the Ararat region, all permissions were in effect cancelled. Subsequently appeal was made through the U.S. Military Mission for the Aid of Turkey (JUSMMAT), delegated to his Chief of Staff, and Turkish-United States Logistical Force (TUSLOG). JUSMMAT personnel basically secured permission for entrance to Ararat including the plane, and TUSLOG men provided indispensable help with Customers officers, transportation and countless other needs. The fact that U.S. personnel are already established logistically, politically and diplomatically carries an expedition over difficult-to-impossible hurdles when dealing with problems that faced the Expedition. Military personnel from privates to General and Admiral gave our men every
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legitimate courtesy and hearts full of encouragement. At least four parties for our personnel or similar occasions were arranged by various military individuals or agencies at the operation’s end. The aid of the military saved Operation 62 many thousands of dollars. Food, lodging, transport of equipment, APO, Exchange privileges and general services. This statement is an over-simplification of tremendously complex problems interwoven with scores of government offices and agencies, civilian and military. Previous to developing a friendship with the Kurds, the Kurds (or Russian agents) had burglarized our camp of equipment, much of it personal, totaling more than $1,000. And planes from Russia flew into Turkey, around and over the Mountain at high altitudes. As many as 55 Kurds, men, women, and children, waited at a time for physical diagnosis or treatment, with totals going as high as 110 in a single day. Many amulets and charms are designed to ward off certain evils; to this end, a firm believe in the evil eye exists in the minds of most of the Nomadic peoples of Eastern Turkey. All new babies wear, someplace on their clothing, a replica, in bead form, of the human eye to ward off the evil eye. An example of superstitions and taboo was a twenty-five year old girl, who had been blind since the age of five years, and was brought to base camp by friends, for treatment. Her parents had refused her medical help for twenty years because of superstitions and a taboo. She had been kept in isolation. She was suffering from a trachomalike condition of both eyes. A combination of allergy and infection had, through the years, produced an overgrowth of tissue that had resulted in complete blindness. She was treated with steroid therapy and Neo-aristocrat ophthalmic ointment (Lederie) every two hours. At the end of two weeks, the overgrowth of tissue had almost disappeared, the infectious process abated, and she was able to see quite clearly. The results obtained form American medical therapy spread with great rapidity throughout the whole area, and seemed to confirm in their own minds they believe in the superiority of the American physician over all others. This and other cases won the favor of the Kurd tribes of people. Whereas they had been stealing, they began to bring gifts of their meager means; a few eggs, a watermelon, a chicken, a donkey to ride on, an embrace of affection. Again and again, they pled for the expedition to return. From the chief of the Turkish Staff, General Sunay, and the Ministers of virtually all government departments, down through their operating team (particularly such as Lt. General Tulga, Admiral Eyiceoglu, Colonel Kurdakul, and the Chief of the 3rd Army staff) to such civilians as Dr. Hikmet Belbez, Dr. Husamedain Guz and the men of the Middle East Technical University went out of their way to help us. One the Mountain, Colonel Kurdakul demonstrated clearly to us why he is the commandant of the Turkish Mountain Troop School. His balance at all times, his willingness to meet problems forthrightly, his trustworthy men, and his thorough acquaintance with mountain and camp problems made him of incalculable value to our expedition. Added to the many rounds of permission negotiations and repeated bad breaks were other problems: 1) Some records were not complete (e.g. Phillip’s photos were not on his papers, etc.) 2) There had been a recent American death in the Ararat area (typhoid) 3) Another American had killed a Turk with his car, and lay in jail for months at Doğubayazit 4) There had been problems with Kurd bandits nearby 5) Some officials were suspicious of our plans and complex scientific gear 6) Admiral Eyiceoglu told JUSMMAT that the expedition appeared to some officials as “entirely too well organized, compared with other expeditions” 7) The very fine local governor (Agri) was taking no chances. Finally, JUSMMAT and the Turkish staff communicated directly with Lt. General Tulga, Turkey’s Third Army Commander. General Tulga took things strongly in hand, and with the cooperation of the governor, cleared the way completely. After TUSLOG and the American Embassy cooperated to help clear the scientific equipment that had to be counted, the customs men decided the food should be taxed. There was “too much food to eat in one month.” Tax was to be 80% to 100%. So we had to go through the routine again. This happened a total of five times. Meanwhile, the men at the Mountain could not clearly understand the Customers or permissions problems, and were becoming impatient. This was easy to understand, considering the mosquitoes and the sun, without adequate water and food, and because of poor communications facilities. George Silberberg and Sevket Kurtis were sent to the mountain to help out but then after 10 more days, they became impatient as well. Cromie and Dougall were always enthusiastic and anxious to move ahead, but time closed in on them, and they returned to the U.S. At this point, emergency personnel arrangements were made by utilizing sons of two TUSLOG colonels. Ararat seldom makes itself “available” for more than a few weeks around August. Before and after that period, the chill weather freezes the snow and ice so that there is little or no drinking water and temperature are prohibitive. Second, the winds and clouds are genuinely dangerous; the area is so vast and without adequate landmarks, that a team can quickly lose its way when weather closes in. Third, the almost constant avalanches or falling rock constitute an everpresent hazard. Fourth, the crevasses with their sharp stalagmite and stalactite icicles this time of the year form potential chambers of horror or death. Near the expedition’s end, in obscure weather, one climbing team experienced twenty “fallins” in one day, one as far as fifty feet. And one of the scientists left the Mountain with snow-blindness from failing to wear snow goggles for a period of ninety minutes while on the summit. The nomadic people almost constantly lingered near the camp. Finally a “luncheon” was held for the “hajis” (leaders) of the main camps, to acquaint them with our purposes and to learn of them. Dozens of their camps with up to 50 or 75 persons (and uncounted sheep, goats, cows and horses) to a camp, were within a five mile radius of the Base camp. They come to the higher areas each year in May from the rock, mud and dung villages at the foot of the Mountain, and return in August. The ability of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog to operate in extremes of climate with a minimum of maintenance and carrying extreme loads over the rated capability of the vehicle was phenomenal. The high and heavy rocks proved a hard obstacle for the little Honda motorcycles. The Nikon cameras were in constant use and demand. The Head skis were greatly appreciated, the Turks, Olympic Skiers, taking special delight. An airfield was prepared at the
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12,800-foot level where the Pilatus Porter plane (Swiss) was housed. The plane was used for reconnaissance flights around and over the mountain and for surveillance of the mountain crews operating on the ice cap. Health problems of the expedition found at high altitudes included: 1) pulmonary Edema of high altitude 2) Snow blindness 3) Sun and window burns 4) Gastro-enteritis 5) Infections of the feet. One of the principal problems found at base camp, located at the 11,500 feet level, was that of flies, although not nearly as serious as below the 8,000 feet level. Although temperatures dropped to zero degrees Fahrenheit, this did not seem to destroy them or lessen their numbers. Time on this expedition was insufficient to make a comprehensive or detailed botanical study. The flora found in the Mt. Ararat area is most unusual in a number of respects. Especially remarkable is its size, considering the altitude, its variety and freedom from disease. For example, the common thistle often grows to a height of over six feet, and the leaves of Plantago Virginica attain a length in excess of eighteen inches. The wide variety of wild plants include: 1) Alfalfa 2) Sugar Beet 3) Sweet Clover 4) White Clover 5) Watercress 6) Poppy 7) Peppermint 8) Cay (used in tea making). It is interesting to note that the hollyhock, so difficult to grow in some parts of the world, grows in profusion here. Edible plants include Iskin and Tusi. There are a number of plants, the leaves of which serve as seasoning for foods including: 1) Kekik 2) Nane 3) Asotu. For geology, Mt. Ararat is a typical volcanic cone of composite structure. Samples of both basaltic and rhyelitic rocks were found. Ferruh Demirmen, Turkish geologist, and officials of the Geological Division of the Turkish M. T. A. have asked more further samples before making a full report. Samples brought to the U.S. have been examined by geologists of the Alabama Geological Survey, who is expected to recommend disposition for petrological and mineralogical studies and further sampling. Our purpose of the 1964 field study was to investigate craters on Ararat’s flanks, which have been assumed by some observers to be meteoritic in origin. No evidence was found to bear this out. All craters are undoubtedly associated with satellite cones and fissures on the flanks of the main cone. However, a large shallow depression near the base of Ararat, on the north side of the Doğubayazit road close to the Iranian border, should be investigated further. The large, steep cliff on the north side of Ararat, which heretofore was believed to have originated in a “tremendous explosion” during the last century, is actually the scar from an extensive landslide or series of landslides. Samples of rock were taken from outcrops in the area surrounding Ararat while field parties awaited clearance. Dip and strike of exposed strata were measured by Brunton compass. This geological data was plotted upon topographic maps prepared by the Turkish Army. A 1inch:1,000-feet topographic map of the area above Lake Kip that was explored has been prepared. The map was made using plane table, telescopic alidade and rod. It has been tied to two Turkish Army benchmarks on Ararat. The Ice covering Ararat’s summit consists of a slow-moving ice cap with only one major glacier located on the north side. Four lines of movement stakes were installed in two movement nets. It is intended to re-survey the positions of the stakes in 1965 and subsequent years to determine the dynamics of ice flow on Ararat. No artifacts of archaeological significance were found. The fact that the mountain ice is an ice pack, rather than a shifting ice formation (glacier) tolerates the possibility of the containment of an ancient artifact there, provide if the mountain is not totally volcanic. On the basis of 1964 Ararat experience, the following suggestions are made to the Archaeological Research Foundation Directors: Establish careful, solid relationships with both government and civilian agencies, and allow ample time for these negotiations. Insure simplest equipment that will do the job. Avoid experimentation with any equipment. For example, to have attempted to land a De Havilland Caribou plane on Ararat would have been a disaster. Allow six months or more for permissions. Have all equipment, gear, and goods on hand and thru customs before sending personnel. Assign a qualified cook and insure that he contracts to do the job. Have a careful accounting plan. Suggest each man be given a per diem or so much spending money. Otherwise, receipting in several currencies and languages makes accounting almost impossible. Company should pay only lodging and transportation while not in camp above and beyond per diem. Have one man responsible for major spending and giving of gifts, gratuities, etc. Use indigenous and on-site personnel wherever possible. Utilize more fully the services of such agencies as the Geological Division of the MTAO, Ankara, and Turkish universities. Insure off-mountain rest periods at 10-day to 14-day intervals. Be independent, though careful, in dealing with the Press.
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Alva R. Appel (1922-2006) was a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) minister, Chief of Chaplains for the United States Air Force Auxillary Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Chaplain Colonel of the United States Congressional Squadron, and son-in-law of a Seventh Day Adventist President of the General Conference. A strong climber and a clear-minded soul who was never swayed by “Ark Fever,” Alva brought a critical-thinking attitude that was helpful to promote honest research over the decades and as secretary for the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) between 1965 and 1969, he kept the ARF on the straight and narrow way where he was involved. Alva received many degrees including D.Min., D.D., CHE, ABECI, LCDAPA, LPC, and BCC. Chapter 15
1965-1969 Alva Appel, D.Min. It was in the early part of 1966 that I was invited to join the Archeological Research Foundation (ARF) expedition to Mt. Ararat in Turkey. Among other projects, they were looking for any evidence or remains of the Bibical Ark of Noah. I had heard that they had sponsored expedition during 1962 and 1964 but knew very little of the details. It seemed like an exciting opportunity to be a part of something that was “about to happen.” I then firmly believed as I do now in the accuracy of the Bibical record. There was no need for further evidence unless the Creator chose to reveal additional evidence. If additional evidence was given, what would man do with it? Worship it? Try to make money on it? Take personal glory and importance in finding it? Permission for me to join the expedition was granted by my employer and plans began for the trip. Many questions came to mind such as, “Is this the right mountain?”, “Is it possible that there are remains there?” and many others. I prpared by reading materials of former expeditions and interviews with persons who had been on the mountain or at a nearby location not far from the mountain. This would be a good place to state that as far as I know the Seventh-day Adventist church never funded or promoted these expeditions even though there were numerous members, who like myself, were on expeditions. I did indeed discuss this with a world president of the church to whom I was related. My passport was obtained in forty-five minutes, my health shots obtained and the International vaccination book was obtained fully signed. I believe I was charged ten cents for the book. On June 27, 1966 aboard Pan Am Flight 114, Lawrence Hewitt, Cliff Burdick, Eryl Cummings and myself left for Orley Air Port. The cooperation of Pan American Airways was super and deeply appreciated. We passed through Rome on the 28th on our way to Ankara, Turkey, arriving that same day. The next morning we met Lt. Col. Davis at Tuslog, picked up our ID’s and were assigned our APO (Army Post Office address) which was Headquarters, Tuslog, Box 159 APO 09254, New York, New York. I was told that this along with base exchange privileges was courtesy because of the contract with the United States Army’s Natick branch for the surveys that were to be done, including glaciological, geological, plant life and medical. Additional items supplied for this trip by Natick included the following: Six ice axes, two gasoline stoves, tent poles and pins, two tents, two hundred feet of nylon rope, seven pairs of combat boots, seven pairs of insulated boots, fourteen pair of wool socks and a supply of mixed nuts. The beans requested were not supplied. This is according to records I have was in addition to a large quantity of rations previously supplied under Agreement 236. There also were some contracts between the foundation and the members of the expedition, which agreed that the foundation would care for the actual expenses of all the individuals on the expedition. In addition, Van Arkel, Burdick and one or two others received a stipend of two hundred fifty dollars or so a month for two months. Bill Dougall and I were not included in this extra support. Dr. Lawrence Hewitt M.D. was the leader of the expedition and spent part of his time on the mountain and part of the time off of it. Clifford Burdick was putting together the geological report. Eryl Cummings helped Burdick with the report. Bud Crawford, Bill Dougall and I performed the extensive exploratory work. Nicholas Van Arkel worked on the glaciological report. There were two Swiss climbers, Alex Staub and Theo Koller who we met us on Mt. Ararat and whose services were temporarily obtained to help in the glacial survey. One of them had a companion along whose name I cannot remember. Van Arkel and Cliff Burdick subsequently submitted very detailed reports in writing of their findings under the Archaeological Research Foundation mantra. It was in Van Arkel’s report that the finding of wood was mentioned. Alex and he found about twenty pieces of wood half a meter to a meter long. These had the normal color of wood, between yellow and brown. They appeared to be part of a window or door, etc. They were found on the snow close to the moraine and on the moraine in the summit area. Van Arkel believed they were possibly the remains of a Turkish or Russian mountain hut and certainly not anything ancient. Dr. Hewitt also presented a report of plant life on and around the mountain being assisted by other members of the team.
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Personal equipment was purchased and obtained. We had a couple of packs each together with sleeping bags and warm clothes. Ice axes and Crampons were supplied to all of the climbers. We had six fiber glass boxes: one for our medical supplies; one for stoves and lanterns; one for equipment; one for climbing high altitude pack; one whole duffle bag of film from Franc Shor of the National Geographic Society; one with misc. Everyone also had three canteens, two were of a new variety engineered to keep the contents from freezing and one of the older standard variety. I cannot say enough about the excellent, courteous and efficient support and helpfulness of the Turkish government and military. Our assembly point was at the Kent Hotel in Ankara. A truck load of equipment was assembled. It was here that I was introduced as the one who would obtain the materials and equipment for hospitals in Turkey. This I had heard nothing about and was a little taken aback. It was on the day of June 30 that I began the ride by truck to Erzurum with the supplies. The other members went by train. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the towns and villages that we traveled through. We stayed at the Arnek Hotel a day or so before proceeding to Dogubeyazit on July 4 and then on to Ortulu where fifty to sixty horses were hired to take all of the supplies up to base camp at Kopgel meadow. This a distance of approximately fifteen miles. A whole truck load of supplies required a lot of horses to carry. Some of our members rode horses and some of us elected to walk. It was rugged going but we were much better acclimatized this way. I learned to walk from the lowest parts from Bill Dougall along with a lot of other guidance on mountain climbing lore. Bill was an experienced mountain climber and a real asset to the group. He was steady, methodical and never motivated by personal importance or glory. Bill also taught us the value of carrying whistles to find each other especially during inclement or foggy weather, which was often the case. Lake Kopgel meadow was an excellent location for base camp. The meadow was a couple thousand feet across and surrounded on three sides with rock and snow, sheltered from the wind and treeless. There were many mountain flowers. We had a gas burner stove which took an inordinate amount of time to heat anything because of the altitude. We had a stream, flat ground and ample room. Our housing consisted of three tents for quarters and storage. We soon settled into the tasks that we had been assigned. The Swiss climbers added a pup tent to our lodging accommodations. We had a good water supply and our baths in the cold stream were invigorating to say the least. These baths seemed to be to the amazement of the occasional Kurdish shepherds and their flocks who at times shared the same plain as they did their grazing. One of these shepherds was particularly friendly and helpful. He had a bagpipe that he used to serenade us while he was watching his flocks. One day we gave him his hearts desire which was to have his picture taken with a pair of binoculars around his neck. Some of our equipment came crated and the wood would make excellent material for a storage table and cook top. Imagine the surprise some of us had after the first day of working on the mountain to see that a certain member of the team [Eryl Cummings] had acquired the material and made a most outstanding “hole in one throne” open to the sights and sounds of this beautiful meadow. We rescued most of the lumber and this is probably the first time that a kitchen cabinet was made from a “wall-less” outhouse. Soon all were busy about their tasks. Several times in the next few weeks it was discovered that the canned fruit supplies were missing. While a certain member of the expedition was away for the day we discovered all of the fruit was hidden under his cot. This happened several times but nothing was ever said to him about it, nor did he ever make any comment. Altitude seems to effect different people differently. One of our members after spending some time at a higher altitude could not remember his wife’s name till he came back down to base camp for a rest. Mountain climbing can be dangerous even with experience, crampons, ice axes etc. One of the Swiss climbers while roped fell into a crevasse. His description of swinging there between ice walls and finally being pulled out alive was truly an event not to soon be forgotten. It would not have been the first time this mountain had been a final resting place. Reports from 1965 indicate that two persons were missing on the mountain that year. They were an Austrian doctor and a British student, Christopher Trease. We were asked to keep a lookout for anything on them but that is another story . One evening Bill Dougall and I climbed down around one thousand feet into the Ahora Gorge to a spot near the edge of the Araxes/Black Glacier. There we planned to spend the night after a long day of climbing and searching for the elusive prize. We planned to search in the Black Glacier area the next day. We made our makeshift camp just up a little ways from the edge of the Black Glacier. It was just two days before this that we had been up on the Abich glaciers. We were roped together and traded off as anchorman so that the other could look over the edge. It was a long, long way down. As I returned from one of the looks, Bill said we’d better get the heck out of here, this glacier is going to go. His ice axe handle suddenly went down too easily. Sure enough, the night we camped down by the Black Glacier we had hardly gone to sleep when there was the noise of a hundred railroad trains as part of the glacier above broke off and came down the gorge. All we could do was lay there in the pitch dark, wait and wonder. It could be the end for all we knew. When the morning light came we saw the Black Glacier was covered with a tremendous flow of ice, the edge of which came within a few feet of where we had spent the night. We looked in awe, gazing at the tremendous mass of what had been the edge of the glacier from above as it now covered most of the black glacier. One estimate was there was about 100,000 tons that came down. One never forgets an experience like that. It was while exploring this glacier that I came across a metal bowl. It was partially sticking out of the glacier. I dug it out. It measures six inches across and almost three inches deep and one could say it resembles a oriental rice bowl in style. It is pretty badly beaten up but could be usable. It is hand beaten and has a lip. If only it could talk! Weather, too, was also at times not very accommodating. This often came in the form of severe hail and rainstorms lasting as long as two days at a time. The daily hazard was the “widow-makers” as we called them, They were small to
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tremendous sized rocks rolling and bouncing down the mountain. Often after a bounce they would shatter into many smaller rocks continuing in their erratic manner gathering speed. One could only hope that they would pass without hitting home. It was obvious why we called them “widow-makers” The earlier part of the day before the sun’s rays melted and released these rocks was when we saw the least of “widow-maker” activities. Bill Dougall and I did extensive searching of the Parrot Glacier or Navara area but found nothing significant archaeologically. Because of the uneven terrain it was possible in some places to to climb under the glacier into the “reverse crevasses”. That is the name I coined for it. These are caused when the glacial mass is cracked open from below as it flows through a depression then up to a ridge on its journey over the terrain of the mountain as the mass of ice makes its slow descent. The work we did was quite thorough. As we traversed and climbed the mountain we not only did a visual search of the terrain but we also took photos in multiple directions. At the very least, we took one photo up, one photo down and one from the ridge we had come from and one toward the ridge we were approaching. We soon learned to let our beards grow and to plaster our faces and beards with cream. This kept the sores, blisters and windburn to a minimum as we worked at these altitudes and under the prevailing weather conditions. We found that cheerios, raisins and powdered milk placed in plastic bags were very convenient for a meal or trail snack. When hungry we would chip ice and put it into a plastic bag with the other contents and then place it inside our warm jackets and clothes. This we placed under our arm pits for the process of melting. As it thawed “voila” there was a appetizing snack. A variation from the “C” rations was always welcome. Apple nuggets also made a great snack but dehydrated beets were something quite different. We also found this method of warming was also a way to get our poloroid photos to develop. A good polaroid picture is a real asset in making friends. It was a Kurdish villager treat that can be given immediately and for some it was the greatest of treats. It often enhances the opportunity to take additional photos on other cameras. As the glacial work was completed Van Arkel, the Swiss climbers and Bill Dougall left. The remaining ones made preparations to move the base camp to the northern or Russian side of the mountain. On July 26th, I found myself left alone to care for the camp as all of the others had gone down the mountain already. There were five lonely hours from four to nine pm that night. At about 9 pm, I heard folks approaching and to my great relief it turned out to be Dr. Hewitt, Bud Crawford and Sgt. Erbay of the Turkish army. They were a welcome sight. The next morning we prepared for the move. There was the usual bargaining and it almost appeared that we were buying the animals rather than hiring them for the day. On July 27th we descended down the mountain preparing to establish another base camp on the North side adjacent to Jacob's well. The trip down was about fifteen miles or so and I carried a fifty-pound pack While waiting to go around to the other side of the mountain we noted this weapons carrier which was the traveling vehicle for a mixed gender group of young folk from England. They said they were going to drive all the way from England to Australia. What was the interesting part of their appearance was the large sign, hand painted in full length, on the side of the vehicle. It simply read, “Miscarriage.” We took a picture of them and the vehicle and wished them a safe trip. On August 3 at 4:30am we proceed around to Ahora on the other side of the mountain. We obtained horses for the arduous trip up to Jacob's Well. Ahora was the traditional site where Noah planted his first vineyard after the flood. It is interesting to note that I saw at least one vineyard there in 1966. Jacob’s Well was the water supply for the monastery of St Jacob’s. This monastery was destroyed in the great earthquake and mud flow of 1840. This happened on June 20th according to Blumenthal, with the damned up debris at the end of the valley finally breaking loose onto the plain destroying or covering the monastery. All that remained of the monastery was covered with rubble from the mountain and might be a very interesting sight for future diggings. One could stand by the well, looking downhill and see the mound which certainly should contain the remains of the original monastery. I pointed this out to the others as we stood there. There was a tree near to the well where village women from below came and hung pieces of cloth, which we were told was for fertility. There was also a pile of rocks nearby, which had some spiritual significance. We enjoyed this water supply near our tents. Occasionally villagers from below came and obtained water there. Thus we often had company. It was interesting to note that a few of the young girls looked very Scandinavian. Could they be throw-backs to early history? There were other types of animals besides the domesticated sheep, goat, and cattle herds of the Kurdish shepherds. Members of the expedition saw evidence of big cat paws, bear, and wolves. One day when Bud Crawford and I were climbing we were attacked by some large diving birds. They must have had a nest nearby but we were not able to find it. We did recover some feathers from the attack. We also found horns of animals, possibly ibex, which had apparently been eaten by some larger animals. Their lairs may have been nearby but we did not see them. Some of the bones were fairly fresh and some had been around a long time. We brought one or two to our camp but the idea of taking them home was vetoed. They really did not smell that good. As Bill and the surveyors had already left, Bud Crawford and I did extensive searching on the Russian side of the mountain. We spent days away from base camp with meager rations, sleeping bags, cameras and climbing equipment so as to complete the task of checking out any possibilities of the location of the ark on the eastern and western sides of the Ahora Gorge. We found none. Then it was time to go. Bud Crawford was a hard working congenial person to climb with. Our work for the summer had come to an end and plans for going home were most welcome. Tired, bearded and thinner we made our way back to Jacob’s Well and base camp. Packing up from there we traveled down the mountain to meet our trucks. While waiting there at the lower altitude we spent our time gathering plants for Dr Hewitt’s research. The truck arrived and we were on our way back to Dogubeyasit. On the way back we had some excellent photo opportunities. We
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met the remaining members of the team and spent a day or two at a hotel in Dogobyazit. During this time we went to the Diyadin Hot Springs and had the bath of the summer. Eryl Cummings and I were to fly from Erzurum to Ankara together. We would take the early morning bus from Dogubeyazit to the airport at Erzurum. They let us out of the hotel in the dark. When were arrived by bus at the officers club in Erzurum, the other party informed me that he did not have the money for his air ticket back home. I had just enough for mine. I had been informed that binoculars were at a premium so started some hard bargaining around and finally got a price, which would take care of his air ticket and that problem was solved for the moment. The cost of this expedition was said to be under $15,000, which was certainly a lot less than the 1964 expedition, which cost $100,000, and with one-half the number of expedition members. The Geological Report by Cliff Burdick was some fifty pages in length. Nicholaas van Arkel of the Mathematical Institute of Leiden, Netherlands, prepared a detailed report of his glacial work. Dr. Lawrence Hewitt prepared the other two reports on plants and on the medical support to the natives. I understand that over one hundred fifty plants were pressed and cataloged. Breakfast at the officers club in Ankara was a special event considering the weeks on “C” rations. As I went through line my tray got heavier and heavier. I then saw this beautiful advertisement of an ice cream sundae. I asked for one and added it to my already loaded breakfast tray. As I walked between the many occupied tables and sat down to eat, no one commented or even seemed to notice or care. If you have ever been on “C” rations, you can understand. That is the story of the 1966 expedition as I remember it, which happened some thirty-four years ago. Next will come the report of the sixty-eight expedition and perhaps what happened in sixty-seven. It was August 19, 1966 when most of us were on our way home, when again Turkey was to experience another devastating earthquake. We are so glad that we were able to arrange to send a large quantity of relief supplies to the stricken areas. Mt Ararat is still there. “Agri Dagh”, or painful mountain to the Turks; “Koh-I-Nuh”, the mountain of Noah to the Persians; “Massis”, to the Armenians. Its ice cap of approximately seventeen square miles feeding about a dozen flows or glaciers all grinding away as they slowly make their way down the mountain gradually eroding away, as they have for centuries.
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Elfred Lee (b. 1941) has been involved with the Who's Who list of Ark researchers since 1969. After photographing machine-gun battles in the Vietnam War while hanging out of helicopters, Lee was involved with the SEARCH expedition (splinter group from the ARF) and Ferdinand Navarra that found wood near the Parrot Glacier in 1969, interviewed both George Hagopian, Ed Davis, and George Havens, and has worked with most of the top Ark researchers in the world. Elfred is a professional artist and archaeological illustrator with an MFA degree and an honorary DFA degree. Chapter 16
1969-1987 Elfred Lee This is an edited transcription of an interview with Elfred Lee conducted by Dr. John Goley, Dr. Paul & Rosie Kuizinas, and Martha Lee at Montemorelos University of Mexico and later on, Rex Geissler interviewed Elfred.The beginning statement below is by Elfred Lee.
1969 SEARCH Foundation explorers departing Dulles Airport for Ararat Hugo Neuburg, Ralph Lenton, Ferdinand Navarra, Bud Crawford, Elfred Lee Courtesy of Elfred Lee
Since the first expedition of the SEARCH Foundation I have witnessed and experienced a desperate need for unity among Ark researchers. With this book, B.J. Corbin and Rex Geissler have
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provided a forum to fulfill that need. It's about time! It is time to unite and finish the search for Noah’s Ark. Each researcher and explorer must ask himself this question: Do I want to find Noah’s Ark or do I want Noah’s Ark to be found? Who cares who finds Noah’s Ark? The only thing that matters is that the Ark is found, not who finds the ark! Unless we have this heart as researchers, we will never achieve the unity that we can. As responsible researchers, we must also respect and obey the Turkish government. To obey the law of the land is also to obey God. Those who attempt to go around or question rules only hurt future attempts. And why should people act ungodly when they are attempting to find a Biblical artifact? I am not a scholar but I do lecture all over the globe. Simply put a microphone in my face and I would love to share what I know with anyone. It may be a bit less polished than writing, but feel free to ask me whatever questions you have if it will aid the search for the ark. John: As an artist, how did you get involved with the search for Noah’s Ark? Elfred: My being an artist is probably what got me involved in the first place. An archeological research group from Washington, D.C., which needed an artist and photographer, contacted me. They were working with Ferdinand Navarra, the explorer and author who claimed to have found Noah’s Ark. They asked if I would come along as their photographer, illustrator and public relations person. John: Who were these people getting you involved and why would you be interested? Elfred: The people who invited me were a new group that became the SEARCH Foundation. SEARCH is an acronym
Elfred Lee Painting of Mount Ararat 1970 Courtesy of Elfred Lee for Scientific Exploration and Archeological Research. We wanted to be a responsible, scientific group that promoted the Word of God in an acceptable manner to a skeptical world. Rosie: Elfred, if I understand you correctly, you got involved because of your professional expertise. Do you also have a personal interest in this project? Elfred: Yes. From a Christian background, I was born and raised knowing the Bible, creation and the story of the flood. I heard about a group that went to Turkey in 1960 and thought they might have discovered Noah’s Ark near Mt. Ararat at what is now known as the Durupinar site. I knew the men on the Durupinar expedition and they got me excited
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about the search for the ark. I had some exposure and personal interest in the search for Noah’s Ark prior to my involvement with SEARCH. John: How did you get involved in photography and art? Elfred: I became interested in art at the age of four when I was in Japanese prison camps in the Philippines during World War II. A Portuguese man named Pedro had some colored pencils and was drawing portraits. Watching Pedro hour after hour, I became fascinated with art. It was then that I decided I wanted to be an artist, especially one who could draw faces and figures. Ever since, art has been my main interest. I studied in Japan, Southern California at La Sierra, Newbold College in England, and finally at Pacific Union College, where I graduated with a bachelors degree. I later went to San Jose to the University of California and was pursuing a masters degree when I was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War. John: What did you do in Vietnam? Elfred: When I went into the army, I asked to be trained as a medical illustrator and was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. They were looking for volunteers to go to Vietnam on a photo mission. The training included
SEARCH Expedition Mounting Up 1969 Courtesy of Elfred Lee working with a Hollywood movie producer. I thought this would be a great opportunity. Of the four hundred men who volunteered, I was fortunate to be one of twelve chosen. I went to Vietnam in 1967 as a motion picture photographer, a really great experience. They would strap me in hanging out the helicopter door while I would be photographing an area with guns right next to me. It was tough at times and I saw a lot of incredible things. The difficult conditions in which I had to photograph the action―including getting shot down in a helicopter during a night mission―helped to prepare me for Noah’s Ark explorations. In 1985, I completed a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) at Syracuse University after studying Archaeological Illustration at London University, Ankara University, and two universities in Israel. [This later won Lee an honorary doctorate in Fine Art since the MFA is a terminal degree so a person cannot earn a doctorate in this field in
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school.] All this study and practice was for one reason, to find and properly document Noah’s Ark or any artifact of importance. I have seen so much time and money wasted because people do not use and share primary information. I believe that this type of training needs to be used for Ark research. Artists see differently. People without this training and experience have made too many false claims and news flashes. Further, the elusive Ark may well have escaped discovery by people without this training and first-hand sources of information. John: Would you say that your involvement in Ark research is from a standpoint of "this is something really exciting to do," or is there something deeper? Elfred: Searching for Noah’s Ark is exciting, but I believe the bottom line is the validation of Holy Scripture, all of it. The discovery of Noah’s Ark would help prove creation and the flood. I had to ask myself the question, do I want to find the Ark or do I want the Ark found? This is not my project. This is God's project, and He knows the best time and people to be involved. I've been fortunate to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right skills for certain opportunities. I've received information that no one else has and I've tried to share it as best as I can. Rosie: Elfred, you've been involved in other Noah’s Ark projects. How is this one different? Elfred: For me they're all one project. I've been involved with many expeditions and groups. My first official involvement was in 1969, right after I returned from Vietnam. And I've been involved ever since, either officially or unofficially. We formed the SEARCH Foundation, which was really the first scientific group to go. After that, I was involved more or less on a freelance basis with many groups that have come and gone. But I consider them all one project. Paul: How many trips have you made to Ararat? Elfred: Four or five. But I've been involved with other expeditions while remaining here. This is where fundamental work is done to insure success in the field. John: Could you tell us your story, beginning with your first expedition? Elfred: My first expedition was in 1969, after much preparation and fund raising. We had a great team of internationally respected scientists and managers: Ralph Lenton, Hugo Neuberg, Ross Arnold, John Bradley, Ralph Crawford, and Harry M. “Bud” Crawford and many people from Takoma Park, Maryland. When we got our expedition to Turkey and mounted there were military escorts, extra food, transportation, donkeys, horses, porters and all this
SEARCH Wood from Mount Ararat's Parrot Glacier 1969 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
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equipment that had to be hauled up. We had scientific equipment, coring augers and depth-sounding electronic equipment. It was a really elaborate set-up and my job was to document it all. I ate something at the hotel for breakfast. Perhaps it was those rancid fried eggs. As we climbed higher, I got so sick and filmed and vomited all day. It took us four days to get up to and established on the Parrot Glacier. We went up from Örtülü to Lake Kıp, and then at about 11,000 feet our horses started falling and tripping. Horses cannot go beyond a certain altitude. John: Where were you in relation to the Ahora Gorge? Elfred: The Ahora Gorge lies north by northeast. We were on the southwest, making our way up and around. Ferdinand Navarra was leading us. He is a great guy and very charismatic. His son Coco Navarra could speak English and went along as a translator. By the fourth morning we had established our base camp in the rocky moraine at the base of the Parrot Glacier. It looked like a bulldozer had gone in the day before and cleared a spot out. There was a high wall all around us. The glacier came down and melted into a little pond from which we got our water. It was difficult to get water in the morning. It would take over thirty minutes every morning just to melt water on our cook stove at that altitude. We went up every day and worked, then came back down to the campsite by sliding down the glacier using our ice axes as rudders and breaks. What fun! John: What detailed work were you trying to do? Digging core samples through the ice? Elfred: Yes. With some difficulty, we took coring augers up. We started drilling where Navarra specified on the glacier. He claimed this was where he saw the wooden structure through the ice. John: This took place almost 20 years after Navarra had seen the structure? Elfred: It was 14 years later. He had seen it in 1955, and we were there in 1969. Paul: When you first saw the area, what was your impression of it? Elfred: Where is the ark? We were disappointed. It must have been covered with many feet of ice. Navarra said the whole glacier had changed as he looked around for points of reference. There was a deep crevasse. We went down into it and started probing around. There was a big ice bridge that we had to go under for several days, not noticing that it was melting. One day, while I was filming, this huge ice bridge made up of tons of ice came crashing down right between us. It was quite a scary situation. John: I understand that on this expedition your team found some wood? Elfred: Yes. We dug for over a week, probing through the ice with the coring augers and all we brought up were rocks and moraine. It was starting to dull the little teeth of the coring augers. They were like hollow pipes with a corkscrew on the outside. As the auger is turned, it drills down and fills the center with ice. We were probing down in a crevasse, because it was at the level Ferdinand had been before. There was a pond of melt water and we started digging along it. I was up on the glacier filming Bud Crawford, who was doing some work on top of the ice pack. Suddenly Hugo and Navarra were shouting and waving a piece of wood down below. The largest pieces were about 17x4x.5 inches in size. Because they had been saturated with water and Ararat is a volcano, there was an intrusion of sulphur and iron. That was July 31, 1969. To find wood on that mountain where there are no trees was very exciting. We all came running and started digging, and sure enough, we found more wood, smaller pieces and little splinters. We gathered around with our arms around each other and had a little prayer meeting. We were sure we had located Noah’s Ark. Even the scientific, skeptical Hugo was convinced as tears filled his eyes. We all cried! John: What did your team do after the discovery of the wood? Elfred: The first thing we did was to clean the glacier. Then we covered our tracks and went down the mountain. In those days, researchers switched from one team to another due to various issues and there was way too much secrecy about the search itself. Navarra said we were successful while Bud wanted to stay longer but they insisted. An interesting thing occurred physiologically as we went lower and lower. The cuts and bruises we had obtained suddenly became infected at the lower altitude. The situation at the time with other groups also searching for Noah’s Ark was highly competitive. We were all sworn to secrecy, and I was very uncomfortable with that. We met two or three other groups including John Libi and ARF with Dr. Lawrence Hewitt, Clifford Burdick, and Eryl Cummings, who were very anxious to see us. Although they used to be climb together on Ararat and were friends, we were not allowed to speak or talk to them, which was pretty awkward. Eryl Cummings, who was a friend of mine, was leading one of the groups and asked me to go back up with them. They needed a photographer. I wasn't allowed and couldn't go. I was really frustrated. We went to Istanbul and checked into our hotel. Then we immediately contacted AP, NBC, ABC, CBS, BBC, and writers from other major news companies around the world. We called a press conference at the hotel and showed our wood. Bud Crawford said, “It was quite a mess because Ross Arnold was supposed to moderate [the announcement] but it sounded like a beehive with Navarra talking to the French reporters in French, Time Magazine reporter passing around paper, and finally I made a statement as to exactly what occurred on the expedition.” The next morning we were headline news all over the world. NOAH’S ARK FOUND BY SEARCH FOUNDATION. Ralph Lenton became upset with Bud Crawford over the next year for making too many announcements and talking too much with military officials in Greece, who at the time was at odds with Turkey. And Bud had numerous friends like Tony van Schaaw, a Dutch Chief of Police and Intelligence Agent, which simply enhanced Lenton’s view of Bud as “Mr. Cloak & Dagger.” We saw all our pictures and names in print: Hugo Neuberg, Elfred Lee, Bud Crawford, Ralph Lenton, and so on. It was kind of an exciting time. It was my duty as the secretary of the foundation to see to it that the wood got home safely. I went home immediately by way of France with Navarra. It was in the homes of the Navarras where they showed me all kinds of evidence (wood, photos and discussions) that convinced me they had seen Noah’s Ark.
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Rosie: You said you held a press conference after coming off the mountain? Had any scientific testing been done on your wood yet? Elfred: No. This was another thing that bothered me, and you have a very good point. We were too anxious to get in the news. The best thing would have been to stay quiet and get back to the United States to test the wood samples, have a debriefing, and come out with a scientific report. But no, most of the members toured around Europe and the Middle East using precious time and money. I came home immediately―alone with the wood. John: So later when the wood was tested, what was found? Elfred: I went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where there was a very good carbon dating lab, one of the best in the country at that time. I took two samples of wood. Remember that I went back to France with Ferdinand Navarra, and he gave me samples of his previously collected wood. I went to the University of Pennsylvania and marked these two samples, "N" and "O." "N" stood for Navarra and "O" stood for ours. I told them these were two different samples found at two different dates. That is all I told them. I wanted them to be objective about it. I didn't even want them
Lake Kıp with SEARCH President John Bradley 1982 Courtesy of John McIntosh
to know whose it was. In a few days they had the reports and I drove back up to Pennsylvania. They had conducted carbon 14 dating and other tests. When we read the report, we were crushed. The dates of the wood samples were between 1300 and 1900 years of age, much too young to be Noah’s Ark. Paul: Both samples of wood? Elfred: Yes. Both. There was no difference in the samples. They had taken it upon themselves to also have the U.S. Forestry Department come in and identify the wood. They said the wood is a species of white oak. So the dates and the wood were the same. To look at the weights and grain, you could not tell them apart. Later, the president of the SEARCH Foundation, Ralph Crawford, concealed this report, and would not allow it to be published. But at least we had proven that Navarra's wood was the same as our wood. Paul: Hadn't Navarra already had his samples analyzed? Elfred: Yes, but by different methods rather than Carbon-14 dating. Navarra had his wood tested in Bordeaux, Madrid and Cairo with well-accepted methods. They studied the lignite formation, the gain in density, the cell modification, growth rings and fossilization. On the strength of Navarra's earlier studies, we claimed that our wood was the same as his, with the same age of 5,000 years. We went on with our fundraising of serious money and all went well.
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George Hagopian and Elfred Lee with Ararat Painting in Easton, Maryland 1970 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
John: When you find a few pieces of wood that are out-of-place artifacts on Mt. Ararat, does that necessarily mean that they were from Noah’s Ark, or that the Ark was found? Elfred: No, and you make a good observation. John: How did this make you feel, in terms of scientific validity, having said that the Ark had been found, based on the discovery of a few pieces of wood? This wood might even have been found in a location different from where the Ark is supposed to be. Elfred: I had a lot to learn. But the president of SEARCH [Ralph Crawford] tied my hands very securely. John: You said that you were basically on the southwest side, correct? Elfred: As I look at the mountain, it was southwest, but we eventually worked our way towards the west-northwest area of the Parrot Glacier. John: I have heard that the Ark may actually be somewhere near the Ahora Gorge, which you said was on the north side. Elfred: Correct. John: How is there a correlation with Navarra's wood and your wood being found on the west side of the mountain, while many Ark researchers think it may actually be on the north side of the mountain? Elfred: I asked this very same question after talking with Navarra. He told me some things that he had not told anyone else. He had found wood elsewhere on the mountain. On a topographical map he pinpointed the places he had found wood. With the help of Eryl Cummings, we found that the wood our expedition found had come down from an upper area where Navarra had seen wood before, and where George Hagopian said he saw the ark. John: I'm still wondering how it is possible that a piece of wood was found in the Parrot Glacier area, when others claim the Ark may have been on the north side of the mountain.
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1969 Photo of Navarra Wood from 1955 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
Elfred: Navarra found other wood. He saw wood in three different locations on the mountain. Hagopian confirmed to me that the Ark landed above the Parrot Glacier. It is possible that wood from the Ark drifted down into the Ahora Gorge to the north, and also towards the Parrot Glacier to the west. Rosie: Did Navarra actually see wood from the Ark in 1952? Did he excavate? Elfred: He saw a shadow in the ice in 1952. In 1955, he was actually able to reach the site and dig with his son Rafael. They made a black and white movie, then had to hide for 13 hours in a cave during a snowstorm, where they nearly froze to death. They continued to dig and did find pieces of wood in 1955. John: What about George Hagopian? How did you find out about him? Elfred: When I was working on fund raising for SEARCH, a letter came in from a Mrs. Mary Board of Annapolis, Maryland. I opened the letter and there was a hundred-dollar check and a note. In the note she described a man to whom she sold property some years earlier. He now lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and claimed to have seen Noah’s Ark. She had been trying for 22 years to contact someone going to Mt. Ararat. Board said, "This man has seen it. He knows where it is, but nobody will pay any attention." I called Mary Board the next day to set up an appointment. We talked for quite a long time and she felt comfortable to share information with me. She took me to meet George Hagopian in July 1970. He was not in the best of health, but he was very alert mentally. He had been born and raised near Lake Van, in eastern Turkey and had a very thick Armenian accent. At that time, Mt. Ararat or "Masis" was part of Armenia, which was a predominantly Christian country. He told me his story and I have hours of tapes and pages of notes on our conversations. I called him "Uncle Georgie," and he called me "Freddie" or "Sonnie." He told me, "Freddie, I be glad to go with you and show you, but my health won't permit." I had just come back with movies and slides and wood in my hand, which I showed him. When George Hagopian started talking while I was drawing in front of him, his memory seemed to clear up and focus. He was able to give me details that you and I can't exchange with mere words, because he was visualizing the events. John: What were the details of George Hagopian's experience with Noah’s Ark? What happened when he and his uncle went up to see the ark?
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Elfred: Many people from Hagopian's village had seen Noah’s Ark, and it was common knowledge. His grandfather had also seen it. His family was basically shepherds. The women would milk the goats. He and his uncle would go every
Elfred Lee Drawing of George Hagopian Ark Sightint 1972 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
summer from Lake Van to Mt. Ararat where they would graze their sheep and goats. When George was eight years old there had been a three– or four-year drought in the region. Animals were dying. The glacial ice had melted way back on the mountain. His uncle suggested they go up toward the top of the mountain for water and grass and see if the Holy Ark was visible. The ice might be melted back enough this year. So George and his uncle went up. They found the fully exposed Ark resting there. They were in reverence and awe. It was a very holy experience for them. He said that the thing looked to him to be a thousand feet long. He could remember that the Ark was of wood and he could see the grain, color, fitted joints and wooden dowels. It had something like shellac covering the wood. It appeared to have been covered with some kind of paint that was peeling. There was a green moss growing on it, and at the far end was a set of stairs coming down to within about ten feet of the ground. It looked like someone else had attached the stairs. He said Noah didn't put them there and they were not part of the original construction. Incidentally, Rene Noorbergen found a report in the Jerusalem library that told of early Christians going on pilgrimages up there and doing repairs on the ark. There was a monastery called St. Jacob's near the base of the mountain, which housed relics from the ark. John: Was this the monastery that was destroyed by the earthquake? Elfred: Yes. It was destroyed by an eruption in 1840. It was common for pilgrims to go up there when the weather permitted, and they would stop at the monastery and then go up the mountain. The report said that they did some repairs, so they probably took pieces of wood up with them, or pieces that were lying around that had come off the ark, and made a stairway so they could walk up on it. The reason the stairs came only within ten feet of the ground was probably because of the higher snow level at the time they were built. Hagopian and his uncle piled rocks to reach the stairs. His uncle then hoisted little Georgie up to the stairs, and he walked on the top where he saw openings all the way down the middle of the roof. The roof had a very slight pitch to it, but was almost flat. Down the middle of the roof was a small raised area running from stem to stern, and on each side of that raised area were openings. This would help prove a lot of other important things to us. Hagopian looked inside these openings and he shouted. His voice echoed down inside. It was
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Elfred Lee Drawing of George Hagopian Sighting Account Courtesy of Elfred Lee 1972
hollow and dark. On the top of the roof there was a hole. But the windows along the side in the center of the roof were well preserved. He walked to the far end and looked down and saw that he was on an overhanging cliff. This may be another very important clue to the ark's location. We believe that it is in part of the Ahora Gorge. He said he could not see the bottom. There was a lot of fog down below him. He could see the tops of clouds and it looked like the ocean to him. It looked like he could see the whole world. He was standing on top of the world. He was very excited as a little boy, but also became very scared. He said the Ark was not a rock construction or an earth formation; it was obviously hand-tooled, man-made wood. It was rectangular in shape, very long and was very high. He could not give the exact measurements, but to him it was huge. The Ark was covered with this green moss in patches, but he could still see the wood grain. John: Did he see a fully intact ark, or did it look like large pieces were missing from it? Elfred: No, No. To him it appeared the Ark was fully intact. I told him others say that the Ark is broken into several pieces, and he almost cried at the thought of it. Rex: Some have questioned the stairwell that was in your Hagopian drawings? Elfred: Yes, in fact I complained to George that the ladder was not in the biblical account but Georgie theorized that the ladder may have been added later by the Armenians or others who went to visit the ark.John: I have a question in relation to Hagopian being eight years old when he first saw the ark. An eight-year-old boy can be very impressionable. You spent many hours with him. Do you really believe he saw the ark? Elfred: Yes. Absolutely. He was not one who would fabricate or lie. We checked him out as well. He had a very good reputation in town. We verified his bank accounts and income to make sure he was not making anything off of his statement. We also went to Lake Van in Turkey and specific sites he discussed to verify his authenticity. Rosie: You said that Hagopian went up with his uncle. Was any information ever received from the uncle about what he saw or the other people who also frequented the mountain during that time? Elfred: His grandfather had also seen it. He did not tell me anything more than to say his uncle and grandfather were very glad that George was able to see the ark. Hagopian went up again two years later, and saw the same thing in the same place, but there was more ice and snow covering it. John: He would have been about ten years old then? Elfred: Yes. He and his uncle went home and told his grandfather and others about it. His grandfather said, "Georgie you're going to be a hagi, a holy man, because you've walked on the holy ark." John: No one interested in the Ark at that time would have been searching out information about his family?
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Elfred Lee Drawing George Hagopian Climbing Stairs Courtesy of Elfred Lee 1972
Elfred: No. There was very little international travel to that part of the world in those days. There were also growing racial tensions that isolated the Armenians. Rex: How tall were the windows Hagopian claimed to see on the ark? Elfred: George said they were tall enough for a small cow to go through. Rosie: Did they leave any written record that might have been passed on? Elfred: Just oral histories and traditions. But he said there were many others who had seen the Ark and knew about it. I wish Hagopian had lived long enough to meet Ed Davis. Rosie: It would seem to me that the Turks must also have had an interest in discovering the ark, and all the implications that go with it? Elfred: Yes, you would think so. The government, the head of tourism especially. The increase in tourism would be a good way to help stabilize the economy of eastern Turkey. It has been so shaken with insurrections, the Kurdish problem, the Armenian problem. If that area could be economically developed, it could be a very stable part of the country. Living here in Mexico helps one understand a little bit of what the Middle East is like. The bureaucracy is demanding. They don't have the American system of organization. They rely on us to do it for them. But they want our technology, and they also want all the credit and the money that would come with it. Rosie: Are you saying that Turkey does not have a scientific interest in finding the ark? Elfred: Not really. Turkey is a secular state, and perhaps because Noah’s Ark is so strongly associated with the Armenians, there may be a reticence on the part of some to have it discovered. At one time to be an Armenian in Turkey was like being a Jew in Nazi Germany. Germany is no longer Nazi and Turkey is no longer under the ancient system. There are few Armenians left or else they've changed their names. Once in awhile we'll talk to someone we think is from Turkish decent and he will quietly tell us he's Armenian, or a descendant of the Armenians. But times have changed and today you couldn't find nicer people than the Turks. Rosie: In these past 12 years there was no further research? Elfred: There was research, but nothing we could do on the mountain. Thanks to Colonel James Irwin, the astronaut who walked on the moon with Apollo 15 (July 27 to August 7, 1971) and logged 295 hours in space along with almost 20 hours outside his spacecraft and 7,000 hours of flying time in planes, with his political connections he was able to get
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eastern Turkey opened up again to expeditions. They were afraid of foreigners coming in on that border and they're under pressure from Soviet Russia. They didn't like anyone up on Mt. Ararat looking down on Soviet territory. I saw their tanks and their missile bases and all the hustle and bustle on the north side of the border. I'm telling you it's well fortified and the Soviets brag that they could take Turkey in 24 hours with no problem. They had the biggest and best tanks in the world. It was a very sensitive thing for Americans to be there with electronic equipment, they just knew we were spies. I am against any such spying activity. I do admit to meeting with the CIA, along with Bud Crawford. About the second day I was a member of the SEARCH Foundation Bud took me to Washington, DC. He invited me to a meeting with some friends who were interested in photography. As I sat in the room and looked around, I saw all these plaques with awards and honors given by the CIA to this "friend." All he wanted was for us to aim our cameras a certain way and bring back photographs. I was not about to get involved in that. I refused. But Bud was excited about the opportunity and took their money. He liked to brag about it. In fact, Bud claimed that he and Ahmet spent several weeks on the icecap and planted hundreds of listening devices but I doubt that is true. Irregardless, it got us into a lot of trouble. In fact, even though relations between Turkey and Greece were difficult, Bud went to Athens and met with a Greek general. Later, Bud died in a mysterious car accident in Colorado. I don't blame the Turks for closing down the
(Back) Ark-a-thon Don Shockey, Ed Davis, John McIntosh, Bob Stuplich, (Front) Larry Williams, Eryl Cummings, Violet Cummings, Ken Alexander
Elfred Lee, John Morris, Bill Crouse – June 1986
Courtesy of Elfred Lee
expeditions. We have no business spying while searching for this sacred object. On the way down the mountain in 1985, our guide Ahmet Turan and I had a chance to talk as I knew him from 1969. He asked many questions: Are you CIA? What are you doing on our mountain? If you find Noah’s Ark, what will you do with it? I said that we were not CIA. Spying is not our business at all. We are only looking for Noah’s Ark for the glory of God. Turkey, also, will benefit as well: tourists, money, and establishment of the east. Noah’s Ark must stay here. It belongs to Turkey. John: During this twelve-year period what was really going on? Where does Ed Davis fit into all this?
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Elfred: He is another key eyewitness. We met him after the 1985 expeditions. I forget the exact dates that the expeditions began to be allowed in again, but the next main expedition was in the summer of 1985. I went on an expedition with a very fine group of men from the Dallas area. Bill Crouse was one of the main ones, Dr. Paul Meier of the Minirth-Meier Clinic was my roommate at the hotel at the foot of Mt. Ararat. He is a very fine psychiatrist and godly man. While waiting for permits in Doğubayazit, we visited Ishak Pasa Palace nearby and some of us also explored an ancient Hittite cave. Since the permits for Dr. Meier and myself had not yet arrived, we decided to join the climbers later. In the meantime, Bert Sabo and I took off in his V.W. camper for Van, where George Hagopian was born and raised. This gave me some time to confirm details about Hagopian's life that he had told me. We took a boat to Aktamar Island in Lake Van where Hagopian had gone to church. Some of the details Hagopian gave me such as church cemetery under the tiles were confirmed. The place was completely desecrated and I am glad George was not with me to see it. The war between Iran and Iraq kept us from going further south so we headed up the west side of the huge Lake Van north toward Ararat again. On the way we met Ian McDonald making his world record run from England to Tasmania On Monday, Paul, Martin and I picked up our permits in Agri and prepared to climb the next morning. At midnight I was looking at the mountain wondering how our teammates were doing. Then I saw a light, then another. I got out my telescope. They were fires! What was burning? Were they cooking at midnight? They should be dog-tired and sleeping soundly. During the night, the Probe "A" Team was taken captive at AK-47 gunpoint. Kurdish terrorists burned them out and stole or destroyed everything. While waiting in Ankara for another expedition (Jim Irwin's) to get permits, Jim Irwin, Bert Sabo and I met with the American Ambassador Robert Strausz-Hupé, who was most cordial. After describing our intent, I made the point that if we could get up the mountain and back before the terrorists do anything they would lose face (very important in the East) and lose political influence while showing that the Turkish government was in charge. He assured us of his support and put us in touch with top military generals who could help us with the expedition. He arranged a chauffeur in an Embassy car to the headquarters of the top U.S. and NATO military officials (I have to avoid some names and details). We were again warned of the hostage possibilities as the Soviets, Iran and Iraq benefited from destabilization in the eastern sector. Negotiations went on for three days and although we could not get a helicopter for our use, a top Turkish General assured us of military protection. Here's another interesting thing verifying or confirming the stories of George Hagopian and Ed Davis. At the U.S. and NATO headquarters, I talked with U.S. Two-Star General Ralph Havens, the commanding General of the United States forces in Turkey. I went there on August 29, 1985, with Jim Irwin, John Bradley and Eryl Cummings. We interviewed this
Ed Davis and Elfred Lee at Ark-a-Thon 1986 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
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man and I showed him the paintings I had done of Hagopian's description, and General Ralph Havens said, "We've seen that. We have photos of that. Our pilots have photographed that very object. It looks just like that. It is on a ledge. In fact, I was shown two slides of this object at Fort Leavenworth in a presentation for people assigned to Turkey." The General actually told Irwin and I that his flyers had seen a similar structure on the north side of Mount Ararat. When the General checked on the two slides, they were missing from the presentation. Despite not having slides and after 40 years of Ark study, this confirmation from an American General caused Eryl Cummings to exclaim with tears in his eyes, "This is the greatest day in all the years of Ark research." So there is confirmation of the structure on Ararat in modern times by a military authority. Also, some Russians claimed that they found it and photographed it in 1916. John: Was it on this expedition or the following one? Elfred: This expedition. When we came back, the "Ark Fever" was high. There was a lot of sensationalism again and interest in the ark. They called an ark-a-Thon in Farmington, New Mexico, in honor of Eryl Cummings, a pioneer Ark researcher. Eryl and his wife Violet have given their life's blood, and their daughter Phyllis has done a lot of the research and writing. They invited all those interested in the ark. We gave reports and showed slides of our various findings. They said there was a man there who had seen the ark. Dr. Don Shockey of Albuquerque had found him, quite by accident, in his office one day. Don Shockey will tell his story much better than I can, but he was the one who first met Ed Davis, and shared him with the rest of us, very much as I had done with George Hagopian. Ed then became seriously ill. It was something life threatening. He was flat on his back, just at the time we needed him to come to the ark-a-Thon. The first evening we all prayed. We prayed for unity. I gave a special program at the opening appealing for unity, because I had seen such a lack of it through the years. And we all got together and prayed for Ed Davis. Then the phone rang. It was Ed. "I'm feeling so good, come and get me." Someone went down and brought him up to Farmington. I had never met him but I had heard so many people claiming things, that I thought, Here's just another one. I was frankly not interested. Then in came Ed Davis wearing a cowboy hat, a big silver buckle, cowboy boots, silver and turquoise. I was really skeptical. Rosie: So who is Ed Davis? Elfred: I will tell you. He came walking in and started talking. As I listened my hair on my neck stood up. He sounded like George Hagopian. He started describing the mountain, his experiences, how long it took to go from point A to point B, the caves, the fog, the rock formations, describing the interior of the caves, and the stone steps and how they're carved. My goodness, I said, where did this guy hear this information? None of this information is published. I have George Hagopian on tape and in notes, but none of his information had been published yet, so I became very interested. We came to find out that Ed Davis had been in the Army in 1943, stationed in Hamadan, Iran. He was in the Army Corps of Engineers. Of course, the story will be told in more detail by Don Shockey and in the appendix of this book. Ed Davis was building roads in northern Iran and helping to supply equipment to the Soviet Army during World War II. Mt. Ararat is the back door to Europe. Ed befriended a group of Moslems, a family named Abas. He did some favors for this family and they felt very indebted to him. They asked if he would like to see Noah’s Ark? Well, as any young GI would, he said, "Why not?" One night they drove from Iran through the saddle between Big and Little Ararat and around to the north side. They stopped in a village there, Abas-Abas Village. He described it, saying there's a tree there, it was at the foot of the Black Glacier, near the Ahora Gorge. He described the rock formations and everything. The village was between Aralik and Ahora [this is named Tarlabas' village in Ahmet Arslan's 1986 map in The Lost Ship of Noah] and they went up by Jacob's well, Jacob’s tomb, and graveyard, below the Cehennem Dere and up towards Doomsday Rock. He described all this to me. I spent some quality time with Ed Davis that night. He wanted to work all night. By midnight I was tired out. He was feeling very good, providentially healed for that occasion. People suggested, "that Elfred Lee do with Ed Davis what he had done with George Hagopian." So I got paper and pencil, turned on my tape recorder and started drawing. People were standing around flashing pictures and recording on tape and asking questions. It became a kind of circus. I forget who it was, I think Eryl Cummings or somebody took it upon himself to get people out of the room and closed the door. So I was alone with my tape recorder and sketchpad and one or two others. I think John McIntosh came in quite a bit. He asked some very good questions, and took some pictures, too. John has been a very good researcher and has helped very unselfishly. I kept having to send people out for more paper and cellophane tape as the drawing grew bigger and bigger. It became huge, and as Ed Davis talked and I drew, his memory sharpened and focused and he was able to describe rock formations and locations of cliffs, ledges, snow banks and moraine—everything. He would say, "I was standing here and saw that and went over here and saw that. From this point I could see the Ark and the other broken part that was over here." The Ark had slid down from the Hagopian site and was now in two pieces. Ed Davis has been able to describe Noah’s Ark very well, though he didn't see it as well as Hagopian, because he went up only once and he went up at night and was in the fog a lot of the time. But he's given enough information to me and to Ahmet Arslan to confirm that he was there, and that he indeed was in the same place that Hagopian was. Hardwicke Knight of New Zealand also went through that region and he claims to have seen Noah’s Ark and his descriptions are the same as Ed Davis and Hagopian. So he was in the same place.
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Elfred Lee Drawing of the Hagopian Ark in 1900-1908 and the Davis Ark 1943 Courtesy of Elfred Lee George Jefferson Greene also said that he took photos of it, which other people saw. Haji Yearam describes it also, and Reşit in 1943 saw it the same year Ed Davis did. In 1945 the Soviet Air Force and US Air Force photographed it, so evidently in 1943 and 1945 it was visible. In 1955, George Jefferson Greene saw it and photographed it the same year Navarra did on his last expedition before he took us in 1969. These are interesting coincidences. John: So you're saying that they saw it, like Navarra, who saw this shape under the ice as opposed to an exposed ark. Elfred: Right. In 1955, he could see it right through the ice. The ice was so melted, it was on a thaw cycle, there's a freeze and thaw cycle on Mt. Ararat that's approximately 20 years. Not exactly, but that was a thaw cycle year. In 1952, he saw it in the distance, in 1953 saw it better. In 1955, the ice was melted right down to the wood. He could walk on the ice of this lake and see the wood right under him, cut down through it and pull out pieces. He could actually see that the length of some of this wood was about 150 feet. That's hard to believe. . . John: He was on the south side of the mountain when he found this, right? Elfred: No. The west side over above Lake Kıp in the Parrot Glacier. John: You are basically saying here would be sort of north where the Ahora Gorge is, the Parrot Glacier would be over here. (Pointing to map) Elfred: That would be west. John: So you were saying that it was coming down on this side, and this is the area where he was looking, kind of on the west-southwest side. Navarra was finding this? Elfred: But he has also been up here. John: So he's actually been up to the general site. Elfred: Navarra has stood at a place looking right into the cove that Ed Davis went to. I have evidence of that and photographs of the area from other people. He led us to another place though, and we found wood there. But that's not the mother lode.
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We want to find where this Navarra/SEARCH/Parrot Glacier wood came from. And I can show you where that is, because I have spent a lot of personal time, not only with Hagopian, but with Ed Davis and Navarra, and it's all together. All three of these men have seen Noah’s Ark and lived to tell about it. As an artist and a personal friend of these men, they took me into their confidence and told me things. I waited to go back and follow up. Rex: Why is there a catwalk on some of the Ed Davis drawing and not on others? Elfred: In the busy activities and excitement at the Arkathon, the catwalk was forgotten but remembered later. Rosie: How does the size of the boat as perceived by the different people compare? Elfred: Most of them have not seen the full thing from stem to stern. It's covered at one end or broken now. Hagopian's the only one who's seen it whole. "Roskovitsky" (or his real life counterpart from Gurley's/Koor's story) and some other Russians went up in 1916 and he said they saw it, but didn't give any measurement. The Czar sent up a team to measure it, and they indeed would have that information. They measured it, walked inside it, and photographed it. I've talked to Col. Alexander Koor of the Russian Army who was in charge of that region at the time. Before World War I, it was still part of Russia. Mt. Ararat was his command post and he was there when the Czar sent 150 troops up the mountain to photograph the Ark and measure it. As you know, in 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution took place, and we're not sure where that information is. I heard one report it was somewhere in Leningrad, which is again called St. Petersburg. Maybe it will be released. Who knows? There are some Russians who know about it, but at that time they weren't willing to help us. John: Okay. I have a couple questions in relation to some of the things you've mentioned up to this point. One is about the carbon 14 dating method. The man who developed the dating method, Wilbur F. Libby, told you that obviously these samples, which were dated 1700 to 1900 years old, were contaminated by more recent organic material. What kind of contamination occurs at 14,000 feet? You've got to have contamination with organic material, because it contains carbon, which is organic. Elfred: Okay. They also said there was carbon of a more recent vintage, that it had infiltrated the sample. Now there's organic material growing there. There's moss and lichens and little low bushes, and even goats climb up there. I saw goats up above us, over this very site. Goat droppings could come down into the water and the goats were up there eating something. They weren't eating just rocks. John: Okay. So there is organic material of more recent vintage that could have infiltrated the sample and in that manner caused it to have a more recent date? Elfred: Yes. John: Another question. You said something about Hagopian, who saw it as an eight-year-old, saying he thought it was a thousand feet long. The Bible says the Ark was 300 cubits, the cubit being approximately 18 inches, usually considered to be from the elbow to the fingertips. Elfred: So that would make Noah’s Ark, using the conservative 18-inch cubit, 450 feet long, by 75 feet wide, by 45 feet high. Hagopian here is saying in effect, it's twice that size. Now he was a wide-eyed little boy, he was very excited, but he pointed to me from where we are now sitting, to that tree over there behind the house to indicate the length, and it was close to a thousand feet. But he was an eight-year-old boy who's about three feet tall, and he could stand up in the windows of the ark. There were about fifty of those windows, going all the way down the length of the ark, forming a ventilation system. These openings were really part of one window, as the Bible says, one window in the roof. Doesn't say how long, but we know now, it was the full length of the ship, and since the window was right in the middle of the roof, the Ark would have to almost capsize before water would go in. He stood up, looking in these openings, so there is your cubit, approximately three feet high. He said a cow could walk through them. I would say a small cow or a heifer, and so that would make a 36inch cubit. John: Which would easily make it a thousand feet long. Elfred: That's right. And I believe, speaking as a creationist, that we're inferior to what Adam and Eve were or what Noah was. I believe Noah was even bigger than Moses, who wrote the account, and so I believe men were much larger than men now living.
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Ahora Gorge hiking up from Ahora 1985 Courtesy of Elfred Lee John: Therefore their forearm and hand length would be longer than 18 inches. Elfred: That's right, but when we get in there and measure Noah's bed, that will help, you know, and see some of the furniture in the ark, that will really help. And this will help verify not only Scripture, but creation. It will help prove we were created superior and that we are devolving, not evolving. We're inferior to what was originally created by God, and this would help verify creation science. John: Any other questions related to George Hagopian, Davis, Cummings, Navarra? Paul: The question about the wood type that they found. It was not of the area. What type of wood is it, and where is it from? Elfred: It was white oak, Quercus species of white oak, which we are told is a common type of wood used by seagoing vessels, before the time of metal ships. The only area where it grows is way down the Euphrates River. As you know, the Euphrates begins at Mt. Ararat, and it's about 300 miles away. So this wood, these huge beams, this huge construction would certainly have to float by a huge flood to reach such an altitude, 300 miles to the north. John: So that really brings us question number four. Do you personally believe that Noah’s Ark is on Mt. Ararat? Did it land there? And is its remnants still there? If so, what, in your mind, is conclusive proof that it really is there?
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Elfred: That's a long question. Yes, I do believe Noah’s Ark is there to this day. On a spiritual note, because God does not waste things, even 12 baskets of food collected after he created it. He created Noah’s Ark to last for centuries, and it had a useful life of only one year and 10 days. It was made of very durable material and was made to last. He quick-froze it, so it's not only petrified, but frozen, the
Durupinar village mayor handing Elfred Lee a rock which he alleged was a piece of Noah’s Ark 1985 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
best form of preservation, and it's been seen by too many people. Even Marco Polo says the Ark of Noah is in the eternal snows of Mt. Ararat. There's another very important clue: Marco Polo. So this other site that some have been talking about at a lower elevation (Durupinar), is exposed every year most of the time. In regard to Durupinar, I would question the integrity of anyone claiming something is "Noah’s Ark" before objective, scientific work can be done to check it out. Ron Wyatt told me, "God told me this is Noah’s Ark and I don't need university Ph.D.'s to tell me otherwise." Sometimes we are too eager to make a public announcement. I have been guilty myself. I was quite convinced by Ron Wyatt while working with him on the site until an incident in the Istanbul Airport. A few feet from the police check, Ron stuffed a large rock into my luggage without talking to me about it. Later, I saw him on TV claiming this same rock was from Noah’s Ark at the Durupinar site. I knew nothing about it while we had worked together on the site. I was there to document any discovery and he had said nothing. Now, I was the fall guy for illegal activity. I had already refused to take a Durupinar rock handed me by the mayor of that village because I had no permit to take an artifact from Turkey. That type of planting evidence wherever and whenever it is convenient is a dangerous precedent for a "researcher." Noah’s Ark is in the eternal snows. It's very rarely seen, very rarely uncovered. There's been a climatology study done that confirms the exact dates that Hagopian said a four-year drought occurred, scientifically proving that Hagopian was right. As to his integrity, he had a PSE test, the lie detector test. John: Hagopian did?
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Elfred: Yes, Hagopian, and he passed the test. Also, his personal life, his reputation, his friends, and business acquaintances bore witness that he was an honest man who would not lie or fabricate. And he was not looking for any personal gain from it. The details that he and Ed Davis have given coincide with the others who have seen it, and it can't be coincidental. As for the seaworthiness of the ark, the hydraulics lab in San Diego, where they study ship designs for the Navy, made a scale model from my drawings, as they were preparing for this Hollywood movie, and they found that Noah’s Ark would not capsize. It could sustain tidal waves 200 feet high. A Coast Guard captain told me, "This is the most seaworthy design I've ever seen." It's like a box, it's not very pretty, and artists have been painting Noah’s Ark wrong for years. It's just a box. The word "ark" means a box or container. The Ark of Noah is not a boat, it's a box, so Noah’s Ark was basically a kind of big old clumsy shoebox, with a window down the middle of the roof. That's all it was. Not very pretty, but very stable. John: When you say clumsy, you mean in terms of a utilitarian boat to get from point A to point B? Elfred: It could not cruise very well. John: But its purpose wasn't to cruise. Elfred: That's right. It was not to go anywhere; it was just to house and sustain SEARCH Expedition Team 1969 life in the worst Courtesy of Elfred Lee catastrophe the world
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has every known. Hagopian's authenticity is very clear to me, his knowledge of Ararat and the region, the geography and the history are all accurate. The dating, the climatology all prove out. His honesty, his reputation, his consistency, the basic facts and details, he never varied. Even though people would make him angry by questioning and cross-questioning him, he would still hold to his facts. He would not waver for the sake of popularity or anything else. Rosie: Earlier you mentioned that Hagopian was irritated or seemed to be irritated at some people who came to question him and he gave them misinformation. Could you tell us a little bit about that? And how does this tie into what you just said?
Ararat High Grasslands between Ahora and Korhan where Shepherds like George Hagopian Grazed their Sheep 1985 Courtesy of Elfred Lee
Elfred: Yes. He told me that there were some people who were wanting him to tell them where to go. He didn't trust them and he would not give them all the information that he could have. He let them be misinformed. He would not lie. But he could withhold information and let some people draw wrong conclusions and that's what he did. That's what he told me he did, because he said he didn't trust them. Paul: On about how many occasions did you meet with George Hagopian? Elfred: My goodness. It would be very hard to count how many. But over a period of a year and a half, it was very often. Sometimes several times a week, then sometimes, because of my duties, I couldn't go out for a few weeks, then I'd go again. I was on the phone with him quite often, and also with Mary Board until she died. She had implicit confidence and faith in him and gave a very good recommendation of him. John: What about Ed Davis? Your first impression of him was that here was this cowboy who you might as well write off, he doesn't have anything to say.
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Elfred: I'd been living in Washington, DC, too long. Gray suits and ties, briefcases, and here's this guy in jeans, shiny silver, and whatnot. He was in style in Albuquerque, and I let my first impressions kind of make me judgmental, but he very quickly proved that he knew what he was talking about. John: When you say he proved, what do you mean he proved? Elfred: He knew the mountain as nobody can unless he's been there. And when I got together with him and Arslan and my information from Hagopian—my goodness! Don Shockey was saying that this was the most historic moment in all of Ark research. Ed Davis said the very same thing. Also, I have confidence that Ed Davis is a fine Christian man. He has not sought to be written up or to be photographed. He doesn't want money or fame. Don Shockey has been very kind and generous to share him with us and let us have free access to him. However, I have never gone to see Ed Davis without Don Shockey. John: Did Ed Davis go through a lie-detector test as well? Elfred: Yes, he did. And in my book he's an honest person, not seeking self-glory or anything. After the 1986 ark-athon, I was able to meet David Duckworth [now debunked alleged eyewitness] at Eryl Cummings' house. Violet wanted to show Ed's sketch to David but I refused to let her since that could easily be leading questioning. First, I asked David to draw a sketch of the composite photo he saw in the Smithsonian Institution. Then we compared it to the Ed Davis broken structure. There was an uncanny resemblance beside it being broken. John: What about Navarra? You said many people thought he had a big ego that he wanted to protect, that he's been to the Ark site itself, but he took your SEARCH Foundation to another place, down the glacier from where the Ark would have been. How do you feel about Navarra? You spent a lot of time with him? Elfred: Yes. That's a little more difficult. Personally, I consider him a friend. We had some problems, because I pushed him on a few points and he got a little upset. I was searching for truth, but overall, I believe Navarra has been there, and has also seen the ark. There are questions about his personality, but people have questions about my personality, you know. John: Artists are a little different. Elfred: Yes. We're sometimes accused of being prima donnas, but in my heart I know that I want God to receive the glory and I want the Ark to be found. So far, nobody has really been able to find it, and people have started coming to me more recently and saying, "Elfred, you have all this information, maybe you should go." The only way I can give all the information I know is to take my head off and hand it to you. It's like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in a box. I have been given information over the years by Hagopian, and Ed Davis, and Navarra and there are a lot of pieces that fit, and there are a lot of pieces that don't fit. If I could get my body on the location, on Mt. Ararat, I believe I could recognize places and a lot of these pieces would come together in my head. John: Are there any other things that you would say in your own mind that make you sure and that are conclusive proofs that the Ark is there, other than the three men whom you've talked with?
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Ed Davis with Elfred Lee at Ark-a-thon 1986 Courtesy of John McIntosh via Elfred Lee
Elfred: Jesus spoke about it. He's a good reference for me and He mentioned Noah and the ark. Peter, in 2 Peter 3 talks about how there would be scoffers and mockers in the last days. People who walk after their own fleshly desires, saying, Where is the promise of his coming? And all things continue exactly as they did from the beginning. You know, that's the theory of evolution right there. That's uniformitarianism right there, and they deny the fact that the heavens were created by the word of God and that the earth was destroyed by water. They deny the existence of a flood. This is one of the signs of the last days, and we're right in it. It's right in our universities. You can hardly talk about creation now. Evolution is the thing that has led to much of the godlessness, crime and corruption that's bringing our country and the world down. We need the Ark as a witness today! In 1970, I went to the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. to research the Quran issue. The curator of the center, Henry Youssef Ahmed Abadi, showed me a book, which said that "Jebel Judi" was a peak of Masis, Mount Ararat. The curator also said that Judi results in Cudi that results in Kudi, which results in Kurds. So there is a possibility that finding the Ark on Mount Ararat could substantiate Jewish, Christian and Muslim sources. This would be one area where Jews, Christians and Moslems actually agree. John: So from a personal experience, as it relates to having been on the mountain, touched wood, dug it up; from your understanding of your discussions with people who have actually seen the entire ark; and from biblical understanding and your personal faith in God, you are sure that the Ark is there? Elfred: I am sure that the Ark is on Mount Ararat, in the eternal snows of Mount Ararat. John: Okay. That brings us to the final question. You've really covered number seven in terms of a Christian perspective and the search for Noah’s Ark. Numbers five and six: Do you plan any future trips to Mt. Ararat? If so, when? Where is the ark? Elfred: People would love for me to take a map and point my finger or give a street address as to where Noah’s Ark is. They pump me for information and the next thing I know, they're on the mountain and I'm still here. I'd be very happy to freely offer my services. They can have all the glory and the publicity. That's fine. I don't care. I've seen too many people with their own agendas come and go. Let's get together and get the job done.
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The Parrot Glacier is not the mother lode. It's further up the mountain, above the Ahora Gorge. There are certain landmarks. If only I could actually get up there. It could fit what my picture in my mind is. I have a very vivid photographic memory as a trained illustrator and have heard many accounts. John: Another question in relation to the satellite information that has been analyzed. In both the 1974 video In Search of Noah’s Ark and also in the more recent CBS one in 1992 or '93, they both used supposed satellite information. They pinpointed a spot using specific pixels and computer animation and so forth. They have said, this is the site and we expect it to be right there. With that kind of precision, a person who has a GPS should be able to walk to that site and find the Ark in that moment. Elfred: I wish they would. Why haven't they? John: That's my question. Elfred: That's my question, too. Just because there's a foreign object or shape doesn't necessarily prove it's Noah’s Ark. It should be investigated. Everything should be investigated. But I believe there's another factor here and that is timing. Maybe God hasn't wanted it to be found yet. He knows better than I do when the history of the world is at a point where there's a crossroads and the world has got to make a decision. There are certain things in prophecy that have to be fulfilled before that happens and I don't know when it is. My appeal to all researchers is that we need to lay all on the altar and put aside all differences and egos. We need to unite and join talents and resources to finish this great project to God's glory.
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John Morris (b. 1946) has been a leader in the search for Noah’s Ark since the early 1970's. Though his responsibilities as President of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) keep him extremely busy, he remains very interested in the search for Noah’s Ark. John Morris earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1969. He received a M.S. in Geological Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1977. Morris gained his Ph.D. in Geological Engineering from University of Oklahoma in 1980. He is the president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR – www.icr.org) and the son of well-known creationist Henry Morris. Chapter 17
1971-1989 John Morris, Ph.D. It has been a privilege and a blessing to have participated and been a leader in the search for Noah’s Ark for over 25 years, during which time I participated in thirteen trips to Mt. Ararat. By God's grace I was able to write several books on the subject. When asked by my friend and Ark research colleague, B.J. Corbin, to excerpt segments from those books and articles detailing some of my Ararat expedition experiences for this collaborative effort called The Explorers of Ararat, I gladly agreed.1 1972 In the early 1970's, I became actively involved in the Noah’s Ark search as field director of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) expeditions. In October of 1971, I went to Turkey to gain a working knowledge of the mountain, and in 1972, led a small group of mountain climbers representing ICR, consisting of John (J.B.) Bultema, Bill Ellison, Roger Losier, and John (Skip) Seiter. We ventured far into the Ahora Gorge, searching the vital western face from below. We then spent five days in the area above the Ahora Gorge, Cehennem Dere and on the Parrot Glacier, where we were able to take many excellent photographs of the upper reaches of Mt. Ararat. It was felt that if the Ark remains on Mt. Ararat it must be in an area where the glacier is stationary, because a moving glacier moves with such tremendous force a wooden structure such as the Ark could not survive in its path. A glacier moves unevenly due to friction forces applied at areas of contact with the rock below, generating shear forces, which would grind to powder anything with which it came in contact. For the Ark to have been preserved since Noah's time, it would have to have been frozen almost constantly in a quiet and stable area protected from these destructive forces. The ICR team studied and photographed several such stationary ice packs. The hardships faced by climbers of Mt. Ararat are well known, but let me tell you an incredible story that happened to our team on our first expedition. Struck by Lightning As we neared the top of the finger glacier, the winds, snow, and black clouds increasingly worsened. The force of the electricity around us made our hair stand on end and buzz. Even our ice axes gave out a high pitched ringing. At one point J.B. sat down beneath a large rock to rest and gain some relief from the blinding snow. I had seen lightning strike this rock several times and returned to warn him, but as all three of us stood or sat on this huge rock, lightning struck it again, sending unbelievable jolts of electricity through all of us.
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Excerpts taken from The Ark On Ararat, by Tim LaHaye & John Morris; 1975.
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J.B.'s back was frozen to the rock with his arms, legs, and head extended out into the air. He felt no pain at that time
Ahora Gorge, Cehennem Dere, and North Canyon, and upper Parrot Glacier near where lighting struck Dr. John Morris, J.B. Bultema and Roger Losier Courtesy of Dr. John Morris
even though he sensed the current surging through his body. J.B. said it was though he was sitting on air with a rock backrest and the power kept him there until he could force one leg to the ground. From that vantage point, however, he could see Roger and I had been thrown off the rock. The force of the lightning seemed to suspend us in the air and then drop us far down the slope. Simultaneously, J.B. succeeded in forcing one of his legs to the ground, completing the electrical circuit. The electric current somersaulted him down the mountain following Roger and me. I had been standing on the rock (now known as "Zap Rock") thanking God for protecting us once again, feeling that we would not be harmed. I no sooner finished praying when the bolt struck. My whole body went numb. I couldn't see or move, but I never lost consciousness. I fell over backwards, still wearing my heavy pack. Expecting an impact that never came, it seemed as though I was floating very slowly for several seconds, and was gently placed on the snow by unseen hands after which began sliding down the steep slope. I knew I must stop, but for an instant my eyes and arms would not function. When they did, I responded and grabbed a boulder in the snow, halting my slide.
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Explorers on steep vertical slope of Ararat Courtesy of Dr. John Morris
For a few seconds I lay there, not moving, aware only of intense pain. I foolishly reasoned that since the pain was so great I must have received the full force of the bolt, and that the other two were unaffected. I tried to roll over and sit up, but to my horror found that both legs were paralyzed! There was no sensation of touch or life in them, just burning, searing pain! I called to my friends for help, thinking they were unharmed, but the only answer was a call for help. Looking back uphill, I saw J.B. sitting in the snow, about 20 feet away, obviously also in great pain, with one leg twisted underneath him. He too was paralyzed and thought one leg was broken. We remained there for several minutes, crying out to God for relief from the pain and deliverance from the horrible death that surely was to be ours. Suddenly I realized Roger was missing, and frantically began calling and looking for him. J.B. spotted him first, much farther down the mountain. His face was in the snow and one side of his head was covered with blood. We were unable to go to him, but prayed for him and called to him from above. Finally he stood up, looked around, and walked up the mountain toward us. His face was at least as white as the snow, and his eyes were filled with confusion and fear. When he was a short distance from me he stopped and began to bombard us with questions. "Where are we? What are we doing here? Why don't we go sit under that big rock and get out of this snow"? J.B. patiently tried to explain to him that we were on Mt. Ararat looking for Noah’s Ark, and that we had just been struck by lightning under that big rock. Roger was in shock and was experiencing total amnesia. He didn't know anything. He didn't know who he was or who we were. Furthermore, he didn't even like us. He wondered who these two nuts were sitting in the snow, freezing to death, when they could gain some shelter from the storm up among the rocks. J.B. finally convinced him to go get our ice axes, but that was the only thing he would do to help us. So J.B. and I, unable to help ourselves, had to rely totally upon God. We reasoned that Roger would soon slip into deep shock and would need medical attention. J.B. thought his leg was broken and both of us were paralyzed, unable to move. We discussed a painful descent of the mountain, but ruled it out as impossible.
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Our situation was, in short, critical. Unless we were able to get to some shelter, we would freeze to death in the storm within a few hours. And so, being unable to alter the situation, I prepared to die. That's a weird feeling, rationally knowing that you are about to die. I never once doubted my salvation and did not fear death. In fact, I felt real peace, feeling that soon I would be in heaven. I had always envisioned meeting Jesus face to face as a rather exciting experience, but I now felt no excitement, just comfort. In fact, I wanted to get on with it—to die quickly, rather than slowly over a period of hours. As I sat there contemplating horrible death, the Holy Spirit seemed to interject some of his thoughts into my mind. First, I was reminded of the hundreds of Christians who had suffered and died while following God's leading, and how they considered it a privilege to suffer for Him. Then I was reminded of the marvelous way in which our group had been led in the past months and particularly the past weeks in Turkey. I thought of the miraculous acquisition of our V.W. minibus, of the Christian friends who had helped us, of the granting of the impossible permits, of all the many dead-end streets down which we had wandered, only to find an open door at the end. I was reminded of the Christians back home who were praying for our safety and success, and of the job we had been called to do, and of its implications, importance, and urgency. And then the conclusion. No, I wasn't going to die! God still had a purpose for us to accomplish. He wasn't going to let us die up in that frozen wasteland. Somehow, He was going to remedy the situation, heal and strengthen our bodies, and allow us to continue the search for the ark. Miracle on Ararat During those moments I was reminded of many passages of Scripture, including James 5:15, which states that "the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick," and I John 5:14, 15, stating that "this is the confidence which we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will He listens to us. And since we know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know that we have the request made of Him." These thoughts were all whirling around in my head at dizzying speeds. I knew that I wasn't going to die. I knew that
Snow-capped peaks of Big and Little Ararat Courtesy of Dr. John Morris
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Dr. John Morris with packing gear Courtesy of John Morris
God was going to heal us, and knew that this was according to his will. Since I knew these things, suddenly the realization came that I also had faith to believe that these things would come to pass. And if I had that faith, then I could pray the prayer of faith. And so, with my heart pounding wildly I prayed that prayer of faith, knowing that God heard me and that He would answer my request and heal my body. Before the Holy Spirit had directed my thinking, I had prayed for relief from the pain and for healing. But it was a prayer of desperation, not of faith. This time I expected a miracle. I tried to move my legs—no response. Or did that toe move? Frantically I began massaging my legs and could gradually feel the firmness return. There was no sensation of touch in them, just a burning numbness. Before, when I had felt them, they resembled a balloon filled with water, shapeless and pliable. But now they were hard. I continued to massage, covering them with snow to ease the burning sensation. Their strength gradually returned, but still no feeling. Within thirty minutes my knees would bend! Within an hour, I could stand! Using an ice axe as a cane, I hobbled over to J.B. and massaged his legs. He had been unable to reach his ankle and still thought it was broken. We determined that it was not broken, but both legs felt like jelly. Amazingly, he was quite calm and relaxed and felt that Roger needed attention more than he. Roger was sitting on a nearby rock, obviously cold and shivering in shock. He didn't even have the sense to put on heavier clothing. So I retrieved his pack and re-dressed him—nylon pants, down parka, wind parka, and poncho. As I was tying his poncho up around his chin, a look of recognition crossed his face, and his memory began to return. When he asked why I was dressing him, I knew he was going to be all right. He did not fully recover for several hours, but in the meantime he was able to heat some water for a hot drink. But in doing so we lost nearly all of the coffee, cocoa, tea, and soup. All hot drink material slid down the hill, along with some valuable equipment.
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J.B. had been massaging and flexing his legs during this time. His right leg had recuperated somewhat so that he could at least move it. Roger and I helped him over to a rock where he was able to put on warmer clothing and find shelter from the storm. Finally, I began to dress myself, but my legs were very weak and shaky. I had walked up and down the slope gathering gear until totally exhausted. Then we huddled together under the rock to gain shelter from the storm, drank a hot drink to ward off hypothermia, and prayed to gain victory over the situation. Earlier, I believed that it was in God's will for us to be healed and to survive the ordeal. Now we were partially healed and growing stronger each minute, but we still faced a cruel blizzard with few options open to us. Lightning was still flashing everywhere, snow was still coming down in buckets, and gale winds were blowing. We knew we were going to survive, but that it wouldn't be easy. The only possible area of safety was on top of the ridge away from the big rocks. We needed to find a flat place to pitch our tent and gain shelter from the storm, so as soon as the lightning intensity lessened, Roger and I began searching for a way to the top. The wind was blowing the snow with such intensity we could not see more than ten feet ahead of us, but eventually we located a path between several huge rocks. It was nearly vertical and the footing was treacherous at best. Once we reached the top, however, we found the weather was even worse. We were right on the edge of the Abich I Glacier, and the wind velocity had doubled; in spite of it we found a flat place to camp and returned to J.B. In our absence J.B. had been massaging and exercising his legs. His right leg had regained its strength, but there was no response from his left. He was still unable to move, so Roger and I climbed the slope again with our packs and made plans to anchor to a rock and assist J.B. in his ascent. I was nearly exhausted after this second climb. My legs were shaking like rubber, so I rested in the snow for several minutes. We descended once again to J.B., and much to our surprise found him standing up waiting for us. His legs still had no feeling, but their strength had returned enough to allow
(Back) Durnal, Losier, Bradley, Davies (Front) Morris, Ikenberry, Dewberry Courtesy of Dr. John Morris 1973
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him to stand, so Roger carried his pack, and with little assistance from me, J.B. climbed that vertical slope on two numb weak legs! Within minutes of the time we reached the top, the storm broke. I guess God figured that we had had enough. The snow and wind stopped, and the clouds disappeared as suddenly as they had formed. In complete comfort and peace we were able to pitch our tent and eat a hot supper. In fact, that evening before the sun went down, it was rather warm and pleasant. Throughout the day, I had felt that this would be the day we would find the ark. This feeling was strengthened by the fact that Satan was so determined to stop us. It's not hard to imagine what I was doing and thinking as we pitched the tent and set up camp. As soon as time permitted, I wandered off to the edge of the Ahora Gorge, positive that the Ark was in full view. I didn't approach any dangerous cliffs, but with binoculars searched in all directions from a safe vantage point. Much to my disappointment, I did not see the ark; but the view of the Gorge from above was magnificent. The freshly fallen snow covered everything above 9,000 feet elevation including, I suspected, the ark. So we had to settle for a comfortable place to sleep, hot food, and our lives that night. We were satisfied and gave thanks to God. Very few people have ever camped that high on Ararat, and I'm sure no one else has ever had such a wonderful time of prayer and singing hymns as we had that evening.
Western side of the Ahora Gorge 1983 Courtesy of Dr. John Morris 1973 Cooperating Turkish officials had assured the ICR team that permits for another expedition would again be issued in the summer of 1973, so plans were made to return. Preparations were made to take a larger, better-financed, betterequipped group to Mt. Ararat, capable not only of relocating the Ark itself, but also of thoroughly documenting it. Professional photographers, a medical doctor, and various Christian explorers and mountaineers were chosen for the job, in hopes of producing a 16-mm documentary film of the relocation of the ark, as well as other ancient sites in eastern Turkey. Team members included John Bradley, Jim Davies, Jim Dewberry, Luke Durnal, Jim Leeper, Roger Losier, Larry Ikenberry and myself. Meanwhile, Turkey was undergoing a period of political unrest. Several months of bitter parliamentary fighting had divided the country's leadership until April 26, when President Koruturk and Prime Minister Talu gave an overwhelming vote of confidence to the new coalition government formed. Plans were made to gradually lift the martial law, which controlled the country.
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Dr. John Morris searches by binoculars above Parrot Glacier crevasses 1973 Courtesy of Dr. John Morris By the time our ICR advance team reached Turkey in July, only a few areas were still under martial law, and even those were quite peaceful. However, two potential problems loomed ahead. In October, almost every elected official in Turkey was up for re-election, and on October 29, Turkey planned to celebrate its 50th anniversary. All things considered, it was not a good year for a group of foreigners with sophisticated gear to explore one of Turkey's most sensitive zones. Mount Ararat overlooks both the Russian and Iranian borders. Although a number of sympathetic officials in the Turkish government actively attempted to acquire permission for the ICR team, they were unable to do so. When the decision was finally reached forbidding the issuing of permits, these officials promised more effective support of the ICR efforts in the future. So the team left Turkey with not only a deep love and burden for its people and a sincere respect for its government, but also a sense of accomplishment, even elation over the prospects of future work. However, the weeks the advance team was in Turkey were not spent entirely in the capital city of Ankara. Some members of the team twice journeyed to Ararat, again exploring and photographing ancient ruins, as well as thoroughly photographing the critical areas of the mountain with high-powered telescopic equipment. While these photographs did not reveal the ark, they would be strategically helpful in planning future endeavors. On subsequent trips to Turkey and the base of the mountain, a pattern of not granting permits to research Mt. Ararat unfortunately became the norm for the next several years; however, we continued to establish and maintain contact with Turkish authorities. Efforts to search for the Ark were additionally hampered by several other groups climbing Mt. Ararat without the required permission. This only caused the Turkish government to mistrust the Ark research effort even more. There can never be justification for a Christian to directly disregard the law of the land. Though I remained active in the search for Noah’s Ark, I did not return to Mt. Ararat to lead another expedition until 1983. In fact, access to the mountain was extremely limited until former astronaut Col. Jim Irwin expressed an interest in exploring it. His visibility made him a celebrity in Turkey with officials granting him a rare permit in 1982. Asked to participate, I was unable to do more than help Col. Irwin assemble a capable climbing team. But once again expeditions were possible.
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1983 Excerpts from November 1983 Impact article No. 125—The Search for Noah’s Ark: 1983 We returned to the mountain on August 19, with a scaled-down crew of four Americans and one Turkish resident of America. The permits, which had been requested beginning in early July, were delayed until a very detailed screening was conducted and the Turkish government completed the evaluation process. Unfortunately, two members of the proposed team, Dr. Howard Carlson, a Sumerian archaeologist, and Dave Elliot, a professional cinematographer, were unable to accompany the group at such a late date. Three of the team were mountaineering experts, two of whom were
Ahmet Arslan, Brian Bartlet, and Dr. John Morris south of Parrot Glacier Courtesy of John Morris also trained in mountain rescue and medicine. One of these mountaineers, Donald Barber of San Diego, re-activated a previous injury at the 9500-foot level and was unable to continue the climb. The other mountaineers, ex-medic Brian Bartlett of Samuels, Idaho, and Dr. Ahmet Arslan of Washington, D.C. area, an expert on Turkish folklore, native of Mt. Ararat, as well as professional climber, did make the climb. Ed Crawford joined them. We were accompanied on the mountain by Ahmet Shaheen, vice-president of the Turkish Alpine Federation, and two Kurdish residents of Mt. Ararat. A return date of September 7 was necessary because of prior commitments, the group having planned to begin the work earlier in the summer. In contrast to nearly all past expeditions, ICR applied for and was granted full scientific research permits by the Turkish government. The group proposed to study archaeological remains in the Ararat area, make linguistic and cultural comparisons with remains at sites known to be of great antiquity and to test the ICR position that all civilizations had originally sprung from a common source, the survivors of the flood who lived on Mt. Ararat. Specific plans had originally included careful documentation and evaluation of known inscriptions, relief drawings, underground chambers, and structures previously discovered in the vicinity of Mt. Ararat, while also searching the area for other ancient relics, including the remains of the ark. All members of the ICR team were specialists—capable of accomplishing these goals.
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Although the permits were finally granted and research visas issued by the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., finalization of the necessary paperwork kept the ICR group off the mountain for still another week and a half of precious
Ishak Pasa Palace 1973 Courtesy of Dr. John Morris
time. While waiting they re-visited an unexcavated cave in the foothills of Mt. Ararat which had been dug into an upturned layer of sandy limestone near the ruins of Ishak Pasa. Many more aspects of this site were discovered, including a series of prepared ledges and a facade which had been smoothed off near the cave opening in preparation for additional inscriptions or openings. Unfortunately, much deterioration of the area had taken place since 1973 and an interior room (tomb area?) as well as an arched tunnel had collapsed. The excavation of this promising site remains of paramount importance in the understanding of the early civilizations which sprang up after the flood. The other important archaeological site, which ICR had hoped to document, is known as Korhan, studied first in 1972. Unfortunately, it was declared a restricted zone and access was impossible. Objects discovered on past expeditions (such as the 1969 Lawrence B. Hewitt and Eryl Cummings trip) include a large semicircular altar, a cave with eight crosses on its entry, inscriptions in a pre-cuneiform script, washbasin or statue key, ancient graveyard, grinding wheel, twenty-five sacrificial pits, and many other objects of obvious antiquity. Much fruitful work could be done at this site. Instead of beginning their climb on the northern side, which lies within the sensitive zone adjacent to the Armenian border, as they had hoped, the ICR team was forced to climb from the village of Örtülü on the south side and then to traverse around to the west and north. Implications of this ruling included losing four days of the limited remaining time in ascent and descent, inability to establish a base camp with proper documentary and climbing gear, and many miles of dangerous climbing on loose glacial scree. Once at the Ahora Gorge, however, the team did check out what were thought to be the most promising sites, from vantage points above as well as below. No wood of any sort was discovered. Two new inscriptions were discovered on loose rocks in the bottom of the gorge made of a granite stone commonly found on the west face of the gorge. Another hand-carved cave, which is easily seen on the vertical west wall of the gorge, is reported to contain objects of religious significance by Kurdish villagers, none of whom have ventured there for superstitious reasons. Indeed, it would be nearly impossible to do so without technical rock climbing skills and equipment. Due to the reduced quantity and type of technical equipment brought on the long climb from the starting point on the south side of the mountain, the ICR team was disappointed in its efforts to enter the cave. Vertical climbing from below halted about 10 meters below the cave in rock too weak for pitons. Those knowledgeable on the Ararat project know that late August is considered the optimum time to search. The weather becomes much more unpredictable and potentially violent in September and climbing may become quite dangerous. Reports of a record winter snowfall had dampened expectations for the summer's work, as did news reports of
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John Morris, Brian Bartlet, Ed Crawford 1983 Courtesy of Dr. John Morris
bad weather in mid-August. However, the ICR team found the mountain rather hospitable for a change, although cloud cover hampered photography and two midday snowstorms forced temporary bivouacs. Each day more snow melted and very little remained below 14,000 feet elevation, while glaciers had receded farther than in anyone's memory. The conditions seemed optimum for a discovery. Other aspects of danger were also avoided. Relationships with the local Kurds on the mountain were enhanced by participation of the two Turkish guides and the assistance of the two well-respected Kurdish villagers. Thankfully, only a few minor skirmishes occurred with the usually vicious Kurdish wolfhounds. Furthermore, even though the team spent many hours and traveled many miles over loose "crumbly rock," only rare avalanches caused concern, with no injuries. We did encounter a bear in an ice cave on a hot afternoon in the Ahora Gorge, but thankfully he was not interested in us. Despite the favorable conditions, no remains of the Ark were discovered. Those sites thought to be the most likely resting places for the Ark were thoroughly investigated and photographed. Other sites of less interest could have been checked out, but time was short. (As it was, I had to miss the first three weeks of teaching duties for the fall semester and could not stay longer.) The team returned to the States on September 8 and 10, satisfied that they had done everything possible under the circumstances. They and their financial and prayer supporters were predictably disappointed that the Ark was not discovered, but rested in the fact that God would allow the discovery in his time, and not before. Turkey had recently changed its long-standing position against research and travel in the Ararat area. Whereas for the previous 10 years or so, i.e. 1973-1981, access had been quite limited, many groups from countries around the world were allowed to climb to the summit this year. (1983) Several expeditions were not restricted to the standard summit route and were allowed to look elsewhere in search of Noah’s Ark. One such expedition consisted of Pat Frost, Howard Davis, Dr. James Davies, and others who linked up with a Turkish group doing medical research on the mountain including Prof. Dr. Abdül Mecit DOĞRU, who was killed climbing the Communism Peak of Russia (7495 m). They achieved good coverage of the North Canyon area, and the area west of
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Colonel Jim Irwin Walking on the Moon with Apollo 15 Lunar Lander 1971 Courtesy of John McIntosh
the Ahora Gorge. Another, headed up by Dr. Charles Willis, excavated a portion of an interesting ice pack east of the summit at 16,000 feet elevation with a modified chain saw adapted to ice. Still another group, John McIntosh and friends, spent some time searching the area east of the Gorge and toward the saddle between the two peaks. They then joined still another group headed by Col. James Irwin and including Eryl Cummings, Marvin Steffins, Ray Anderson, and climber Bob Stuplich. This latter expedition was even allowed to make plane trips around the mountain. The plane made four circuits at 11,000, 12,000, 13,000 and 14,000 feet elevation, with several hand-held cameras on board. Unfortunately, their photos showed no objects of interest. Neither did their ground search, which explored the east side of the Ahora Gorge and toward the saddle. The obvious thought has now crossed each explorer's mind—perhaps the remains of the Ark are not really on the mountain at all. Yet the eyewitness evidence remains. Something must be up there. But where? Seemingly, every possible location has been checked. On the other hand, it may be that our methods are no longer productive. Since none of these difficult and expensive foreign expeditions has been fruitful, in part due to their inability to spend large amounts of time on the mountain, perhaps it is time to turn the search over to the actual inhabitants who have ready access to the mountain. Just such a solution has been proposed and is being carefully considered. An ICR supporter has recently pledged a substantial sum of money to be offered through ICR as a reward to any Turkish discoverer of the Ark during 1983 or 1984. The money would be placed in a Turkish bank and would be released once an ICR observer has documented the discovery. Until the Ark is found, no money would be spent and no lives endangered. If approved, the offer will be extended to the proper Turkish groups within the next few months.
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Those who might question such a plan should bear in mind that the combined 1983 expedition expenditures of the various groups totaled well over a quarter of a million dollars. A reward may well be a better use of limited finances, and seems now to offer a greater chance for success. 1984 Excerpts from Acts and Facts, Vol. 13 No. 10 October, 1984 by John Morris On August 25, 1984, the news spread around the globe. Noah’s Ark had been found! A group of American and Turkish explorers, including ICR's Dr. John Morris, had discovered the remains of a huge boat on the slopes of Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey, so the papers claimed. But discriminating readers soon began to question the continuing news releases. Something seemed wrong. Indeed things were wrong, so wrong in fact, that what promised to be the most productive Ararat expedition ever turned into a nightmare of worldwide proportions, at best, producing questionable results; at worst, the end of all searches. Several expeditions were approved for research on Mt. Ararat that summer, the most prominent one being a combination of three subgroups: International Expeditions headed by Marvin Steffins; High Flight Foundation, with former astronaut Jim Irwin; and Institute for Creation Research, with Dr. John Morris. These three had received broad approval for search and research, including the use of a high-altitude, military helicopter beginning August 20. The ICR group, consisting of mountaineer Don Barber, Halil Husrevoglu of Turkey and Dr. John Morris, arrived in Ankara on August 5, to accomplish the preliminary work for the entire team, including filing of a detailed flight plan for the helicopter and clarification of certain aspects of the permits. Numerous crippling problems had surfaced for all of the other expeditions by this time. Thus forewarned, Morris and the others were able to eliminate many problems before they occurred, but quite a few remained, which were faced as they arose. In all, about ten days were spent in government offices in six cities throughout Turkey. Photo analysis by Ray Anderson of the United States had identified an ark-shaped formation half-buried by snow and rock at the 12,500-foot elevation on the western side of the mountain near the Parrot Glacier, which the ICR group desired to investigate before the enormous cost of the helicopter was incurred. As soon as final paperwork was done, they climbed to the site but the Ark was not visible. They were back down in four days to meet the Steffins party on August 19, consisting of Steffins, his wife and daughter, Turkish physicist Dr. Bulent Atalay, and helicopter expert "Watcha" McCollum. Within a day it was made known to the team that the high-altitude helicopter promised was in need of repairs and would not be available. The substitute, which was offered, could only reach elevations of 10,000 feet, much too low for research purposes. It was refused, and the groups turned to secondary objectives and methods. The Irwin subgroup arrived on August 20, consisting of Jim Irwin, John Christensen, Dick Bright and Ron Wyatt. Wyatt had, on several occasions, visited the Ararat region with particular interest in a strikingly ship-shaped formation in the foothills some 20 miles southeast of Mt. Ararat. The site had first come to light in aerial photos in 1959 and had been studied by expeditions in 1960 and 1973. Both groups had concluded that the object was merely an unusual geologic formation. Wyatt convinced Irwin to visit the site, and although Irwin was intrigued, he was not convinced the formation was Noah’s Ark, and left the site to climb Mt. Ararat. After consultation with Steffins, the ICR group traveled to Kars to obtain permission for both groups to study archaeological sites on the mountain's north face. But, while the ICR group was gone, Steffins and Wyatt returned to the formation, this time with a metal detector which identified several discrete, metallic anomalies on either side of a central rock outcrop. Fragments were collected which bore superficial resemblance to petrified wood. Needing to wrap up certain details with the government regarding the helicopter, Steffins then left the mountain area and returned to Ankara without having conferred with Irwin or Morris. Once in Ankara, rumors were flying among members of the press that Steffins had found the ark. In order to squelch the rumors, Steffins called a press conference to explain that he had indeed found a boat-shaped, ark-sized object on the mountains of Ararat, which given more research and documentation might prove to be the Ark of Noah. But the press exaggerated and so twisted the story that it appeared Steffins was announcing a discovery. Furthermore, over the next week the incident became a national scandal. All expedition members were accused of being treasure hunters and smugglers, "proved" by the fact that Wyatt had announced from New York City that he had removed portions of the boat. Pictures of him with a sack of samples appeared in newspapers throughout Turkey. Wyatt had rushed to New York to announce the site while Morris, Doris Bowers and others were just beginning to critically examine the site. Productive work on the search was over at that point, with the Irwin, Morris and Steffins groups harassed, threatened and forced into hiding. Fortunately, everyone was eventually able to leave the country and return home.
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On the day of Steffins' infamous press conference in Ankara, Morris and his group had been visiting the boat-shaped formation. Careful study indicated to them that the studies in 1960 and 1973 were correct, and that the formation was merely a geologic formation, although an unusual one. It is approximately 510' x 160' with walls 30' high in places. It was evidently formed as a brecciated mud flow descended a hillside and flowed around a prominent rock outcrop, producing a "boatshaped" formation, as does river water when it flows around a rock. The mud consists of various rock types, from coarse sandstone to basalt, in a matrix of clay and fault breccia. Underlying the area is a layer of organic, rich, black limestone that looks somewhat like partially petrified wood. The formation is rather unusual but appears to be of natural causes. Its coincidental location in the foothills of Ararat, coupled with its boat shape and huge dimensions, is puzzling. The presence of magnetic anomalies demands that more careful research be done, and final judgments must wait. Although the overall effect of the summer's work is uncertain, an unrelated The Durupinar Formation 1984 group made one important discovery, that Courtesy of John McIntosh of the ruins of a major city near the village of Eli, which appears to be of great antiquity. Located and photographed were many ancient inscriptions and structures, which may hold the key to understanding the origins of ancient civilizations. 1985 To test my proposition that Turkish nationals could search with less opposition, ICR sponsored an expedition by Mr. Halil Husrevoglu and three of his Turkish friends. Halil who lives in the states, had been with me on several previous expeditions, so he knew the area, the officials and the research. Unfortunately, while Turks have better access, they have less protection. After an effective but unfruitful week studying crevasses in the Parrot Glacier, a well-known horseman by the name of Halis Chaven attacked Halil. Left for dead, the local tribesmen rescued Halil. When the incident was reported to the police, they were not interested. 1987 Excerpts from Impact No. 175—A Report On The ICR Ararat Exploration, 1987 by John Morris It has been obvious for some time that ground-based expeditions to Mt. Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark have very little chance of succeeding. All who have seen pictures of the mountain and heard of the difficulties and dangers fully understand the necessity of using other methods. In August of 1987, the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) participated in an international expedition composed of representatives of four organizations in cooperation with two Turkish companies. This consortium was granted permission by the very cooperative central government in Ankara: 1) to survey and photograph all areas of interest on the mountain from a fixed-wing airplane, 2) to investigate with a high-altitude helicopter any promising sites discovered from the aircraft or aerial photos, and, 3) to document any discovery by a ground-based climbing party. As a requirement of this permit, we were asked to do an equivalent study of the boat-shaped formation some 15 miles away from Ararat, which others have suspected might be the decayed remains of Noah’s Ark. (I have studied this formation and am convinced it is merely an unusual geologic formation.) Although all involved organizations participated in planning at all stages, primary responsibility for the acquisition and interpretation of aerial photographs rested with ICR and International Exploration, Inc. (Interex, Mr. Rod Keller, president), a Canadian-based aerial exploration company. A Cessna 206 aircraft was leased from a Turkish aircraft dealer in Ankara, capable of flying to 20,000 feet elevation and equipped with a high-resolution camera. The request to use a sensitive infrared video camera was withdrawn during permit negotiations. High Flight Foundation of Colorado Springs (Jim Irwin, director and former Apollo 15 astronaut) accepted primary responsibility for the use of the helicopter—a Jet Ranger II with pre-engine, also leased from a Turkish company, as well as direction of potential ground exploration and documentation. Plans to use the helicopter to build a mountaineering shelter, at the request of the Turkish Mountaineering Federation, were canceled since the final permissions were not granted until mid-August—much too late for transportation of materials and construction. The structure had been required
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by the Turks in the early permit negotiations in return for permission to explore. A "log cabin" design was chosen with precut timbers to be flown up by helicopter and assembled on site. Evangelische Omroep (EO), a branch of official government television in the Netherlands, (Jan van den Bosch, director) under separate permits to film in Turkey (including an interview with President Kenan Evren to discuss Turkish involvement in the European Common Market) was joined to the Ararat expedition to document all activities and discoveries. EO has had a long and fruitful involvement in creationist activities, including the original filming of the movies now known as the award-winning series, "Origins: How the World Came to Be." As is always the case, difficulties and opposition surfaced at every turn. Our permit received approval on August 14, but getting the specific aspects nailed down and paperwork completed turned out to be a trying process. By August 25, however, we had explicit documents allowing all phases of our work, including the basing of both helicopter and airplane in Doğubayazit, the town at the base of the mountain. Precise flight plans had been approved by the Turkish Civil Aviation Agency, and although cautious, our hopes were high. Earlier in the spring, however, a directive had been issued from the Prime Minister (not normally involved in the permit process), mandating that no exploration of any sort would be allowed on Mt. Ararat, evidently in response to requests for exclusivity from certain American groups including Ron Wyatt who were interested in promoting the boat-shaped formation as the ark. Even though the evidence favoring this site is quite Metin Karadag Crossing Life Threatening Crevasse 1984 meager and speculative, there Courtesy of John McIntosh is a government effort to capitalize on the attention given it, including the building
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of a "visitors' center" on the site and improvement of the road to it. I had been told of this directive, but assumed our permission constituted an exception to it. Unfortunately, therefore, provincial and local officials with responsibility to implement our permits had two conflicting documents, and clarification and coordination turned out to be impossible. At 10:00 P.M. on the night before we were to begin flying, the local officials told us that the more restrictive of the two was to be honored, and the flights were canceled. A second major problem dealt with the nearness of both Russian and Iranian borders. By agreement with these countries, Turkey maintains a 20 km buffer zone along these borders, within which activities such as our proposed exploration and photography are kept to a minimum. However, our permits specifically allowed us to land in Doğubayazit (about 10 km from Iran), and specifically approved the areas of research on the mountain (slightly over 20 km from Russia, but only about 15 km from Iran). Again, local officials had two conflicting orders, and chose the more restrictive. A third problem was the weather. The winter of 1987 had seen extensive snowfall in eastern Turkey, and since snow cover might obscure anything on the ground, this was thought to be detrimental to the search. Conversely, the summer had produced record heat waves. All Ararat veterans felt the snow melt-back was at least better than average. More importantly, the night on which our permits were canceled, a major snowstorm hit the mountain, leaving at least 18 inches of new snow, covering everything above 11,000 feet elevation. This had melted within a week, but by then our permits had been totally revoked. After extensive negotiation, we were finally allowed to make one flight, of course restricted to air space outside the 20 km buffer zones. This meant we could photograph the west side of the mountain and see the promising north side only obliquely, from high altitude. Unfortunately, low-lying clouds covered the mountain below 13,000 feet, and the recent snowfall obscured much of what remained. Fortunately, these same clouds hid our plane from view as we ventured as close as possible to the Ahora Gorge and the Davis Canyon. The photographs taken, however, are of excellent quality, and do provide insight into a few areas of interest. They were taken in such a way as to provide stereoscopic coverage of the areas photographed, allowing three-dimensional viewing. The photos have now been carefully studied, and sadly no hints of the Ark have been seen, but all areas were shrouded in snow. Even though we didn't do all we had hoped to do, in the final analysis, we were able to secure governmental permission for an aerial survey—an answer to a 16-year prayer of mine. We now know much more of the implementation process and of Turkish law bearing on this issue, and know ways to minimize the specific problems which stymied us. Now is hardly the time to quit! The mechanism is in place and relationships established which might yield a proper survey in the future. Meanwhile, efforts are continuing to evaluate recent high-resolution satellite imagery of Mt. Ararat. Computer enhancement techniques, developed for the data from the French "SPOT" satellite, make it possible to "see" objects as little as three meters in diameter. ICR is committed to this study, and is involved in two such efforts. The evidence continues to mount that God has protected the Ark over the years since the flood. In spite of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, the erosion by the glacier, and the effects of time, the data [through eyewitness accounts] strongly assert that the remains of the Ark lie somewhere on Mt. Ararat, buried by volcanic debris and ice, awaiting discovery at the proper time. God answers prayer, and we can be thankful for the progress made in the summer of 1987. In his time and to his glory, the obstacles will be overcome and the Ark will be found. Even with the disappointments and frustrations, I am convinced the discovery is near. 1988 Excerpts from Acts & Facts Vol. 17, No. 11, November, 1988 The summer of 1988 saw a number of investigators journey to Mount Ararat in search of the remains of Noah’s Ark. Considered together these efforts compose the most complete study of Mount Ararat ever made in one year. In July a joint Turkish-American effort studied the boat-shaped formation some 10 miles south of Greater Ararat, which some have maintained is the ark. Cores of the formation were taken down to some depth, but they yielded nothing of direct archaeological interest. Unfortunately, a group promoting this site soon plans to release a feature-length film claiming discovery of the Ark here. Late in July a helicopter was used to search a hidden area known as the Davis Canyon. I was involved in the initial planning and ICR helped to a limited degree in the funding. Only moderate snow cover hampered the search, but no discovery was made. An effort to return at a better time to do a more complete survey was delayed until September 13. Even though late in the season, recent snow had melted, and good photographic coverage of many areas of high interest was obtained at that time. Again, there was no discovery. Dr. Willis' group received Turkish permission to use a radar device to investigate beneath the ice cap on the eastern plateau summit region. No anomalous shapes were discovered under the ice in this area. There were a few other groundbased expeditions, also unsuccessful. The many eyewitness accounts [included in an appendix], however, old and new, which have always been the main reason to search for the Ark on Mount Ararat, still remain unexplained, indicating something significant may indeed be up there, awaiting the right timing and conditions for discovery.
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1989 Excerpts from Acts & Facts, December, 1989 As reported in Acts & Facts as well as in numerous news reports around the country, American explorers by the name of Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe, claimed in late September 1989, to have discovered the remains of the Ark of Noah, high on the slopes of Mt. Ararat. The object of interest can be seen as a dark spot in the southwest glacier. Turkish climbers call it "The Eye of the Bird," after the bird-shaped look of the finger glaciers. It has come to be known as the "Ark Cave" or "Ice Cave." I had participated in the planning and fund-raising for this helicopter-based search. I did not accompany the explorers on the September trip, but did return as part of a team of six in late October, in an attempt to verify and document the discovery. The ICR contingent consisted of Bob Van Kampen, geologist Grant Richards, my brother Henry Morris, III and myself. We joined Chuck Aaron and Bill Dodder, representing Jim Irwin. Enjoying cooperation from the Turkish government, the group quickly acquired permits which allowed not only helicopter flights, but ground-based study and sampling. Unfortunately, complete implementation of the permits was delayed for several weeks. Finally, however, the team was able to study the object of interest from the helicopter once again, with even less snow cover than in September, but was prohibited from getting the much-needed samples. From the air, the object looks long and rectangular, an estimated 70' x 100' x 300' protruding from the glacier. It seemed to consist of a basaltic ledge overlying an unconsolidated ash layer, which has partially eroded, revealing the interior. Since petrified wood can sometimes look superficially like basalt, samples are needed to settle the matter. Microscopic investigation of the samples would clearly show remnant cellular structure of the wood, or interlocking crystals of the rock. The object appears visually much the same as eyewitnesses have frequently described their encounters with the ark, and as such, will remain of interest until samples can be obtained and studied. However, each of the team members was convinced at the time of viewing from the helicopter that the object was most likely of natural origin.
Ice Cave or "Eye of the Bird" rock formation 1989 Courtesy of John Morris
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1999 Conclusion Several of the eyewitnesses have mentioned that the Ark is covered by rock or rock rubble, perhaps mixed with ice and snow, but not actually in the glacier. My current thinking is that the structure has likely been engulfed by volcanic ash, ejected in one of the mountains by many post-flood eruptions. Once buried in ash, the Ark could be preserved by petrifaction, injection with or replacement by silica, common in igneous rock. This could explain why several eyewitnesses have insisted that the Ark is "as hard as rock." Numerous layers of ash and volcanic flow rock are exposed in the Ahora Gorge and elsewhere, forming a "stair-stepped" terrain. Such topography is mentioned time and again by eyewitnesses, with the Ark resting on a ledge, protruding from the mountain and near a cliff. While I remain interested in exploration of the glacier, I feel the bulk of the eyewitness evidence favors a lower site, in rugged, rocky terrain, but still accessible to non-technical climbers with knowledge of the proper route. Indeed, without these eyewitness reports, there is absolutely no reason to search at all. Thus, I maintain a primary interest in the Ahora Gorge, and other similar features, from approximately 12,500 to 14,500 feet in elevation. I suspect only 50 feet or so might be protruding from an ash deposit, but even that would be covered by snow or rock debris on most years, forcing a continued revisitation of the many potential hiding places. For nearly two decades, the search for the Ark was paramount in my thinking. Even at night I would dream of climbing the mountain several times a week. The Ark search gets into your blood. It's like having gum on your shoe. You can kick and kick, but can't get it off. I'll always be hooked. My study of the Turkish language, of Muslim writings, of Anatolian history, and of Turkish customs has been fascinating, and on my thirteen trips to the mountain, the many dear Turkish friends and experiences have been enriching. I have memories, which will last for a lifetime. But in recent years my passion has turned to other projects, as responsibilities have grown at home and at ICR. I no longer seek to return to the mountain, although I maintain a deep interest in the search and contact with active search groups. But if the right opportunity arose...
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Bob Stuplich (b. 1947) was a lead climber for both Dr. John Warwick Montgomery in the 1970's and with Jim Irwin in the 1980's, and is considered by most Ark researchers as one of the best climbers to ever explore Mount Ararat. Chapter 18
1973-2006 Bob Stuplich
Explorer Bob Stuplich rappelling into the Ahora Gorge 1982 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, one of my options for an archaeology class term paper was to find out if there was any evidence for the existence of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat. My professor had heard of possible sightings and was interested in learning more. I began my research. I found that there were people who believed that Noah’s Ark still existed. I wanted to know more. I studied everything I could find concerning "the Great Deluge" and everything written about it from every culture. My interest in biblical archaeology grew. The implications of substantiating biblical history became paramount for me. I eventually met Dr. John Warwick Montgomery at Biola University in California. He lectured on the ark history and sightings on Mt. Ararat. I was hooked. In 1972 I went to Switzerland to study with Dr. Frances Schaeffer at L'Abri in the Alps. While I was at L'Abri a student from the University of Strasbourg stopped in for a visit and we began a discussion. I learned that Dr. Montgomery was teaching at the University of Strasbourg and was planning on an expedition to Ararat for the summer of 1973. I immediately proceeded to hitchhike up to Strasbourg to inform Dr. Montgomery how badly he needed my climbing expertise for his expedition on the mountain. Dr. Montgomery carefully explained to me that he had all the members he needed for his expedition, that they had been preparing for months and that all their information for permission to climb had been submitted to the Turkish government long ago. I stayed in Strasbourg and sat in on Dr. Montgomery's classes—he is a great historian and one of the best
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Train that Stuplich and Montgomery would occasionally take across Turkey Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1973-1975
teachers I have ever had. I would often meet with Dr. Montgomery after class because he just wasn't understanding how desperately he needed me on his expedition. Finally his patience wore out. He asked me not to mention Ararat or the expedition ever again. I gave him my phone number and address at L'Abri in Switzerland in case he changed his mind. He graciously took it and put it in his pocket. I left Strasbourg and went to visit some friends in Germany for a week. On my way back to Switzerland from that visit, I had to go right past Strasbourg. I thought that it wouldn't hurt to try Dr. Montgomery one more time. I knocked on his apartment door ready for him to open it long enough to see me and close it right in my face. He opened the door as if he were glad to see me. He invited me into his study and asked me for my passport and some other information. When I asked why he wanted the information he asked me "Didn't you get my message?" I said, "What message?" He said, "I sent a message to you in Switzerland." I apologized and explained that I had not yet returned to Switzerland. He looked me in the eye, pointed his finger at my face, and intensely inquired, "You mean, you had the audacity to come here to ask me one more time to join our expedition after I asked you not to." I politely affirmed his suspicion. He then explained to me that my persistence, patience and determination were why he chose me to replace one of his members who had to drop out at the last minute. He explained that I would need all three attributes in Turkey. Little did I realize at the time how true his statement would be. 1973 Getting to Know the People After completing the necessary paperwork, I was given my first responsibility - driving a new Citroen Jeep and trailer full of climbing gear and supplies from Strasbourg, France through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, and across Turkey to the Urartu Mountains. I spent over two months in Turkey without permission to climb. I waited in Erzurum, Dogubayazit, and Igdir getting to know the Turks and Kurds in the area while Dr. Montgomery was trying to get permission to climb from Ankara. I went climbing and fishing with the Turks and visited the Kurds in their villages and worked with them harvesting wheat in their fields. When we explained to the Kurds that we were about to leave the area
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Turkish Military Commando in Front of East Glacier 1983 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich without Turkish permission to climb Mt. Ararat—my new Kurdish friends explained to me that we needed their permission also. They claimed that if the Kurds did not want us to climb—we wouldn't be able to go up. At that time, the Kurds claimed they were in control of the mountain since they lived on the mountain. They then invited me to return anytime and we would climb where we wished. I asked if I could bring my American friends (Dr. Montgomery and group) and they said yes. When I explained this to Dr. Montgomery—he decided to send me back a month or so early in 1974 to work, climb, and go fishing for trout (God's fish) southeast of Erzurum with the Kurds for a while before the group would go over. We drove the Jeep into an old brick factory near Erzurum, stored the trailer and supplies and returned to Europe. This,however, is not the proper legal way to approach climbing the mountain today. 1974 Work, Work, Work I flew back to Turkey on June 3rd and was finally able to work through the entanglements and difficulties of "arranging" for a climb up Ararat to the Parrot glacier beyond Lake Kop. It took 45 arduous days to work out the details with the competitive and unorganized guides. Much time was spent simply waiting at one spot or another for people to show up. It is difficult to describe how frustrating making these "arrangements" were unless you read my complete report. And Dr. Montgomery and the rest of the expedition kept waiting in the wings for word that it was OK to come to Turkey from Switzerland and the United States. I had many old friends from last year in Erzurum. One of them took me out to see the Citroen that was stored at the brick factory. It was covered in Turkish dirt. We also went to the garage where the trailer was stored and the garage demanded 10,000 Turkish Lira ($700.00) before we could get it out. We had never intended to leave the trailer in that garage but the Turkish friend who said he would take it out and store it in another friend's yard "forgot" to do so. We eventually had to pay about $300.00 to get it out. It was good to be back in Erzurum with old friends and that night I met another Turkish guide who spoke English very well. It was a pleasure talking with him. The next day was an interesting day. That morning I went to pick up the jeep. It ran quite well after a few minor adjustments. We took it to a stream to wash off the incredible quantity of Turkish dirt that had accumulated in it as well as on the outside of it. I had a hard time starting the jeep and had to make some adjustments on the carburetor. Anytime I opened the hood of the jeep there was always ten or fifteen Turks standing around to "help." I had the hood off and one Turk decided to "help" by pulling the gas line off the carburetor. The fuel pump was working quite well and pumped gas all
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ovver the engine. The whole thing immed diately went up in flames. I had never se een so many panic-stricke en Turks! The ey all m moved so fast that they were running intto each otherr. In retrospecct, the inciden nt really seem ms funny, but at the time I was prretty scared. We finally pu ut the fire out with blanketss but the fire had burned out o most of th he electrical system s as we ell as th he rubber gass line. I spent the rest of the e day finding parts to do a patch-up job on the jeep.
After a difficult month and a half of "arranging" the pe ermission, guiides, horses, and equipme ent, we were finally able to o get on n the mounta ain. Our exp pedition enco ountered a Ju uly snowstorm m on our firsst night at base b camp at Lake Kop. We prroceeded up to the Parrott glacier and looked l "everyywhere" for "N Navarra/SEARCH wood"— —we found ab bsolutely noth hing. W did, howevver, see a larrge black object in the ice We e above the Parrot P glacierr that got us all excited. Was W that "it"? We grrouped togeth her to make a plan. While we were plan nning we reallized that Bria an Bastian wa as very sick. He began to lose co onsciousnesss. We all got worried. w Dr. Montgomery M w fearful fo was or Brian's life. Brian couldn n't walk. We had to carry him. W began to realize We r that he had hypoth hermia. We needed n to gett him down im mmediately. When W we gott Brian down and w warmed up, we w realized th hat most of th he group had d other comm mitments and they needed d to get back to the State es or Sw witzerland. I determin ned that I was sn't going anyywhere until I went back up p to "it." The whole w group le eft Turkey and I stayed. I w went rig ght back up th he mountain with three Tu urks and a Kurd. Going up we saw dogss. You cannott get from the e bottom of Arrarat to o the snowcap without the e Kurdish dog gs finding you u at some point. You can watch for the e Kurdish ten nt villages and d go arround them, but b the dogs will sense yo ou and find yo ou and bark, growl, and ca arry on until their t master comes c to find d out w what all the commotion is all about. We had a plan to app proach the "bllack spot" wh hich was on the t north side e of the mountain from th he south overr the su ummit so we did not have to climb the north n side up the Parrot gllacier. It would be faster up p the south side. We took one da ay to get to our base camp p at about 14,,000 feet. At 4:00 AM A the next morning Gazze, Ertugrul and a I set out for the top of o Ararat. Ne egmi decided not to presss on be ecause the storm s the pre evious day ha ad taken too much out of him. It wass very cold and he didn't have the pro oper eq quipment. Wh hen we reach hed just above e 15,000 feet,, Ertugrul said d that he coulldn't continue the climb but Gazi and I w were sttill eager to trry to reach th he top, so the e two of us continued c alone. By the tim me I got to 16,000 feet I didn't d think I was go oing to make it either. Eve erything hurt. I could only take 10 or 15 5 steps beforre I would havve to stop an nd rest. We could se ee the cloudss below us an nd it was extre emely windy, but we had to t climb to the e top of the mountain m befo ore we could sstart do own the othe er side toward ds the "spot." Reaching the summit of the Agri Da ag was the hardest h thing I had ever d done ph hysically!
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Explorer Bob Stuplich overlooking the Parrot Glacier and Ark Rock Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1982 When we finally reached the summit the clouds had met us there. The absence of the sun combined with a strong wind at that altitude made it bitterly cold. We could only bear to stand on the summit for about two minutes before we headed down the north side towards the "black spot." But along with the clouds had come a blinding snow. It was almost impossible to see a step in front of us. We were climbing the huge ice cap glacier, which covers the north side of Ararat from about 14,000 feet to the summit at almost 17,000 feet. The new snow together with the wind had caused huge drifts to cover the crevasses. Gazi and I could descend for only 60 to 100 feet before I would fall through the snow into a crevasse, as I was going down first. Gazi would pull me out with the rope, which tied us together while we were on the glacier. We would continue but the same thing kept happening. With the cold, wind, and snow it finally became ridiculous to continue our attempts to pass over or around crevasses we couldn't even see. I understood then why no one ever climbs Ararat from the north face. Finally we were forced to stop because we were in a total whiteout. Gazi finally convinced me that we should return to the base camp. Once again our attempt to reach that "spot" had been frustrated. We circled around to the west and back to the south toward our base camp. We arrived back at our base camp after 14 hours of climbing, arriving late in the evening. We broke camp and descended the mountain through the night. We arrived at the road between the Iran border and Dogubayazit at about 5:00 AM. I was exhausted. Because of the storm we decided to pack up our gear and start down. When we got to the bottom of the mountain we still had eight miles to walk in the dark with a full pack of climbing gear. We got back to our hotel at 7:00 AM the next morning. Without a doubt that had been the longest and hardest day (27 hours) of my life! I was also late for a very important date. I was to meet my fiancée in Switzerland and only had a few days to get there. I wasn't flying either. I had to drive our expedition jeep back to Switzerland. I drove the jeep back to Istanbul and then continued driving the remaining 3,800 kilometers back to France. I picked up my fiancée, we got married a week earlier than we planned, got all the burned out parts of the Jeep fixed, and got back in the jeep and drove right back to Ararat for our honeymoon. I know you are asking, "How could he do that?" Easy. You are reading this book, aren't you? You have at least a touch of "Ark Fever." I had it pretty bad. Hey, "it" was visible in 1974—we were on our way back across Europe, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey to Ararat. When Dr. Montgomery asked me about going back to Ararat for our honeymoon, many thoughts flooded my mind. I had just left Turkey and I could still remember how good it felt to leave. I was tired and it was a long way back. Who would
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Kurdish settlement two miles from Korhan greets their surprise visitor Bob with a lamb which was killed and cooked for dinner 1982 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
I climb with? Could I take the time? How could I be sure my Turkish friends would be able to climb? When would we climb? Would it take another month or so of frustration to organize another climb? I had planned on taking my new wife up with us to our base camp Lake Kop but "winter" had set in on the mountain. I left her in a hotel with friends in Erzurum and took off to see if we (a climbing friend Scott Little from Switzerland and I) could get to "it". Scott and I were both experienced with ice so we decided to just go right up the Parrot glacier. We took a van to the place where two men and two horses were waiting for us. It was so cold and windy that one of the Kurds decided not to go up with us. I had warned them the night before that it was going to be "cok cok soguk" (very, very cold). I made sure to explain that when our group went up in July that it was extremely cold and that the Kurds who went with us almost froze to death because they didn't bring suitable clothing to protect themselves. Mehmet, the man with the horses, said that he would be fine. Mehmet, Scott and I started up the mountain at 6:30 AM. Mehmet was not a guide and had never been to Lake Kop, but I felt quite sure I could find the Lake Kop area and I couldn't justify paying extra money for an extra guide. I had been careful to make sure that I could find my way back when we had gone up to Lake Kop in July. When we got about halfway to the Lake, Mehmet felt sure we were lost. It was very cold and snowing and the dense clouds made it impossible for us to see more than 20 yards ahead. I must admit there were times I wasn't really sure myself that I could find the area again. The only thing that kept Mehmet going was that I had not yet paid him. At four o'clock that afternoon I finally saw the Lake Kop area. It was a beautiful sight after a long cold climb through the clouds. We unpacked our gear from the horses and ate. Mehmet started to get cold and scared and he wanted to go back down. He tried telling me that the agreement was to pay $50.00 for him to go up and $50.00 when we got to the site. I knew that he had understood that the agreement was for him to stay overnight so that we could evaluate whether or not it would be profitable to go on to the Navarra site above Lake Kop. There was snow at our base camp and it looked like more was coming. Mehmet started crying when he realized that he would have to stay the night on the mountain. I didn't
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really know what to do. I could see that if he did stay the night it would certainly be a dangerous situation for him. He had no tent and only a blanket to sleep with. He unbridled the horses and prepared to spend the night. When I saw that he was going to stay if I did not pay him and that he would almost certainly freeze to death if he did stay, I had to reconsider. I told him that if he promised to come back in 3 days to pick us up that I would pay him, and he could go down. He readily agreed to this and was on his way down the mountain in a matter of seconds. So Scott and I were alone on the mountain. We put up my two-man tent and went to sleep. That night we were hit by an incredible storm! It snowed all-night and dumped more that a foot of new snow on us. It stopped snowing at about eleven o'clock the next morning so we packed our gear and moved up to the Navarra site. It was quite difficult getting to the Navarra site because of all the new snow, especially where the snow covered the huge rockslides and we couldn't find sure footing. When we got to the glacier, Scott and I had to remain roped together constantly because the crevasses were completely covered by snowdrifts. When we reached the crevasse where Navarra had taken out wood, we found it frozen completely shut, which made it impossible to do any diving. Dr. Montgomery and I had planned on me diving into the melt water pond and searching for wood since there was so much water there in 1973. The wet suit I had carried up the mountain was of no use. We pitched our tent right on the glacier along side the crevasse and went to sleep in hopes that Thursday would be a better day. When we woke up the next morning our tent was again covered with new snow and more snow was coming down. It snowed most of that day but Scott and I took every effort to look around. I could see that much of the old snow had melted since July but now the new snow had covered everything, making it impossible to see anything on the surface. I spent quite a bit of time inside crevasses but found nothing but ice and new snow. Later in the day the weather cleared enough for us to see the glacier above us, however, it was also covered with new snow so we were unable to see the "black spot." We climbed about halfway up the glacier but it would have been futile for us to climb any higher because we could not see the exact location of the "spot." After five days in that weather and conditions, we were fortunate to be able to get off the mountain with only minor snow slides and no avalanches. Obviously we never saw "it" again that year.
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Bob Stuplich and Scott Little two-man tent home for 5 days after snowstorm on Parrot Glacier 1974 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
We drove the jeep back to Switzerland and finished our honeymoon there. I stored the jeep in the woods of a friend's farm in Switzerland with plans to return. 1975 If I could spend a part of my honeymoon on Ararat, I might as well try for my first anniversary there too. I had already developed a love/hate thing with that mountain. After training hard for a new climb, I flew with two friends back to Switzerland. The jeep started right away. When we got back into Turkey we found that the Turkish/Kurdish problem was so bad that my Kurdish friends had a hard time contemplating risking any contact with the Turkish military which was very present at and around Dogubayazit. My Kurdish friends told me that the Turkish military was watching us. At the suggestion of our Kurdish friends, Jim Bauch, John Gustafson, and I waited until dark one night, jumped out of the back window of our hotel room, threw our gear in the back of our jeep and headed for the pass between Dogubayazit and Igdir. We had John drop us off at the pass in the dark. John drove down to Igdir and then straight back to Erzurum. Our Kurdish friends told Jim and I that we might have to wait the night and the next day before any search would be sent out for us. We climbed half way up to the Parrot glacier before we realized that we needed to turn back if we were going to get off the glacier before dark. We were off the glacier by dark and proceeded down the mountain to the saddle between Dogubayazit and Igdir at night. Our Kurdish friends were waiting on the saddle to pick us up. We were all nervous. There was too little time under too dangerous political conditions. We went back to Erzurum, packed up the Jeep and drove it back to France. The jeep was three years old and completely worn out. I thought I would never see Eastern Turkey again for a long, long time.
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1982 By the time Jim Irwin got involved in the search for the ark the stress between the Kurds and the Turks had calmed down a bit. I was honored that Jim asked me to lead the climb for his expedition. We began training immediately in Jim's "back yard"—Pikes Peak. We had dinner with Kasim Gülek, an elder statesman for the Turkish government, who was educated in the United States at Columbia University by the order of Ataturk himself. Dr. Gülek was one of Ataturk's consultants during the westernizing of Turkey. Dr. Gülek and his wife were extremely helpful in gaining permits during the 1980's as his wife was especially interested in the search for Noah’s Ark. They had beautiful homes in Ankara and eastern Anatolia that contained many archaeological artifacts as well as one of the largest personal libraries in all of Turkey. Dr. Gülek stated the following to Elfred Lee in 1985. So many civilizations have come and gone here—the Hittites, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Turks—all have left archaeological monuments here. As a matter of fact, the Turkish nation itself is a melting pot… But the real work in Turkey is to dig into the ancient world. Unfortunately many have plundered and took it away. There are whole museums full of archaeological remains that they took away from Turkey! The Purgamum Museum in Berlin; it's a monument of shame! The British Museum is full of archaeological works that they have taken away from present-day Turkey… From that point of view I think you're doing very well in taking up archaeology in Turkey. When Jim Irwin was introduced to the Turkish military and government personnel he was always introduced as one of the astronauts that went to the moon. They were impressed. Once we got up on the mountain, we still introduced Jim as a moonwalker but we got a totally different response from the mountain Kurds. They would look at Jim, look down at the photo of Jim standing on the moon, look up in the sky with a puzzled look, and then look back at Jim with a silly little grin on their face as if to say, "Sure, I 'believe' that one—got any other good jokes?" This expedition covered the entire north side of Mt. Ararat. We first camped at Lake Kop with different groups going out in different directions. My group consisted of the two best climbers in the group, Dan Bass from Texas, and Orhan Basher (a Turkish commando—strong, powerful, determined, and confident—a joy to have as a climbing partner). I was given a $1,000 wad of money to go from our base camp at Lake Kop around the base of Ararat to Ahora village to see if I could find anyone who could give us information as to where the ark was. I was sent with Orhan Basher, the Turkish commando who spoke good English. In fact, it is interesting that the Kurds on one side of the mountain can be very different in physical appearance and customs from those on another side. Halis also went with us because he was Kurdish and knew where to go from village to village and could ask the questions. Some of the old time villagers on the north side, however, would only speak Russian. So, for me to ask a question, I would ask Orhan in English, Orhan would ask Halis in Turkish, Halis would ask an interpreter in Kurdish, the interpreter would ask the old timer in Russian, the old timer would answer in Russian, the interpreter would answer in Kurdish to Halis, Halis would tell Orhan in Turkish, and about a half an hour later (if they still remembered the original question) Orhan would give me some kind of an idea of what they had been talking about. We found out the next year that Halis had given me some kind of drug on that little side trip—by the time we got back to our base camp I was so sick that I thought I was going to die. I thought it was because I had just eaten everything I was offered on the little side trip, everything from Kurdish yogurt, cheese, meat, sheep organs of many imaginable kinds, etc.—once I recovered the next day I was fine. Eventually, all expeditions learned how to get up the mountain without the services of Halis. We decided to go straight up the middle of the Parrot glacier to check out the spot we had seen in 1974. We had already checked out both sides of the glacier for wood in the areas of the Navarra and SEARCH expedition sites. We found nothing. The Turkish Climbing Federation had no record of anyone ever climbing the Parrot glacier, so the three of us decided to go straight up the middle of it. It was great ice and we made good time. We bivouacked for the night without a tent high above the Parrot glacier. The next morning we searched the Abich I ice cap to see if we could find any part that might be stationary. I for one do not believe that there could possibly be a boat of any kind in that massive slow moving glacier. That is one huge piece of ice! We searched the area where I tried so many times in the early 70's to reach. There was nothing there but a huge mass of ice slowly moving and grinding anything that may be encased in it. It would be a great place for a ski area but not for a boat. We descended back to base Explorer Scott Little hiking the Parrot camp. Glacier
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We then took three groups to set up a high camp above and to the east of the Parrot glacier near the Cehennem Dere above the North Canyon area (great high camp area!). We launched our three different teams in different directions. We had one group make a summit attempt—the first one failed—the second one allowed three to reach the summit. Jim Irwin was in both groups but had to return both times. He was frustrated. I had been spending most of my time at the western edge of the Ahora gorge rappelling in and climbing out in order to view the whole thing. At our high camp after Jim Irwin's second attempt at the summit I found out that Jim wanted to go down to base camp to get them ready to move to the other side of the gorge for a continued search. We were having perfect weather and felt that we had covered the entire north side of the mountain. I told Jim that he needed to wait for the summit group to return so that they could all go together to base camp. Jim was frustrated and in a hurry. It was a beautiful day and he said he had plenty of time. I explained to him that the mountain was dangerous and could be fatal if we didn't stay together in our groups. After I left our high camp for another search - Jim left for base camp alone. We radioed down to base camp at our 7:00 PM usual communication time. Jim was not there. I sent out a search group from base camp and took one from high camp toward base camp. We searched until dark. We could see the flashlights and headlamps of the searchers below but it was too steep to attempt the terrain in between. Bob Stuplich climbing out of a crevasse We didn't sleep much that night. The search Courtesy of Bob Stuplich group found Jim at 8:00 AM the next morning at the bottom of one of the North Canyon chutes. He had four gashes in his head, knocked out four teeth and his hands were cut and swollen twice normal size. Our three groups from high camp were spread out over the North Canyon area. John Christianson pulled a "Jim Irwin" on us and went a little too fast down the same chute to his father-in-law and ended up in the same rocks with cuts and an injured knee. When I finally got to John and knew that he was stable, I could hear group two above me calling for help. Group two had a man "paralyzed" or "frozen" on a rock ledge. He had just watched John slide down the chute and now he "couldn't move." I climbed back up and talked him off the ledge. We all got down to Jim just as one of the Turkish commando/medics had him stabilized and we began moving him down the mountain. Our expedition was over. We got Jim to the hospital in Erzurum to have him put back together. All he could talk about was finishing the search on the east side of the Ahora gorge. So, after about a month of recuperation in the good old U.S.A. we went back to Ararat at the end of September. There was too much snow to go up the mountain very far. We went up the middle of the gorge until we felt that it was not safe and returned to Ahora. We set up telescopes at Ahora to view the east side of the mountain. We decided that next year we would cover the east side. Kasim Gülek statesman and consultant of Atatürk Courtesy of Elfred Lee 1985
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Jim Irwin giving photo of himself on the moon and a replica of a moon rock 1982 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
1983 We had 22 people on a combined search of the east side of Ararat in 1983. There was a herd of people at base camp. It was incredible that the Turkish government allowed that and trucked us all over. In my opinion, that was not my favorite way to search the mountain. The weather was not as good as 1982 but the mornings were quite good. We covered a lot of territory. No boats. My climbing group consisted of Jim Kunes and Bill Spear—both climbing friends from Colorado. We covered everything on the eastern side up high. High on the eastern edge of the gorge, and high on the East glacier including the old Anderson sites along the East glacier. The east side of the mountain was the only side I had not been to. I had been up the south to the summit, along the western slopes low and high—twice, all along the northwestern side 4 times, last year we had covered the north and north east sides—even dropping into the Ahora gorge, and now we had covered the east side. My concentration was 15,000 feet and lower. I had ruled out anything being in the 12 square miles of glacier on the mountain unless I could find a glacial lake or area that was not moving. 1983 was a good year though. We were able to take a fixed wing plane around the mountain circling it 4 times. I shot 35mm slides of all sides of the mountain. We had work to do when we got back with our magnifying glasses an "big screens." We found no boats. I didn't go back the next year. 1984 During 1984 I had become a good friend with Jim Irwin and his best friend Bill Dodder. Jim called me one day and asked if he could come to my house for a visit. I assured him that I would be glad to see him at any time. Jim came over and explained to me that he had been angry with me for some time and needed to be relieved of it. He explained that all his anger came from the time he made his second summit attempt in 1982 and returned to our high camp alone. When I saw Jim approaching our high camp alone—I approached him quite frustrated. He had a "habit" of independence on that mountain that concerned me greatly because Jim had placed me in the position of responsibility for all the climbers on the mountain and he was one of them. I flat out told him he had to stay with his group. Jim explained that he may have been
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able to take it at the time if John McIntosh hadn't been there listening to the whole confrontation. At any rate, Jim said he was mad and when I left to go back to my search group, as I explained above, he proceeded to go down to base camp and fell on the way. Jim asked me to forgive him. I asked Jim to forgive me. It was one of those "you had to be there" moments that I will never forget. I met the real Jim Irwin and he was a beautiful, godly man of peace and reconciliation. 1985 I went back with Jim in 1985. Turkish/Kurdish relationships were again becoming strained. Kurdish terrorists attacked the Probe group and the Turkish government was concerned about Jim going up the mountain. They finally allowed us to go but not without about 40 commandos with machine guns. Read Dick Bright's account of that climb. We climbed the south side to the summit but the Turks radioed us at the last minute to return without going over to the north side. (By the way Dick, you did get pulmonary edema on that climb—you were just too stubborn to stay up there and die on us.) Note: someone better get up that mountain and document a very large boat or Dick Bright will still be climbing that mountain when he is 105 years old! 1986 I went back with Jim again because of the possibility of flying again. I didn't go on the first flight, which turned out to be our last. We were arrested for international espionage. I don't recommend it but it was kind of fun (only because we had an astronaut who had been on the moon with us and the international news network knew about it). 1987 I went back with Jim for the last time. By 1987 the political situation in eastern Turkey was again severely frustrating for Ararat search groups. I was able to fly the West Side of Ararat to take 35mm slides with the door off the helicopter but
Huge and Ferocious "Wolf" or "Sheep" Dogs on Mount Ararat Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1974
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Kurdish woman carrying water in Ahora Village Bob Stuplich's favorite photo of Ararat 1982 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
Dick Bright was back on Ararat and firmly believed that he had seen Noah's ark and photographed it. When he got back to the States he called to see if we could go back and document it. Well, after all those years of work, a veteran "Ark-searcher" calls to tell you that he has "seen Noah's ark" - what do you do? You go. Bob Cornuke had already asked me to help him look for a different possible "Mt. Ararat" in Iran when Dick called. We were all set to go to Iran when we decided to leave a week early to see Dick's object in the Ahorah Gorge. On September 1, 1999 we flew to Istanbul, and the next day we flew to Van and drove to Dogubayazit where we organized as a team. Dick Bright was the reason we were there he had "seen a boat"! George Kralik was a friend of Dick's from Canada. Bob Cornuke from Base Institute in Colorado Springs was looking forward to his first ascent of Agri Dag but his main focus and effort at Base Institute had been in looking for a "different Ararat" in Iran. And then there was David Banks from Team Banks
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Productions and Photographic Journeys to photograph the climb. David had an incredibly impressive resume but he had never been to Turkey. He had no idea what combination of events he was about to experience. We went up the West Side of Ararat to Lake Kop at night. We went from Lake Kop around the Parrott glacier and half way up "Ark" rock for our base camp. Early the next day we climbed up to the Abich I glacier between the Upper Parrott Glacier and the Cehennem Dere. We crossed the Abich I glacier above the Cehennem Dere to the Ahora Gorge. The meltback seemed great - we even found a few very old, halffrozen Ibex sticking out of the Abich I glacier. We had no idea how or why the Ibex would have ventured that high on the ice. Looking around at the climbers as we ascended I found that Dick Bright had not changed. Some kind of "batteries" in Dick keeps him going, and going, and going. George seemed as determined as Dick. Bob Bob Stuplich Searches Ararat Via Helicopter Cornuke had that similar determined - keep going look Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1987 about him. Dave Banks didn't have it. He didn't look determined at all!! Every time I looked at David, he had a big smile on his face! We were working, and working hard - you have no idea what it takes to climb Ararat to above the Cehennem Dere in less than two days. He enjoyed every minute of it. We had a great team. When we got to the Ahora Gorge and were able to look down at Dick's object we realized that it was not a boat but a "good looking" part of the Black or Araxes glacier. One more "object" revealed for what it really was - a part of the mountain. We were tired and it was late. We needed to descend to base camp immediately if we were going to get back before dark. We had some technical/equipment difficulties on the way down and we ran out of water about an hour before base camp in the dark. David Banks couldn't even talk because his throat was so dry, but he kept smiling. We had a good sleep that night, broke camp in the morning and continued descending. We made it down through the day and through that night and into Dogubayazit and our sleeping bags at 2:30 the next morning. We were tired! Iran At 7:00 the next morning we drove to Van, flew to Istanbul, and then Bob Cornuke and I flew to Iran to finish our search for "the real Mt. Ararat". Cornuke had interviewed Ed Davis and at this point believed that the Ed Davis eyewitness account held the most clues as to where the ark was. As Cornuke followed the Davis account from where Davis was stationed in Iran, Cornuke believed that the ark carrying mountain had to be in Iran.Iran is quite different from Turkey. It is much more conservative. We had to have a guide/interpreter with us at all times. As a climber, I was not too excited about what I thought we would find in western Iran. I did not think we would find any mountains with glaciers on them in the "Urartu" range. I was wrong. We found a mountain that really got me excited. One with glaciers and about 16,000 feet high, Mt Sabalon. We climbed to the summit up the east side of the mountain and found large glaciers on the north side of the mountain. We did not have time to search for anything so we went up just to see what the upper reaches of the mountain were like. Since our climb, Bob Cornuke has analyzed the mountain via satellite imagery and not able to locate any interesting canyons or anomalies to warrant any continued research on the ground. At this writing, Cornuke continues his search in the mountains of Iran to try to locate a mountain that Ed Davis could have been on when claims to have seen the ark. Could the real Mt. Ararat be in Iran? I don’t know. I leave that part up to the researchers and scholars and the people who write these books and to you who read them. At this writing we are planning on Guide Halis, Horseman Memete, & Ahmed Turan Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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returning to Iran in the summer of 2005 to check out yet another mountain. 2000 The printing of this book has generated an organization called ArcImaging. I have been involved with many different organizations related with the search for the ark. ArcImaging seems to me to be the best organized of any. I’m a climber. I go where others tell me to go or I take them where they want to go. ArcImaging has done an enormous amount of research and has put together an organization to properly do research in Turkey. They are working with the Turkish government and with the recognized archaeological community in eastern Turkey. As ArcImaging’s, director of climbing, I had the opportunity to go to eastern Turkey to watch Rex Geissler coordinate an archaeological research effort with Ataturk University in Erzurum. We were able to research many sites at the base of Mt. Ararat including the village of Eli which I had been to many times in previous climbs. Ataturk University and ArcImaging are working to present a report on what was for me one the most interesting ruins I have ever seen in my life. Eli village was, thousands of years ago, a thriving and intricately designed city of hundreds or thousands of people. There are just a few families there today and unless you knew where the ancient ruins were you would never know anything about it. I hope that someday soon Ataturk University and ArcImaging will finish what will surly be a fascinating report to anyone interested in Mt. Ararat 2004 In 2004, Dan McGivern got involved in the search for the ark. He had found a spot high on Mt. Ararat that had never before been revealed on any satellite imagery or photographs of the mountain. When he sent his satellite photo to me to ask if I could get to it, I did not hesitate to let him know that I believed that I could. The object of concern was high on Ararat above the Ahora Gorge and between the Abich I and Abich II glaciers. I had been above the site and below it in past climbs and had flown right over it with Jim Irwin in 1983 but had never seen this object. We could only conclude that it had previously been covered and that the new drought and meltback of the glaciers had only recently revealed it. Bob Cornuke coordinated the effort with only a two man ground and backup team. Cornuke had injured his leg, so I made the decision to attempt the climb with one Turkish Climbing Federation guide from the north rim of the Ahora Gorge based on the information we had from the guide. We failed. The only way to get up on to the ice cap from Ahora village is to either go straight up one of the many narrow ice coulars of the north face. These coulars have way too many rocks flying down them to make it safe to attempt in September. So, we abandoned the northeast side and went around to Eli village to make an attempt up the south side, over the summit, and down the north to the object. It was going to be the same approach as the hardest days of my life back in 1974 when I went alone with three Turkish climbers (see my second and failed “blown off the mountain” climb of 1974). This time I was alone with two Kurdish guides. We went from Eli village to a base camp at 14,000 feet in one day. We got up at 2:00 in the morning to start our assault of the saddle just to the west of the peak. It Very old Kurdish woman in Ahora Village was cold but clear and crisp. We got to that saddle at Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1982 sun up and started down the massive Abich glaciers on the north. As you can see from the photos of the mountain and from my 1974 attempt, we immediately encountered numerous crevasses. I was able to convince the Kurdish guides to cross the first few crevasses before they refused to go any further down toward the awesome and beautiful Ahora Gorge. I had the confidence and the climbing gear to be able to do the decent to the object myself. The perfectly beautiful morning with clouds slowly rising from below gave me just enough time to cross the crevasses and rappel down to the object. A new rock outcropping. No boat. As I
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Burnt remains of the Probe Expedition Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1985
ascended out of the upper reaches of the Gorge the clouds continued to rise. I met up with one of the Kurdish Guides who waited to see if I would come back up and we crossed over to the Western Plateau and around to the southern slope. As soon as we reached the rock at the edge of the glacier we were engulfed in clouds and it started to snow. I remembered the clouds and snow from my previous climbs and I was glad to be on our way down. We immediately broke camp at 14,000 feet and went down to Eli village. This was, without a doubt, the most exciting of all my climbs. Conclusion I can't seem to find that boat. That doesn't mean that it is not there. Ararat is a big mountain! I certainly haven't proven that it is not there. Bill Crouse and Bob Cornuke seem to think that "it" may be on another mountain. Perhaps. There are a lot of mountains between Iran and Iraq. One thing is for sure—I have met some great people who have spent quite a lot of time researching and looking for the ark of Noah—and for good reason. I have also met some very peculiar (a kind word) people over there looking for a boat. Ark search is a passion for some, and a business for others. Some ark searchers will share everything with you; some are scared to death that someone else will find it before they do. Some have had visions and dreams that God has chosen them to be the "great finder" of Noah’s Ark and ordained them to be the next John the Baptist in calling the world to repent one last time. Some are just grateful that God has allowed them to live another day. Do some remains of Noah's ark exist today? I don't know. There sure have been and are a number of people who sincerely believe that they have seen it. I know that some were mistaken. I have spoken with some that were and are so sure, and so convincing. I try to evaluate the evidence and to judge for myself. I have had enough evidence or intrigue to motivate me to be involved in this search for over 30 years now. What if only one of the many "eyewitness accounts" is accurate or right? Wow. If the Bible had said that Noah's are came to rest in Kansas - I probably wouldn't be too involved. We are not talking about Kansas. Were talking about the Mountains of Ararat, Urartu, ancient Sumeria, Assyria, Babalonia, Persia, and the remote mountains of modern Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.
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Looking for Noah’s Ark is an incredible adventure. It is a great challenge. It provides an opportunity to value and appreciate different cultures. It certainly requires patience and persistence. I enjoy it.
Bob Stuplich on the Abich I Glacier Looking into the Horizon Courtesy of Bob Stuplich 1982
Ray Anderson (1918-2006) was a seasoned veteran of Ararat exploration. He recalled the days of Dr. Lawrence Hewitt and Eryl Cummings, when permission to climb in and around the Ahora Gorge was more commonplace. Chapter 19
1973-1993 Ray Anderson
Ray Anderson studying Mount Ararat through a telescope 1982 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich An innocent trip to a bookstore in Los Angeles one Saturday in 1972 changed my life forever. After selecting several books from the shelves, I took them to the cashier and while waiting for her to finish with the customer ahead of me, I thumbed through a book from a stack beside the cash register. It was Noah’s Ark: Fable or Fact by Eryl and Violet Cummings. What I saw in the couple of minutes of browsing caused me to add a copy to my other purchases. When I got home and read it through without stopping, I was hooked! I was an instant "arkeologist!" In 1972, I called Eryl at his home in Farmington, New Mexico, and asked how I might join one of his expeditions to Mt. Ararat. He was not very encouraging. During our conversation he mentioned one of his expedition partners, Dr. Lawrence Hewitt, a medical doctor in Huntsville, Alabama. He suggested I contact Dr. Hewitt as he was putting together an expedition for the next summer (1973). Dr. Hewitt was an experienced Ararat explorer, having been on the mountain four or five times searching for the ark. I did call Dr. Hewitt, and found in the course of our conversation that we had a mutual friend in Huntsville. His medical partner was my wife's cousin. The next day he called and told me I could join their next expedition. In the next few years I was on two Ararat searches with Dr. Hewitt and a friend of his, Jerry Williams. During these early years we usually confined our efforts to the northeast, north, and northwest sides of the mountain. We also concentrated on areas below 14,500 feet elevation, as all early evidence, such as it was, seemed to indicate that was where the Ark would be found.
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During these periods, Dr. Hewitt had very little difficulty securing permits to search anywhere we cared to on Ararat. We would leave Ahora village and go onto the mountain with only one Kurdish guide and a Turkish soldier. Dr. Hewitt always brought a good supply of basic medical supplies and medicines, and when we stopped on the mountain at the Kurdish shepherd camps, the natives would appear from out of the hills bringing their families for his medical attention.
Ray Anderson on Northeast Side of Ararat 1983 Courtesy of Ray Anderson
From the beginning, some of the early search groups scorned anything coming from Adventist efforts, feeling that God would surely not reward them with credible information. To this day, I think some are still uncomfortable with my findings because it came through my association with Adventists. I had a close relationship with Hewitt, Williams, their families and friends. Around 1984, I received a telephone call from my old climbing companion, Jerry Williams, the Adventist minister. In a conversation with a high official of his church, the subject of his involvement in the Ark search arose. This official told him that he was working with a new member of their lay-missionaries who was a former U-2 pilot but was now out of the service. He had shared some of his experiences as a pilot during the 1960's with this official. Some was still classified but he felt he could tell him about seeing what he believed was a section of Noah’s Ark. He had been flying a very low-level photographic mission along the border of Turkey near Mt. Ararat. Another highflying U-2 was flying a very high flight to decoy radar away from him. Before heading back to his base in Turkey, he made a low sweep up the north side of Ararat, just to the right of the Ahora Gorge. As he swept across the mouth of the gorge at a very low level, he looked out of the left side of his cockpit and saw at the top of the ridge, a bowl shaped formation, which he also described as an inverted fish hook. Inside this, against the wall, he saw protruding from the glacier, about 20-25 ft. of what he believed to be a man made structure. It was rectangular in shape and had some damage. He made a quick turn and flew over it again, getting his left wing tip within 200-300 ft. of it. He was convinced it was man made and being a religious man, concluded it had to be Noah’s Ark. Through church connections, my friend Williams was able to contact the man who confirmed the story. Sometime later I contacted Williams again and he refused to talk about it, saying that I must have misunderstood him. He claimed no recollection of the conversation. I tried to locate the pilot through the Adventist church offices but found no one who knew anything about him.
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This is a color copy enlargement of a slide taken across the top of the Ahora Gorge. The Ray Anderson object long piece is circled at the top of the photo. The Ray Anderson short piece is circled at the center of the photo which is the disruption in the Abich II glacier. At the upper end of the disruption is a box-like structure. This is the area specified by Satellite Remote Sensing Analyst George Stephen III and given by Don Shockey and Robin Simmons to Ahmet Ali Arslan in 1989. Arslan photographed the same area and it appears that this Hewitt/Anderson slide and the Arslan photo may be showing the same object. This slide, taken in 1973 (probably August) by explorer Dr. Lawrence Hewitt, appears to show fresh snow on the ground. Note that Ed Behling claimed to see a similar structure in late May/early June of 1973 and the Navy's Al Shappell sighting was in 1974. Courtesy of Eryl Cummings via Dr. Lawrence Hewitt via Ray Anderson 1972
I traced the pilot to his hometown in Louisiana and located his father who confirmed that his son had been a U-2 pilot but had given him orders to not reveal his name or location. The father thought it was something about security and classified information. I believe the pilots story because several years later, Ed Davis told me the object (long piece) the Kurds showed him was resting against a wall of a bowl or horseshoe shaped formation just above the mouth of the Ahora Gorge at the top of a ridge. Just as the pilot described it and as my picture shows it. The Kurds told Ed that a few feet of the north end is exposed almost every late summer regardless of the winter temperatures and ice cover, because very hot winds sweep up the north slope of the mountain coming from Armenia and the hot summer plains. This will melt the ice off a few feet of the end of the ark. Dr. Hewitt's team felt no need to search above about 14,000 feet, so needless to say we found no evidence of the ark. Shortly after returning from our second journey Dr. Hewitt died, and from 1976 through 1993 I went on five more expeditions with various groups, including one with simply my son John and myself. On one trip I was fortunate enough to be included in three flights around the mountain in a Turkish Air Force aircraft secured by Apollo astronaut Jim Irwin. The granddad of all Ark searchers, Eryl Cummings, was with us and I believe it was his last trip to the mountain. Both Eryl and his wife Violet have since passed away. None of these expeditions, including the aircraft search, revealed any clues concerning the location of the ark. But we were still looking below the 14,500-foot level. Around 1990 I began having serious doubts that the Ark was hidden
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below that altitude. By the time of our 1986-87 expedition every square foot of the mountain below that altitude had been thoroughly explored. During my association with Dr. Hewitt, we had exchanged many photos and slides, including some he had taken on searches before I met him. I have a low-power binocular microscope, which can be used to study 35mm slides. It reveals small details not seen even when the slide is projected onto a screen or viewed through the usual viewer. I decided to take another look at my collection of Ararat slides through the scope and examine the areas above 14,000 feet. About halfway through the slides, I came to one taken by Dr. Hewitt in 1973. As I examined the upper righthand corner at about the 15,500-foot level, BINGO! I saw what appeared to be a small section of the end of the Ark protruding from the glacier. I took this slide to a photo technician in Nashville who specializes in enlarging and optimizing 35mm slides. She became very interested in the Ark and spent many hours bringing out as much detail as possible in the object and the surrounding area. Unfortunately this slide was taken quite some distance from the object and the camera was pointed across the Ahora Gorge at another area about 2,000 feet lower. The technician was able to enlarge the object and its immediate surroundings onto both 35mm and 4 x 5 transparencies. I have studied both of these under my scope for many hours and am convinced it is a small section of the north end of the long section of the ark. I mention the long section specifically because of another event that occurred shortly after my find on the slide. I decided to try and contact Ed Davis and get firsthand details of what he had really seen on his trip to Ararat in 1943. I got acquainted with Ed over the phone, eventually becoming a very good friend with him, and we talk with each other every few weeks. Ed had convinced me that the Ark is in two pieces. He described in detail where the short piece is located in relation to the long piece. That convinced me I should take another look at the original Hewitt slide showing the north end of the long piece. Ed had told me that the short piece is about 110-125 feet of the south end of the Ark which has slid down the glacier about 500 feet below the long piece. It is captured in a large crevasse with one end butted against a rock wall under the ice.
Slide scan of upper Ahora Gorge and Abich II depression 1972 Courtesy of Eryl Cummings via Dr. Lawrence Hewitt via Ray Anderson
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I looked down the glacier to about the 15,000-foot level and there was the crevasse with an object in it that appeared to be a small section of the Ark roof and superstructure. My photo technician enhanced this photo as she had the slide of the north end of the long piece and produced transparencies showing detail that has convinced me that it is the short piece that had broken off the south end of the ark. I have seen a number of photos and slides taken of this area during other years, and while the outline of the crevasse is clearly visible, my 1973 slide is the only one with enough ice melted off to show the object. I have seen photos and slides taken in other years that do show the outline of the north end of the long piece, so evidently the ice melts off it quite often. I am convinced the long piece of the Ark is resting on a rock shelf, inside a bowl or horseshoe-shaped valley, sometimes described as a fishhook. It is at about the 15,500foot elevation. The short piece is down the slope of the glacier at about the 15,000-foot elevation, and this is usually covered with ice. I realize that other explorers feel the Ark is at other locations, and I respect their views. I feel that we must all continue our efforts to reach the sites with equipment and witnesses who will be credible to the world. I expect that while the tensions continue to exist around the mountain, none of us will get permission to make ground approaches to the sites. Photo showing the area of the Ray Anderson long piece object 1989 Our best hope to find the truth Courtesy of Ray Anderson seems to be helicopter flights up to the glacier. This, unfortunately, makes any expedition quite expensive and complicated. I believe, however, that God will in his timing overcome all of these problems and allow the Ark to be exposed to the world in order to help people build their faith. I consulted with cubit experts, one in particular who is an Orthodox Jew with a solid background of Jewish history of the Torah, the sages and elders in Hebrew history. I'm now confident that Moses was thinking of his Egyptian education and their definition of a cubit, 20.6". There was no established Hebrew cubit of 18" at the time of his writing. About a year ago I decided to try and get some accurate measurements of the two objects showing in the upper "horseshoe" formation and lower in the crevasse. The original 1972 picture was taken by Eryl Cummings, now deceased, and investigation indicated he had given his camera to one of his Kurdish guides but I was able to talk to his son in law who was with him when he purchased the Topcon camera. With his remembrance of camera details and appearance, I located a camera shop with an elderly employee who had sold and used all models of the Topcon. He readily identified Eryl's as a model with a 135 mm lens and said he personally had used that model many times. Using this information, a very accurate topographical map of Ararat, a formula used in determining size of objects in a given picture, and the enlargement factor in enlarging my slide from 35 mm to a very large 1211 mm, I was able to take the measurements from this large image of the crevasse object. This is the object which Ed Davis said his Kurdish
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The Egyptian cubit sizes matched almost perfectly, giving these sizes. W 85' x H 51' x L 515'. The object showing in the upper formation measured 23 ft. wide. This measurement taken from the four foot enlargement of the original 35 Eryl Cummings and Jim Irwin 1983 mm slide taken in 1972. Another view of the Courtesy of Bob Stuplich upper object was taken from the air in 1988. I believe this is the broken end of the superstructure which protrudes a few feet beyond the roof of the main structure which is buried in ice below it. This dark colored section seems to melt off and become visible frequently. Ed's guides said it became visible almost every year for a short time when hot summer winds blew from the north plains and swept up the glacier. Ed Davis told me his Kurdish guides described the Ark as originally resting on the rock bottom of the upper formation described to me by Ed as looking like a horseshoe when they walked around the rim. The shorter section represents the south end that broke off during an earthquake and slid down to be caught in the crevasse. The middle section represents the one shown to Ed and is still buried under the ice covering the formation. The longer represents a section which may have broken into two pieces but seems to have disappeared. Obviously this resting place offered perfect protection from moving down the glacier with the ice flow and the east wall of the formation prevented it from being shaken into the Ahora Gorge during the thousands of years it had rested there. Many alleged sightings report the structure is surrounded by rock walls. My slide of 1972 seems to be the only picture available that shows the upper formation and the crevasse partially uncovered.
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John McIntosh is one of the most persistent, consistent, and respected Ark searchers in the modern era. Hardly a summer goes by without John at least thinking about a chance to get on Mount Ararat or to keep the research community updated with the latest news. Now that John Bradley has passed on, John McIntosh is the President of the historic SEARCH Foundation, which brought back hewn wood from Mount Ararat in 1969. Chapter 20
1976-2009 John McIntosh I am a recently, early retired physical science and geology science teacher having taught 21 years in the California public school system. Originally from the Midwest, I grew up in Frankfort, Indiana, and attended Indiana University. Although I started out as an astronomy major, I ended up majoring in physics and math, with side interests in earth science and geology. After obtaining my masters degree in the late sixties, I moved to California and accepted a teaching job at a junior high school. Four years of teaching General Science at the junior high level convinced me I was ready for a change, so I worked in industry for the next ten years before going back to teaching. I first became interested in the Noah’s Ark search around 1976 at a home Bible study in Riverside, California. One evening after a Bible study someone brought out a book about the search for Noah’s Ark. I believe that was the first time I had heard about the search for the remains of the ark. At the time I thought it was really a pretty ridiculous idea. I knew there had been an Ark at one time according to the Bible, but I wondered why people thought there could be anything left of it. That initial curiosity began two years of research, after which I became convinced that there was a good possibility that there might have been something preserved. At that time in my life, God was working in a special way and really drawing me spiritually closer to him and I felt a calling to be involved in the search. I felt that the background I had in mountaineering, cave exploring and rope work could be useful in the Ark research. I began preparing for a possible trip to eastern Turkey and to Mount Ararat. This led to a solo trip to the mountain and what I call a spiritual odyssey in 1978.
Northeast of Mount Ararat including Ahora Gorge 1977 Courtesy of Dennis Burchett via John McIntosh
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Except for short trips into Mexico, I had never been out of the United States so going to Turkey was indeed a step of faith for me. As I prepared, and eventually headed east, I had a really deep spiritual peace that God was leading me. Basically, this was to be a trip to get acquainted with the mountain and the people of the region. I believed that God was in charge and calling the shots. This trip would lead to an open door for later research. My 1978 trip to Mt. Ararat turned out to be one challenging experience after another. After spending a couple of days at Doğubayazit, the largest town at the southern base of the mountain, I checked with the local police authorities to see if I could get permission to hike around the mountain. I showed one of the policemen a sketch map I had made of Örtülü and Ahora villages and indicated I wanted to go around the west side of the mountain. He seemed to indicate that I would not be allowed to get up high on the mountain—he was putting his hands up above his head, but he seemed to indicate I could go to the mountain as long as I stayed at the lower elevations. Not being completely uninformed, I thought that I had been given some kind of verbal permission to hike around the lower parts of the mountain. I was able to hire a taxi, which took me over some very primitive roads to Örtülü. After I was dropped off there in the little village, one of the older men of the village came out, greeted me and invited me into his home to meet his family. He treated me to some Kurdish food, took me around the village to show me some of the sites of the village, and then I indicated to him that I wanted to go up over the foothills north of the village and hike around the mountain. He made it very clear at that point that I couldn't go there. He shook his head, threw his hands up over his head and waved them back and forth, indicating that it was not permitted. I thought that perhaps I could go west on through the other villages and swing far around the western side of the mountain. He went through more motions indicating that I would be tied up and beaten if I went that way, so that it appeared God was closing the door. I was ready to be satisfied with that and to return to Doğubayazit.
John McIntosh and a gorgeous view of the Ahora Gorge 1978 Courtesy of John McIntosh At this point a younger Kurdish man grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me towards the house, indicating that he really didn't want me to go anywhere. I began to feel a bit like a captive when both the older man and the younger man kept looking down the slope towards Doğubayazit, as if they were expecting someone to come up from the town. I sat on the stone steps of the home doing a lot of praying, occasionally pointing at my watch and indicating that it was time for me to leave. This action brought only a negative response from the two. Finally, toward evening the younger man left and I once again pointed at my watch. This time the old man threw his hands up over his head and waved me on, indicating I could get my backpack and leave, which I did very quickly. I headed up over the foothills behind his home, heading north along the western flank of Mt. Ararat. I camped that evening on top of the foothills and the next morning hiked around the western Kıp Göl plain. Toward evening I heard some sheep coming down the hillside and some boys yelling. I hid behind a large boulder, hoping not to be seen, and the sheep passed on each side of me. Finally the boys passed off to one side, glancing back at me as they went. They were heading toward some campfires, and what I assumed was a Kurdish camp. At this point, I knew that I probably was going to get more company looking for me if I stayed around very long.
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I continued up the western slope of Mt. Ararat and, having run out of water, stopped to get some at a very stagnant little pond. When I turned on the flashlight to do this, someone yelled at me from further down the slope, so the rest of the evening my hike was without light. I could see lights coming up the mountain behind me, but they disappeared as I entered into a dark canyon, stumbling along and asking God for a place to sleep. I found a large boulder with about a twofoot-wide crack in it and I decided this was the place. I camped there that night thinking that I should get up early and leave the area, heading north as early as possible in order to avoid any of the local inhabitants. I committed the situation to God and went to sleep. Later that evening I woke up, and as I sat up and looked around, a big full moon was coming over the mountain. I knew it was time to proceed north around the Kıp Göl plain. I walked until I came to another valley that ended where the steep volcanic cone of Ararat continued upward, up around the 11,000-foot level, on up to the ice cap. I spent the day in this spot recuperating after throwing up from the stagnant water that I had attempted to purify. Later that day I rose to find a beautiful day ahead. As I was about to proceed north along the base of the steep cone, I noticed three horses directly north of me right on my route. I decided the only way to avoid them was to go up the cone and try to drop back down behind them. So I began a very long slow hike up the western side of Mt. Ararat. This turned out to be a two-day hike up the side of the cone. I got up on the steep side of the mountain into an area of finger glaciers that dropped off very steeply. I couldn't cross them at their widest points and had to climb up the cone to where they narrowed. Basically, I stair-stepped up the western side of
Ahora Gorge snow and ice avalanche coming from the Abich II Glacier 1978 Courtesy of John McIntosh the mountain. I spent the night on a very steep slope on a little two-foot-wide level area carved out of the steep terrain. The next morning, I continued north and up around the western face. I was carrying a pack that weighed approximately seventy pounds and some snow– and cold-weather gear, but I didn't have an ice ax or crampons. I had not really planned on being up on the ice cap, so I very carefully worked around these couloirs of ice. As I gingerly crept on, the terrain began to level out a little, but I found myself on a massive ice cap. I found out later that this was part of the western ice cap, and I had crossed over above the Parrot Glacier, crossed the Cehennem Dere (Hell's Valley) and ended up at the drop-off point of the Abich II Glacier (see maps). At this point, I knew where I was—the gorge was directly below me and I was in one of the prime research areas for the ark. I spent the night there, took some of the best photos of the gorge area that I have been privileged to take and then was faced with the task of finding a way back down the mountain. Re-crossing the northern ice cap across the Cehennem Dere area, I went down the northern slope, in the process spraining an ankle, and camped at a lower elevation from the steep drop-off that I had climbed down previously.
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Southwestern foothills of Mount Ararat 1982 Courtesy of John McIntosh
The next day I continued northward down the slope, crossing over the western rim of the Ahora Gorge and spent the night on the west rim. This allowed me to take some very special pictures of the gorge, including one of an ice avalanche going over a 450-foot fall. The next day I continued on down toward Ahora Village hoping to not encounter any people. On approaching the village I did meet two young men with horses and guns, who became very curious about my backpack. When they were getting some water at a small stream I was able to part company with them. At another point on the trail to the village I had stopped to take off my mountaineering boots to put on some lighter boots, and as my back was turned to the trail, I noticed a hand in the side of my backpack—a little man had come along and was attempting to rob me of my goods. We straightened that encounter out and I had almost made it through the village, when three wolfhounds decided to get acquainted with me. Anyone who has seen one of these dogs knows they are very ferocious-looking, and with hackles raised and teeth bared, they came charging at me. I was walking backwards with rocks in my hands and praying when finally a peasant lady, who evidently, owned the dogs was able to call them off. While I was in the process of getting through the village the people stopped me, brought out a chair and had me sit in it and about fifteen or twenty of them surrounded me. A gentleman I assumed to be the mayor of the town came out with an English dictionary and asked me "what-you-doing here?" We tried to have a little conversation but eventually it became clear to me that it was time to leave, although they wanted me to stay. After spending the night north of Ahora Village, as I made my way toward Aralik, I got a ride into the village with some of the peasant people in a truck. Aralik has a bus service, so I got a ticket about ten minutes before the bus was to leave. A plain-clothes detective looked in the window of the bus, motioned for me to get off and for the next three or four hours I was the guest of the local police department, while they filled out a report and did a very gentle interrogation as to where I had been on the mountain. When they were done the police chief said "We are done, you go to army now." My escort took me to the army post west of town and as we arrived at the commander's quarters he was screaming and yelling at a Turkish enlisted man who evidently had done something wrong. He was hitting him across the face and motioning for him to leave the room. My guide went in next, and the commander began yelling again and throwing his hands up over his head, apparently indicating he didn't want anything to do with me. We went back to the police chief and he insisted that the army do something, so everybody went back to the army post and they finally had an Englishspeaking officer arrive. We had a nice discussion of the trip around Ararat. The officer explained that I had been in an offlimits area, that it was under martial law that I could have been killed, and that I was worth money dead or alive. Then, after telling me I should be held for a hearing, he said "You seem like a nice person, you're free to go." Needless to say, I was thanking God! I made quick preparations to head west to Igdir, spent the night there, and then headed back to the United States.
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John McIntosh, Violet and Eryl Cummings Courtesy of John McIntosh 1979
After this trip, communication with Eryl and Violet Cummings helped open the door for further research. I began corresponding with them, sharing some of the pictures from this trip. I actually prepared every summer after 1978 for a return to the mountain, but circumstances seemed to close the door. In 1982, I was contacted by Dr. Willis from Fresno, California, and invited to be a part of his expedition. I prepared for that expedition but the permit did not arrive in time. I felt led to go on my own as the finances and two-week period I needed were available and I had heard that Eryl Cummings was already in Turkey with Jim Irwin, the former Apollo 15 astronaut. I thought perhaps I could contact them and be of help. I began another solo trip began in 1982. I arrived in Doğubayazit and after inquiring, found that the team was already on the mountain. A local truck driver who spoke a little English tried to help me. He went to several military bases trying to get permission for me to go up on the mountain. While he was doing this, one of the expedition guides had come down to Doğubayazit from the mountain for supplies. I was able to introduce myself to him, showed him a picture of myself and Eryl, and explained that I was trying to make contact with him. The guide and driver arranged for a meeting with the head military officer at the base east of town. I don't know all that went on there, but in my opinion, God worked another miracle. After they talked with the commanding officer for some time, and showed him some pictures, he came out to meet me, nodded, and gave me his permission to go up the mountain. The next day, up we went with the expedition guide and several pack animals. Upon arriving at the base camp, I introduced myself to Jim Irwin, told him I was a friend of Eryl Cummings, that I was interested in the search for the Ark and I would like to help them out. If this turned out to be impossible, well, this would be just a visit. Jim let me visit with Eryl while he talked with some of the team members and prayed about it. Later he came back to me and told me that, while their original team had had twelve members, the twelfth team member had unexpectedly had to drop out. I could take his place! So, praise God, I was part of the Irwin expedition for 1982. We conducted some very interesting research that year, mostly on the northwestern part of the mountain. We established a base camp at Kıp Göl at around 11,000 feet, then moved our higher camp up to 14,000 feet up on the ice cap. We explored around to the gorge, photographing and documenting the area. The expedition ended suddenly when Jim Irwin, the leader, had a very serious fall on North Canyon going down a very steep slope.
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The experience I gained on the 1982 expedition opened more doors for me. Also, I received the nickname "KGB John." The team members were suspicious of this stranger who had suddenly arrived at the base camp. After they heard that the Russians knew the astronaut was on the mountain and that they were keeping track of him, the team began to wonder about me. The Soviets had also jammed our walkie-talkie communications during our rescue operation for Jim. I found it rather humorous to later learn that the team leaders had thoroughly researched my background at the end of the
Bob Stuplich warning Jim Irwin not to go down North Canyon alone just prior to Irwin's fall. Irwin spent the night where he fell and was lucky to survive. Mountain safety dictates that no hiking or climbing should be done without three individuals. Irwin liked to refer to hiking Ararat as walking on a mountain of bowling balls 1982 Courtesy of John McIntosh
expedition. In 1982, I met one of the main expedition guides. He wrote me later and said if I wanted to come back next year he could get me a permit. I told him to go ahead and see what he could do. In the meantime, I made preparations to work with Dr. Willis as a member of his 1983 expedition. As time went on and I learned more about the area Willis planned to research, I felt led to seek an opportunity to research a different part of the mountain. When I was contacted and told I had a permit, I dropped off the Willis team. Along with two other Americans, Doris Bowers, an outdoor education teacher from Cedar Glen, California, and Rick Licata, a Bible teacher at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Twin Peaks, I went to the southeastern part of Ararat where we researched what we call the pinnacle area on the side of the eastern plateau. We set up a base camp near Mihtepe, then proceeded from there up the East Glacier on to the eastern plateau where we set up another camp. There were only three of us at the high camp and the guide and Rick were both sick, so we were only able to spend a day up there. The guide and I did go to the summit, and we got to check out the pinnacle area, but we had to descend the same day to the lower base camp and the next day on down the mountain. About this time Jim Irwin arrived in the area. We shared with him what we had been able to research on the southeast part of the mountain and asked if we could go back up with him, since he was getting into the northeast part of the mountain, a very difficult area for which to get a permit. Jim checked with authorities and Doris and I was able to join him. We spent another week on the northeast side of the mountain and explored the east face. The group we were with was very large and included some of Jim's immediate family as well as Eryl Cummings. Eryl was supposed to have stayed
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at a lower elevation. Eryl had gotten a ride on a donkey part way up the mountain and "just happened" to miss the military truck for the trip back down. So here he was, stuck with us, and of course, very happy. We explored much of the eastern face from the east rim of the gorge around to Mihtepe. We also took a separate short trip down into Ahora Village and into the first part of the gorge. The military wouldn't let us take any pictures in this area, but we did get to see some of the village and the mouth of the gorge. In 1984 I again obtained my own permit and, accompanied by Rick Hatch from San Bernardino, California, and Doris Bowers, was planning to explore what we were calling the "Ice Cave" about 14,500 feet up on the western side of the mountain. I had tried to get up to the cave at the end of the 1982 expedition but had run out of time, so we were hoping to get up there this year. We had also been told by one of the guides that there was a beam of wood sticking out of the ice cap near the summit. Doris Bowers, with her blond hair, hard work and fair complexion, was especially interesting to the local Kurds. In less than one month, she received five marriage proposals from guys looking for another worker in their family. One of the offers was from a highly respected individual on the mountain and resulted in Doris being labeled the "Princess of Ararat." In 1984 we went up the south face to the 13,500-foot camp and moved on up to the ice cap, with a three-man team. From there we went around to the ice cave and investigated it. We climbed between approximately five hundred to a thousand feet down-slope from it and we could see at that point it just looked like a big wall of rock with an overhang. The reported beam of wood that was supposedly in the ice cap turned out to be an old pair of Russian skis that had come to be a known landmark on the mountain.
Unexcavated Urartian ruins near Eli Village 1983 Courtesy of Doris Bowers We found out later that we had been accused of removing these skis and moving them to another location and were also accused of having anti-Turkish/pro-Armenian material in our possession. This led to a house arrest and Eryl Cummings on Donkey 1983 our room being sealed up. I was taken to the local police Courtesy of John McIntosh headquarters, where they proceeded to make telephone calls. They found out that the information we had in our rooms that they had noticed was a pro-Turkish/anti-Armenian publication put out by the Turkish government concerning the Armenian issue and that the claim about the skis was also false. It is very intriguing, this cloak-and-dagger mentality in eastern Turkey.
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Probe team including Bill Crouse, John McIntosh, Dr. Paul Meier, Chief who signed permit, Greg Cromartie, Gary Meoski 1985 Courtesy of Elfred Lee via John McIntosh
On that same trip we were shown some ruins near Eli Village that were very ancient. We kept this information confidential for fear that the ruins would be closed off from other researchers if the site became publicly known. We also went out to visit another site to the south of Mt. Ararat. Ron Wyatt was there and there had been a lot of publicity generated about it. Ron had taken some samples from the site and left the country and Marv Steffins had made an announcement in either Istanbul or Ankara that they had found something of value. This resulted in a tense situation. All researchers were now suspected of stealing Ark artifacts, and our being able to leave the country was beginning to look questionable. Eventually, we were able to leave without incident and immediately began making plans for another year. In 1985 I was asked by Bill Crouse to assist with an expedition he was putting together. The expedition was being sponsored by PROBE Ministries of Dallas, Texas. When we arrived in Turkey we heard that a mountaineering group had been attacked by some Kurdish rebels and that the military had moved in and was trying to make the mountain safe. After we arrived in Doğubeyazit and waited a number of days it was announced that the mountain was now safe and that we would be allowed to go up the mountain. We were given a military escort that continued with us from Eli Village up to around the 11,000 or 12,000-foot level. After that they stayed behind but kept in walkie-talkie contact with the mountaineering guide who was assigned to us as we proceeded up to the 13,500-foot camp on the south face. About midnight that night we heard noise, saw lights shining and next we saw the barrels of AK-47's being shoved through our tent openings. The next three hours were a nightmare as we were held at gunpoint by masked outlaws as they searched for money, photo equipment, and passports. After they got what they wanted, they threw gasoline on everything and torched thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
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We were then forced to hike down to the 11,000-foot camp, in the early morning hours, carrying extra packs of material that they wanted to look at. Stumbling and falling, with guns being poked in our backs we descended the mountain. At the 11,000-foot camp there was a campfire and more people. The marauders laid out all the material that they had us carry down the mountain, looked it over and divided it up. Then they shoved us into a line and had their gunmen level their AK-47's at us. There were some desperate thoughts and prayers taking shape in the researchers' minds. Fortunately, God still wanted us around, because all they did was take flash pictures for publicity and release us.
Explorers including Tim Brinley, Dennis Burchett, Eryl Cummings and John McIntosh Courtesy of Doris Bowers via John McIntosh Exhausted and dehydrated, we made our way on down to Eli Village and reported what had happened to the authorities. One or two other groups had been attacked on the mountain also, and had received much harsher treatment than had we. The mountain was surrounded for a week by five hundred troops. They went through villages, interrogated people, sent commandos up on the ice cap, and finally found the terrorist camp and had a gun battle. Six of the eight terrorists were killed, one escaped into Iran, and the other was captured. Around this time Jim Irwin arrived in Doğubeyazit with a large tour group. Of course, everything was shut down. There were a lot of very disappointed people in that tour group, since they were not able to even set foot on the mountain. Jim finally got permission for a small research group to go back up and I was able to join that group. We went back up to the 13,500-foot camp and spent the evening, planning to climb on up to the northeast part of the ice cap the next day. Some of the team had gotten up to the ice cap when complications with the military made it necessary for only a few to go on, and the rest had to go back down. Jim Irwin was himself in the group that had to go back down. Later, the team on the ice cap was commanded to go back down also, as it was suspected that terrorists were coming up the north side of the mountain to try to capture the astronaut. That expedition ended with no one being able to reach the northeast peak. In 1986 I was again in eastern Turkey, this time with my own five-person team. We were hoping to check out the Davis Canyon. This was the year the Ed Davis eyewitness account had become known, and we hoped to check out this reported sighting from the northern ice cap. Terrorist activity, however, shut down the mountain before we were able to get any permit for clearance into the northern part of the mountain. Jim Irwin had succeeded in getting permission for a flight around the mountain in a fixed-wing aircraft, and we were able to visit with him in Erzurum the day of the planned flight. The day after the flight, fifty armed Turkish security agents surrounded the hotel that we had been staying in. Everybody was placed under house arrest for suspected American spy activity. Our permit was questioned, and so for the next ten hours none of us were allowed to leave the hotel. Eventually, things were clarified and apologies were given to the American team and I was able to join the Irwin team in a dinner celebration.
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Also in 1986, we (Doris, myself and the group) got together with a couple other climbers from Norway who were cousins. The Norwegian climbers hired a Kurd and went up the mountain illegally. So that they would not attract attention, they disobeyed the mountaineering rule of having three people together at all times and instead split up to meet at a certain point on the mountain. One of the cousins, Paul Olav Jernæs of Drammen, Norway, never arrived at the meeting place on the mountain. The Kurd made the other cousin, Leif Torkaas promise not to say anything until Torkaas left Turkey for fear both of them would be arrested and placed in jail. Meanwhile, the Kurd moved away from Ararat. Once the missing Norwegian became known, the Turkish Military reportedly sent a search party that looked on the mountain for a week but did not find anything. The official story, reported in a Norwegian newspaper and shown by explorer Dr. Ole Honningdalsnes, was that Paul, aged 28 in 1986 and who we had just spent time with, disappeared and was presumed dead somewhere on Mount Ararat. The paper stated that Paul was waiting alone at an elevation of 4500 meters located at the Paul Olav Jernæs before his disappearance on Cehennem Dere. They were going to climb on the glacier at the Ararat 1986 Cehennem Dere to search for the ark. Hopefully, this will dissuade Courtesy of Norwegian newspaper via Dr. Ole those who consider climbing illegally or who don't climb in groups Honningdalsnes via Doris Bowers of three or more. In 1987 Richard "Dick" Bright and I teamed up and were hoping to get a permit to explore the northern part of the mountain. However, terrorist activity had shut down the mountain except for the southern route to the peak. Jim Irwin had arrived in the area with a research team and was hoping to get permission for a helicopter flight. The local authorities at Doğubeyazit, however, denied them any kind of permit for the
Ed Davis in Albuquerque, New Mexico Photo Courtesy of Ken Long via John McIntosh
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northern part of the mountain. They were limited to a brief aerial search of the southern and western parts of the mountain. In 1988 I was asked by Al Jenny and Chuck Aaron to join them on a helicopter flight. We were able to do several flights around the mountain, over the gorge, taking hundreds of slides and some video footage. The ice cave, or "Eye of the Bird," as the locals call it, was photographed in shadow and did not seem impressive. Another linear feature was noticed on the northwest of the mountain that we later investigated and found not to be significant. It appeared from these investigations that if the Ark were still visible on Ararat, it was not obvious, and it surely must be partially or almost completely covered. In 1989 I prepared for a trip to the mountain, but was told not to come by the advance team that was already there. Dick Bright's new Ark book had just been released and it included a picture of me baptizing a young man in the headwaters of the Euphrates. It had been seen in eastern Turkey and Jim Irwin told me that I would probably be arrested as soon as I got off the plane. Due to terrorist activity, no permits were being granted to most of the researchers in 1990 (except the Dr. Don Shockey helicopter expedition), 1991 or 1992, but in 1993, Dick Bright was able to obtain a money grant for a possible expedition and received encouraging promises concerning a permit. So I teamed up with Dick in 1993 and we attempted to mount an expedition that would land a helicopter on the ice cap to check out the ice cap locations as possible burial sites of the ark. We flew across Turkey by helicopter to Kars, about fifty miles from the mountain, and at that point the authorities canceled our permits because of the military activity on the mountain. Later, after leaving Kars, we learned that three policemen had been shot and killed by terrorist on the street that runs past the hotel where we were staying. There was speculation that the terrorists were interested in capturing us and keeping us as American hostages. Each summer we continue to make tentative plans for a return trip to Ararat, but because of the military condition there it is never certain whether any permits will be granted. If the military condition improves in the near future, we hoped to get back to the
John McIntosh on 17,000-foot Summit 1983 Courtesy of John McIntosh mountain. In 1996 I cautiously returned to Mt. Ararat with four other researchers to appraise the situation around the mountain. Larry Crews and his wife Sharon and Professor David Merling and his wife Stephanie were my research companions. Professor Merling is and archeologist with Andrews University and Curator at the Horn Archaeological Museum. We had been told that the mountain was off limits but were hoping that the area to the west of the mountain was accessible. There were large anchor stone like rocks and ancient rock carvings there that we wanted to examine.
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We were able to examine many of the stones and carvings as well as the Durupinar site south of the mountain. The rural area surrounding Ararat was found to be relatively safe but the military maintained tight control of the mountain and no access to do research on Ararat was being permitted. In 1997 Dick Bright and I returned to Ararat, having applied for a permit to do research with Dr. Salih Bayraktutanhead of the Atatürk University Earthquake Research Center and chief administrator for issuing research permits for the Ararat area. Unfortunately, the military situation on Ararat was still extremely sensitive and even Dr. Bayraktutan's permit request was denied. Some interesting research was done, however, in Doğubeyazit (a frontier city a few miles south of Ararat). We met and interviewed several local people who claimed that they had been to the Ark on the north side of the mountain—and even in it—within the last two years. They claimed that it was broken into several pieces and was mostly buried in the Gorge area. That was a surprising development since we had never found any local people, in 21 years of research, to make such a claim. Only future research in the Gorge area will be able to substantiate if these claims are true. In 1998 Dick Bright, Dave Larsen and I again returned to see if our permit application with Dr. Bayraktutan would be approved. The military situation was still sensitive enough to not permit research. Local research contacts were visited in the Ararat area and some new information was gained that still indicated the Gorge area as the resting place of the ark. Rumor has it that the military situation has improved significantly and that limited research access to the mountain might be permitted in 1999. However, there is also a rumor that the military, which is reported to be a very secular anti-religious organization, knows where the Ark is buried and does not want it found and identified. It is believed that its rediscovery would only
Chuck Aaron, Al Jenny, John McIntosh Team 1988 Courtesy of John McIntosh
cause problems for them. Evidently, having a religious relic found on their military mountain and the possibility of increased religious fervor resulting from the Arks discovery, is not a welcomed idea and situation. Late in 1998 I joined a research group named ARP (the Ark Research Project), which was formed by Professor James Hall from Virginia. They had just returned from a trip to the Ararat area where they were involved in research meetings but were not allowed to do research on the mountain. After this trip, applications were being worked on for a possible 1999 expedition. Although the military situation on Ararat had been relatively stabilized, research permits were still not being granted in 1999 and 2000. During this time, there were several small groups doing secret research on Ararat as a result of frustration on never being granted an authorized research permit. These small, secret groups have continued doing research almost every year until the present---but with no Ark discovery. In July of 1999 I was voted in as the new SEARCH Foundation President. SEARCH had been inactive in the research for many years and the current President, John Bradley, wanted me to carry on the SEARCH name in the Ark research.
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Bottom of Abich II Glacier near Avalanche Canyon 1983 Courtesy of John McIntosh
In August of 2000 I again visited the Ararat area to visit friends from past years and to appraise the situation on and around the mountain. A few small, secret groups were reporting having done research but no recognized foreign research group was being given permission to do research. From the secret groups there were reports of using local people to gain access to the mountain and in some cases of paying a military contact in order to gain access. In 2001 Jim Hall and myself traveled to Turkey to meet with Atatürk University officials. We were representing ARP and had reached an agreement with the University to do joint archeological research on Ararat together. Plans were tentatively made for a 2002 expedition. However, in the following year, all the necessary permits were granted except the military permission. Permission was not granted due to security reasons. This has continued to be the case until the present, 2004. Summit climbs (sport climbs), however, from the south side of the mountain are being permitted and have been increasing in popularity for the last 5 years or so. In 2004, there was even a sports climb permitted from the west side of the mountain and a south face Victory Summit Climb involving over 500 climbers. In 2005, myself, Matthew Kneissler and Professor Dow Pursley applied for a north west sports climb permit. Ucman Sungur and Yavuz Konca worked on securing our permits for us and succeeded in obtaining them. However, when we checked with the military commander in Dogubayazit, he did not want to be responsible for us climbing on the NW and told us we must go up the south summit route. So we began our climb going up the south summit route, but obtained permission from our official Turkish mountaineering guide to travel clockwise from the main south summit route up to the ice cliff area on the SW face of Ararat. We were hoping to examine close up the 'Eye of the Bird' or 'Ice Cave' formation which has been mistaken for the Ark in the past. On the forth day of our climb, while leading the way across the top of a canyon glacier at 14,800 feet near the south end of the 'Ice Cave', I encountered extremely hard ice and could not keep my footing. After doing a self arrest, I found that with my 50 pound pack I could not regain a climbing position and eventually, since nightfall was approaching, decided to detach from the climbing rope and glissade to the bottom of the glacier. Near the end of the glissade I struck a boulder in the ice with my right foot which broke my ankle. Matthew and Dow reached me the next morning. Dow stayed with me at an emergency camp while Matt hiked down to the base camp for help. The following day we were rescued by a Turkish military helicopter. It was the highest rescue ever done on Ararat at about 14,000 feet elevation. We were extremely grateful to the Turkish military for their daring rescue and praised them in the press.
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John McIntosh in front of Ice Cave 1984 Southwest part of Mount Ararat Courtesy of John McIntosh
My foot was operated on at Ataturk University hospital were I stayed for four days before heading back to the US. The rescue attracted international news. We are trusting that the Lord will use this international news of the continuing Ark search in some way for good. Considering the future of the research, we are hoping and praying that the Turkish authorties will soon change their policy regarding not permitting Ark research on Ararat and the final needed research will be permitted by scientifically equipped research groups. As I have studied the evidence for the preservation of the Ark on Ararat, it seems very likely that God might have preserved the Ark as an end-times witness. The Ark is symbolic of Christ. As we put our faith in him and receive salvation, in a similar way the people entering the Ark of Noah put their trust in God and were delivered from his wrath. The discovery of the Ark would be a very appropriate end-times sign of the nearness of God's return to an unbelieving world, that a time of judgment is again approaching and that people should reexamine the Bible and its claims and put their trust in God. The rediscovery of the Ark would also have a significant impact on the creation/evolution debate. It is not a foregone conclusion that God has preserved the ark. As we study and investigate the many reported sightings and accounts, it appears that many can be explained as mistakes. There are many "ark-like" structures on the mountain. Of special note in this regard is the western ice cave, the "eye of the bird." At the 14,500-foot elevation and in a north/south orientation, this looks very much like the ark. There are eyewitness accounts, however, of those who claimed to have actually walked on the Ark and entered it. I find it difficult to explain away eyewitness accounts. They are either true or they are deliberate lies, multiple mistakes or hoaxes. Time will tell. Scientifically speaking, there is no problem with the idea that the Ark could be preserved on a volcanic mountain; being buried under volcanic ash would naturally petrify it, preserve it, harden it, and turn it basically into rock. It is possible that there is a structure still on the mountain, but if it is there, it is most likely, if not completely, buried. As I study the various accounts and claimed sightings, the northeast part of the mountain seems like the most likely spot for it to be buried. The Ark could be under part of the ice cap or at the very edge of the ice cap, as most reported sightings claim, on the northeast. The sites that are up around 15,000 feet or higher have the difficulty of being contrary to the Ed Davis sighting, unless there was a very extreme melt-back. In my opinion there are six to seven possible burial sites on the northeast part of Ararat that need to be checked out. If these could be thoroughly explored, I think it is possible we could settle the question of the ark's survival.
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If the Ark is not on Ararat, I'm sure God has been using these trips and experiences for other good purposes. Spiritual seeds have been sown in eastern Turkey. There have been other types of good done but it is my hope that God's words in regard to the "Days of Noah" being likened to the days of his return, are an indirect reference to the fact that he has indeed preserved the Ark of Noah as that end-time witness. Armenian tradition relates that in the end times, God will allow the Ark to be rediscovered to be a witness to his truth. Time will tell. I plan to remain open to the leading of God to contribute to this work until he shows me to do otherwise. I believe the time is close when the question of the ark's preservation will be resolved. Regardless of the outcome of the search efforts, I hope that each reader will thoroughly examine the claims and the historical facts surrounding the present day Ark of safety, Jesus Christ.
(L-R) John McIntosh, Jim Irwin, Bob Stuplich, Ahmet Arslan, Dick Bright 1986 Courtesy of John McIntosh
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Charles "Doc" Willis (b. 1925) is known for his intellect and methodical approach to researching for Noah’s Ark. He does his homework and is very prepared when it comes time for an expedition. Chapter 21
1983-2009 Charles Willis, M.D. Dr. Charles Willis, a neuropsychiatrist who holds a degree in religion and a long-term interest in archaeology, became interested in the search for Noah’s Ark when he read Eryl and Violet Cummings' book in the early 1970's. He then arranged for his oldest son, John Willis, an Eagle Scout, only sixteen years old, to go with Mr. Cummings on the 1973 expedition to Mt. Ararat. John noted that while climbing up one area, he placed his hand on one rock, which suddenly gave way along with 2-3 tons of adjacent rock that went catapulting down the mountain hundreds of feet. Fortunately, he had not placed his weight in that area yet. Such are the dangers of climbing Mount Ararat.
Dr. Willis Snow Tiger Team Courtesy of B.J. Corbin John Willis, Dr. Lawrence Hewitt, Eryl Cummings, Geoff McMahon and Jack Darnell climbed up the Cehennem Dere area. This was the expedition when Geoff McMahon took his 70-pound pack of gear (tent, cooking utensils, cameras, sleeping bag, etc.) up to the high camp area around 14,000 feet on a reconnoitering climb. Unfortunately for Geoff, when they arrived, Jack Darnell (who Dr. Hewitt had placed in charge of the climb) commandeered McMahon's equipment. Disappointed, Geoff had to return down the mountain to base camp without any equipment. He arrived in the dark at midnight. Then the porters wanted Geoff to go straight back up the mountain to show them where the high camp was located. Geoff was worn out and sick but he got up at 6:00AM to lead the porters back up the mountain. Since the wages for the porters were pre-paid, some of them simply left the baggage along the trail. Because McMahon was sick, the porters with the luggage beat him to the high camp. Finally, Eryl Cummings came chugging along and told Geoff to get himself some soup and minerals, which cured him. After he regained his strength, Geoff silently slipped away at dawn one
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day and went by himself down the torturous, far too risky to dare, funnel-shaped Cehennem Dere, which was crested by the icy, crevassed rim of the vast glacier known as the Abich I. McMahon wanted to check out a rock outcropping which looked like a boat and knew the others would object. The ridge down was so sharp that Geoff had to plant one foot on each side and manage to maintain a precarious balance as he slipped and slid down the treacherous slope. Finally he found a narrow mountain goat trail that gave a bit firmer support. One false step and no one ever would have found the remains of Geoff McMahon. However, McMahon continued his steep descent and eventually reached the site. As he traversed the object from stem to stern, the object proved to be nothing more than a huge basaltic rock, some 300 feet long, about sixty feet wide, rising twenty feet above the ground. Lengthening shadows reminded Geoff that he still had more than 4,500 feet of stiff climbing between him and the camp with canyons and ridges darkening dangerously at every step. It was McMahon on the 1973 expedition who took the great photograph of the rock at the 12,000-foot elevation, which appears to be man-made structure from a distance. This large boulder may have been responsible for several false sightings, possibly including the George Greene, Ed Davis, Ed Behling and George Hagopian accounts. Dr. Willis interviewed alleged eyewitness Mr. Officer personally and believes he was a geriatric liar. McMahon also recounted a story of how they were caught on a security rope between Jack Darnell and John Willis on a 500-foot cliff of crystal-clear, blue ice, which was harder than rock. “I’m not usually as scared as I should be,” said McMahon, “but that time I was more scared than I knew how to be!” The 1973 team explored the upper reaches of the Ahora Gorge on the north side of the mountain with negative results. Subsequent reading and study led Dr. Willis to the conclusion in the early 1980's that the Ark might have survived under the ice cap. Nicholas van Arkel, Ph.D., the glaciologist who performed the ice survey of the mountain in 1966 with the Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF), was of the opinion that there might be a stationary ice bowl under the eastern plateau, since this was not a glacier formation. It was theorized that the Ark might lie hidden there. Dr. Nicholas van Arkel, the glaciologist who reigns as the person that has spent the most time on the Mount Ararat ice cap during the summers of 1965 and 1966, is the only person to create a detailed survey of the ice field. Dr. van Arkel wrote the following:
Dr. Charles Willis at Mihtepe Base Camp 1984 Courtesy of Dr. Charles Willis
Understandably, people are interested in the snow and ice conditions of the Ark site. The Easter summit (Ostigipfel) does not carry a glacier, there is no large accumulation area here, like we have on
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the NW-side of Ararat. In this respect, Dr. Willis’ idea to look on the Eastern summit is far more intelligent and makes more sense than the somewhat stupid earlier ideas, based at the time on Navarra’s made-up stories, to look in the northwest glaciers, e.g. the Parrot glacier. Any glacier would completely crash a structure like the Ark, and its remains would have been transported off the mountain thousands of years ago… On the Eastern summit platform we might expect a more permafrost like condition. The Western summit is different in that it’s a pure ice cap.
Carl Nestor Drawing of Eastern Plateau Area Surveyed by Radar 1988 Courtesy of Carl Nestor via B.J. Corbin
In 1983, Dr. Willis led an initial probe to the eastern plateau, at which time a trenching excavation was attempted with negative results. While valuable insights were developed during this initial attempt, it was later realized that the trench was too shallow. (Members of the 1983 Snow Tiger Team were William Ball, Martin Black, Larry Mast, Gary Meosky, Rod Youngquist, James Willis, and Dr. Charles Willis.)
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Dr. Willis and his team have been most appreciative of the providence of God in this search at Mt. Ararat. In 1985, he had obtained a research permit from the Turkish government, but it had a small restriction in it, which precluded effective research. His friend, the son of the former president of Turkey, advised him to use it anyway, but after careful consideration he canceled the expedition for that year. In a month or so God's providence became clear as word came of a terrorist assault on climbing groups at Ararat with seizure and burning of equipment at the point of an AK-47. Dr. Willis and his team had stayed home and not lost one penny. In 1986, the second expedition to the plateau was attempted, this time with a larger team. A metal detector was used and a 16-foot-deep trench was cut in the ice at the base of the western ridge on the eastern plateau at 16,800 feet.1 The 1986 effort was marked by more efficiency than that of 1983. The local formalities were handled with much more speed. After receiving our local Jendarma Permit in one hour the day after our arrival in Doğubeyazit, we were on our way up the mountain in a truck to the 6,500-foot-high village of Eli Koy where the old Chieftain Haji Baba Coktin greeted us with glasses of hot chai (tea). We slept in his walled compound that night, protected from hungry sheep dogs eager to bite into a tender visitor.
Ice Cutting Chain Saw 1986 Courtesy of Doris Bowers
1
The ice cutting operation was performed with a special McCulloch Chain Saw, donated by the McCulloch Corporation, which operated well at high altitude.
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The next morning we started up the mountain with our mountain porters and horses. The first night saw us almost missing our campsite and porters in the twilight, but the emergency whistle around Dr. Willis' neck led to the connection and our camping together by a flowing stream where everyone filled their canteens. A flowing stream on Ararat must never be passed by, since in the morning it will be dry. With hard climbing, some through hail and rain, we finally reached the base camp at Mihtepe (13,565 feet). Here we used some old campsites that had been cleared by the Turkish Army during World War II.
Willis Snow Tiger Team at Mihtepe 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin A comfortable camp was made and then the Snow Tiger Team made a final hard climb with all gear some 3,300 feet higher to the Eastern Plateau (16,800 feet), where a high camp was placed. Climbing the southeast couloir of Ararat is dangerous because of the many falling rocks, some the size of a Volkswagen, called "widowmakers." However, the Team's courage rose to meet the challenge and this mission impossible was accomplished. Some eight days were spent on the plateau in accomplishing the tasks needed. Cutting a trench in ice at high altitude is difficult, but it was done. The temperature on the plateau drops sharply once the sun goes down, as Dr. Willis discovered one evening, making him run for his tent and sleeping bag. Several extra trips were made to haul up more supplies and gear to the high camp and this ongoing process was successfully completed. That same year, Mr. Guy Leduc, a Canadian engineering geologist, in view of the implications of Genesis 4:22, and theorizing that the Ark was probably constructed with some large bronze or iron pieces, completed a careful metal detector survey of the entire Eastern Plateau with a Gemini II instrument donated by the Fisher Corporation. Results were negative. The team then considered that the Ark might have been doweled and pegged to hold it together and that a final answer on the eastern plateau must await an under-ice radar and drilling operation. On the last day the team climbed to the top of Ararat, and surveyed the Ahora Gorge. They then broke camp and, heavily laden with their packs, inched their way down the slippery rock scree. At the top of the 3,000-foot couloir, they began to slide down, clutching their ice axes with some degree of desperation. The slide took some thirty minutes, a high-speed trip that beats any roller coaster ride. At the bottom one team member remarked that he had been terrified at the thought of sliding down the couloir, but that it actually was only "mildly terrifying!"
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Members of the 1986 Snow Tiger Team were Steve Connelly, Guy Leduc, Pat Frost, Bob Garbe, S/Sgt. Carl Nestor, Richard Froiland, Deborah Redmer, James Willis, and Dr. Willis. In 1988, the Snow Tiger Team returned with under-ice radar and a glacial ice drill. After securing the proper research permit the team left for Turkey. They spent one night in Ankara, then flew to Erzurum, then traveled overland to Doğubeyazit south of the mountain. The next morning they loaded the trucks of the Chieftain, Haji Baba, with the sixteen team members, some 35 duffel bags, the radar and ice drill and drove up the mountain to the little ranch village of Eli Koy where they camped overnight. The next morning 52 horses were packed with the gear and the team started their two-day hike to the base camp at 13,500 feet. The weather was quite good in the early phase of this expedition. On the way up a Jendarma patrol passed us and a Turkish commando squad heading for the western slope of Ararat came over to check our permit papers, which were all in order. They were on a terrorist-hunting patrol and seemed surprised to see us. Our mountain horsemen were apprehensive about the terrorists, but we assured them that we were under the protection of the Almighty God and that the terrorists would not come near us—which they didn't, although we heard that they did get into a firefight with the commando squad later.
Willis Polar Ice Drilling Team on Eastern Summit 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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B.J. Corbin, Dr. Charles Willis, Guy Leduc at Eli Courtesy of B.J. Corbin 1988
We moved up slowly over a two-day period, across snowfields and many rocky ridges, passing shepherds with their flocks of sheep and the great silver peak of Agri Dagh, the "painful mountain" looming over us. Team morale was high and enhanced by our habit of praying together in a circle, in which our friend and translator joined. He reported that the mountain pack men appreciate how believers treated them in contrast to ordinary tourist climbers who are sometimes rude. The mountain packmen especially exerted themselves for our team via a new route to get their horses and our gear all the way to base camp, a difficult task.t Mihtepe Base Camp we enjoyed a superb view of the Arax River valley. The next morning our wonderful cook Debbie created a great breakfast. We then acclimated over the next few days and prepared to move camping and scientific gear up the southeast couloir—some 3,300 vertical feet. The third of August saw teams of determined climbers begin moving up, one climber carrying the 75-pound radar unit. The team did some of this work under stress of a hailstorm. By permission of the Turkish government we were allowed to use a CB radio system, which effected easy communication between base and the high camp at 16,800 feet on the eastern plateau. The high camp team was hit by a storm, but made an igloo and waited it out, then slid down the couloir (beats any roller-coaster ride) and climbed again with more gear until the high camp provisions were secure. The team, under the supervision of Mr. Roningen, completed the radar survey, which showed that the plateau was an 80-foot-deep bowl with no sign of an ark. The team then ran the radar survey over the ridge westward to the peak of Ararat, revealing that the ice cap thickens to about 95 feet, but again there was no sign of the Ark of Noah. To finally establish the truth of this matter, the team then drilled three test holes with the PICO ice drill in a triangle formation on the plateau to a depth of 40 feet, all with negative results. With the scientific mission having been completed over several days' time, high camp was quickly dismantled. The team then started moving gear down to base camp. Sliding the southeast couloir was, as usual, mildly terrifying! Base camp now became a scene for packing for descent. At night the Araxes River valley with its sparkling diamond lights had an ethereal quality. One gets a sense of how God sees us from a different perspective than we see ourselves. The team burned the garbage—an important point as they saw to it that the camp was left as clean as it was found. The long, hard descent took two days and finally ended at Eli Koy Village where the team stayed overnight, sang songs with the mountain people and supplied the children with candy. The next day, our mountain friends took the team
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on a steep upward climb, and suddenly there was before them an ancient lost city! The team walked with wonder through this city. Walls, houses, cisterns, paved streets, and great stone blocks with some features of possible Urartian design. The people of the past had walked these streets and lived in these houses in what could have been the most ancient kingdom of Genesis 8. No archaeological investigation of this city has ever been made. Dr. Willis, a member of the Archeological Institute of America, checked several sources on Urartu and could find no mention of this city. He prepared a report which may be published soon in an archaeological journal. Though this fortyacre city is after Noah's time it will probably yield some valuable insights into the ancient kingdom. While no evidence of the Ark of Noah was found, the discovery of this city on Ararat assuaged somewhat the sense of disappointment the team felt. Of course in an enterprise such as this one must remember the words of President
Guy Leduc Conducted a Survey with a Gemini II Metal Detector Courtesy of Dr. Charles WIllis Theodore Roosevelt: "It is better to dare great deeds and fail than to do nothing at all." The discovery of the truth about the eastern plateau, even though negative, was in itself a positive find of truth which is always important. The culminating 1988 expedition was composed of a team of highly-motivated, elite mountaineering Christians who ascended Mt. Ararat accepting the risks of snow, hail, snakes, altitude, falling rocks and terrorists, in view of the potential benefit to the Christian faith and biblical authority. They successfully completed a very difficult "Mission Impossible." Members of the 1988 Snow Tiger Team were: Robert Baker; Robert "B.J." Corbin; Donald Davis, Jr.; Guy Leduc; Scott Little; Larry Mast; Ross Mehan; Willis Newton, Jr.; Willis Newton, III; Deborah Redmer; Robert, Margaret and Christopher Roningen; James Willis and Dr. Charles Willis. In retrospect, it is obvious that no one has discovered any conclusive proof that Noah’s Ark is on Mt. Ararat. Alleged findings of ancient wood have not passed the test of scientific examination, and the alleged sightings have been of little or no value. Mr. F. M. Gurley admitted in writing in 1989 that he had fabricated the alleged World War I Russian Expedition, and that at least his article was a total lie. In all these efforts Dr. Willis wishes to extend appreciation to Mr. Yavuz Konca, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Erzurum, an experienced mountaineer and a true friend. His help was invaluable in all these rigorous endeavors. Dr. Willis plans no more trips to Mt. Ararat since he has concluded that the more probable site of Noah's landing was Mt. Cudi, some two hundred miles south of Ararat. He has recruited additional team members and organized new technological instrumentation to investigate Mt. Cudi in the foreseeable future.
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The 3,000-foot Slide on Southeast Ararat 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin Dr. Willis has concluded that the Ark of Noah did not survive into modern times but was broken up for houses and barns since there is nothing that has been found to date to prove its current existence. He hopes to find some evidences of Noah of a different sort. To facilitate this goal he has formed Ancient World Foundation.2 In September 1995, after evaluating his own intelligence sources, he launched himself into southeast Turkey for a three-week reconnaissance trip, successfully contacting the proper Turkish officials and ecclesiastical authorities visiting Cizre and Silopi. He finally became the guest of a Kurdish Chieftain at Sirnak on the north side of Mount Cudi (Cudi Dagı). Some brand-new, incredible information was providentially developed as a result of this trip, which Dr. Willis believes, may result in a major biblical discovery.
2
Ancient World Foundation, PO Box 3118, Pinedale, California 93650. Phone (559) 439-4905 Fax (559) 447-8418.
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The final enterprise to discover evidence of Father Noah is about to commence. An expedition is planned to investigate the true mountain of Noah, Mt. Cudi in southeastern Turkey. Funds are needed or it won't happen. You can be part of the greatest biblical archeological discovery of all time. We plan to investigate Noah's alleged village, Heston; his alleged altar site; the purported Ark landing site; and his now found and photographed tomb. Please send your taxdeductible donation to: Ancient World Foundation PO Box 3118 Pinedale, California 93650 http://www.ancientworldfoundation.org
Cudi Dagh From The West 1996 Courtesy of Dr. Charles Willis
Bill Crouse (b. 1944) contributed much to Ark research with his critical analysis and series of newsletters called The Ararat Reports (1986 to 1993). Anyone truly interested in the search for the Ark should obtain a bound full set of Ararat Reports (www.noahsarksearch.com). Bill traveled to Mt. Ararat on two expeditions in 1984 and 1985 to investigate the claims that remains of Noah’s Ark might still be there. In 1989 Bill went to Armenia, a small country in the shadow of Ararat. While there he visited the monastery at Echmiadzin where he was only the second person this century allowed to examine what is purported to be a piece of Noah’s Ark. Bill's interest in the search for Noah’s Ark is primarily as a journalist. He is deeply concerned about the many false and misleading claims that have been perpetrated by many well-meaning individuals since the early sixties. While he once held to the possibility that the Ark could be found on Ararat, he now believes it is virtually impossible for reasons given in this chapter. Bill is President of Christian Information Ministries (www.rapidresponsereport.com) concerned with defining and defending the Christian World View. Chapter 22
1984-2009 Bill Crouse GEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL REASONS WHY NOAH’S ARK DID NOT LAND ON MT. ARARAT Near the close of the last century there were high expectations that actual remains of Noah’s Ark might be found on Mt. Ararat in Eastern Turkey. After countless expeditions and much money spent, there is little to show for the effort. Not only have the alleged eyewitness accounts proven unreliable, they are often contradictory. In addition, there are valid geological and historical reasons for rejecting Ararat as the final resting place of the Ark. Unlike modern accounts, the best ancient historical sources are in relative agreement about ‘The Landing Place: pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources all point to the southern location of Cudi Dagh, a mountain range in southern Turkey near the borders of Syria and Iraq. While actual remains may no longer be extant there is evidence that early in the first millennium remains were observed by pilgrims. Since the early 1950's the search for Noah's Ark has been the subject of many books and movies.1 What gave rise to this interest was the distinct possibility that actual remains of Noah's Ark might have been found. The spark which set off this burning interest among Christians was the claim in 1948 of an eyewitness who said he stumbled onto the Ark high on the snow cap of Mt. Ararat.2 Since that time others have made similar claims. Based on these alleged eyewitness accounts many expeditions have been
Bill Crouse 1998 Courtesy of Bill Crouse
1
For the beginner who wants to survey the literature, we recommend four books: John Warwick Montgomery, The Quest for Noah's Ark (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., 1972), Tim LaHaye and John Morris, The Ark on Ararat (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1976), and Violet Cummings, Noah's Ark., Factor Fable? (San Diego, CA: Creation-Science Research Center, 1972), and B.J. Corbin, editor, The Explorers of Ararat (Highlands Ranch, CO: Great Commission Illustrated Books), 2006. 2 For a complete account of this report see: LaHaye and Morris, The Ark on Ararat, pp. 115-116.
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launched, countless hours have been spent in research, and large sums have been spent to verify what many critics said was an impossible quest. More recently in the decade of the Eighties, Col. James Irwin, the late moon-walking astronaut and his associates, combed most of the mountain on foot. Still not satisfied, they surveyed and photographed the mountain with various aircraft. While the efforts of Irwin and others have received much attention from the media, there is still no tangible evidence of an ark on Ararat. Indeed, many who have been involved in the search, are now becoming convinced that the Ark: 1) may have merged with the elements, or 2) God may not want it revealed at this time.3 In this article I would like to propose a third reason why the search for Noah's Ark has been unsuccessful, namely, that it may have landed on another mountain and the remains may no longer be extant. From the perspective of history, there seems to be compelling ancient sources which argue for another site as the final berth of Noah's Ark. Before we look at this evidence, it might be helpful to the readers if we give some of the reasons why the search has been concentrated on Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey. FIRST, and foremost, are the alleged eyewitness accounts. If it weren't for these, it is doubtful if a search would ever have arisen on the mountain the Turks call “Agri Dagh” and the Armenians, “Masis." A SECOND reason given for searching for remains of Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat, is its altitude. At nearly 17,000 feet it has a permanent icecap which would lend itself to the Ark’s preservation.4 Indeed an Ark perpetually frozen in ice would never decay. It could lie undisturbed for thousands of years.5 The THIRD reason given has to do with the level of the Flood waters. Since Mt. Ararat is the highest mountain in the region it is assumed by some that the Ark must have landed on the highest mountain since Noah could not see the tops of any other mountains for some time after the Ark grounded. After the many expeditions of the last several years, some questions should now be raised about the above reasons for looking for the Ark on Ararat. The eyewitness accounts have not been helpful in locating the lost artifact. The accounts are often contradictory, and under close scrutiny, most are suspect. Some of the sightings have been made by pilots who appear to be of reputable character. However, these sightings in our opinion, are explainable by the fact that the mountain has an abundance of large blocks of volcanically-produced basalt, and when seen under the right conditions, they can easily resemble a huge barge.6 Some question the age of the mountain itself. Is it not of recent origin? That is, was it not formed after the Great Flood? There seems Armenia to be almost a total lack of evidence this mountain was ever under water.7 If the Ark landed on Ararat, why is there not some evidence of flooding such as sedimentation, fossils, etc.? Geologically, we can conceive of a scenario where the mountain may have risen during the Flood, but we still need evidence of the Flood waters.
Ancient Urartu, the "mountains of Ararat" Courtesy of Bible Science Newsletter
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Many Ark enthusiasts link the discovery of the Ark with end-time prophecy, an idea which could be true, but as far as we know is without any biblical support. 4
This icecap is approximately 17-20 square miles in size. In some places it is 200-300 feet thick. As readers may be aware, wooly mammoths have been found in the far north which science dates at over 10,000 years. The flesh was still edible! 6 The author has in his possession a collection of photos of these "phantom arks." Some of these are heart-stoppers. Given the right combination of light and shadows arks can be seen all over the mountain! 7 Clifford Burdick, a scientist and early Ark searcher, claimed to have found pillow lava on the mountain as well as sedimentation. Neither claim can be substantiated. The sedimentation he found was shown to have been laid down by volcanic action and not by water. 5
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Ancient ruins near Ishak Pasa Courtesy of Elfred Lee Others have been attracted to the mountain because of its altitude and its ability to hide and preserve the Ship in its icecap. Certainly this could be a valid reason, and it is one that this author once maintained. However, we again have geological problems in that the permanent icecap is not stationary.8 It flows down the mountain in several glacial fingers. Any structure would be gradually destroyed because of the uneven rate with which a glacier flows. Like water in a river, a glacier flows faster on the surface than near the bottom. In conclusion, it is difficult to be optimistic that remains of the Ark of Noah might someday be found on Mt. Ararat. Not only has it been thoroughly searched in recent years, an intact Ark 500 feet in length would be difficult to hide! The only valid scientific research still needed on Mt. Ararat is a complete sub-surface survey of the 17.5 square mile, 300 deep icecap before Ararat should be completely discounted as the final resting place of Noah’s Ark. The only organization planning to this is ArcImaging (see their website at www.arcimaging.org). Given the geological reasons, and the dubious eyewitness accounts, there are compelling historical reasons for believing that Noah’s Ark will never be found on Mt. Ararat. We now turn to these arguments. If Noah's Ark did indeed land on the 17,000 foot peak of Mt. Ararat one should reasonably expect this event to have support from antiquity. When the search for Noah's Ark became a hot topic in the early '70s, this was assumed to be the
8
There are some areas of the icecap which some thought might be stationary. These areas have recently been bored into and examined with sub-surface radar with negative results.
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case. Evangelical scholar, Dr. John Warwick Montgomery, argued this case in his well-documented book—The Quest For Noah’s Ark. It is our contention that Montgomery erred in his interpretation of these sources. As some readers may know, the Bible only gives a general reference to the landing place of the Ark. Many enthusiasts of the Ark search, however, mistakenly believe the Bible names Mt. Ararat as the Ark's specific resting place. This is not the case. The Bible says only that the Ark came to rest on "the mountains (plural) of Ararat” Gen. 8:4. At the time Moses wrote Genesis Ararat was a very remote region north of Assyria centered around present-day Lake Van. Modern archaeological studies have pretty well delineated the boundaries of this ancient kingdom (see the map).9 A careful study of the historical sources indicates that the earliest undeniable (a key word) reference for present-day Mt. Ararat as the landing site of Noah's Ark is the middle of the 13th Century A.D.10 By the end of the l4th Century it seems to have become a fairly well established tradition. When Marco Polo traveled past Ararat on his way east he was told by the locals that the mountain sheltered the Ark of Noah.11 Prior to this time the ancients argued that the remains of the Ark of Noah could be found on a mountain known as "Cudi (or Judi) Dagh” Let us look now at the evidence of what we believe are those compelling ancient sources: Cudi Dagh is located approximately 200 miles south of Mt. Ararat in southern Turkey within eyesight of the Syrian and Iraqi borders.12 The Tigris River flows at its base. The exact coordinates are 37 degrees, 21 minutes N, and 42 degrees, 17 minutes E. In literature it has also been called “Mt. Judi," “Mt. Cardu,” “Mt. Quardu," “the Gordyene mountains,” "Gordian mountains,” “The Karduchian mountains,” “the mountains of the Kurds,” and to the Assyrians: “Mt. Nipur" (see photo #2). It is also important to note that at times this mountain has even been called “Mt. Ararat.” At about 7000 feet altitude it is not a terribly high mountain, though it is snow-capped most of the year. The current edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam lists it as “over l3,000 feet and largely unexplored.” We are unsure of the exact altitude, but it seems strange that it would not be noted on modern aerial navigation maps if it were 13,000 feet! Most modern maps do not even show the location of Cudi Dagh. It is, however, located about 25 miles from the Tigris River (see map), just east of the present Turkish city of Cizre, and still within the bounds of the Biblical region of Ararat (Urartu).13 Cudi Dagh overlooks the all-important Mesopotamian plain and is notable for its many archaeological ruins in and around the mountain. There are also many references to it in ancient history.14 Sennacherib (700 B.C.), the powerful Assyrian king, carved rock reliefs of himself on the side of a mountain in the area (see photo).15 The Nestorians (a sect of Christianity) built several monasteries around the mountain including one on the summit called “The Cloister of the Ark;” It was destroyed by lightning in A.D. 766.16 The Muslims later built a mosque on the site. In 1910, Gertrude Bell explored the area and found a stone structure still at the summit with the shape of a ship (see photo #4) called by the locals “Sefinet Nebi Nuh,” “The Ship of Noah.” Bell also reports that annually on September 14, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sabians and Yezidis gather on the mountain to commemorate Noah's sacrifice.17 As late as 1949 two Turkish journalists claimed to have seen the Ark on this mountain, a ship 500 feet in length.18
9 For more information on the land of Ararat, or Urartu, as it is known in non-Biblical literature, we recommend: Edwin M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1982), Boris B. Piotrovsky, The Ancient Civilization of Urartu (New York: Cowles Book Company, 1969), Charles Burney, and David Marshall Lang, People of the Hills (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1971), and Paul E. Zimansky, Ecology and Empire: The Structure of the Urartian State (Chicago: IL: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1982). 10 We do not regard this as a settled issue; we are still searching for any references prior to this. 11 Marco Polo, The Travels, ed. and trans. Ronald Latham (London: The Folio Society, 1968), p. 34. 12 This area was in the news early in 1992, as it was the area to which the Kurds fled Hussein's murderous troops.
13
Readers should be aware that there is another Cudi Dagh In Turkey (a mountain of about 2100 feet located near the city of Urfa not far from the Biblical city of Haran. 14
One of the most descriptive accounts of the area is by Xenophon in Anabasis (5th Cent. B.C.). See Book Four. See L.W. King, “Sennacherib and the Ionians,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 30 (1910), 327-35. See his footnote on p. 328. 16 Gertrude Bell, Amurath to Amurath (London: McMillan, 1924), p. 292. 17 Bell, Amurath, p. 292. 18 Andre Parrot, The Flood and Noah's Ark (London: SCM Press LTD, 1953). p. 65. We can’t vouch for the accuracy of this report, in fact it appears to a tabloid story. However, we do know that Kurds in the area say that wood has been found there as late as 50 years ago. 15
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The Probe Expedition with Bill Crouse and Jim Irwin 1985 Courtesy of Bob Stuplich The evidence for this site as the landing place of Noah's Ark is not so strong that it demands a verdict, yet it is compelling. If all we had were the ancient references, the evidence for this site easily outweighs the evidence for Mt. Ararat (excluding modern sightings, of course). Some of the more important ancient witnesses to this alternate location are: The Samaritan Pentateuch. This manuscript contains only the first five books of the Old Testament. It puts the landing place of Noah's Ark in the Kurdish mountains north of Assyria. The Samaritan Pentateuch was the Bible used by the Samaritans, a Jewish sect who separated from the Jews about the 5th Century B.C. Ancestry-wise, they were of mixed blood dating back to the time the Assyrians deported many from the Northern Kingdom. The Assyrians then colonized the area with citizens from that country. The Samaritans were the result of the intermarriage between the Jews who were not deported and these new Assyrian colonists. Their version of the Pentateuch shows a definite propensity to update geographical places and harmonize difficult passages. There is much evidence that the Samaritan Pentateuch
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was formulated during the 5th Century B.C. though the earliest manuscript extant today dates to about the 10th century A.D.19 Berossus. A Chaldean priest of Marduk and historian (3rd Century B.C.). His writings were published about 275 B.C. but his work survived only as far as it was quoted by others, notably, Alexander Polyhistor (1st Century B.C.), a Greek historian and native of Miletus, and by Josephus (1st Century A.D.).20 He is also quoted by a few others as late as the 9th Century A.D. Berossus' account is basically a version of the Babylonian Flood account. He notes that “the vessel being stranded in Armenia, some part of it yet remains in the Kurdish mountains in Armenia; and the people scrape off the bitumen, and carry it away, and make use of it by way of an alexipharmic and amulet.”21 Some believe that Berossus was acquainted with both the Hebrew version which puts the Ark in Armenia (Urartu), and the Babylonian, which puts the Ark in the Gordyaean mountains. They conclude the reason he mentions both territories is that he is trying to reconcile the two accounts. This may be true, but it is an argument from silence. The fact is, this location, Cudi Dagh, is both in the Gordyaean mountains and within the borders of ancient Armenia (Urartu). It may be that Berossus is just trying to be precise! The Targums. The targums are paraphrases in Aramaic which were made for the Jews after they returned from the captivity in Babylon (See Nehemiah 8:8). After their long captivity many of the Jews forgot their native tongue (Hebrew) only understanding the language (Aramaic) of their former captors. These paraphrases were originally oral. They were rather loose paraphrases, and in some instances, were like running commentaries. The targums later attained a fixed form and were written down and preserved. They give Bible scholars a valuable tool for textual criticism and interpretation. Three of these targums (Onkelos, Neofiti, and pseudo-Jonathan) put the landing place of the Ark in the Qardu (Kurdish) mountains. It should be remembered that these mountains were not far from where some of these Jews spent their captivity! They probably did not know of the kingdom of Ararat since this kingdom had ceased to exist around the 7th Century B.C.22 Some claim with no proof that Noah left archives on or near the Ark landing site, including potentially The Book of Jasher or Book of Jubilees (parallels of biblical history). Josephus. First Century A.D. Josephus was a man of Jewish birth who was loyal to the Roman Empire. He was a man of great intellect and a contemporary of the Apostle Paul. As an official historian of the Jews for the Roman Empire he had access to all the archives and libraries of the day. He mentions the remains of Noah's Ark three times. All are found in the Antiquities of the Jews. The first is found in Vol. IV on P. 43 of the Loeb edition.23 Here he says:
19
For more information about the characteristics of the Samaritan Pentateuch see: “The Samaritan Pentateuch and the text of the Old Testament.” By Bruce Waltke in New Perspectives on the Old Testament, by J. Barton Payne, ed. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1970. 20 The works of Polyhistor were also lost but survived in an Armenian translation in the works of Eusebius. See footnote # 2 in Noah, p. 211, and footnote #33 below. 21 This translation is found in The Flood and Noah’s Ark, p.40. Parrot is citing a translation from I.P. Cory, The Ancient Fragments. No page is given. 22 For more information on the Targums see: Jack Lewis, A Study Of The Interpretation of Noah and The Flood in Jewish and Christian Literature (Leiden, Germany: E.J. Brill, 1968. 23 The most popular translation of Josephus is by William Whiston in 1737. However, the most accurate translation is the Loeb edition from the Classical Library. We also used this edition to enable us to consult the original text. In Whiston's translation this quotation is in Book One, Chapter 3.
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Bill Crouse in 9th century B.C. Urartian cave next to Ishak Pasa Castle 1984 Courtesy of Bill Crouse
Then the ark settled on a mountain-top In Armenia: ... Noah, thus learning that the earth was delivered from the flood, waited yet seven days, and then let the animals out of the ark, went forth himself with his family, sacrificed to God and feasted with his household. The Armenians call that spot the Landing-place, for it was there that the ark came safe to land, and they show the relics of it to this day. First, note that Josephus says the remains of the Ark existed in his day though he himself was not an eyewitness. Second, mention of the Armenians assigning a name to the landing site is intriguing, even that he calls them “Armenians.” They were first called Armenians by the Greek historian, Hecataeus (also from Miletus), who wrote of the “Armenoi” in the 6th Century B.C. Josephus, who also undoubtedly used the Septuagint (the Greek version of the OT translated about 200 B.C.), knew that it substituted “Armenia” for “Ararat” (in the Hebrew original) where it occurs in Isaiah 37:38. At the time Josephus wrote (near the end of the First Century), the Armenians were still a pagan nation. However, there is a tradition that some Armenians had been converted by this time through the missionary efforts of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. The big question: was Josephus quoting Christian Armenians at this early date? Or, did pagan Armenians know of the Flood? Nevertheless, it might be significant if the Armenians had this tradition at this early date. We continue to search for the evidence. Third, concerning the Armenian name for the landing place, William Whiston in his translation of Josephus, has the following footnote: This apos bah tay reon or “Place of Descent,” is the proper rendering of the Armenian name of this very city. It is called in Ptolemy Naxuana, and Moses Chorensis, the Armenian historian, Idsheuan; but a the place itself Nachidsheuan, which signifies “The first place of descent,” and is a lasting monument of the preservation of Noah in the Ark, upon the top of the mountain, at whose foot it was built, as the first city or town built after the flood. See Antiq. B. XX. ch. ii. sect. 3; and Moses
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The "Ship of the Prophet Noah" on Cudi Dagh Courtesy of explorer Gertrude Bell 1911
Chorensis, who also says elsewhere, that another town was related by tradition to have been called Seron, or “The Place of Dispersion,” on account of the dispersion of Xisuthrus’ or Noah’s sons, from thence first made. Whether any remains of this ark be still preserved as the people of the country suppose, I cannot tell. Mons. Tournefort had, not very long since, a mind to see the place himself, but met with too great dangers and difficulties to venture through them. Note: Whiston wants to identify “the place of descent,” (apo bah tay reon in Greek) with the modern day city of Nakhichevan situated southeast of Ararat about 65 miles in the former U.S.S.R. Ark researchers in the past have used this footnote as a seemingly early evidence for Mt. Ararat being the site for the Ark's landing place.24 However, we must ask if this is the intent of Josephus, or the 18th Century interpretation of Whiston (from his footnote)? There seems to be linguistic and other evidence that such is not the case. First of all, to identify the current Mt. Ararat as the landing place of the Ark, as per the footnote of Whiston, is contrary to Josephus clearly identifying it as a mountain in Gordyene. Second, the early Armenian historians identified the Gordyene (“Gortuk”) mountains as the landing place of Noah's Ark at least up
24
Montgomery apparently makes this assumption. See his book, The Quest for Noah's Ark, p.60ff.
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to the 11th and 12th Centuries.25 Thirdly, according to the Armenian language scholar, Heinrich Hubschmann, the city of Nakhichavan, which does mean “Place of First Descent" in Armenian, was not known by that name in antiquity. Rather, he says the present-day name evolved to “Nakhichavan” from “Naxcavan.” The prefix “Naxc” was a name and "avan" is Armenian for “town.”26 The second, and perhaps most important reference is found on page 45 of the Loeb edition, and is a quote from the above-mentioned Chaldean priest, Berosseus.27 We quote here the entire Paragraph: This flood and the ark are mentioned by all who have written histories of the barbarians. Among these is Beroseus the Chaldean, who in his description of the events of the flood writes somewhere as follows: ‘It is said, moreover, that a portion of the vessel still survives in Armenia on the mountain of the Cordyaeans, and that persons carry of pieces of the bitumen, which they use as talismans.’ These matters are mentioned by Hieronymus the Egyptian, author of the ancient history of Phoenicia, by Mnaseas and by many others. Nicolas of Damascus in his ninety-sixth book relates the story as follows: There is above Minyas in Armenia a great mountain called Baris, where, as the story goes, many refugees found safety at the time of the flood, and one man transported upon an ark, grounded upon the summit; and relics of the timber were for long preserved; this might well be the same man of whom Moses the Jewish legislator, wrote. Again, note that Josephus is not an eyewitness. Rather he is quoting all the ancient authorities he had access to, most of whom are no longer in existence, and indeed are known only from his quotations of them. It is impressive to this researcher, that Josephus seems to indicate there is a consensus among the historians of his day, not only about the remains of the Ark still existing, but also concerning the location. Josephus also quotes the work of Nicholas of Damascus, the friend and biographer of Herod the Great. Nicholas claimed that he put great labor into his historical studies and apparently had access to many resources. It is possible he was one of Josephus’ main sources. His story of the Flood, however, deviates from the Biblical account in that he has some surviving the Flood outside the Ark. His location for the final resting place of the Ark seems to be in harmony with the Gordyene site. He claims the Ark landed above Minyas on a great mountain in Armenia. According to ancient geographers, Minyas was a country slightly below and to the east of Armenia, below present day Lake Urmia in Iran.28 The name he gives this mountain, “Baris,” is a mystery. According to Lloyd Bailey, the Greek word “baris” means “height,”or “tower,” and can also mean “boat!”29 The third reference to the remains of the Ark is found in Vol. XX, pg. 403 of the Loeb ed.30 Monobazus, being now old and seeing that he had not long to live, desired to lay eyes on his son before he died. He therefore sent for him, gave him the warmest of welcomes and presented him with a district called Carron. The land there has excellent soil for the production of amomum in the greatest of abundance; It also possesses the remains of the ark in which report has it that Noah was saved from the flood -- remains which to this day are shown to those who are curious to see them. The context of this incidental citation of the Ark’s remains has to do with a certain royal family (the King and Queen of Adiabene) who converted to Judaism. In the immediate context of the above citation, Monobazus, the man who
25
See Lloyd R. Bailey. Where is Noah's Ark? (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1978), p. 102ff. See also V. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia (Now York: Armenian General Benevolent Union, 1959), p. 1-2. 26 See the work of Heinrich Hubschmann in “Armeniaca,”in Strassburger Festschrift zur XLVI Versammlung Deutscher Philologen und Schulmanner (Strassburg: Verlag von Karl Taubner, 1901), Section V. cited in Lloyd R. Bailey, Noah (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1989) p. 190 ff . 27 Found In Whiston, Book 1, Chapter 3. 28 Most scholars agree that Minyas equals “Minni,” “Mani,” or “Manneans” in ancient literature. See the map in Foes From the Northern Frontier, p.40 for a precise location. 29 For Bailey’s discussion of the etymology of “baris,” see: Noah, p. 216, see his footnote #19. 30 In Whiston it is found on Book 20, Chapter 2.
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Bridge Ruins on Tigris River in Vicinity of Cudi Dagh 1911 Courtesy of explorer Gertrude Bell
converted, gives his son, Izates the land of Carron. The clues given as to the location of the Ark’s remains in this passage are not unequivocal. The remains are said to be somewhere in a country called Carron which must be found in the greater country of Adiabene. Why? Because the king could not have given what was not his, therefore, Carron must be found within Adiabene. It is fairly certain that Adiabene is bounded by the Tigris on the west and the Upper (north) and Lower (south) Zab Rivers. Today this would be northeastern Iraq. The land of Carron presents some difficulties. It is mentioned only by Josephus. There does seem to be some doubt about the text here since the Loeb edition emends the text to read ”Gordyene” where the same “Carron”is mentioned elsewhere in Antiquities.31 If this is the case, then Josephus is not giving us a second location for the remains of Noah's Ark. He may have associated Adiabene with Gordyene since they were next to each other. There is precedent for this. Pliny, a Roman author and contemporary of Josephus, places the city of Nisibis in Adiabene when it is actually located to the west of Gordyene (Natural History, 6.16). It is interesting to note also that Hippolytus (2nd Century) agrees. He says, “The relics of the Ark are ... shown to this day in the mountains called
31
The Greek is “carrown.” The Loeb edition suggests in a footnote that the original reading may have been “cardu.” This is certainly within the realm of plausibility. This, then would just be another variant spelling of Gordyene, the country of the Kurds. Interestingly enough there is a land called “Kirruri” located southwest of Lake Urmia. See L. D. Levine, “Geographical Studies in the Neo Assyrian Zagros," Iran 11 (1973) p.105. This land is a small district adjacent to, and north of Adiabene, just across the little Zab River.
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Bill Crouse far right with German climbers crouching next to rocks to get away from 50 m.p.h. wind 1984 Courtesy of Bill Crouse
Ararat, which are situated in the direction of the country of Adiabene.” This would be correct since he wrote from Rome. (A Refutation of all Heresies,10, Chapter 26). From the above there seems to be grounds for arguing that Josephus pinpoints the Gordyene site (Judi Dagh) as the landing place of Noah's Ark. While we cannot say this with absolute certainty, we feel we can conclude that nowhere does Josephus say anything definitive that might lead us to assume that present-day Mt. Ararat is in view. We also disagree with Bailey who believes that Josephus gives three different locations for the Ark's final resting place.32 Eusebius. Bishop of Caesarea in 3rd Century A.D. He was the first great historian of the church in his two volume work Chronicle he notes that a small part of the Ark still remains in the Gordian mountains.33 The Pershitta. The Pershitta is a version of the entire Bible made for the Syrian Christians. Scholars are not sure when it was translated, but it shows up for the first time around A.D. 400. In Genesis 8:4 it reads “mountains of Quardu” for the resting place of Noah’s Ark. This version also shows a definite influence from the targums mentioned above.
32
Noah, p.66. This quote by Eusebius is found in Chronicle, vol. 1, p. 36-37. The actual reference is rather obscure. We quote here in its entirety the note by Bailey: “Extensive quotations from Berossus were made by Alexander Polyhistor (first century B.C.E.), whose work also was lost, but quotations of it survive in an Armenian translation of Eusebius’ Chronicles. Eusebius remarks about the Flood were also preserved by the Byzantine historian Georgius Syncellus (eighth century C.E.).” Noah, p.211. 33
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Faustus of Byzantium. Faustus was a historian of the 4th Century A.D. Very little is known about him except that he was one of the early historians of Armenia, though he was of Greek origin. His original work is lost but has survived through translations. It is from Faustus that we first hear the story of St. Jacob (“Hagop” in Armenian) of Nisibis, the godly monk who asks God to see the Ark.34 After repeatedly failing to climb the mountain an angel rewards him with a piece of wood from the Ark. It is this story that is off-quoted in succeeding centuries, and the location given for the event in these later sources is Mt. Ararat. However, please note, Faustus, the one who presumably originated the story, puts this event not on Mt. Ararat of the north, but in the canton of Gordukh (in south Armenia). The St. Jacob of the story is the Bishop of Nisibis (modern Nusaybin) a city which is only about 70 miles (not quite within sight) of Cudi Dagh.35 Mt. Ararat (the mountain to the north) to the bishop would have been near the end of the known world. If Faustus had meant this mountain he undoubtedly would have called it by its Armenian name of “Massis” as he does elsewhere in his work. Armenian historians are in agreement that the early Armenian traditions indicated the Southern location as the landing place of the Ark.36 Until the 10th Century, all Armenian sources support the southern location as the landing place of the Ark. Wouldn't it be strange for the Syrian bishop to ignore what his own Syrian Bible (the Pershitta) told him was the landing place of Noah's Ark? Also, St .Jacob's own student, St. Ephraem, refers to the site of the landing as “the mountains of Qardu.” It is hard to believe that one of his intimates could be that confused! The natives of the area even today tell the story of St. Jacob the Bishop, and similar traditions associated with Mt. Ararat, i.e. the city built by Noah and his grave, etc.37 Epiphanius. The Bishop of Salamis and a fierce opponent of heresy in the 4th Century A.D. On two occasions he mentions that the Ark landed in the mountains of the Gordians. In fact he says the remains are still shown, and that if one looks diligently he can still find the altar of Noah.38 Eutychius. Bishop of Alexandria in the 9th Century. He says, “The Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, that is Jabal Judi near Mosul.” Mosul is a city near ancient Ninevah about 80 miles south of Cudi Dagh.39 Muslim Sources: The Qur’an. 8th Century. The Qur’an says: “The Ark came to rest upon Al Judi ...” (Houd 11:44). The Modern Muslim Encyclopedia is familiar with the early traditions that the Ark came to rest on Cudi Dagh. However, the writer of the article under "Jebel Judi” believes Mohammed was referring to the Judi mountains in Saudi Arabia. This is not certain. Mohammed was very familiar with Christian and Jewish traditions, not to mention the fact that he probably traveled to this area during his days as a merchant. In the English translation of the Quran made by George Sale in 1734, a footnote concerning the landing place of the Ark states that the Quran is following an ancient tradition.40 At least the following Muslim sources seem to agree.” Al-Mas’udi. 10th Century. “...[T]he ark stood on the mount el-Judi. El-Judi is a mountain in the country Masur, and extends to Jezirah Ibn ‘Omar which belongs to the territory of el-Mausil. The mountain is eight farasangs from the Tigris. The place where the ship stopped, which is on the top of this mountain, is still seen.” This is approximately 25-30 miles and puts one right on Cudi Dagh!41
34
Montgomery's translation of this story from the French can be found in The Quest for Noah's Ark, p.66-69. It is important to note that Faustus wrote from the same century as St. Jacob. 35 St. Jacob of Nisibis was one of the prominent figures at the Council of Nicea (AD 325). He was known for his ability to perform miracles and was known as the Moses of Mesopotamia. He may also have figured in the evangelization of Armenia. 36 See endnote #24. Also, see the 10th Century Armenian historian, Thomas Artsruni: Robert W. Thompson, History of the House of the Artsrunik (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 1985), p. 81. 37 Bell, Amurath, p. 294. This was also confirmed to me personally by a missionary stationed in that area in 1992. 38 See Montgomery’s translation of the critical passage: The Quest for Noah’s Ark, p.77. 39 Noah, p. 67. 40 Koran. Translated by George Sale in 1734. This footnote is found in the Appendix on p. 496. The footnotes were the responsibility of Frederic Mynon Cooper. 41 Cited in Quest, p.325-6.
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Bill Crouse Studying the Echmiadzin Monastery "Ark Wood" Cross 1989 Courtesy of Bill Crouse
Ibn Haukal. 10th Century. He places Al-Judi near the town of Nesbin (modern Nusaybin) and mentions that Noah built a village at the foot of the mountain.42 Ibn al-Amid or al-Amacin 13th Century. In his history of the Saracens he informs us that the Byzantine emperor, Heraclius climbed Mount Judi to see the site in the 7th Century. He does not mention whether or not he saw anything.43 Zakariya ben Muhammad al Kazwine. A Muslim geographer of the 13th Century also reports that wood from the Ark was used to construct a monastery. He does not, however, give a location.44
42
Cited Quest, p.326-7. Quest, p.327. 44 Noah, p.67. 43
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Jewish Source: Benjamin of Tudela. 12th Century. He says he traveled “two days to Jezireh Ben Omar, an island in the Tigris on the foot of Mt. Ararat ... on which the ark of Noah rested. Omar Ben al-Khatab removed the Ark from the summit of the two mountains and made a mosque of it.” Note: the ruins of this city, Jezireh Ben Omar, are located at the foot of Cudi Dagh (see Photo #5); and also, here is evidence that this mountain was also called “Mt.Ararat;” it does have two peaks; and remains were still there at this date.45 Conclusion The above evidence to us seems impressive. As we mentioned already, it is not conclusive, but certainly compelling when compared to the evidence for present-day Mt. Ararat. This, of course, does not include the eyewitness accounts for Mt. Ararat, which, taken at face value, are spectacular. Only one verified eyewitness would invalidate all of the above! However, since we have no absolutely verifiable eyewitnesses, we wonder if any of the eyewitnesses on the lists given in various books about the search for Noah's Ark could have possibly been at this southern location? We feel that some of them can, and at least one, seems to us to be certain. Here are two examples. First, we are not entirely convinced, but it is possible that the discovery of the ark by Prince Nouri may have been at this southern site, and perhaps what he saw was the stone reconstruction somewhat covered with snow.46 We find it interesting that he was traveling from India to take over the leadership of the Nestorian church which just happened to have its center a little to the east of this mountain. Certainly he would have been acquainted with the Nestorian tradition which puts the Ark on Cudi Dagh! The Nestorians once had a famous monastery called “The Cloister of the Ark” upon the summit of this mountain. It was destroyed by lightning in A.D. 766 as mentioned earlier. Question: Why did he say he was on Mt. Ararat? Because to most Christians, if the Ark is there, it had to be Mt. Ararat. We believe a second and more certain possibility is the chance discovery of the five Turkish soldiers who were returning home after WWl who were leaving from Baghdad to return to their homes in Adana when by chance they came upon Noah’s Ark.47 Now why would they deliberately go several hundred miles out of their way toward Ararat, climb a 17,000 ft. mountain which was still under the control of their enemies (the Russians) when their home was in the opposite direction? These questions need answers. When one looks at a map, they most likely followed the Tigris River right to their country's border. This would have put them right on target to Cudi Dagh. They could not have gone a more direct route through Syria because of the British Army. This makes sense! The above arguments and historical references may not constitute a conclusive argument for the Ark’s landing place, but they are compelling, and, to us, overwhelming. More digging is necessary, perhaps even in the literal sense on Cudi Dagh! (Note: For the best website about the subject of Noah’s Ark and contemporary research see: www.noahsarksearch.com) Cudi Dagi Local Tradition After the flood subsided Noah and his sons built a scacrifice and then constructed shelters on the site of Heshtan Köyü in Silopi. Afterwards they founded Cizre (Guti: Gerz u bakart da) and then Sharinuh (Shirnak). Cizre fortress is constructed in the shape of the Ark. The Ark’s back and circular parts are shown on Cizre’s south side. The bow is shown in the north. Noah’s Tomb in Cizre was previously a Christian church named Derebuna. It may well have been Jewish before that as the entire Tigris valley was populated with Jews. The province of Mosul had a Jewish governor even in Islamic times. Russian Kurdolog writes that in 1910 thousands of local Muslim, Christian and Jewish pilgrims ascended Cudi to remember the flood every August. He also stated that there was a large memorial to Noah there. This pilgrimage was accepted in lieu of the Haj, which is extraordinary. B. Dickson writing in the Journal of the Royal Geographic Society, 1910 No. 4, confirmed that this even took place on the first Sunday every August. Joseph Benjamin writing in “A Five Year journey Through the East” (1851) states much the same thing claiming that it took place on a mountain “at a distance of 5 leagues to the North of Zakho” and that the people “at a narrow place, clearly a ruin, took pieces from the boat buried in the ground.” He also states that there was a temple constructed from great stones there (as Nikitin noted) but that it was
45
The Itinerary Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela (London: A.Asher, 1840), vol. I, pp.90-91. For an account of this story see Violet M. Cummings, Noah's Ark: Fact or Fable?, p.188 ff. 47 Violet Cummings, Has Anybody Really Seen Noah's Ark? (San Diego, CA: Creation-Life Publishers, 1982), p.103 ff. 46
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in his day in ruins and consisted of four main pillars. Visits to the site of Heshtan Köyü in Silopi where the Ark came to rest and where the altars of Noah were built ceased around 1960. Many people remember making the trip as children and taking fragments from the site. Some elders in Shirnak could give a more detailed account based on the trips of adults but much of the area is now off limits. Also, near Mount Cudi is a site that has strong historical links with the Magi, who were Medes and therefore ancestors of the Kurds.
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Don Shockey (b. 1937), O.D., has been an Ark researcher since 1984. He was instrumental in the first and only "ark-a-thon" in June 1986, and authored the book, The Painful Mountain, featuring the alleged eyewitness Ed Davis. He also discovered the Satellite Remote Sensing expert George Stephen III. Dr. Don Shockey, an optomologist who received his doctorate from Pacific University, also received a degree in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. He participated in a number of archaeological excavations including the 1955 Lucy Site excavation of Sandia Man, "pit-house" dwellings in northern New Mexico, the Stone Age Mexican Tarahumara Indians, a Roman amphitheater in Albania, Qumran in Israel, the temple mount in Jerusalem and a mastodon site. Shockey was also the founder of the Governor Bent Museum in Taos, New Mexico. Chapter 23
1984-1990 Don Shockey, O.D. One news article caught my eye as I was reading the Albuquerque Journal in the fall of 1983. An explorer would be speaking at a local church the next Sunday evening concerning his four pervious attempts to locate Noah’s Ark in Turkey. Being a degreed anthropologist from the University of New Mexico, my latent interest in biblical archaeology immediately surfaced. The time of the lecture would conflict with my position as music director of a local church. I followed previous attempts to verify the existence of the Ark on Mt. Ararat. I had an interest in the SEARCH expeditions of Dr. Ralph Crawford, Eryl Cummings, and more recently, astronaut James Irwin. My wife and I went to a lecture by Dr. Howard Davis of Artesia, New Mexico. Following the lecture, the Davis’s and the Shockeys drove to a local restaurant for a cup of coffee. Howard told me that one of his team members would be unable to participate in the next expedition scheduled for the summer of 1984. He suggested, assuming the approval of the other team members, that I consider becoming a part of the expedition. I glanced at my wife, she smiled, and without hesitation my reply was "Yes, yes, yes!" The rest is history. I began the most awesome adventure of my life. During the years following 1984 I've logged nine trips to Turkey and made three climbs on Mt. Ararat. All have been memorable and all different. Preparation was the key. One should expect the worst and if the worst didn't happen, consider yourself very lucky. Voracious reading and research were only part of the equation for success. I learned that temperatures could drop to -40 F, high winds, rain and snowstorms and lightning were to be expected as a common occurrence and threat. Then there were the ever-present rebels who could kidnap or kill without greater provocation than the fact you were on their mountain. Camera film could be confiscated and equipment destroyed. Should one become ill or injured, medical care would be in the hands of the explorer, as the nearest hospital is many miles away. The high, upbeat excitement of the expedition would be somewhat tempered by the reality of unexpected delays and dangers encountered each day. Asking God for guidance, protection and discernment was number one priority in all our prayers. The 1984 expedition did not sight any object on the mountain that we could identify as the Ark or as broken pieces of the ark. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that God, according to His divine timetable, orchestrated a number of things related to my ark-search efforts. Uppermost in these events was meeting Ed Davis and sharing his unique story in my book The Painful Mountain so that fellow Ark hunters might benefit from the new information gained from Ed. It was my great pleasure to introduce Ed at the first and only "arkDr. Don Shockey a-thon" in Farmington, New Mexico in the summer of 1986 where Ark Courtesy of Don Shockey
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Ark-a-thon with Eryl Cummings, Don Shockey, Ed Davis, and Elfred Lee 1986 Courtesy of John McIntosh via Don Shockey researchers and explorers from throughout the United States gathered together for the purpose of sharing vital information. I introduced Ed to archaeological illustrator Elfred Lee. After listening to Ed's eyewitness account of being taken up Mt. Ararat to view the Ark in 1943, Lee began sketching a depiction of what Ed was describing. Ed was the first person to share information that the Ark was in two major pieces. Prior to this time, and using information from the George Hagopian encounter, it was assumed that the Ark was still in one major piece. Apparently at some time in the interim between the Hagopian viewing and the Ed Davis viewing, volcanic, earthquake, or other forces caused the vessel to break into at least two pieces. As Ed was describing to me the large structure he viewed on the mountain, he told of huge timbers that extended from both parts of the ark. He said that if you could bring the two broken sections back together they would fit like an interlocking puzzle. Ed stated that it appeared to be some type of laminated construction. This information was tucked into "file 32" in my mind, and all but forgotten until I was in Dallas Texas for a seminar. On the second day a doctor approached me. He had been told that I had been searching for Noah’s Ark, and had some questions to ask. After talking with him and answering his questions for some forty minutes, I asked Dr. Weinstein if he was Jewish. His reply was affirmative. As it turned out, he was born in Israel and was a student of the Hebrew Scriptures. Now it was my turn to ask some questions. I began, "Dr. Weinstein, when God directed Noah to build the Ark of gopher wood, what is your understanding of what this wood is? The Hebrew word for gopher seems to be rather non-specific." Without hesitation, he replied, "In the old days there was a particular tree growing in the mideast that when the bark was cut, a gummy secretion would ooze from the cut. This resin was collected and used to apply to the wood to be spliced together. These pieces of wood were coated with the resin and clamped together. After 24 hours the bond was so good and complete that you could not break the splice. It becomes harder and stronger than the wood on either side of the splice. This is 'gopher wood.'"
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Ed's account and what Dr. Weinstein was telling me suddenly came together in my mind as I heard the proverbial bell ring. We have plywood, but not a "ply" tree. Could Gopher wood be a process rather than a species? It is apparently a "gophering" process whereby many types of trees could be used in the construction of the ark. This would have significant advantages in engineering applications for design and for structural strength. With regard to Ed Davis, it is with personal sadness that I announce the death of Ed Davis in Albuquerque, New Mexico November 17th, 1998. (To those readers who do not recognize the name, Ed was very likely the first American to be taken by an Iranian family to view the Ark of Noah. This occurred in 1943.) Ed was alert until the time of his death, and I enjoyed a visit with him in the Ladera Nursing Home just one week before his passing. Davis' entire life had been one of unusual adventures. His mother was half Al Jenny Holds a Special Ark-a-thon Gift of a Gopher Wood Cherokee and his grandmother was a fullDetector for Veteran Explorer Eryl Cummings 1986 blooded Oklahoma Cherokee, hence the Courtesy of Don Shockey name "Chief" used by his close friends was not just a nickname, but one which held much pride and respect. Davis related to me the entire saga of the "Trail of Tears" where his relatives were force-marched from Florida to Oklahoma and incarcerated in a reservation. Ed's grandfather was an Anglo-Irish wagon master who led pioneers from St. Louis to Oregon, and later became a U.S. Marshall in Indian territory in Oklahoma. He was very proud to be a descendant of his great-grandfather, Jefferson Davis, who was president of the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War. Chief was born on a train somewhere between Texas and Oklahoma on July 11, 1908. He met his wife Polly in Albuquerque in 1939, and they were married in 1940. There were no children born from this marriage. Ed's involvement with the Ark of Noah began while he was serving in the armed forces during World War II. Soon after his enlistment he was sent to Hamadan, Iran where he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers. Chief's company guarded Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin when they met in Tehran. His next orders were to build a supply road from Iran into Russia to support in their effort to defeat Germany. Native Lurs (Ed Davis pronounced “Lurds,” possibly to emphasize the rolling “r”) were hired as drivers to assist the army engineers in this endeavor. It was at Hamadan that Davis met Abas-Abas, a Lur in his eighties. Abas and his family revered the Ark as a holy site. Ed performed a service of great importance to Abas' village [Davis helped them get fresh water], and in an act of gratitude, Abas-Abas and seven of the patriarch's sons took Ed to Mt. Ararat to climb to the site of the holy artifact. According to Ed this experience changed his life forever. When Mr. Davis saw the Ark it had been broken into two large pieces separated by a narrow ravine. The trek up to the Ark took three days. His entire story is recounted in the book, Agri-Dagh The Painful Mountain by this author. After another stretch of army duty in France, Davis was discharged. Excited to share his experience on the mountain, he soon discovered that most people, including many theologians, dismissed his account of the experience as less than truthful or perhaps total fabrication because he had no photographs to substantiate the story. Ed told me that the doubters placed the veracity of his seeing the Ark on Mt. Ararat in the same category as stories of UFOs and Sasquatch. Disappointed with this reaction, he was silent about the experience during all the following years until 1985 when this author learned about Davis and his incredible experience. Chief agreed to a three and one-half hour polygraph test administered by P.G.P. Polygraph in Albuquerque, New Mexico on May 1, 1988. The following is an account of how the Ed Davis polygraph became a reality. On Sunday afternoon May 1, 1988 I drove to Ed's home and picked him up before driving to the Albuquerque airport. Eryl Cummings, father of American Kurdish children with eight Ark hunters, and Max Lare had flown in from Farmington. Max was responsible crosses on rock at Eli village 1983 Courtesy of Doris Bowers
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for the name "ark-a-thon" previously mentioned. We visited in the Continental Airline terminal while awaiting the arrival of Bob Cornuke who at the time was Jim Irwin's chief assistant and vice president of "High Flight" located in Colorado Springs. Larry Williams, explorer and commodities expert from San Diego, California had arranged for the polygraph test. Larry was responsible for financing the Irwin-Cornuke expedition into Egypt to discover the path of the Exodus of the Israelites and the location of the Red Sea crossing. At a later time it was Williams and Cornuke who located what may possibly be the real Mt. Sinai in Saudi Arabia.
Euphrates River Headwaters near the Foot of Mount Ararat 1990 Courtesy of Don Shockey P.G. Pierangel, who is considered the authority on test procedures and analysis, administered the Ed Davis polygraph test. All law enforcement units abide by his conclusions. Everyone present including the examiner agreed that Ed Davis' account was a truthful one. One huge, major problem remained. Exactly where was the ark's location on the mountain? Even today nobody knows for sure. Many possibilities and possible locations have been suggested. One area on the northeast side of Ararat has been given the tag of "Davis Canyon", but photos of the mountain in this area have failed to show any suggestive objects. This author has never felt that Davis Canyon was the actual location of Ed's sighting.
The following is taken directly from the test results and analysis by the examiner. Tested For: Robert G. Cornuke, High Flight Foundation Name: Edward B. Davis DOB: July 11, 1905 POB: On a train somewhere between Texas and Oklahoma SSN: 525-09-6268 Dot: 5-1-88
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Target: Whether or not this subject is truthful when he states that he observed Noah’s Ark while in the area of Mt. Ararat located in Turkish Armenia, AKA Massis. On the above date (5/1/88) this subject was tested utilizing the standard Backster Tri-Zone Comparison Specific Examination. Upon final analysis of all of this subject's polygrams it is the opinion of the examiner that he answered truthfully to the target issue. Subject was asked to recall in detail what his recollection of the incident was. His answer was as follows: While this subject was in the U.S. Army and assigned to engineering duties between Iran, Turkey and USSR he met a male later identified as Abas-Abas. Subject stated that Abas' son was working for the government at the time of this meeting. As the subject related the story, Mr. Davis did a great favor for Abas and his tribe. As a result of this favor Abas was asked by Davis to tell him (Davis) about the Ark or structure that was located somewhere around Mt. Ararat. Davis was told that if the weather was right he (Abas) would take him to see this structure. Some time later Abas and seven (7) of his sons escorted Davis to the site of the structure. In trying to solicit the information from Mr. Davis the following questions were asked: 1. Are you lying when you state that you were taken to Mt. Ararat by Abas and his seven sons? 2. Are you lying when you state that you climbed Mt. Ararat on horseback and on foot? 3. Are you lying when you state that the object you saw was broken in half? 4. Are you lying when you state that the structure was exposed between 100 and 200 feet? 5. Are you lying when you state that you saw a large wooden structure high on Mt. Ararat? 6. Are you lying when you state that no one ever told you about the Ark other than Abas and the Bible? Mr. Davis answered all of the above questions with NO. After careful analysis of all of this subject's Polygrams it is the opinion of the examiner that he answered without showing any stress to questions 1-5. Regarding question 6, the subject did show stress and answered that he has talked to a number of people about the ark. He also stated that not one of the people that he has spoken to have ever seen or known the exact location of where the Ark is. Early spring of 1988 brought some astounding new information concerning the physical remains of a manmade structure on the northeast section of Mt. Ararat. It began very unexpectedly as I was eating enchiladas at a restaurant in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico where I was introduced to George Stephen III and his wife Kathy. During the course of our meal together, George asked a simple question: "What are your hobbies, Shockey?" It was an easy question and my answer was immediate. "My number one goal is to verify the existence of Noah’s Ark." I continued by giving George a summary of the historic searches and the problems in obtaining any help from our government regarding U-2 and/or satellite photos. George's reply shocked me. "Don", he said, "I have access to special technology, and can within two weeks have information on any square foot of land anywhere on the globe!" I challenged his statement, and he backed up his claim with information about his military background and the newer technology, which he had helped develop for our government in the area of infra-red analysis from satellites located 240 miles in space. He then asked me for some coordinates pertaining to my area of search. He said he would get back to me within two weeks. George kept his word. It was two weeks to the day when he called from California. Using the technology, he had analyzed the area on Mt. Ararat and found two man-made objects in the Abich II glacier. He determined these objects to be definitely man-made. "Are you sure, George?" was my next question, and one I should not have asked. He reminded me that this is his area of expertise, then went on to explain why he was so sure. The two pieces are rectangular, and approximately one thousand feet in separation. He said that natural formations are not so specific in shape, and he emphasized his certainty that the shapes were not background rock. He then gave me the approximate elevation and also the depth, which the objects were covered with ice and snow. Aware that he was "sticking his neck out" to help me, I asked him if I flew out to his base location, bringing a map of Mt. Ararat could he, without compromising any secret information, mark the two locations with an "X." He agreed that this was acceptable and would not compromise any classified material. I met with George a few days later, and the mission was accomplished. George Adams, Robin Simmons, and Chuck Aaron were invited to join me at this meeting where Stephen gave his information. The date was June 30, 1989. Now for the first time we had hard scientific evidence of something large and foreign on the mountain. Was it the ark? There was no way of verifying it without an expedition to reach the area and examine the two objects. If they were found to be anything other than the biblical description in Genesis, they could not be remains of the ark. The ark's dimensions would be the first criteria of identification. The ideal time to explore the mountain is the last two weeks of July through the first two weeks of August when optimum melt down of the snow and ice normally will have occurred. Even this "window" has no guarantee of success. Armed with Stephen's information, hasty preparations were made for a climb to the location. The necessary equipment was collected. Ahmet Arslan was contracted to be the primary guide for a considerable amount of money, and
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it was arranged that he would join us in Ankara, Turkey. George Adams stayed in California and would be in charge of financing the expedition. Despite limited funding for the expedition, Robin Simmons was able to go to Ararat at the last moment. Many problems were faced in getting necessary permission from the Turkish agencies so that we might gain access to Ararat. While we were granted permission to climb the mountain, Robin's permit was delayed. Timetables were very critical. The climb was begun from Dogubeyazit on the south end of Ararat. Ahmet Arslan had secured the help of a second guide who was from Erzurum, and accompanied by these two men I started the ascent. My standard trek permit did not allow me to explore the northeast side of the mountain. The only way to verify the objects at the location indicated by satellite was to have the Turkish guides check out the site and photograph any object that might be exposed there. Before we left the hotel, Robin and I gave Arslan a copy of the map showing the specific location. Ahmet said he felt that he could reach the area and take the photographs for us but wanted more money before he would go. At the high camp, I was forced to remain as the two guides left in the darkness of early morning to attempt to carry out our instructions. It was very difficult for me to let them go on without me, but I did not feel it would be right to deliberately violate Turkish laws and regulations.
Dr. Don Shockey with Tent at Mihtepe 1989 Courtesy of Don Shockey
The wait alone on the mountain seemed to go on forever. Late in the afternoon the two guides returned. Ahmet Arslan was limping, having had a minor accident while jumping a crevice, but he was shouting excitedly, "It's there! The Ark is there! It's exactly in the location you showed me, and I took some photographs as instructed! My wife will be so happy because she never believed the Ark was on Ararat. Now I have proof to show her." The three of us were jubilant. Arslan was not able to get on top of the object because of the dangerous terrain and ice. Ahmet estimated that he was approximately one-fourth mile from the main object. He described it as a "coop, like a chicken coop," meaning that the structure had a slightly pointed roof as he looked into what appeared to be the broken end. Most of the object extended back into the snow and ice―only one end was visible. After arranging with Arslan to send our photos and negatives to us, Robin and I returned to the U.S. After a lengthy wait and two strong legal letters from Adam's attorney, the photos finally arrived. George Adams, Robin and I began a long series of analyses. I contacted
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Dr. Jim Eberts, a nationally recognized forensic anthropologist who did a great enhancement and analysis of the photos in his lab. "I can't tell you the object in the photo is Noah’s Ark," he said, "but it certainly looks like a man-made object." A short time after returning from Turkey I received a call from Carl Baugh of Creation Evidences Museum in Glen Rose, Texas. He and famed artist Robert Summers would like to fly into Albuquerque to meet me, and would also like to meet Ed Davis for an in-depth interview. Since this first meeting with Carl and Bob, we have become close friends. A 1990 expedition was planned which would include eight explorers. I would coordinate the logistics and Carl would be responsible for raising the funds. Carl and Bob met with Ross Perot in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Perot at that time indicated that he would finance a helicopter. Carl, Bob and I made a preliminary trip to Istanbul and Ankara to secure permission for the expedition. Having accomplished this, the entire team gathered. Joining me as principal members of the team were Carl Baugh, Dr. Walter Brown, Robert Summers, Ron Charles Ph.D., B.J. Corbin, Robin Simmons, and noted photographer George Adams. We made arrangements to lease a Russian 24-passenger MI-8 helicopter, and signed the papers obligating us to this lease. Returning to the hotel, we found a message from Mr. Perot, informing us that he had reconsidered, and would not finance the helicopter. With a lot of prayer and phone calls, and the generosity of some wonderful people, and a lot of work by our wives, we were able to raise the funds to cover the obligation for the helicopter. Another obstacle had been overcome.
The Peaks and Saddle of Ararat Surrounded by Clouds 1990 Courtesy of Don Shockey
Having leased the helicopter for one week of service, our group flew from Istanbul to Doğubeyazit in extreme eastern Turkey. It would require another chapter to include all the delays and problems in logistics that were encountered. We flew the entire mountain twice daily for five days, carefully photographing not only our principal sites, but those of other researchers, some of whom had made claims that the Ark had been located. One particular location thought by some to be the Ark was on the north side of the mountain in an area called the Parrot's Beak. The "object" was unfortunately found to be a natural formation, which only from a distance looked promising. From the helicopter our number one object was clearly seen with very little change in appearance from the 1989 photo. Our original plan was that following our aerial survey we would divide our team and climb from two positions to our primary area of interest. However, when our permit to fly, to land on the mountain, and to climb was translated from
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Turkish into English, we learned that the words "land" and "climb" had been omitted from our permit. This revelation came as a total shock to all members of our team. After many negotiations the Turkish authorities finally agreed to allow no more than three of the American team to climb. Deciding who should climb and who should return to the U.S. was very difficult. It was finally decided that the two who would accompany me on the climb would be Carl Baugh and George Adams. The entire team flew back to Istanbul and to the International Airport. Following the departure of our other team members, George, Carl and I returned to Dogubeyazit and began our climb. The Kurdish rebels and the Turkish military were fighting on Mt. Ararat and the authorities were very concerned for our safety. After we had climbed to the high camp from the south side of the mountain we were ordered to get off the mountain. Disappointment reigned now that we knew where to explore but we were thwarted from physically reaching our objects. This 1990 expedition continues to be the last American expedition on Mt. Ararat although others have since tried to gain permission to climb and have been denied. I am aware of two non-American explorers who, solo, have been on the mountain and both met with very serious consequences. One gentleman is from New Zealand and the other from Canada. This year (1999), I am aware of at least two American and one Canadian team who plan to attempt an expedition to Ararat. This author also still awaits another return to the Mountain of Noah whenever a "green light" is given. This must be for God's glory and not to bolster an individual or a group's ego. God can and does use people to accomplish His will and purpose. I extend my thanks to all Ark hunters who have sacrificed time, talent and money and have contributed to the major effort to identify and verify the 100% truthfulness of the biblical account of the flood, the ark, and its symbolism of Jesus Christ. Thanks should also go out to the many who have contributed in financial and prayer support to all of these various teams. The quest continues and the last chapter remains to be written.
Robert "Bob" Garbe (b. 1939) enjoyed a variety of Ararat experiences in the mid1980's with Dr. Charles Willis and later forming his own team with Chuck Aaron and myself. Bob (with help from others) also built a portable subsurface radar unit for our 1989 expedition to the Western Summit of Mount Ararat. Chapter 24
1984-1989 Bob Garbe I do not presume to know God's will concerning the resting-place of the Ark of Noah in our time in history. However, my participation in the search has given me some opinions on the matter. Bible scholars indicate that finding the Ark has no significance in New Testament revelation other than the many references to the flood and the faith of Noah. This simple observation may actually be the key to the part the Ark plays at this time in history. I will attempt to explain this concept as I describe my part in the search for the ark. Polls indicate over ninety percent of the general population believe there is a God. There are many religious "experts" with opinions about who God is. However, do we know the truth about God? Each of us creates a comfort zone about the subject that we can live with. Opinions about God range from the belief in an impersonal entity that started the universe and plays no part in our lives to belief in a God who is in control of all things. In the middle is an all-loving God who is in all of us. My participation in the search for the Ark has helped move me from a belief in the first description to a confidence that God is indeed in charge of all things and nudges our lives as he sees fit. My search for the Ark has developed in me a great appreciation for God's ability to create and sustain his universe. Investigating the feasibility of the flood account has convinced me the Bible is our comprehensive instruction manual about who God is, how we should conduct ourselves, and what specifically must be done to honor him. In dealing with
Bob and Gerry Garbe at Durupinar Site Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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God it must be emphasized that we want to be careful not to make a mistake about what He wants us to do. The account of the flood and the story of Noah’s Ark are among the first Bible stories we learn. We often learn about the flood from some kind of cartoon depiction. This is unfortunate because under close scrutiny the geological record supports the flood story. Understanding the flood can be a first step in understanding other miraculous events recorded in the Bible. My background included a belief in theistic evolution. Although very little evidence was supplied about evolution I assumed it to be more grounded in fact than God's creation as depicted in Genesis. I brushed aside all the conflicts by assuming God just used the most current scientific rendition of the beginning. The biblical flood story never bothered me, primarily because I had only a surface knowledge of geology and did not fully understand the flood story. My first contact with creation science was through the Bible Science Newsletter published through the efforts of Walter Lang, William Overn, and Paul Bartz. In it, Charles Willis reported on his 1983 expedition to find the ark. He had an interesting theory that the Ark should be high on Mt. Ararat in order to fit its grounding within the time frame of the receding waters. According to Willis the Ark would likely be in a depression like the mouth of an extinct volcano such as is found on the eastern plateau. This would reduce the destructive effects of grinding glacial ice. The ice would need to cover the Ark except for a few periods of great melt-back as occurred at the times when sightings were reported. It would have to be in a position for Noah to see an adjacent mountain peak like Little Ararat. This theory was compelling because it fit the biblical account precisely. One problem with the theory is that it is difficult to fit it into any eyewitness accounts. At the conclusion of his article explaining his theory and the progress he had made, he asked for those interested in becoming team members to contact him. I sent a resume expressing interest in joining his team. On Thanksgiving eve that same year (1983) he called and we began a friendship that has extended through two expeditions. It was at this point that I began learning why a search for the "mythical" boat called Noah’s Ark was reasonable. I believe God's purpose for my participation is found in this exercise. I encourage others to do the same thing. A wonderful world of the compatibility of science and the Bible will be opened to the person who pursues this truth. The first book to read is The Genesis Flood by Whitcomb and Morris. It lays out an explanation of the biblical account of the flood and construction of the Ark in layman's terms. It also gives much geological evidence supporting the flood story as recorded in the Bible. The authors give convincing arguments that this is no mythological story. There is good reason to believe the events actually happened and that this account is more than a symbolic story to illustrate God's judgment and Christ's salvation as is theorized by some. In fact, Christ uses the flood story as an illustration in his teaching many times, stating it as fact, not allegory. In 1984 (Willis' second trip) we were victims of the usual problems presented by the local government officials in Turkey. In spite of the fact that permission to search was granted by the Turkish embassy and senior government officials in Ankara the local governors and military commander delayed us. Willis stated that the reason for the failure was due to the fact Ankara had issued a sport-climbing permit not a research permit. In Turkey, there are also other issues to consider: (1) Giving gifts to the officials can help. While this is a custom in Turkey we don't usually use this tactic in the United States. (2) There is a difficulty among bureaucrats to make decisions unless everyone agrees. (3) The military commander, charged with providing security, was unsure of the level of security on the mountain and did not want to risk our safe passage. The mountain has many hiding places for Kurdish rebels who have a hatred for the Turks. News reports are received almost daily of the deaths of Kurdish rebels and Turkish soldiers in conflict. The risk we feared in 1984 was demonstrated to be real in 1985 when the team Bill Crouse helped organize was driven off the mountain in the middle of the night after having all of their equipment burned by a gang of rebels wanting to emphasize their authority in the area. We sat around in our hotel for over five days waiting for the permits to be put in order. We also visited as many sites as possible without going too far and losing time should the research permits suddenly be granted. Finally the time frame for meaningful research was lost. We needed at least seven days to excavate just one spot on the plateau. The delay was taking these days from us. Five of us decided to climb the mountain for sport during the last few days. There is a climbing route on the south side that was open for a three-day climb. With very little time for planning we shifted gear around and prepared to climb. This climb would significantly add to our familiarity with the mountain in preparation for future trips. Our guide, Yavuz Konca, was indispensable in helping to get through the permit formalities. An English teacher at a university, he became our primary communicator as none of us spoke Turkish. We moved up the mountain from the south, climbing to a base camp area at about 13,000 feet. The next night after a day's rest we planned to make the summit attempt. There was little time to rest and discuss plans or problems as we started at 1:30 A.M. up this strange mountain, following guides on trails rarely marked with even a path. If you lost sight of the person ahead of you and got lost your problems would just be starting (or ending permanently). The wind was blowing very hard at thirty to fifty miles per hour at all times. The guide went first then Bill Crouse, Ken Alexander, Jim Willis and myself. We used two flashlights and moved at what seemed to me a reasonable pace. Actually it was as fast as I could possibly go. As dawn came we were near 15,000 feet. By about nine A.M. we were a few hundred yards from the edge of the ice cap. The winds were so strong we stopped and waited, hoping they would abate. After an hour the wind was still as fierce as ever. Now other climbers were catching up to us and we were all waiting together behind boulders trying to keep out of the cold wind. There were as many as six rope teams preparing to move to the summit. The time had come to make our move or risk running out of daylight on the descent back to base camp.
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Someone in another group developed hypothermia and Bill Crouse loaned him his sleeping bag. Bill had been elected to bring the only bag we had in case of emergency. I did not realize the importance of this fact until later in the day. Our water supply was very low, a fact that should have concerned us, but no one noticed. I drank a quart of water
Abich II and beginning of Abich I Glacier 1986 Courtesy of Bob Garbe before we started at 12:30 A.M. and about a half-quart during the next 18 hours, yet on a climb like this we should have been drinking four quarts a day to prevent dehydration. Dehydration causes many physical and mental problems at higher altitudes. Hypothermia and disorientation can quickly lead to catastrophes. Pulmonary edema and blood clots can be fatal in a matter of hours or days. We shared our water with each other, but did not think to ask other groups to share their water with us. We had been so accustomed to being polite to one another that we shared water on the climb as we had bought soft drinks for one another at the hotel. It is critical on any mountain climb to discipline oneself and use water wisely and we had not. It is especially critical on Ararat because free-flowing water is not easy to find at night. This caused one of our team members to run out of water on his way up the mountain. When we reached the edge of the ice cap we put on our crampons and the five of us connected to the same 150-foot rope. About twenty yards onto the ice Bill's crampons fell off. The guide helped him put them back on, but they fell off again within minutes, so Bill left them off. We were walking on slick ice ninety percent of the time and Bill was having a lot of trouble staying on his feet. I have to admit Bill Crouse has more guts than a lot of people I know. For a person to continue to climb that mountain for the first time and crawl across an ice cap for a mile and a half on his knees, so blind (caused by severe dehydration) he could only see shadows, the man has to have courage. Bill even apologized for holding up the rest of us. We reached the summit about 1:00PM and sat down for about fifteen minutes to take pictures and record our names in the summit register. The summit was a beautiful elevation overlooking wavy ice stretching for miles in all directions. Beyond the ice was a vast emptiness to the plains 10,000 feet below. The winds were still blowing at over forty miles per hour and stirred up the snow, obscuring the view to the east in the area we wanted to search. We were only 200 yards from the place we were convinced the Ark rested. Visibility to the west was good and I remember seeing a pair of
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abandoned skis poking out of the snow north of us, about two hundred yards away. The ice could have been hundreds of feet thick and the Ark could be hidden anywhere under it. How could we hope to find it? I'm sure each of us hoped to get a glimpse of the Ark while on this climb just as several eyewitnesses claimed to have done in the past. We had to descend from 17,000 feet down to our base camp at 13,000 feet before night. When we got off the ice we unroped and sat down to remove our crampons. I coiled the rope and Ken carried it down. Ken and Yavuz went first and when they got 70 to 100 yards ahead of me I lost sight of them. I tried to keep up while still keeping Bill and Jim in sight to my rear. Descending from a mountain can be more dangerous than climbing it. Exhaustion brings on a tendency to use poor judgment. If we unknowingly climbed down to a cliff edge and then had to climb back up to seek a better way down, a lot of time and energy would be wasted when there was none to spare. Bill and Jim seemed to be looking at rocks on the way and were in no hurry (because Bill could not see where he was going). Then I saw Yavuz (our guide) sitting on a rock waiting for us. I stopped and sat with him for about a half-hour but Jim and Bill did not show up. Yavuz was exhausted and not feeling well from a lingering infection that had started several days before. We decided Jim and Bill would have to come down this way because there were snowfields and ridges on both sides almost forcing their descent between them. I thought they would be safe if they did have to stay out overnight because Bill had the sleeping bag. It was at this point I found that Bill had given the bag to the hypothermic mountaineer earlier in the day. Now I became very worried. If the winds returned the chill factor would produce very cold conditions that could be fatal. I emphasized to the guide my concern and we agreed he should move on down since he was sick and we could get help from those at base camp for Bill and Jim. I would hang back and continue to try to spot the stragglers and direct rescuers to their approximate location. I worked my way to an elevated area to get a better view. I saw Chuck Willis coming up about 800 feet below me. I yelled down that Jim and Bill had not kept up with us and
Garbe Object (Left Middle of Photo) This photo of the Mystery Object was mistakenly credited to Jim Irwin and a Dutch TV Crew as an airplane photo in Balsiger/Sellier book and movies. Bob Garbe took this photo looking down from the Northeast edge of the ice cap 1986 Courtesy of Bob Garbe
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that something was definitely wrong. I worked my way down to Willis to tell him the problem. Fortunately, he was fresh, as he had not made the summit climb. We looked up to try to find Jim and Bill. We could see two people on the western ridge of the slope. We could barely make them out because they were silhouetted in the setting sun 500 feet above and 200 yards away. I spotted Jim's jacket but could not see Bill's blue parka. They hesitated and were not moving down in our direction. They seemed to be avoiding us. They didn't answer our calls to them. We wondered if they might be two bandits who had attacked Jim and Bill. Dr. Willis moved up rapidly to intercept them. He lost sight of them from time to time because of the terrain, so I spotted for him and kept my flashlight on so he could keep his bearings. Nightfall was fast approaching and it became very difficult to stay oriented. Two men came up with a sleeping bag and supplies and I pointed out where they should go to help Willis. They seemed fresh and full of energy. I was relieved to see them. They would be able to help Willis if a rescue became necessary. It was dark now and there was no moonlight. I felt like I was in a rock jungle with boulders taller than I. I was 300 feet above and a quarter mile from camp. I was able to yell to camp to shine a light so I could know in which direction to go. They heard me and I was able to feel my way down to them. I was very thirsty and drank over a quart of water (what a drink!) before I got into my sleeping bag and I still remember shivering cold in the bag. I had dozed off, exhausted, when Bill came into the tent and told the story of his descent and rescue. Thank you again God for keeping us safe! We learned a great deal in 1984—everything from Turkish politics to mountaineering preparedness. These lessons went a long way toward making the next trip more profitable. A common problem with Ark searchers is that we usually meet in transit on the expedition and never have time to practice working together except on the phone or in letters. It has been my experience that those of us with a common belief still experience stress-related problems interacting with each other. Our faith does not immunize us from our human personality traits. So far God's purpose in the Ark search seems to be to remind the world of his judgment. Every three or four years someone claims to have found the Ark and it hits the headlines throughout the world. When this happens many are reminded of the stories they heard as children. Many scoff at the claim. Some say, "Hasn't the Ark been found years ago?" I was a Bible-believing Christian who started out as a theistic evolutionist and now am a young earth creationist with
Portable Ground Penetrating Radar built by Bob Garbe 1988 Courtesy of Bob Garbe
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a high degree of confidence that science confirms my faith. The adventure continues every time I come across new and old scientific evidence corroborating my beliefs in biblical events and concepts. My second visit to Turkey was also on Dr. Willis' team. There are success stories with each expedition. Often we feel we have failed if we return and have to admit we were not successful in finding the ark. In reality each expedition adds a segment to the pool of information about the Ark and each builds on the other. A major reason this book is being published is to document the progress that has been made for future searchers. Since 1982 when Col. Jim Irwin was instrumental in renewing the modern search for the ark, more than a dozen sites have been ruled out, thus narrowing the search. Dr. Willis ruled out the eastern summit plateau. An interesting sidelight of this second trip was a photograph I took while on the edge of twin peaks on the northeast side of the mountain at 16,800 feet. I was unroped and curious to see what was beneath the edge of the twin peaks. I worked my way as close as possible to the edge, then leaned out to photograph over the edge, panning the full width. After I returned home, I began to examine the photos with my son's microscope. I was amazed to see an object that at first looked like the ark. The characteristics of the object were amazingly like those described in eyewitness accounts. A row of windows the length of the top, proportionally correct, and a square outline of a door in the side were very convincing. The area in the photograph was the spot Ahmet Arslan had reported having seen timbers coming from the glacier. This "was" the Ark for about two weeks. After conferring with Bill Crouse and John Morris, I learned Carl Nestor had also photographed the same area and had adjacent shots that convincingly rule out this object as nothing more than a rock formation. The photo's angle and focus led Bill Crouse to suspect the object may have been a rock close to the camera and not large enough to be the ark. We are now convinced the object is nothing more than a rock with a remarkable resemblance to the ark. This is an illustration of how a strong bias influences what we see on these trips and is something of which we all need to be cautious. In 1986 when the Willis team excavated fifteen feet into the eastern ice cap at 16,800 feet, it became clear we
B.J. Corbin, Chuck Aaron, Bob Garbe at Seneca, West Virginia 1989 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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needed to profile the ice to a greater depth using less time-consuming methods. The department of polar studies had experience with ice-penetrating radar that had potential for this purpose. Lambert Dolphin from Stanford and Lonnie Thompson from Ohio State University had used this technology on the Great Pyramid and on glaciers in Peru with some success. I contacted these two scientists for advice on its application in Ark exploration. It seemed feasible for a relatively small investment. To rent a profiling radar would cost $20,000, which at the time seemed beyond our budget. I pursued the idea and by late 1988 had developed a working model that we could put on a backpack. In the meantime geophysicist Bob Roningen was able to fund and operate a profiling radar for the Willis expedition in the summer of 1988. This commercial radar was very useful in spite of its weight to profile the eastern plateau. Despite the weight, the team was able to extend their search through the ice westward from the eastern plateau all the way to the peak. They found ice of 90 feet in depth but no sign of any Ark ruins. In 1989, the Chuck Aaron lead team determined that the depth of the ice on the 15,000-foot western plateau was sufficient to qualify it as a possible site. Areas on the ice cap have potential in spite of the ice flow as demonstrated by the discovery of "Ice Man" in the glaciers of the Alps.1 The Ark could also be buried under rock, gravel and silt. There may be ground penetrating radar in satellites capable of revealing the Ark structure. Chuck Aaron heard about my radar and we linked up to use his helicopter expertise to deliver the radar to the mountaintop. The team Chuck led consisted of B.J. Corbin, Chuck, a photographer Paul, and myself. We met at Seneca Rock, West Virginia, to go over plans and practice climbing together. Seneca is an ideal climbing area in the eastern United States, having been used by the U.S. military for technical rock climbing training. B.J. came to the meeting with a broken collarbone and was unable to climb. We did some light climbing and spent most of the weekend planning. Chuck flew a helicopter to Seneca and we could tell he was highly competent as a pilot by the way he handled the helicopter landing. Dave Montgomery and John Wanvig joined us that weekend and had some interesting information on areas of the mountain from which there had been eyewitness accounts. One sketch was a map to what later turned out to be the "eye of the bird," now shown beyond a doubt to be a rock formation. When we got to Turkey we had the usual political problems, but the delays were minimal because Chuck had done very good preparatory work with the permits and our Turkish pilot knew the best ways to get by the stumbling blocks. In Doğubeyazit we stayed outside of town in order to minimize our contact with distracting influences. We needed to stay focused on the flight to the 15,000-foot plateau. The weather was perfect. We made a reconnaissance flight around and over the mountain so Chuck could get a feel for wind patterns and we could photograph everything possible. We were at maximum weight for the helicopter and over service ceiling for a vertical landing on the 15,000-foot plateau, so Chuck did a glide-in landing, taking full advantage of the rotor lift. We unloaded within minutes and the Turkish pilot flew off for a second load, B.J., and the photographer Paul. We began erecting tents and securing them in case the winds increased dangerously during the next several days. Within an hour, two men dressed in civilian clothes, carrying AK-47's, approached from the south summit plateau. They barged into our camp, grabbing cameras and pulling out the film. We spoke little Turkish and they spoke no English. We all felt these men were Kurd rebels and might decide to kill us after robbing us. I had two principle thoughts running through my mind: first would the bullets hurt and second was every one going to heaven. I knew we had to find a way of communicating so they would know we meant no harm to them. I pointed to the radio in hopes we could get the gunmen to talk to our Turkish pilot down at the hotel. Chuck was able to reach him after walking over to the edge of the plateau. He explained our predicament to the pilot and the pilot proceeded to talk to our captors. We learned that the gunmen were actually Turkish military patrolling the mountain. They dressed in civilian clothing to foil snipers who frequently shot Turks in retribution for attacks on them. This solved the problem. The soldiers embraced us as friends and even handed us their loaded rifles as a good-will gesture. They didn't want us to keep any photographs of them because Kurdish rebels could identify them as targets for ambush. They left our camp and we continued to set up our equipment. The photographer, who was not a Christian, then asked to be flown off the mountain. He had not bargained for this kind of danger. Chuck was able to get the pilot to bring up Dave Montgomery in place of the photographer. We set up the radar and started to mark a grid pattern on the plateau
1
See: "The Iceman's Secrets," Time, Oct. 26, 1992, p.62.
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B.J. Corbin and Bob Garbe after 1989 Descent Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
with survey flags. Under our camp the ice was 250 feet deep. It appeared we were over a trough that may have been the head of the southwestern glacier. Six hours after the landing, we all became very nauseated, with severe headaches and weakness from the sudden change in altitude. We learned firsthand the lesson that acclimatization is unavoidable, requiring over a week at altitude. We had to rest for an hour and then try again to get back to work. On one excursion B.J. and I looked for an exit route should the weather prevent the helicopter from picking us up. The northwest area of the ice cap looked promising. While scouting in this area we noticed that the ground broke through the ice at the edge of the plateau. This was an additional clue to the profile of the ground under this portion of the ice cap. From the northwest edge of the ice cap to 150 yards south, the ice thickness increased to 250 feet! At our next radio contact we were informed the military had demanded we exit the mountain within 24 hours and told us the helicopter could not pick us up. This meant we could not remove all of our gear. This was quite a dilemma because we needed at least another week to finish the survey. They wanted us to move off to the south. A southern exit would be less exposed to Kurdish rebel interference, but much more dangerous to a sick crew attempting to avoid the cliffs and dead-end ravines. About that time an individual (Ibrahim) ambled into our camp wearing, believe it or not, a tweed suit and tattered boots. We conveyed our plight to him as best we could and he indicated he was willing to lead us down to a high camp he maintained on the southern sporting route. I was convinced we had met an angel sent as a result of our prayers. We gave him a new pair of wool socks and my favorite hat. He carried two packs to our one as we followed him in the direction of his camp about four miles away. On the way we had to cross a glacier and some crevasses. Nightfall forced a stop in our descent. The danger of a fall at night was too great. We stopped and crawled into our sleeping bags among the boulders and slept as best we could. At dawn we continued down to this man's camp and had tea, bread, cheese, and honey for breakfast. Chuck had us help clear a landing site near the camp. He was able to contact the Turkish pilot but could not convince him to land on our hastily made landing zone. He did agree, however, to pick us up a few hundred feet below. That same summer the melt-back on the mountain progressed beyond what any of us had seen before. Eyewitness accounts coincide with periods of low precipitation and hot summers, according to reports in "The Ararat Report" published by Bill Crouse. The mile-long snowfield leading up to the eastern plateau was completely melted off during our August trip. The summer heat persisted into late September and Chuck Aaron felt it would be prudent to return that same summer to do aerial reconnaissance. If the Ark were exposed we would have a good chance to photograph it. Chuck was able to penetrate the permit maze very quickly and we returned to Turkey.
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In Doğubeyazit we were disappointed by high winds every day. It was impossible to approach the mountain safely. On Friday, Chuck and I climbed up the mountainous terrain behind the now abandoned Simer Hotel (the same place B.J. Corbin found fossils). We videotaped the excursion and documented marine fossils of sand dollars and shells. Obviously this area at a 10,000-foot elevation had been under a sea in the past. We were ten miles south of Ararat and 300 miles from the Persian Gulf, site of the closest marine life at present. At about 2:00 P.M. the wind died down dramatically and the clouds covering Mt. Ararat thinned out. We ran down the mountain and suited up for a flight before dark. Turkey has one time zone, making darkness fall around 6:30 P.M. in the east. Our first choice for photography was on the northwest slope, where B.J. Corbin had seen an interesting object in our recent photographs. On the approach to the mountain we passed the "Eye of the Bird" or Ice Cave. Both Chuck and I did a double take when we saw it. It bore a striking resemblance to eyewitness descriptions of the ark. It had what looked like two decks, which corresponded proportionally to those reported by eyewitnesses, and what seemed like planking. Half of the object seemed buried at an angle in the ice cap. Chuck made at least two flights around the mountain before nightfall and we returned to the motel. That evening we reviewed the video and became convinced from the video that we had discovered the ark. The video even seems to show partitioning like rooms in the ark. The next morning we made another flight and flew around and over the mountain, photographing everything. We got some excellent photos of Little Ararat and the north face of Mt. Ararat. These photos have since revealed several interesting structures that should be investigated in the future. Shapes like an arched cave opening and projections that could be parts of a broken ark. We have learned photos are often deceiving so we will reserve judgment for now.
Fossil sand dollars and clams embedded behind Doğubeyazit Hotel 1984 Courtesy of Doris Bowers
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Significance of the "Eye of the Bird" or Ice Cave Object A scientist friend has made an analysis of the helicopter sighting we made in September of 1989. It is noteworthy that he wishes to remain anonymous because his credibility would be challenged in his field of research if he acknowledged an association with Ark searchers. This is true of many scientists who fear persecution if they imply any belief in the harmony of scripture and science. It is all right to believe in God, but any reference to this harmony can lead to ostracism by others in the scientific community, including loss of jobs, tenure and ability to get papers and books published. This paradox has become the lie of our century and is partially responsible for the moral decay in our society. I recommend reading Evolution, The Lie by Ken Ham to anyone interested in becoming better informed on this subject. The analysis of "the eye of the bird" is significant because it rules out as many as eleven eyewitness accounts of Ark sightings. Thus the search is narrowed to help us avoid constantly repeating past error. The quoted analysis follows.
Ice Cave or "Eye of the Bird" 1989 Courtesy of Bob Garbe
General Description of the "Eye of the Bird" or Ice Cave Object This object is at least intermittently visible as a dark mark in the Ararat ice cap from at least as far as Doğubeyazit. It lies at an altitude of about 14,500 feet and 500 feet below the main plateau that exists northwest of the highest peak. A straight line from Little Ararat through the highest peak of Ararat proper and projected just beyond the main plateau will pass very close to the object's location. The Aaron-Garbe helicopter photos show the peaks of Ararat in the upper righthand side of the picture. The object itself is poking out of an ice-pack and is tilted slightly downwards. It lies in an approximately north/south direction on a rock bench or shelf above a steep cliff. At suitable times each year, there is a frozen lake or pond at the base of the cliff. Furthermore, extending down the hill from the cliff is a debris-covered snowfield. There appears to be a
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buildup of debris at this point under the snow cover, and the cascade of ice from above the object is continually adding rubble. The object itself appears to have a covering of rubble or debris on top that is at least a yard deep, and may be significantly more. For this reason, the object looks more "natural" when viewed from above. Earlier Observations' Points of Agreement There are a series of observations of an object claimed to be Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat that are in accord with the above description. (Page numbers refer to The Ark on Ararat by Tim LaHaye and John Morris.) 1. The monk Jehan Haithon wrote in A.D. 1254: "Upon the snows of Ararat a black speck is visible at all times: this is Noah’s Ark." (p. 22) It certainly exists as such in a number of photos of the mountain (p. 106). Apparently, it also is very prominent in the Spot Satellite photos, even after extensive snowfall. It was suggested as a consequence that it may be a volcanic hotspot. Anything with a different thermal capacity, such as pitch-covered wood, may behave the same way. 2. Sir John Chardin visited Ararat in the 17th century. In an engraving of the mountain he etched out the position of the Ark as on the western end of the main plateau (pp. 21, 24). This description agrees closely with that of the above object. In 1940, Sister Bertha Davis showed pictures to her Bible class of the alleged Ark protruding above a debris-covered snowfield (p.113). Similarly, in 1969, film footage taken from a helicopter was shown in Philadelphia. In it the purported Ark was shown protruding from a similarly rubble-covered snowfield (p. 107). These photos appear very similar to the above object. 4. George Greene in 1953 located the alleged Ark on a rock bench on the side of a cliff, protruding from a glacier/snow field. It was covered with rock debris and was lying in a generally north/south direction. The latter point is important in assessing any object as to whether it is the one, which Greene saw. The altitude was given as about 14,000 feet (p. 135). Both of these facts are basically in agreement with photos of the object. 5. [Liedmann, who the following point is based upon, has been shown to be an absolute liar and completely untrustworthy. To be fair, the following point should not be considered.] The Russian airborne photos taken during 193848 were taken at an altitude of approximately 14,500 feet, and showed the Ark tilted slightly downwards and poking out of the ice. One key point is diagnostic in determining where these aerial photos were taken of the object purported to be the ark. The photos all had the peaks of the mountain in the upper right side of the picture (p. 111). If the 14,500-foot contour is traced around the relevant portion of Ararat, there are only two places where those conditions apply. One is where the above object is located. The other extends from about the Abich II glacier eastwards. If the Russian photos were indeed of Noah’s Ark and not some other formation, then these are the only two possible sites for the ark's location. 6. Finally, the record of Turkish soldiers in 1916 is important. They located the Ark as resting on a rock on the west side of the mountain and lying in a north/south direction (p. 91). This agrees with several elements of the object's descriptions, but, how would one know that this really was the Ark and not some other object? First, the soldiers did not view it from the air or from some distance. They were on the ground. Second, they got close enough to make another diagnostic comment. George Hagopian and Ed Davis, who have both given extensive personal testimony of their sighting of the ark, claim that wooden pegs or dowels were used to hold the planks together (p. 71). These Turkish soldiers also claimed that wooden pegs held the Ark together (p. 91). This would indicate that the object on the west side of Ararat might be at least part of the purported ark. Final Comments 1. A discrepancy is noted between conclusive sightings such as those of George Hagopian and Ed Davis compared with some recounted by persons who were airborne. The Ark or portions of it, which they saw or thought they saw, was in a region whose description fits with near certainty the upper portions of the Ahora Gorge. All told, Ed Davis saw a total of 300 feet of the Ark as two fragments of about 150 and 100 feet long. The object described above is about 200 feet long. It would therefore seem that at least two and possibly three major portions of the Ark exist on Ararat. It seems logical to me that the Ark exists on Ararat and that it landed high up on the mountain. It then became petrified as many reports insist, and broke up due to either earthquake or ice movement. The separate portions were then carried to different parts of the northern sector of Ararat by ice flow and other natural forces. Sundry smaller pieces and timbers would then be accounted for in other locations. 2. It is also probable that some sightings claimed to be of the Ark are merely rock formations. Several such formations have been misleading in the past (p. 177, 198, etc.). It seems that an aerial survey may be more prone to this
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error than ground-based observations. It is thus important that all likely objects from air surveys be checked on the ground. 3. This latter point is particularly essential for the above object investigated by Aaron and Garbe. It has eight features in common with at least six other reported sightings of the Ark and so cannot be dismissed lightly. If a ground-based expedition and/or radar prove it to be a natural formation, then one conclusion is inevitable. Namely, that this is the object that has been mistaken for the Ark on several significant occasions. 4. Finally, one important characteristic needs close examination. On all the photos and the videos of this object, there are what might best be described as "icicles" hanging from the "roof." On close examination they can be seen to be spaced at regular intervals. Furthermore, there is a similar set of "icicles" coming up from the bottom of the object directly below the top set. In addition, the shots taken looking along the object from its end show that both top and bottom sets of icicles follow a slight curve. They do not hang vertically. These facts lead to the conclusion that the photo taken by John McIntosh at a distance of about five hundred feet from the object in 1984 shows the icicles in essentially the same positions then as now. It is therefore not beyond the realm of possibility that they mark some man-made feature such as internal compartments or ribbings—if indeed it is the ark. If it is not, then it will be interesting to discover what they really are. The explanation that this object is simply a volcanic vent or an ice cave is insufficient. Someone needs to brave the ice cascade and look inside the "cave" with a strong light and see if there are any signs of wooden dowels, pegs or other evidence of human ingenuity at work. At the very worst, one more object will have been eliminated as being the ark—one which has almost certainly given rise to a number of reported sightings. At the best—a portion of the Ark may have been discovered and its location fixed. This report by my anonymous friend is dated February 26, 1990. Conclusion Has it been worth spending thousands of dollars to search for an Old Testament artifact? Could not hundreds of Bibles or meals be purchased with the money to nourish the poor in spirit and health? Why expose oneself to the dangers in eastern Turkey? Who cares if the Ark is found or not? We live by the New Testament, don't we? There is no biblical indication the Ark has any significance in end times! I have had to ponder these questions over the past ten years and the answer has come unmistakably that the search for the Ark is very important. Christ used the illustration of Noah and the flood many times to illustrate Noah's faithfulness and God's judgment. Was Christ using a myth to make illustrations? Anyone seriously in doubt of the Bible's authenticity needs to do a scientific study of the feasibility of Noah's adventure and the geological features all over the earth confirming the water deposition of the earth's surface features. This maligned story in the Bible will lead you to many other wonderful illustrations of compatibility with science, the "god" of our time. Genesis contains fundamental principles of our faith. We cannot allow these events and principles to be trampled one by one by those who hate God. It is all true. As far as purchasing Bibles and feeding the poor goes, God has given us the capacity to do it all if we really wanted to do so.
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Richard "Dick" Bright (b. 1945) is the "bulldog" of Ark researchers with 27 expeditions and counting... His persistence in the search for the remains of Noah’s Ark is nearly unmatched. (I say "nearly" where John McIntosh has tested him in the past). This persistence is a much-needed quality to overcome the many frustrations associated with searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark. Chapter 25
1984-2006 Dick Bright, Ph.D. Dick Bright was a professional airline pilot. His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Bemidji State University in with major areas of study in geography, geology, and earth science. In some of the courses he took to obtain that degree, he was taught that the doctrine of uniformitarianism and the theories of evolution were, in essence, the basic background of the earth's and our human history. It was in an anthropology class that he began to have some trouble, which he will discuss later. In recent years I have studied areas of Theology, which I find to be very important in my life, and have led to both a fully accredited Masters and a Ph.D. through external studies. I don't pretend to make any special claims, and I don't do this kind of work for a living. I consider myself still a student, and I love the subject matter. I'm an airline captain. That's what I do for a living. My involvement in the search for Noah’s Ark was in great part due to the impression upon me by Violet Cummings' book Has Anybody Really Seen Noah’s Ark? There was also the meeting I had with Violet and her husband Eryl, who are now both deceased. As the “dean” of modern Ark research, many considered Eryl Cummings, a very knowledgeable investigator. Then came the meeting with one man who, I believe, had an incredible impact on my adult life. From the pages of my book The Ark, A Reality?, I give you my impressions, as recorded at that time: Professional Airline Pilot Dick Bright Courtesy of Dick Bright
I wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Eryl Cummings. Mr. Cummings called me one evening. We set a date and I flew to Farmington, New Mexico, to meet them both. Mr. Cummings, who had been to Ararat fifteen times by then, is
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now in his eighties, and Violet Cummings is the author of the book that first got my attention. I found Mr. and Mrs. Cummings to be two of the most gracious people I have ever met. I am very thankful for the hospitality and courtesy extended to me. I asked them how I could become a part of the next Ark expedition. How I would go about it? Whom should I contact? One of the names given to me was that of the former astronaut I had read about in the newspaper clipping, Colonel James B. Irwin, a man who had walked on the moon. I wondered to myself how I would ever be able to talk to such a man. I wrote Col. Irwin and he was kind enough to answer. I then called him on the phone, but I was at a loss for what to say. I mainly stuttered; I don't think that impressed him much. I went to his office unannounced to meet him, and I was to find him to be one of the most down-to-earth people I had ever met. He also was most gracious in taking time from his schedule to let me stumble across my words as I attempted to express myself. I stood in awe of the man; I was nervous. Nothing was decided. Two days later I went to work. It just happened that I had to fly to Colorado Springs for a twentyminute stop to pick up passengers en route to Denver. This stop just happened to be on my schedule that month. Colonel Jim Irwin was due to fly to New York on business and just happened to pick Frontier Airlines out of Colorado Springs that day. One of the flight attendants, on reserve status, just happened to pick up that trip. She just happened to graduate from the same high school that Jim Irwin had attended years earlier, and recognized him from a picture. She came to the cockpit and to tell us who was on board, and I almost jumped out of my seat to go back to the passenger cabin and reintroduce myself to the man sitting in the first seat in the first row, Colonel Jim Irwin. After his flight to Denver, Colonel Jim Irwin and I talked for a few minutes. Then he was on his way to New York on business, and I was on my way to begin one of the greatest adventures of my life. I had prayed and it was not to be in 1983. My year to join the team was 1984. Sixteen months would pass from the time I had applied for acceptance as a member of the expedition team until I would at last be on my way. In the meantime, I involved myself in considerable research and physical training. In preparation for the expedition, I searched eight libraries for information pertaining to anything helpful in finding the location of Noah's vessel. I spent a lot of time looking for a photograph, which reportedly existed, to no Eryl Cummings with Elfred Lee Painting in Background avail. I read books by various Courtesy of Elfred Lee authors and spent many late nights poring over the pages. I
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prepared myself physically by losing 28 pounds. I took instruction in ice and rock climbing and technical procedures, and did quite a lot of climbing by myself, and with others. Long's Peak was the last big climb, and was with Jim Irwin and John Christensen, another member of the expedition. I jogged almost daily, with my personal best reaching twelve miles at an average elevation of 9,500 feet. I camped and climbed in rain, and spent a lot of time at the Nautilus. I wrote to Jim Irwin in June of 1984 and briefed him on my preparations, giving a synopsis of my reading research. I hoped to convey to him my enthusiasm and sincere desire to join his expedition. At 7:00 A.M. on August 15, 1984, I began what was the first of eight expeditions to the date of this writing. I expect there will yet be another in the not-too-distant future. I must take a minute here and thank B. J. Corbin for asking me to contribute to this work compiling reports by the explorers of Ararat. In order for me to best do this, I can only relate to the reader my personal experiences. The reader should know that every expedition has proven to be costly, challenging, and disappointing. Each year the names on a team change. Yet, as in quest of a great goal, in body and spirit, we go on. I'm very blessed to be among a group of people dedicated to the search, to the solving of the questions surrounding his mystery. In my mind, the questions which surround this particular mystery should not cause us to doubt the existence of the ark, but rather should encourage us to find just exactly where the ship rests, and when God will choose to reveal it. Then, of course there is the question, "Am I to be a part of this tremendous event?" I include a few highlights from previous expeditions to give the reader an idea of what we went through in our searches. These excerpts are taken from my own book and give the impressions and details of that time. The information presented here is accurate to the best of my recollection. My First Expedition—1984
Dick Bright, John Christensen and Jim Irwin with skis on Ararat's summit 1984 Courtesy of Dick Bright via John McIntosh
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It was a peaceful year, and the expedition of 1984 went well as far as the travel and the climb of Mount Ararat was concerned. Jim Irwin, John Christensen, Ridvan Karpuz (our guide), and I were the principals in this attempt. We began near the borders of Iran and the USSR, in Doğubeyazit, Turkey, on Thursday, August 23, 1984. Following are excerpts from the record: We left the hotel at 6:37 A.M., and now we are on our way to Eli village near the base of the mountain. By 8:20 A.M. the horses are being saddled with our packs. The friendly Kurdish folk at the village are filling us full of juice, and the members of the press and the photographers who have accompanied us are in fine form. They are doing what they are paid to do. At the village during the photo session, the lady of the main household of Eli Village was asked to pose with Jim. She originally declined but decided that since Jim believed, she would allow her picture to be taken with him. John and I handed out gum and candy to the children. There were many of them who came back several times holding out both hands for our offerings. That was fun. I noticed that John was particularly good with the kids, and they seemed to love him. I believe it is his gentle, kind nature that attracts the kids to him. In my case, I expect it's the gum. Leaving the village at 9:15 A.M., our four-man operation, plus reporters, photographers, and followers, totaled 16 people and three horses. By 9:30 A.M. we were at low camp, about 10,500 feet (3,200 meters) or so. I'm told that it is time for a light lunch and rest. The plan now is to sit around all day and get acclimated. I'm very impatient, but Jim is wiser than I and agrees with the guide that we're to sit tight. I must keep in mind that its God's timing that will take us to the ark, not mine; but I hope it's soon. It is now 7:25 P.M. on Thursday. We went to a river and filled our water bottles. The water was cold and dirty. We had to purify the drinking water with iodine tablets, a must from now on. It's interesting that all of a sudden, water is of such importance. Clean water is one of those things you seem to take for granted back in the States, or in any area of plenty. Friday, the 24th of August, at 6:30 in the morning: We're up and breakfast is underway—a quick one to be sure. We're leaving a duffel bag full of stuff behind, and still we seem to be taking too much with us. The Turks and Kurds kept us awake well into the night; there must have been a party of sorts. It's 9:00 A.M. and we're finally underway. It's a slow start. The reporters are left behind; still one photographer sticks with us. It's noon now and we are at 4,200 meters, which is as far as the horses can go. That's somewhere around 13,800 feet. We made good time this morning, now we will carry our own packs. Our high camp will be at 4,900 meters, which is approximately 16,000 feet. There are a lot of loose rocks and it's a difficult climb. Water is at a premium. It amazes me how these Kurds can smoke so much and still climb like they do. We have a break now, then the toughest climb to come. By Saturday night, August 25th we had reached our high camp. This is an overview of the day and plans for tomorrow. We made it to camp by noon. We rested until about 1:10 P.M., then we hiked to the west glacier and looked it over from above. We then climbed a finger glacier to search for the wood sighting of which Jim was made aware last year. We found it...a pair of skis and poles at 16,000 feet on Inonu Peak. We reached that summit with crampons and ice axes. We don't know why the skis are here. I can't imagine anyone actually trying to use them on this mountain. A photograph of the skis at a distance would cause them to appear like pieces of wood, or hand-hewn timber, sticking out of the ice. Were they planted to bring Jim back? I wonder why they are here. It's just past midnight early Sunday morning, August 26th. I find it hard to sleep at night; twelve hours is too much. Anticipation of tomorrow is great, and I'm slept out. The temperature is 22 degrees, a mild evening, and the sky is incredible. Stars are everywhere like I have never seen before. Like the lines in a Robert Service poem, "Night's holy tent, huge and glittering with wonderment." With an early start at 8:00 A.M., we explored the west side on the ice, the north side above the Cehennem Dere (a "U" shaped cut-out or canyon in front of the Abich I glacier on the north-northeast side), above the Ahora Gorge, and across the Abich I and II glaciers to the saddle between Atatürk peak and Cakmak peak. I was looking forward to exploring the northeast area of the mountain. It is now Monday the 27th at 8:55 A.M. I'm not sure where or how to begin. A lot has happened since my last entry. I'll try to begin where I left off. We were on the saddle between Atatürk and Cakmak peaks. At times we disagreed on some points and I began to wonder if we were under the influence of the principalities and powers the Bible talks about. Discussion took place on how to reach the northeast side. We had to descend at least 2,000 feet to be near the edge of the ice where I'm sure the Ark must rest. When Ridvan and I unroped and took a walk to look down the ice and snowfields that were to be negotiated, he was not in favor of descending the steep slope. I felt that I could have made it. To me, it appeared as though the trip down would have been easy enough, hopefully not too fast. Climbing back up again, however, might well have been another matter. There was an area of jagged rocks, or peaks that I wanted to get down to, but Ridvan the guide, said "No." At the time, I was beginning to become confused. The northeast area was an area to which I felt we had to go. It was a must, but now, all of a sudden, we couldn't get there. John and I agreed that the area needed to be searched. Jim wanted us to search the area. But Jim knew we could not get down and back up before dark and our camp was on the other side of the mountain. A plan was devised to approach the area from the bottom. We would need to descend the mountain, circle it, and climb up from that side. A move such as this might have caused legal problems in that the northeast side of the mountain was closed to all climbers. Although Jim had been given complete search privileges of the mountain we might need additional police approval from Doğubeyazit, the town and area whose jurisdiction we were apparently under. Also, Ridvan mentioned that it would take more time than we had, to negotiate a hike to that side, search and return. There was confusion and some disagreement. In retrospect, we probably should have moved the camp and stayed another day. However, we descended. The trip down was exhilarating. We spent four hours and forty minutes on the descent to base camp. The ascent had taken two days. We dropped our packs and ourselves for a few minutes rest. Then, in preparation for the rest of our day's
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journey, we changed boots and clothes while drinking several bottles of pop that a few enterprising young kids had packed and offered to us for a price. We then descended from base camp to arrive in Eli village at 10:10 that night. From there it was a pickup and van ride to Doğubeyazit. On Monday, August 27th, we received news that a British climber had been shot somewhere on the north side of the mountain while climbing alone. Reports of who shot him, or why, varied from the military, because of improper papers, to bandits, to villagers, for any number of reasons. Jim and John had planned to stay for only two more days because of schedules and other commitments. There were no teams left on the mountain, and those that had been there had not been allowed to search—just to climb on the south and west sides. If I alone had stayed to continue the search, my guide would probably have been replaced, as he had a schedule, too. Chances are the replacement would not be able to speak English. Even had I been able to get a permit to continue the search alone, it probably would have been a sport permit and not one for research. I decided to leave with Jim and John. At that time, I did not have definite plans to return to Ararat. Because of time constraints and decisions made, 1984 was a disappointing year. But that was only the beginning of the Ararat experience. Second Expedition—1985 My second trip began August 12, 1985. I said an emotional good-bye to my wife and daughter and was on my way to Ararat once again. We had heard that Bill Crouse and his Probe Ministries group were chased off the mountain by an armed band of Kurdish terrorists. All of the group's equipment was burned or stolen. John McIntosh, one of the Crouse group, was reportedly waiting for us in Doğubeyazit, near the base of Ararat. Whether he wanted to join us, or just to brief us on the activities at this point, I did not know. On this trip we had a big group of climbers. There were twenty-four climbers in all. Six were on a research permit which would supposedly allow us access to all areas of the mountain in our search for the ark. Eighteen climbers signed on with a sport permit which would only allow them to climb the mountain on a guided tourist climb, using only one path to climb the south side of the mountain to the summit and back down again. There was a report that there was a lot of melt-back this year. That would possibly make the Ark easier to find. That is assuming, of course, that it was there for someone to find. It is our belief that it is. Now all we had to do was wait for the mountain to open. The military had shut down legal access to it, while they attempted to solve the terrorist problem.
Richard Bright, Ph.D.
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Mount Ararat rises above the streets of Doğubeyazit 1985 Courtesy of Bill Crouse
Upon our arrival in Turkey, Jim had scheduled meetings with the local police about additional permission needed for our climb. He was also to meet with the Agri Army Corps Commander, but it turned out the commander was out of town. Permission from the Army was necessary because of the current military operation. Even though we had received our government-issued permits, Jim and Ridvan spent four hours with the local authorities while the rest of us enjoyed sightseeing, bread by the homemade loaf, meysu juice, and watermelon (karpoos). Finally, we were again underway to Doğubeyazit. The road was dusty, and the ride was rough. Passing traffic as we hang on the side of the pavement or on the shoulder, which normally drops off rather quickly into a ditch or a canyon. While we were going as fast as possible, the driver continuously honked the horn. Little villages situated near the roadway occupy what seems to be a semi-fertile, tawny-colored landscape with scattered flocks of sheep, while the low-lying "mountains of Ararat" flank us on both sides. We view piles of hay and teams of horses and wagons, an occasional tractor, and the local farmer cutting his crop by hand sickle. Finally, late in the afternoon, Mount Ararat was in sight. Mount Ararat towers above the landscape in all its glory, the undisputed ruling citadel, magnificent and beautiful in the western sun and clear skies. It is purple in the distance, crowned with the splendor of its white ice cap. The sight of the mountain, strong and majestic, sends chills across my spine. This is an incredible mountain; I had almost forgotten the power in its awesome appearance. We met John McIntosh who reported that the situation was not exactly positive. Jim needed to see the Army Corps Commander in Doğubeyazit. The situation on the mountain sounded serious, and it was now doubtful the military would solve it anytime soon. Still, I was not overly concerned. We have more than two weeks to accomplish our task. The terrorists seemed to be in control of the mountain. Apparently, they were Kurdish Communists seeking to have their own republic, and had chosen Mount Ararat as their own territory. To a certain extent, I can understand the Kurdish situation. Terrorist activities, however, are not welcome in the Republic of Turkey. Margaret Kahn, in The Children of Jinn, explains it in the following way. Kurdistan is a real place with its boundaries in the mountains of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the USSR. It has its own cities and language, even a national anthem. The Kurdish population
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outnumbers the combined populations of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but Kurdistan has a way of appearing and disappearing. The last few decades of modernization have seen the Kurdish people fighting for their lives, and control of their land. The Kurdish people are fighting for recognition in a self-determined struggle, and the Communists are there to help. Fortunately, only a very few have accepted their help, and are intent on establishing their new government on Mount Ararat. I'm sure these people have grounds for a legitimate complaint, and maybe should even raise a fuss, but this, no doubt, is the wrong way to go about it, and I was not too excited about their timing. The Turkish military was apparently having a difficult time finding the terrorists. I guess that's understandable, as the mountain is big, and places to hide are many. Our group was ready to climb. However, the Turkish government wouldn't approve our climb because they wouldn't take the responsibility for our safety. The publicity would not be in the best interest of the Turkish government if they could not control their own territory. Neither would it be good publicity if we were to come into harm's way. If this terrorist group intercepted our large group, led by Jim Irwin, and we were to be detained, all the news services would soon be aware of the situation. The cause of these Kurdish terrorists would receive worldwide publicity, especially with ABC coming to town and CBS already here. A meeting was arranged between Jim and General Varol, the Army Corps commander. I was at the meeting. The general initially promised his support. However, subsequent "required" meetings with local police and local Jendarma officials cast a shadow of doubt on the seriousness of that support. There were several phone calls back and forth about the size of our group and our exact intentions. We intended to climb the north side of Ararat with military protection. Since the Ark is reported to be near the edge of the ice on the northeast side, several people on the sports team would actually be involved in the search—those that would make it to high camp. We felt that since there were fifty or more commandos and only eight terrorists who had actually been seen at any one time that the protection should have been adequate. While waiting between phone calls, we listened to stories about the terrorists lives including one of them who had killed seven people. When the decision was finally made, the mountain was to be off limits until August 22. (We were there on the 16th.) We were told there was a military operation on the mountain, which was the reason for the closing. Most of the team was scheduled to return to the United States in about eight days. Consequently, they would not be able to climb. It was a time of anger, disappointment, and disgust at the situation and the powers that be in the offices of the Turkish authorities. Perhaps we should have been happy that the authorities wanted to keep us out of harm's way, but that was not the case. We wanted to climb no matter what the Kurdish separatist threat was claimed to be. Finally, on August 23rd, with only the six members of the original research team remaining and available to climb, we received permission to climb—with an armed escort. The team members were Jim Irwin, John McIntosh, Elfred Lee, Dr. Ole Honningdalsnes, Bob Stuplich and me. A guide was also with us. His name is Ahmet Turan. There were also a number of Turkish soldiers. By Saturday, August 24, we were at Eli village at Ararat's base. There were no children begging for candy this year and the presence of the heavily armed Jendarma reminded us that photographs were forbidden. A French and an Austrian team joined us. A 20/20 news team that was in Turkey to monitor our progress wanted to get us on film, and was trying to negotiate with the military to at least take our pictures as we were walking out of camp. None were allowed. Jim observed this exchange, but regardless of what he may have thought about it, he wisely thanked a military officer for providing our security, and we began our climb. We were allowed to climb the south side of Ararat—not the north side as we had desired, but at least it was on the mountain. We intended to work on the rest of it later. Finally, at 5:36 P.M. (long after our scheduled departure time of 9:00 A.M.), our group, totaling in the neighborhood of sixty-one people, plus ten horses was at last under way.
Richard Bright, Ph.D.
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Explorers Roped Together Hiking up from Mihtepe 1983 Courtesy of John McIntosh
Before continuing, let me assure the reader, and especially the Turkish people, that the climbing experience depicted in this chapter, is written from my personal and timely point of view only. It was written during, and shortly after, the heartfelt emotions of a difficult and troublesome time. My impressions of the events were without a doubt influenced by the struggles of the delays and the climb; nonetheless, they were my impressions, and I give them to you. There is no intent whatsoever to insinuate that the government or the military of Turkey was less than cooperative with our efforts. If that had been the case, we would not even have been allowed into the country, let alone be protected as we were. We owe them a debt of thanks for their efforts. At our first camp we were allowed no fires and no flashlights but I wondered why. The terrorist attacks had all been in the area of 4,000 feet higher than we were. I wondered if the Jendarma would be with us the next night when we really might need them. We found that our "escort" would take us only to approximately 3,200 meters, or about 10,500 feet. Here, they would wait for food to be brought to them, and we were to go no further. After a series of delays, it turned out that the military unit along to protect us was not prepared to go on. This was in part because they hadn't brought along any cold weather gear. Eventually the military stayed behind at 3,200 meters, but allowed us to climb further, taking the guides and horsemen whom came with us. We arrived at 4,200 meters and found the remains of many burned tents, packs, and other camping and climbing gear strewn all over the place. Piles of dried camping food littered the site of one of the burned tents. Terrorists had hit this camp just two weeks prior to our being here. The Probe Ministries expedition group was the fortunate folks to survive it, and our own John McIntosh was there. If the terrorists would return now, they would meet no resistance. Our military "protection" was camped at least one thousand meters (over three hours) below us. We had shown Ahmet Turan, our guide, photographs of the northeast side, and the area in which we intended to search. Turan seemed to understand completely, and agreed. To this point at least, everything seemed to be okay, and all the necessary authorities had approved us for our area of search. The only restriction was that we couldn't take pictures. Turan had been talking about leaving all cameras behind when we left on the next leg of the climb. If this happened, we still had Elfred Lee, our artist and illustrator, and he had brought his pencil and paper. We moved on early the next morning. Jim, Ole, Bob, and I started out first, along with Ahmet. John and Elfred were to follow behind us after packing the campsite and would later join us on the ice. Ahmet was in contact with the Turkish
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military by walkie-talkie, and about three hours into our climb, he received instructions that would cost us nearly half a day. We were not to be separated and were to wait for John and Elfred. We realized that we were wasting time while sitting still. Knowing that this may cost us a half-day because of the new instructions, Jim made a decision that was of great sacrifice to himself, John and Elfred, but was designed to be a great time saver for the purpose of the expedition. He decided to go down and meet John and Elfred, and tell them they had to go down with him to the soldiers' camp, thereby freeing Bob, Ole and me, with Ahmet, to continue our climb. This was the only way Ahmet would agree to climb and save the time we so desperately needed for our search. We had prayer, then Jim began his descent. Bob, Ole, I, and our guide (who, as far as I was concerned, was playing his walkie-talkie entirely too much)—we were now on our way up. My notes and memories of the next part of the climb are sketchy at best. The incline was very steep, and with 60pound packs on our backs, it seems our energy level was somewhat taxed. We were climbing on rocks that roll with every other step. Sometimes one step up takes a climber two or three steps back. There were the occasional small rockslides to contend with, and along with the increase in altitude, comes the decrease in oxygen; the heavy physical workload proved to be a real challenge. Ole is quite the climber, but he was hard to keep awake. He scrambled fast for a few yards, and then sat down to rest, then began to fall asleep because of the altitude. We would holler at him, he would get up, scramble a little further, sit down, and go to sleep. This happened over and over again; I've never seen anyone climb like he does. Bob is steady and strong, and led the three of us. Ahmet had a light pack and climbed, or scrambled, way ahead of us. He would then sit and wait for us, who were more heavily laden, to catch him. Ahmet was in pretty fair shape, and had climbed this mountain many times over the last 20 years. For me, it was a difficult climb. My notes read like this: "Tough climb for me. We're near 16,000 feet now, on the ice—next, the ice cliffs—cold wind—slow going—slight mountain sickness—must overcome—3:22 P.M." We finally got on the ice, and with my crampons on, the climb became a little easier for me, even though the slope was quite steep, but Bob and Ole were concerned about my chest congestion, which was beginning to get worse. From my notes: "I've got a headache—I'm not feeling very well. We're above 16,000 feet, just below the summit." (The goal here was not to get to the summit, but rather to go around it and down to the northeast side, to set up camp before dark) also, "We won't be able to do much searching today—a little slower than planned—I am the reason for that." As Bob, Ole and I decided on our strategy for accomplishing this, Ahmet got on his walkie-talkie again. He came back with this short and shattering statement: "Northeast is forbidden!" The military establishment at Doğubeyazit had decided the northeast side of the mountain, the area of our search, our reason to be there, was now off limits and forbidden. At first, I didn't think there was a problem, as Bob and Ole were the first to understand what Ahmet was saying. Ahmet, at our most earnest request tried again and again on that radio of his to convince those on the other end to come up with another decision, but it was like talking to the wind; the answer was always the same. Bob got on the walkie-talkie and tried to reason with the military on the other end, asking that we just be allowed to camp on the other side of the summit, and get out of the wind. Ahmet tried again, then I took a shot at it. I mentioned that Jim Irwin had permission from the higher echelons of command at Ankara, Erzurum, and even Doğubeyazit. Still, the answer came back "forbidden." We had not come all the way to Turkey, waited at the base of the mountain, and delayed our climb for nearly two weeks, all at a great expense financially and emotionally, then risked our lives at the possibility of a terrorist attack, and endured the hardships of the climb, just to get a few hundred yards away from the northeast, our prime goal, to have some person in a stuffy office tell us our goal was "forbidden!" Bob decided we should go to the summit and take a look. I wasn't at all interested in going to the summit. I could not have cared less, but it would give us time to think, which was what Bob had in mind. We dropped our packs and climbed the 500 feet or so to the top of the big mountain, and signed the book, which was encased in ice. We also wrote a word or two about being disappointed that we could not continue our quest. From the top, we could see where Ridvan and I had stood the previous year, on the other side of second peak. We were five minutes from that spot, and maybe twenty to thirty minutes from the jagged peaks I had seen the previous year. We could see the place we wanted so desperately to set up our camp and begin our search operations. The word for the day now seemed to be "forbidden." Bob said he had agreed with God in prayer that if the Turkish government wouldn't allow us to go to a certain area, then he wasn't going to go. Bob has a cool head. I don't know exactly what Ole said. I just remember he was not exactly happy with what was going on. We stood on the 17,000-foot summit of Mount Ararat, had a lengthy discussion with the people on the other end of that walkie-talkie, then, we did as we were told. Had we not done so, the situation might have gotten worse. Still, I am not convinced all the decisions we made were the right ones though making wrong decisions could impact research years down the road.
Richard Bright, Ph.D.
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Dick Bright packing for his climb up Ararat Courtesy of Bob Stupliich We descended to a protected area in the rocks around the 15,300-foot level, set up camp, and slept on it. We hoped that by tomorrow the problem would just go away, and we could continue on. This move took us further away from our goal, back in the direction from which we had just come. As I look back on it, this did us little good psychologically. We were concentrating then on just finding a place to camp in the protection of the rocks, but it was a retreat. It took us about an hour or more to descend to the rocks where we had decided to set up camp. The wind was very strong. I think out of the southwest, and we were on the south side of the mountain. Setting up a two-man tent became a four-man job. We were cold. My head ached like the devil, and I was congested to the point of concern. Bob and Ole were concerned; I wasn't yet fully aware of the potential problem. We didn't eat anything. No one was hungry. Bob said he was cold; he had chills, and was going to bed. This seemed like a smart idea. Ole bundled up in every piece of warm clothing he had, then crawled into his sleeping bag. We all settled down for a long, long night. Bob suffered alternate bouts of chills and sweating, and probably fever, with no sleep at all throughout the night. I began to cough, a cough that seemed to start from somewhere close to my toes. I had been diagnosed as having a touch of pulmonary edema by Bob, the experienced mountaineer, and as also having a virus, by Ole, the doctor. Ole had given me pills to combat pneumonia. I understand pulmonary edema has to do with a leakage of blood plasma into the lungs, and its early symptoms are similar to those of pneumonia. All I knew was that I had an aggravating cough that I hadn't had a few hours earlier, and also one heck of a headache. It seemed as though an invisible someone was continuously hitting me on the head with a club. I was aware that this miserable headache, on which painkillers seemed to have little effect, was a definite sign of mountain sickness. Ole gave me a sleeping pill that put me out for about 3 hours, and that helped. It helped Ole too, as we were in the same tent. Bob and I had a long night, and Ole slept. I have to admit that I wasn't really concerned about Ahmet. The wind howled and the temperature dropped. I couldn't seem to get warm. The morning found us not only thankful the night had ended, but also somewhat depressed. The weather on this morning however, was very good. Other than that, my body hurt from a cough that seemed to mean business, and my head still felt as though someone were beating on me. My lips were chapped and bleeding, and the Blistex was frozen. At 8:00 A.M. Ahmet came back with his radio report that said that it was still forbidden for us to go to the northeast side. I don't know if we really cared. By this time we just wanted to get off that mountain. But we would certainly have gone back up and over to the northeast, had permission been granted. I'm sure Bob and Ole still had the reserve to get there, and I would have stumbled along too, but the word was "forbidden" and we, for some reason, were playing by the
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rules. We descended the mountain and were probably in the area of 12,000 feet when we were suddenly given permission to return to the summit and continue our search. We didn't have the strength. We looked at each other and then at Ahmet. I could do nothing but shake my head in utter disappointment. We knew there was no way we could go back up there, we just didn't have the strength. I felt as though we had been taken. It was as though we were the victims of a cruel joke, and the prankster had no intention of allowing us access to our area of interest. But he was able to save face by now making it legal for us to do so. Our inability to accomplish this was, from this point on, no longer prevented by limitations put on us by the Turkish military. They said we could go, but we were too weak, too sick, and out of time. There must be another explanation for this behavior of the authorities. The rest of the day passed with very few words. Blisters, sore toes, dehydration and fatigue accompanied us the rest of the way down the mountain. We were later told that terrorists were again on the mountain and that had been the reason for withholding permission for us to go further. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. Disappointed, we went home. Elfred Lee later stated that he was on a flight with the American Ambassador to Turkey Robert Strausz-Hupé. When Lee asked the Ambassador about the team being asked to go back down the mountain he stated, "The Soviets were engaged in military maneuvers near the border and Turkey has an agreement to be outside a 20 kilometer zone from the border when that occurs whereas we were 14 kilometers away. Also, there was a serious terrorist threat and because of his high profile, they were looking for Jim Irwin and coming up the other side of the mountain." Third Expedition—1986 In 1986, I was a member of two expedition teams. The first one we called the "Summit Expedition Team." There were three of us on this climb. The first was Ron Lane, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Army Rangers. Ron lived in New York and was employed as a civil engineer. There was Ahmet Arslan, guide and translator, who holds a Ph.D. in International Comparative Folklore. Ahmet lived in Washington, D.C., where he was a voice on "Voice of America" to
B.J. Corbin Handing Candy to Eli Villagers with Deborah Redmer Looking On 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
Richard Bright, Ph.D.
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Azerbaijan. I was third. We were also expecting Dr. Ole Honningdalsnes, but he had not arrived by the time we were scheduled to leave. On August 9 we began our long ascent on Ararat. Everything seemed to have gone quite smoothly, except that I was concerned about Ole. He was at least a day or two behind us, and we didn't have time to wait. We didn't want the mountain to close before we were able to climb. We left a letter of explanation at the hotel for Ole, and a guide will meet him right away as soon as he arrives, to assist him with the paperwork and the climb to join us. Fortunately, we didn't have the restrictions placed on us by the military that we had last year. But we were told not to take pictures of the local inhabitants. The reason for this seems to stem from a picture of the Kurdish villagers, which is said to have been published in a French magazine depicting how the people of Turkey live. It was embarrassing, and not necessarily an all-encompassing, accurate portrayal. Our research permit allowed us the opportunity to check our state of health as we climb. Each hour or so, we recorded our pulse, altitude, time of day, and state of health. Medical doctor, Ole Honningdalsnes was to be in charge of this, but since he wasn't there, we improvised. Ron is having trouble catching his breath. He had had heart trouble in the past, and this was beginning to become a concern for the three of us. By Ron's own choice, he elected to stop at the 3200-meter camp (10,500 feet). He reasoned that Ahmet and I could climb faster without him, and the plan was to move as quickly as possible. A group of Kurdish horsemen stayed with him. I know he was disappointed, but it was better for him to rest than to be in a bad way higher up the mountain. I know. I remember the bad shape I was in just a year ago. Perhaps Ron's condition would improve after some rest. He seemed to require a lot of water, and may be dehydrated. The Summit Expedition now consisted of just Ahmet Arslan and me. A Moslem and a Christian climbing and living together for a week, facing together the moods of Mount Ararat, in search of Noah’s Ark. Ahmet and I, along with one Kurdish horseman and two rock-scrambling donkeys carrying our packs, reach the 4200-meter camp (approximately 13,800 feet). We had made excellent progress, and the Kurdish horseman stuck right with us. I'll never understand how those mountain Kurds can climb as they do and still smoke so much. I seldom see a Kurdish guide without a cigarette in his mouth. It is good that Ahmet and I hadn't stopped at the 3200-meter camp, as it could have affected our morale. We had
Photo From East Summit Overlooking Upper Ahora Gorge 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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climbed 1000 meters higher on this first day than I had in either of the two previous years. This had been a good day for Ahmet and me, though not quite as profitable for Ron. Ahmet said we must stay here and acclimate for a day and two nights. For me, the impatient one, this would be a long rest. While we spent a day resting at the 4200-meter camp, Ron had climbed up to join us. In his weakened, exhausted condition he had climbed and struggled alone for eight hours to reach us. He climbed for two reasons: first, to satisfy himself that he had met the mountain with his best effort; second, to let Ahmet and me know we didn't have to return at a previously decided date of August 16. Since he was the only one with a timetable requiring an early departure from Turkey, he would make his own arrangements, first to get down the mountain with the aid of another guide, then on his own go to the nearest airport, which is in Erzurum. I was proud of him. On August 11, Ron saw Ahmet and me off, before beginning his own descent. Ahmet and I reached the summit and took the usual tourist pictures. Then we headed toward the place, which was to be our high camp near Cakmak Peak. It is the area just below this peak, the area of jagged peaks that I thought so intensely interesting just two years ago. We arrived at Cakmak with only one minor slip. Ahmet fell to his knees in a crevasse, but got out easily. By 4:20 P.M. our camp was set and we were resting. I was now utterly exhausted. The night was one of very little sleep, ferocious winds, and temperatures cold enough to freeze solid the water bottles we had inside our tent. The next day, loaded with climbing gear and cameras, we roped up and proceeded toward the head of the Ahora Gorge, the top of the pie-shaped area, and the small jagged peaks we wanted so much to search. I walked down the steep ice slope to the jagged peaks (with Ahmet belaying me), the rocks of which top a vertical drop into the gorge. At the edge of the rocks I looked straight down about two miles, and into some of the adjacent canyons. Then, moving the anchor to several other vantage points, we searched with binoculars. For an hour and a half we searched. Our cameras photographed everything in sight—east, west, and down, trying to catch hidden areas on film. It is my belief that any areas we might have missed were too small to have hidden a ship. We noticed one object on the east side of the gorge, and quite a bit lower down than our position. There appeared to be something resting on a ledge. I was more than willing to attempt a closer look at this object, but Ahmet succeeded in talking sense to me. He said the soldiers would see us, and if we were caught, we would, at the very least, be arrested. After an attempt to warn us three times, they could shoot at us. I wasn't concerned about that, but when he said that the shepherds would surely see us, and that they would shoot at us just for sport, trying to hit our legs. I decided that I probably should think it over just a little while longer. (In retrospect, I now doubt that would have happened. Ahmet simply didn't want to go down there). A solo descent and climb back out wouldn't have been wise on that steep ice. It takes two people and a rope. Ahmet wasn't about to go. The object on the ledge might be something to get a closer look at as soon as government restrictions are lifted, and we're legally cleared to search that area. I was looking in the direction of what could well be a very special area of the mountain—the east side of the Ahora Gorge on the northeast side of Ararat, which is closed to climbers, and where the Ark may well be permanently parked. What sense did it make for me to be there if I couldn't go down there and take a closer look? Ahmet insisted that we not go down. It was illegal. So again, for some reason, I obeyed the rules. If God had brought me here, then I believe I was here for a purpose. If this is only my idea, then I guess I'm just here. I did feel close to God, closer than in any recent time. I thought then that this must be his will. I prayed that this trip to the top of this mountain of rock and ice was not just my idea, but that He had a part in it. Did He? I don't know. I prayed very simply: "God, You are all wise. If You'll show me Your big wooden boat, then maybe through this book, it will have an impact on a few lives, even mine. But, if this is not to be, if this wasn't your idea, then you know that I'm just here, and I guess, on my own. I have tried to do what I thought I was meant to do, and I've done my best. Whether it is your idea or mine, thank you for bringing me here." On the next day, August 13, we left the first plateau and descended to the Parrot Plateau for our look into the west side. We traversed the ice and crevasses in sort of a zigzag pattern, trying not to slip. We could hear the water running under the ice, and knew that if we slipped and fell, we could start some of this loose stuff moving, and possibly start an avalanche. We were roped together for safety, and thanks to the crampons we had strapped to the bottoms of our boots we did not slip. Upon reaching the plateau and an area of rocks on the west side, we removed our crampons and walked the rocks, managing to get a good look across the gorge to the east, and up across the Abich Glaciers to the pie-shaped area at the head of the gorge. My notes state the following. We crossed above the heart-shaped glacier, moving in a westerly direction. We were between the Cehennem Dere and the heart-shaped glacier, when I asked Ahmet to stop. I wanted to drop down to the very edge and look straight down in an attempt to see what was below. This area of the mountain holds a high interest, not only to me, but also to most of us who search for the whereabouts of the large vessel. Ahmet says this is a dangerous area. I remind him that's the reason we have the rope. We found a "bomb-proof" anchor in two boulders leaning against each other. Three long pieces of webbing tied together and threaded through the space below, where the boulders come together, and wrapped around one of them, eliminate the possibility of the webbing skipping over the top. Two carabiners, a third just for a little something extra, a figure eight connected to my harness with the rope in between, and I was on my way to the edge of the ledge. Ahmet fed me the rope as before, and asked if I were planning to rappel down. I said I'd take a look first. Ahmet
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Chris Roningen Watching Guy Leduc Toss a Snowball Past B.J. Corbin at Mihtepe 1984 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin told me to be careful. We joked. "Ahmet," I said, "You've got my life in your hands. It'll be a piece of cake." "Yeah," he said, "New York cheesy style." I walked about 50 feet down to the front edge of the heart-shaped glacier to what appeared to be a conglomerate rock outcropping that stuck out about 25 feet beyond the ledge. A conglomerate is usually made up of many small rocks cemented together, normally by some type of water action. Ahmet says these rock outcroppings are known as "shakyteeth" that is, they have a tendency to fall out. I told Ahmet to put some more tension on our three-millimeter rope. (A 3mm. rope is a little small but it will hold a thousand pounds, and is lighter to carry than a larger rope.) That he did, to the point I had to pull just a little slack. I walked out on the conglomerate outcropping, and looking straight down and beyond the ledge of the plateau, I could see another ledge. I looked left and right, and saw only rock. I moved out toward the end of the formation, and because the wind was strong, I lowered myself to crawl on my hands and knees. I was thinking that Ahmet is very capable with the rope, and I'm glad he's there, but just in case my educated Moslem friend needs a little help, I said quietly, over and over, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." It was a prayer. I looked below, left and right, anticipating to see what I was after, but the canyons in my view held only what appeared to be rocks, and the glaciers to my right were heavy with snow and ice. I saw shapes that were interesting, but as far as I could tell, all I saw was rocks and ice. Except for descending the east ridge, or dropping down from the Parrot Plateau and into the canyons below, we had done all we could do from here. To drop into the canyons would be against Ahmet's promise to the military, and put us closer to the Kurdish mountain people who, no doubt, would not revel in our being there. We would have to get the necessary permission from the Turkish authorities to legally enter the area. It took us two days to descend from the domain of ice and bitter winds to the blistering heat of the plain, on which is built the village of Doğubeyazit. Ahmet made the statement that in his 21 years of climbing this one was the toughest. We had covered a lot of area in the time we had spent on the ice. We had given a determined and concentrated effort to the search. I was pleased we had worked together as well as we did. We made a good team. My only problem was in agreeing to obey the rules. Fourth Expedition—1986
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At 3:30 P.M. on the 20th of August, a Lufthansa flight from the United States and Germany arrived in Ankara. On the plane were Jim Irwin, Mary Irwin, Bob Stuplich, Bill Dodder and Bob Cornuke, who had arrived to start the second phase of our 1986 expedition to Ararat. I met them at the airport. This phase of our expedition was to attempt to fly around Ararat, locate the ark, then climb the north side of the mountain to locate the structure. Upon arriving at the Hotel Apaydin in downtown Ankara, we were greeted by Eryl Cummings, who had come to Turkey for the purpose of negotiating to arrange the flight around Ararat. With Eryl were two gentlemen, Mr. Eran Cakir from the office of the Department of Interior and Mr. Mahittium Baskam from Shell Oil Company. The Department of Interior is above all the police, Jendarma, all the offices of tourism, and of foreign relations in Turkey. Eryl, Jim, and Mary had been informed, in confidence, that permission had been given for us to climb the north side, but we must wait until August 25. There was to be a change in command at Kars, the controlling Jendarma facility for the north side of Ararat, and our climb would be discussed with them at that time. Meanwhile, there was a moratorium on the mountain for all climbers. We discussed using a Cessna 206 or a Cessna 421 from the Em-Air Flying Service in Ankara to fly around the mountain to see and photograph as much of the mountain as we could in the meantime. This could be done either in conjunction with our climb, or before it. The flying service said we could have the C-206 on the 27th of August for three days, at the minimum pay rate for three hours flight time per day. In addition, we would pay for the flight from Ankara to Mount Ararat and back, plus for a truck required to carry barrels of fuel into the area. It's 7:30 A.M., August 21. Jim and Mary asked for our company (all of us) in their room for a conference. Direction is given to each of us for the day's activities, with each of us having something to do. Items of high priority concern the possibility of flying the C-206. We have decided to use the C-206 mainly because of cost savings over the C-421, and because of its better visibility due to its high wing, versus the low wing of the C-421. In a nutshell, here's the plan. The plane, a Cessna 206, is loaded with two 50-gallon drums and one 25-gallon drum of fuel, with the seats folded and carried as baggage. The pilot alone will take it to Erzurum early on the morning of
Kurdish children doing back breaking work Courtesy of Bob Stuplich
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Saturday the 23rd. Bob Stuplich, Eryl Cummings, Ahmet Arslan and I will drive a rented van all night to arrive in Erzurum sometime around 8:00 A.M. We will then refuel the aircraft from the barrels of fuel which were its cargo on the flight over. We would fly from Erzurum to Ararat, an hour and a half away, spend up to three hours flying around the mountain, and return to Erzurum, arriving with at least one hour's fuel remaining. That would total six hours of flying in an aircraft that holds seven hours of fuel. Hopefully, in that time with the weather cooperating, we would be able to find and photograph the remains of Noah’s Ark. The plane would then return to Ankara. Price? $1,575 minimum. Permission for this project was denied by the Turkish Civil Aviation Authority. There were many problems with obtaining the required permission over the next few days. There were problems too with scheduling aircraft availability. It would take pages to list it all. Six days later, on August 27, Eryl and I met Jim, Mary, and Ahmet, Willem Van Schaayh, a Dutch cameraman, and Jan Van Den-Bosch, an official of the Dutch Christian Television Network at the Erzurum airport. The Cessna 206 that we had rented arrived and I got a special clearance from the airport authorities to go out on the ramp and meet the pilot, Engin Akaltan, and the mechanic, Alisan Soylu. Also, for my own peace of mind, it was a chance to look over the airplane over. Engin Akaltan from Ankara, was the well-qualified pilot. A former fighter pilot, he had 500 flight hours in Cessna aircraft, 300 of them as an employee of Em Air. He also seemed to understand English pretty well. I was pleased with that. I, unfortunately, do not understand the Turkish language and have to rely on English-speaking Turks in order to communicate. The mechanic, Alisan Soylu was the head of the maintenance department of Em Air, and had a few other jobs in the operation of the company. He had an excellent command of English and could act as interpreter when needed. Alisan told me that we had the necessary Civil Aviation Authority's approval for the flight over Ararat. That was wonderful news! After talking with Engin, I mentioned that I would ride as his copilot, and probably encourage him to fly where I wanted to go. Engin and Alisan agreed that would be just fine. I looked the airplane over, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. It appeared to be very well maintained. The following day, August 28, after what seemed like interminable delays for no discernible reason, we received the authorization to fly. We were told we could take off at 3:00 P.M. However, there was another problem. The airport closed at 5:30 P.M., and we wouldn't get back until after 7:00 P.M. According to the rules, we wouldn't be able to land. It was an interesting turn of events. We had permission to take off, but now we needed permission to land. The Army Chief of Staff and the Governor of Agri say it is okay to fly at 10:30 tomorrow morning, if we can't take off this afternoon. We contacted the Governor of Erzurum asking him to keep the airport open, and allow us to land a little late. We must fly today. They might change their minds tomorrow. We lifted off shortly past 3:00 P.M. that same afternoon. The Cessna 206 didn't perform as I had hoped it would. The opening in the aircraft's fuselage, and the spoiler, which is a six-inch wide strip of aluminum, 90 degrees to the air flow (to help direct the air out around the photographers) caused extra drag, and worsened the aircraft's performance. We circled the field once, climbing at 300 feet per minute. I suddenly realized that of all the flight time I've logged over the past 19 years, this might well be the flight of my life! By 4:30 P.M. we had reached 14,000 feet, and Ararat was in sight. At 5:00 P.M. we crossed over the west glacier of Ararat. As we flew over the ice rim of the Cehennem Dere, and by the Abich Glaciers, I looked up to the 16,000-foot peak, the top of the pie-shaped area atop the Ahora Gorge, and saw from a different perspective the area on which I had stood just 16 days earlier. We were doing what some people had wanted to do for many years. We were searching for Noah’s Ark by air, and we had two still and one motion picture camera to document everything we could hope to see, everything, including the remains of a big wooden ship. We crossed the gorge at 15,500 feet, and made a 180-degree turn just past the east ridge. There were clouds over and beyond this point. I wished the clouds had not been there, but we took what pictures we could and were thankful for them. We flew back to the west with the sun in our eyes. We made the next pass at 15,300 feet, directly over the edge of the ice, looking at the rocks below. Each pass we made was two or three hundred feet lower than the previous one. We were getting a closer look at the terrain, and testing the air for stability and effects of the winds. We wanted to make sure that if we caught a downdraft, or ran into severe turbulence, we would be somewhat prepared for it. With each pass, the cameras recorded what we could see. Up to this time, Engin and I had taken turns flying. Now, Engin was doing the flying, and also doing his job exactly as I was telling him to do. Turn here, turn there, slow down, fly at 80 knots, stay here, drop 200 feet, let's go try it again, do this, do that. Whatever I asked of him, Engin did, and did very well. We crossed the heart-shaped glacier and Cehennem Dere—it seemed just a few feet above the ice—in order to get a better look into the canyon areas below. The canyons weren't as open to view as I thought they would be, and the long shadows of the afternoon didn't help. We were looking for a dark object in the dark rocks covered in the shadows of the early evening. We had flown the mountain for 50 minutes, and no Ark had been seen. We were due at the airport by 6:30 P.M. We knew we'd be late. I didn't much care; I guess I was disappointed. We didn't see the ark, but, of course, that didn't mean we didn't have it on film. Only a slide-by-slide and frame-by-frame inspection of what was photographed would determine this. At what we guessed to be approximately 20 minutes before landing, Engin called the airfield and we found we had "special permission" to land. That was nice, but I don't know what else they could expect us to do. We sure couldn't stay up here all night waiting until the airport opened in the morning. Nor could we go anywhere else. We had one hour's fuel
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Turkish tanks south of Ararat guarding the border area Courtesy of Bob Stuplich in our tanks, and the next closest airport was over an hour away, and was military. I can't imagine the permission we'd have needed for that landing! We touched down in Erzurum at 7 minutes past 7:00 P.M. It was sundown. Friday, August 29, 1986, we were at the airport by 9:00 A.M. when it opened, prepared to make a second flight. Em Air had ferried enough fuel from Ankara to allow us two flights to the mountain. If we could get permission to buy fuel from the military, we were prepared to make two flights on this day, so everyone on our team would have an opportunity to fly, and photograph. The military said, "No!" Also, our permit had been put on hold. The governor of Erzurum said we did not have the proper authorization to fly on this day. He didn't have any written authorization from the Army Chief of Staff, so he would not allow us to take off. We were then told that we hadn't had the proper permission yesterday. We had only had verbal permission, and not written permission. Apparently, the chief of staff hadn't signed the proper piece of paper. It had only been reported that he had. Everyone was supposedly in trouble. Apparently, there was so much red tape to go through to authorize this flight, that someone got tangled up in it, and sent out the wrong information. We had not been given the permission we actually received. The following morning, August 30th, we were arrested by the police and our film confiscated. Our rooms were searched and the team of police entering Ahmet's room took not only the film he shot over the mountain, but also rolls of film he had shot of his family on vacation. This was understandable, as they had no idea which rolls of film Ahmet had shot over the mountain, and which he had not, but it made Ahmet angry. They didn't trust or believe him, and he's a Turk. The police even took Willem and Jan's unexposed film. It irritated Willem when they delayed in giving him a receipt for what they took. Bill Dodder is the only tourist among us who didn't bring a camera—hence, no film. Bob Stuplich and Bob Cornuke also lost their unexposed rolls of film. Jim and Mary's room was searched. There was no film there for anyone to take. Some tempers were beginning to flare a little by this time, but not Jim's. He was as cool as he always is. I had left five rolls of film on the plane in a little blue pouch. One of the Turkish policemen who had searched the plane tossed my blue pouch, with the film still inside, on the bed in Ahmet's room during the search. I casually walked over, picked it up, and put it in my back pocket. Then, I stepped out into the hall and stood there. In about five minute's
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time, there was a frantic search for my blue pouch by at least four men. Ahmet translated their concern, and asked if I had seen it. I said, "Yep!" They all gathered around me and asked, "Where is it?" I said, "Right here." I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to them. This thwarted an emergency of some sort, I'm sure. Then, I went to my room, and a police commissioner searched through my climbing gear.
Eastern Face and Ahora Gorge 1988 Courtesy of John McIntosh
We were later to get the film back—at least most of it. What we did receive back had been developed by a Turkish photo lab and viewed by the authorities. We were actually held under house arrest and were not permitted to leave the hotel. The events of the next couple of days fill a complete chapter in The Ark, A Reality?, but rather than drag the story on here, I will simply say that we were released from house arrest in due time and had a party to celebrate. It was a combined celebration—that of our release, and a birthday party for Jan Van Den-Bosch. As an apology members of the Turkish press presented two bouquets of flowers to Jan. The gesture was accepted and appreciated by him. The press represented a fine people in a country plagued by a very complicated bureaucracy. Ahmet summed it up when he said, "Our people are embarrassed by the police action, and I must say what has happened doesn't reflect the sense of the nation." I don't know if this was a kind exaggeration, or not, but I do know that the feeling at our table was one of "All's well." Bill Dodder led the group of us in a very special grace. We stood with clasped hands around the table and sang a victory song: "Stand up, stand up for Jesus, you soldiers of the cross." Ahmet, the friend on my left, sang right along with us. Fifth Expedition—1987 In 1987, I went to Turkey again. John McIntosh and I met in Doğubeyazit. Ole Honningdalsnes was there as well. It turned out to be a time of interviewing (through an interpreter) a few of the local citizens to determine what they knew, or were willing to tell us, about the location of the ark. The results are recorded in my book. The bottom line for that year, is that after eleven days in Turkey I left for the United States. Why? They denied permission for us to climb.
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Sixth Expedition—1988 On September 3rd, 1988, I once again arrived in Doğubeyazit, Turkey. In my pocket I had a copy of a letter from the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., that read: "I wish to inform you that you/your team have been granted permission to climb Mount Buyuk Agri (for expedition purposes) on the basis of the application forms you submitted to this Embassy." The mountain referred to is Ararat. The letter had been written to John McIntosh, and I was to be a member of an eight-man team he was to organize and lead. That particular expedition had been canceled, but not the permission to climb, which was valid through the month of September. My name was included in the letter as a team member, so to this point at least, I had permission to do what I intended to do. I had been through this before. The second paragraph of the embassy letter requested that the Directorate of Security of the Turkish Province be contacted in order to obtain an additional permit. The expedition McIntosh had intended to lead was canceled, in part because of a snow cover on Ararat that was heavier this year than in recent years, making discovery of the Ark less likely. After the expedition was canceled, John, who then expected to enjoy a complete summer in sunny California, was asked to join a very small group whose plan was to fly completely around the mountain in a helicopter. Having accepted this great opportunity, John was also in Doğubeyazit, Turkey. He was now on a permit to fly, and for him it had become another expedition entirely. John flew, and the snow was heavy; nothing was seen. In fact, the day after I had arrived in Doğubeyazit, it had snowed. No doubt that anything I was looking for on that mountain was now hidden under its new white blanket. The highlight of the year for me was in a jeep ride up the mountain to a shepherds' camp and back again. Early in the morning of September 5th, I left Doğubeyazit in the company of two new acquaintances in an old, beatup, four-wheel drive vehicle. To honor their request, I will not mention their names, nor will I elaborate on the details of the venture. I will only say that I was looking for an "open door." We stopped in the village of Igdir and purchased a fair volume of fruits and vegetables. I wasn't planning a feast; they were to help extend my hand in friendship. We then drove toward the city of Aralik. The Soviet Union, its border area, and the city of Yerevan were on our left, and the northern side of a white, snow-covered Mount Ararat was on our right. Weaving to dodge potholes, at least some of them, we passed cars, trucks, tractors, hay wagons, horses, oxen, cattle, sheep, pedestrians, bicycles, buggies of various types, wagons, and even pushcarts. It was a normal drive on an average highway in the far reaches of eastern Turkey. We left the main highway and proceeded on small dirt roads and trails toward the big white mountain that seemed to appear larger than I had ever seen it before. We drove through villages constructed of stone and mud and surrounded by haystacks and pyramids of animal dung, the fuel chips used to heat the home and cook the evening meal. There were green bushes and a tawny landscape in the sunlight of the morning. We drove alongside and in riverbeds, several of them, then across fields and rocks; four-wheeling will never be the same. I wondered how the skeletal frame of the human body could handle it. After passing a few shepherds' camps, sheep and sheepdogs, we arrived at a certain camp a short distance up the lower slopes of the mountain. I was welcomed after an uplifting introduction by my new friends. The hosts accepted our gifts, and I was invited to their tent. I took my shoes off before I entered, in accordance with the local custom, and then I was extended the comfort of a rather large pillow to sit on. We ate. Naney lewas and penir, a bread and cheese combination, along with chi (tea), stabilized my stomach after the thrilling ride I had just experienced. Then we had an interesting conversation. I was told there were many, many soldiers on the mountain. This was because of the activities of the Kurdish terrorists, or freedom fighters, depending on whose point of view you were speaking from. Since my new friends were not able to interpret for me to the extent that I was able to understand, I do not know the shepherds' point of view. I had no intention of taking a political stand of any sort on that situation, so I didn't question them about it. I don't have a well-informed point of view to express on the matter of terrorists or freedom fighters. However, my experience with the Kurdish people I have met has been one that I have thoroughly enjoyed. They have always treated me very well, and I admire their family unity and the contentment with their simple, slow-paced lifestyle. To visit a shepherd's camp is to step into the pages of the distant past. The "giving" hospitality and courtesy extended to me, a guest in their land, is far superior to much of what I've seen in the fast-paced, selfish, sophisticated, complicated, cosmopolitan world to which I am accustomed. I asked the shepherds if they knew where the Ark was. The response was very encouraging. It was, "Maybe." I asked, "Will you take me there?" The elder person of the group said, "We have never seen it; we hear that it is there. We have not allowed anyone to go there." I responded, "But, will you take me there?" He replied, "This is the Kurdish freedom fighters' war area against the Turkish soldiers. There is killing. Many people have died and it is very dangerous to go there." I wasn't sure if the elder had said terrorist or freedom fighter, but the one who was doing his best to interpret said "freedom fighter." That could have been his own opinion. He did appear to be one with a tendency toward rebellion. It is quite probable that if he hadn't had this tendency, then he wouldn't have taken me to meet these people. The fact that there is killing would certainly be a valid reason for the Turkish military to want to keep people out of the area. No doubt, they wouldn't appreciate it if I had gotten in the way. I might have had a problem with that myself. The shepherd told me, "There are so many soldiers on the mountain that a bird can't fly by without being seen. You cannot go any higher on the mountain without being seen or stopped."
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John McIntosh and Dick Bright 1988 Courtesy of John McIntosh
I answered, "You mentioned that you have never seen the ark. Do you know anyone who has?" "No," he said. I asked, "Then how do you know that it's there?" He said, "We hear that it is there." I asked, "Where is it?" "It is in a place where it is very steep and one must be very brave to climb to it. It is above steep walls where there is a flat area that changes every year, or it could be in another place that never changes, and looks like ice." It became apparent through conversation that they did not know where it was. They had mentioned two places. The description of both places made sense to me. I was not convinced that they knew where the Ark was, but I was convinced that they all believed that it was on the mountain. We had more discussion as to where they thought the Ark may rest, but having failed to bring a picture of the mountain with me, and the mountain being now shrouded in clouds, it was difficult to determine what they were saying to me. I drew what I hoped would be an illustration of the mountain, and had one of the shepherds mark the spot, but he marked two spots with big circles. That didn't help much, but it was a lot more than I had before I made the trip. (At a later time I would conclude that the two circles could have been drawn to represent two pieces of one broken ship.) I was reinforced with the shepherds' belief that the Ark was indeed on the mountain. It's an encouragement to continue on. The "open door" I had been looking for led me to those nice people, beyond that, the door was closed. I had an inner peace about it. In the late afternoon, as we made our way back down the slopes toward Aralik, seemingly from nowhere an army vehicle appeared and out of it piled about fifteen armed soldiers. They spread across the road and ditches and it looked as though an encounter was inevitable. My three Kurdish companions were in the front seats while I was in the back with two climbing packs. We pulled to a stop and as the soldiers approached us, I could sense a little tension coming from the front seat, but not so much as to draw attention. I was sure the focus was going to be on me, and what I was doing there. Then, of course, there was the matter of the climbing packs. We pulled to a stop and the soldiers approached us. As I am an American and not Kurdish, I was not supposed to be on the mountain. If I were found out, it would no doubt have caused me great difficulty. However, By God's grace, I was somewhat prepared for this potential meeting. To explain: Many of the Kurdish men wear a sport coat or a suit coat and pants that reasonably match, even when they are in a shepherd's camp. It's common attire, and not to be dressed this way would almost always tend to draw attention. As it happened, because of my desire to partially assimilate with the Kurds for communication purposes, I was dressed that
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way. I wore a wrinkled and dirty brown suit coat and a pair of pants that almost matched. I had a faded shirt on under the open jacket, my hair was a mess and my face was dusty and dirty from the day's activities. One of the Kurds said I looked like a "yellow-colored Turk." The Army looked us over, never said a word, and let us "shepherds" pass. Seventh Expedition—1989 In 1989, I was in Turkey again. I spent some time near Ararat but was not allowed to climb. I didn't return to Turkey again until 1993. There were other expeditions during the intervening years in which I did not participate. Chuck Aaron and Don Shockey each had a team. Jim Irwin was there again. It was to be his last trip. You see, there was one event that hurt me deeply. My friend, and mentor, Colonel James B. Irwin had a heart attack and left this world in August of 1991. I had just spoken to Jim a few days before it happened. I was leaving the country to fly a trip to Europe when I called him. Jim was peddling a stationary bike and talking to me on a speaker phone. Jim's heart stopped beating twenty years and one day after his return from the moon, August 1991. I miss Jim Irwin and think about him often. Eight Expedition—1993 Ararat and the search had been on my mind every year since '89. Still, I probably wouldn't have gone in '93, except that I had been encouraged by a few people to lead a team on another search. I must have been ready because a considerable amount of planning went into the expedition. I really jumped in with both feet this time. Our team originally consisted of twelve people and was called "The Search for Truth." Truth is, it began to unravel the day before we left the States. We had intended to use a subsurface radar unit to look into Ararat's ice and locate the Ark if the melt-back of the summer hadn't left it at least partially exposed. However, a freak accident during a systems test left the radar unit inoperable. Consequently, two members of the team who were to operate the radar, remained in the states. Ten of us crossed the ocean. One man from our group, Al Jenny, a manufacturer and businessman from Cocoa, Florida, went to Moscow. He intended to do research on the reported Russian sightings of years past. In Moscow, Al managed an interview with a science/religion magazine and asked its readers for information pertaining to reports of previous Ark sightings by Russians. He succeeded in obtaining two reports from relatives of soldiers who had taken part in the 1916 expedition to the ark, which had been ordered by the Czar Nicholas II. The reports also mentioned a Russian flyer that had seen the ship. This information gives credence to the muchdebated Roskovitsky story first published in the New Eden magazine about 1939. In this story, a Russian flyer saw the ship and reported it to his commanders. Upon verification of his sighting, word got back to the Czar, who then sent a 150man expedition team to climb Mount Ararat and locate the structure. It was found, photographed, measured, and documented, but the information was lost as the Bolsheviks took over in 1917. With this new information, it does indeed seem that there is some truth in the Roskovitsky story and that it was not totally fabricated as some modern researchers now contend. The rest of the team ran into considerable difficulty. The next few paragraphs are from the 1993 "Search for the Truth" report. We departed our homes to join up on August 16th in Newark, New Jersey, where eight of the twelve-team members met. Present were Gary and Barnett Duce, Ray Anderson, Al Jenny, Richard Perkins, Joe Presti, John McIntosh, and myself. Missing was Ross Wutrich who would join us in Antalya, Turkey one day later. Ron Lane was delayed because of a painful back problem. The eight of us arrived in Antalya, Turkey on August 17th. By the time we had arrived, the Kurdish workers Party, an illegal workers party, otherwise known as the PKK, had increased their offensive action dramatically. Thirteen foreign hostages (tourists) had been taken and, quite possibly, eleven of them were on Mount Ararat. People in eastern Turkey were being killed. These included local residents (mostly Kurdish) and Turkish military, along with Kurdish terrorists. The situation had become volatile and that turn of events was definitely not in our favor. The terrorists (PKK) have claimed to be fighting for a place of their own. For centuries Kurdistan has been a nation without borders, a people living mainly in the mountainous areas of Syria, Iran, Iraq, parts of the former Soviet Union and Turkey. They have their own language and songs, but no official country of Kurdistan. Naturally, there has been some suppression of this vast group of people by the governments of the lands they live in. The PKK have taken it upon themselves to violently change this. However, they realize that an independent State of Kurdistan, which would primarily be located in eastern Turkey and northern Iraq, and maybe other places as well, would not receive the financial benefit that Turkey offers them. They now want recognition and to be provided for. I am told by the Turks that as Turkey builds its economy and tries to increase the economy of eastern Turkey, the PKK ruin it. They blow things up and kill even their own kind. They raid Kurdish villages and kill people they claim to be fighting for. The Kurdish have their own story, somewhat different then the Turks, but I won't get deep into politics in this writing. Because of this ever-present problem, obtaining permission to climb again appeared doubtful, and the backing we had from certain senators and congressmen in the U.S. didn't necessarily have the positive impact we had hoped for. I spent a week in Ankara bouncing between offices of the Turkish ministry trying to obtain the necessary paperwork. This was actually my second trip to Turkey in '93. The first trip, a month earlier, was in part to ensure the required permissions would be granted. There was no guarantee then, but there never has been, even in years past. I had the assistance of a reputable Turkish citizen, Mehmet Noyan of Attalos Travel, Inc., of Antalya, who was to walk the papers
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through the proper channels for me. I also met with the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Richard Barkley, and Mr. Gursan of Em-Air who owned two helicopters. On this second trip, I was told the problems with the PKK in eastern Turkey were getting worse. A major concern was for our safety. On the one hand, that we wouldn't get killed, and on the other, that we wouldn't get captured by the PKK. An excerpt from the '93 report read: The bottom line here is that neither the Turkish government nor the U.S. Embassy will take any responsibility for our safety. The easiest thing for them to do is to deny our requests for research permits and assistance in obtaining them. Turkey will deny us in such a way as to politely encourage us to leave the country. I spoke with Mr. Akin of the Office of Foreign Affairs and I told him we would take that responsibility on ourselves and give it to God. Then they wouldn't have to worry about us. But that didn't do much good. He said they would not allow us to be responsible for ourselves. Beyond that, Mr. Akin was most kind and hospitable, but offered no encouragement at all. He said that the ministries, five of them, have our applications, and that they will each have to make a decision. I asked which ministries had the applications, and was told that he couldn't tell me. He did say that a rejection from any one of them would be a rejection from all. Even though he didn't tell me, I found out that, in addition to the Office of Foreign or External Affairs, there are also ministries of the Chief of Staff, Internal Affairs, the Erzurum Governor, Turkish Security (like our CIA), and Education and Culture. We were told that we must wait. I assumed that the process would take time—too much for our stay. The Turks might have had a dilemma, of sorts—they had letters of support from members of the Congress and Senate in the U.S. and they had the Embassy, whose main interest was to see us out of the country— What to do?— Wait! They would wait us out until we had to leave the country and go back to the U.S. In addition, authorization was needed from the Civil Aviation Authority before we could fly the helicopter. The helicopter itself was not up to the job I had contracted it for. The "job" was to lift what was now a nine-man team to the ice cap of Ararat, let us do our job, and then to get us out of there again. From the '93 report: If we do see something that needs investigation, will we be allowed to land on the mountain? Will we even have a helicopter that can do that job? The pilots are firm (so far), in that they can't land any higher than 4,000 meters, which is only 13,200 feet. On Ararat, that's PKK country. We must land on the ice at 4,400 meters minimum (14,500 feet) to be above the danger to the team members and the helicopter. Then, there's the problem of weight. I'm told they can take only three passengers at a time to 4,000 meters. Therefore, a shuttle would have to be set up, which would then subject some members of the team to the PKK possibility as they wait at a lower elevation in order to go in the chopper. None of this is satisfactory. The MI-8 helicopter under the Em-Air registration operated by Attalos Travel cannot do the job I contracted for. The answer had to come from the Ukraine in the form of the M-17 helicopter. It is bigger, and is powerful enough to do the job. Ersan, the number two man at Attalos Travel was supposed to be working on this while Mehmet and I were in Ankara. If we could not arrange the use of an MI-17, then I would have to find a way to convince the Turkish and Russian MI-8 pilots that the job could be done. I would get the aircraft performance charts myself and work with them to figure it out. If we were not allowed to land, I believed the MI-8 does have the power to reach 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) and fly around the mountain with all of us on board. The aircraft's service ceiling may indicate less than 5,000 meters, but if we were light enough, I believed it could be done. I believed therefore, that as a last resort, a visual fly-by would be possible with the helicopter we now had. But how would I handle it if we saw something that needed investigation? We would find a way! On Friday morning, August 27, I was in the office of the chief pilot, Mehmet Sakir. He and I and a Russian captain studied the manuals and talked about what his twin engine MI-8 helicopter could actually do. They seemed to be stuck on this 4,000-meter figure with only three people on board (plus the pilots) for a high landing capability. I did my best to convince them there is a safety factor built into the performance charts and the aircraft would perform better if they pushed it just a bit. We added in a wind factor and found that just 15 knots of wind would allow the MI-8 to make the landing at 4,400 meters with three people in addition to the pilots. They were reluctant, thinking they wouldn't have 15 knots of wind, but I assured them that we would. It's windy on mountaintops! We were making progress. However, there was no way I would accept a landing at 4,000 meters. That's PKK country, and below the ice at 4,000 meters would put the team and the chopper in jeopardy. If the MI-8 were used, we would land three of us, then the chopper would shuttle a second three-man team to follow the first three. The second team would be a four-man team if the wind were strong and the chopper performed well above their expectations. Two men would not get on the mountain, but they would be able to see Ararat, as we all would, on the initial fly-by. All nine of us would then be on board. I knew that the fly-by was possibly all we would get. The landing shuttle might not be approved, but we had the plan just in case. Because of the concern for the safety of our team regarding the PKK, the shuttle would have to originate in the security of the Kars Airport, just over 40 miles from Ararat. Time, as expected, along with the other problems we were experiencing, began to be a factor in the possibility of an expedition. It had been two weeks since we had left the States, and the return trip was scheduled in just a few days. Still, we refused to give up. Also, the more powerful MI-17 helicopter would not be available to us. It would have to be the MI-8. From the report, our expedition attempt:
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Fog looking down from Mihtepe 1990 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
Monday, August 30th: This morning, I wore a jacket and tie to the Attalos Travel office. I told everyone at breakfast that it was an "attitude change day." Because I was doing my best to hide a deep concern, the positive outlook was probably going to do me more good than anyone. I asked Ron and John to join me and we went to the Attalos Travel office where we met with both Ersan and Mehmet and discussed the flight. Sakir, the Turkish chief pilot, was there, and he fell back to the concern surrounding the landing. I was tired of dealing with this. Ron and I simply laid it on the line. We told him: "We are landing at 4,400 meters. Period! You figure out how you're going to do that, but that's what we will do!" I then told Mehmet that we expected a green light in the morning. We wanted the flight to take off at 11:00 A.M., fly to Erzurum, and on to Ararat with two fuel stops along the way. (We had already considered our route of flight and were ready to file it with the Civil Aviation Authority.) I said, "Tomorrow is the last opportunity for the entire group. We have to fly tomorrow. Plan on it!" That night, I prayed with the team and planned our flight. I shared with them that we would have the word by 11:00 A.M. and we would leave then. It was a faith thing. We still did not have permission. Tuesday, August 31: I'm in Mehmet Noyan's office by 9:00 A.M., and we're on the phone to Mr. Akin in Ankara. I asked him, "When can I expect the permission?" He replied, "One of the ministries has said 'No.'" He wouldn't tell me which ministry. The phone call ended. Okay, now that we've gotten that answer, how do we get around it? I need a miracle! Then, Mehmet got mad. He phoned the President of Tourism in Turkey, Mr. Basaram Ulusoy. I'm not sure what was said because I don't have a clue how to understand that language. All I know is that whenever a Turkish man operates a telephone in an agitated state of mind, he gets very loud!
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I so believed we were going to get this permission that I think I had convinced Mehmet as well. We actually had the pilots standing by at the airport preparing for an 11:30 departure with the flight plan already filed! Mehmet had a van driver standing by to take the team to the airport, and we still didn't have permission. Mehmet ended his phone call seemingly in utter frustration that nothing could be done. Then, the door opened! Mehmet Sakir, the chief pilot, informed us that the Governor of Erzurum had gone on holiday and a very good friend of his was the army commander of that region. Mehmet said the commander was now in charge of everything that happened there with regard to permissions out of Erzurum. We knew that we could legally fly as far as Erzurum without any special permission. It was east of there that was the problem. Sakir called his friend and spoke with him for just a short time and the word came back, "Yes!" It was a verbal approval and in a few short minutes, due to the marvelous invention of the fax machine, we had written approval. The restrictions were that we wouldn't be allowed to fly below 9,000 feet (so we wouldn't get shot down,) and we wouldn't be allowed to take photographs. It would be a visual flight around Ararat only. We were on the move—two weeks to the day from our arrival in Turkey. The Bible verse from Isaiah 40:31 spoke to me in a big way: They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength—they shall mount up with wings as eagles. Finally, at 5:08 P.M, we lifted off! I noticed something very special. The registration letters of the helicopter were TC-HER. I read it as "Touch Her." The Armenians know Mount Ararat as Masis, the "Mother of the World." We wanted very much to touch her. I expected we would. I got out of my seat and walked up to the cockpit and watched the crew perform their duties. The nomenclature of the flight instruments, switches, and circuit breakers were all in Russian, so, much of what I was looking at I couldn't quite figure out, but I did recognize the vertical speed indicator, the altimeter, and the air speed indicator. The engine instrument needles were all registering in the green arc (or blue, as it was,) and this told me that both engines were performing very well. We climbed at about 145 km/hr (90 mph) to an indicated 4,450 meters or approximately 14,685 feet above sea level.
Bottom – unknown, Don Shockey, Yuri (pilot), Carl Baugh, Robin Simmons, Walt Brown, George Adams Top – unknown, crew, unknown, crew, Ayfer (flight attendant), unknown, unknown, Ron Charles, B.J. Corbin very top Ed Cassidy and Turkish co-pilot 1990 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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We were heavy with three pilots up front, three relief pilots in the back, and nine team members, plus a lot of heavy luggage and a full load of fuel. Sakir told me that the helicopter was performing very well at this altitude. We landed at the Adana Airport at 7:15 P.M., while it was still legally daylight, because the rules specified that we could not fly at night. We spent one night at the Sedef Hotel and were up by 4:15 in the morning. By 5:55 A.M. we were in the air again. In the early dawn we saw the full moon as the sun reached to try and find its way above the horizon in a clear sky. I watched the blades of the blue and white MI-8 spin above me as they lifted this grasshopper-shaped machine upward. Below, the valleys were shrouded in fog that wove its way into a blanket of white sprinkled randomly with specks of green, as the trees tried to claim the early dawn. This particular helicopter had been the private aircraft of the onetime Soviet President Brezhnev. A thought occurred to me: Wouldn't it be ironic if this machine, once operated by an atheist government were to be the one to carry a Christian team who would sight the structure of Noah’s Ark on the mountain called Ararat? We rode above the top of an overcast and were "on top" till mountain peaks pierced the blanket of white on either side. Then, at 7:25 we saw the terraced green hills below, along with a river. We touched down on Runway 31 at Elazig for a fuel stop that took longer than anticipated, but we used that time to modify our plan. Originally, we had planned the next leg of the flight to go from Elazig to Erzurum, then have a fuel stop and go on to Kars for a landing. I had wanted to fly around Ararat before landing in Kars. The legs would go as such: Elazig to Erzurum to refuel, then Erzurum to Ararat on a flyby, and on to Kars for a landing. The pilots had argued that the helicopter didn't have the range. They said what I wanted to do would have them landing at Kars with less than minimum fuel and the Russian pilot who was the aircraft commander said, "No." They wanted to land in Kars first, refuel, then fly the mountain. The Russian, who was in command of the aircraft, knew the machine. He was supposed to know the range it could fly. He was to have a fuel reserve on board when he reached his destination and he had Doris Bowers in white surrounded by Kurdish villagers amazed by her blonde hair 1983 to plan the flight Courtesy of John McIntosh appropriately. However, as I studied the map and figured the
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distances involved, I believed his educated guess on the amount of fuel, which would be remaining after an ErzurumArarat-Kars flight, was an especially cautious one. I think he was extremely conservative and wanted a very large reserve of fuel upon landing at Kars. I believe the flight I proposed, which included a quick fly-by of Ararat, then a landing at Kars, could have been made with an adequate reserve of fuel. The captain had said, "No." In retrospect, I think he and I could have discussed this further. Still, even if our discussion had reached an intense level, he was the captain; what he says is law. I certainly understood that. I knew also that a fuel truck had been dispatched to meet us in Kars and it should be waiting there when we arrived. To the best of my knowledge, the military authorities in Kars were not part of this permission game yet, so we could possibly get in and out of Kars en route to Ararat before they stopped us. There was also the fact that according to our "permission," this was to be a visual fly-by of the mountain; no photos. However, I wasn't about to go along with that. We had our cameras. During an inspection by the military at Erzurum, our cameras, (those not very well hidden) could be confiscated. Bypassing Erzurum may indeed be the right plan. Because the chopper captain had said, "No" to the Erzurum-Ararat-Kars flight, I had proposed, and because of the reasons just given, I decided to bypass Erzurum and go straight to Kars. I believed we would be able to do the job from Kars as long as we moved quickly. At 9:30 A.M. we lifted off and climbed above the rugged terrain enjoying an eagle's-eye view of eastern Turkey. A few puffy summer clouds accented the hot summer sky. Then flashes and smoke of artillery or tank fire were seen somewhere in front of us. We were about to touch down in bandit country. The PKK and the Turkish military were at war. At 11:46 A.M. we touched down at the Kars Airport. I had known the airport was reported to be secure so we hadn't tossed away safety, but I hoped the security police would leave us alone just long enough for us to refuel and take off. We looked for the fuel truck, but it was nowhere to be seen. Sakir went to phone the company in Antalya to find out what happened to it. Ersan told Sakir that the fuel had been dispatched out of Erzurum and was supposed to have left there by 8:00 this morning. The condition of the eastern Turkey highways would mean a four-hour drive for the fuel truck. According to its timetable it should arrive at any moment. We waited, and waited some more. Time dragged on and the pilot said it was now too windy to fly. I disagreed. He said he had just talked with a police chopper pilot and the policeman told him that it was too windy. Now we were getting the police involved. This was not a good sign. Sakir said that it was getting too cloudy. Well, the summertime convectional buildups can be expected, but from where we were, we couldn't see Ararat. We didn't know if it were covered or not. I didn't agree with that excuse, either. Then he said that the airport closed at 5:30 and that we could never get back by then. Sakir said that we would have to pay a fine. I remembered the flight in 1986, when two Turks, a Dutchman, and I flew Ararat in a Cessna 206. We arrived in Erzurum after the airport had shut down and that probably contributed to the authorities' closing down our flight and not allowing us to fly the next day. I quizzed Sakir on how much the fine would be. He didn't know, but he was tired and the flight was shut down for today. We had been awake since 4:15 in the morning, so he was probably tired. It was 3:00 P.M. and the fuel truck still hadn't arrived. A military officer who could speak some English walked up and asked to see all of our passports. I guess he was Passport Control. Then he asked to see my permission. I showed it to him. He looked at it, said it wasn't enough, then asked to take it. He promised to copy it and bring it back to me. I just smiled, said "Of course, you may copy it." I gave it to him and said nothing else. He smiled and walked away—with our permit. That evening, when Mehmet Sakir showed up at the Turistik Hotel Temel in Kars, where our team had checked in, I was informed that the fuel truck had arrived and the helicopter was now about ready to go. The seats were being removed to lighten the aircraft and theoretically help our climb. I was then informed that the base of the mountain we wanted to land on top of was under artillery fire from the Turkish military and that aircraft were bombing PKK targets in the same vicinity. We had been invited to dinner at the Turkish military officers club (at our cost) which we were enjoying when the Military Passport Control officer who had taken our permit walked in with a couple of other officers. Sakir and they sat together near me and had a conference. After about half an hour, the military officer turned to me and said, "I don't think it is a good idea to fly. A military operation is starting and it's very dangerous and we cannot give security." I replied, "We fly." The military officer then handed back the permit and said, "No photos, no landing, visual okay." That meant that we could still fly. I thanked him and smiled. Shortly thereafter, we thought it was best that while we were still ahead, the team should leave and return to the hotel. We thanked everyone and did just that. It turned out that on this day and the previous day, in addition to the killing of a number of PKK, several Turkish soldiers were also killed. Eighteen were killed in the border town of Aralik in an ambush and twelve more were killed, apparently by a mine, as their truck drove over it while they were on the way to help the eighteen. Thirty-four soldiers were killed in a fight, primarily by a missile, or missiles, fired from the hidden areas of Ararat's base. It seems our timing for this trip was really lousy. During the night, the local police chief had found out about us and arrived at the hotel demanding to see the pilots. I'd seen it happen before when we were able to get military permission, but some police chief would stop us. It had happened to me in 1985, and 1989, in Doğubeyazit on the southern side of Mount Ararat. Also, during the night, and on a larger scale, Iran attacked Armenia in defense of Azerbaijan. This angered the Turks who were friendly with Azerbaijan. If anyone were to help Azerbaijan, the Turks wanted it to be themselves, not the Iranians. The main reason the Turks hadn't come to the aid of Azerbaijan was that they were waiting for the go-ahead, or for some action, from the United Nations. That action hadn't yet happened.
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The border of Iran and Armenia is only a short dozen or so miles from Mount Ararat. Turkish troops were pouring into the area and they were on alert. This was not good for us. What was good for us was that anticipation ran high, and we expected a great day—we were greatly excited about what we believed would happen. Also, Ron woke up without a back pain for the first time since before he left the States to join us. This, too, was an answer to prayer. Everyone felt great! About 5:00 the next morning upon reaching the helicopter we found it to be surrounded by armed policemen. We were then told that the governor of Kars had ordered the police chief to stop our flight. The stopping of our flight wasn't legal, because we had prior permission, but that was only my point of view. The permission we had was from the army commander in Erzurum. Up to now the military authorities in Kars had also allowed us to continue, but now the town cop had gotten the governor involved. Had the fuel truck been on time, and if there had been no war, we could have flown yesterday. However, this was today, there was a war, and now we were in Kars. The governor of Kars had not been asked for his approval for our flight, and he didn't like that. We were told to wait until 8:30 or 9:00 A.M. until the governor arrived. Sakir was in an argument with the policeman present, and then on the phone to the police chief, but to no avail. We were not allowed to board the chopper and complete our mission. Time passed, policemen came and went, and Sakir went with them to speak with the governor. We waited. There was silence and the team rested. More time passed. The local military commander showed up and took an interest in what was going on and decided he would see that we didn't go anywhere any time soon. Also, a telex or a message of some sort had come down from the powers that be in Ankara to order that our flight be stopped. Things were rapidly going from bad to worse. We were ordered to fly back to where we came from and abandon the mission. They insured that we would do that by putting a policeman on the chopper with us to be our onboard escort. I became convinced then that it was time to pull back as far as Erzurum and regroup. Also, telephone contact out of Kars to Antalya in an attempt to reach Mehmet and Ersan was extremely difficult. Phone connections in the larger city of Erzurum should be better. We landed in Erzurum and I checked us into the Grand Erzurum Hotel. We stayed there that night and into the next day. We were then told by Attalos, the people who owned the helicopter, to return to Antalya. Permission had been revoked for us to continue our mission. The telex from Ankara stood. Our expedition was over. No Expedition—1994 In 1994, there were no expeditions to search for Noah’s Ark in eastern Turkey. Instead, there was only war. Still, I was in the country. I went to Turkey during July to renew friendships and as a fact-finding trip. Ultimately, I learned (as had been expected) that because of the conflict between the Turkish military and the Kurdish separatists, no permission to climb Ararat would be allowed by Turkish authorities. No Climbing—1995 I was in Turkey during August of 1995. Again, because of the conflict, the military would not allow me to receive permission to climb Ararat. No Climbing—1996 Ron Lane, a very good friend of mine, died in 1996. I met Ron in 1985. He and I were members of Jim Irwin's team. Now, like Jim Irwin before him (1991), my friend's body rests in Arlington Cemetery. Both had been military officers—one a lieutenant colonel and the other a colonel. Ron had been on the 1986 and 1993 Ararat expeditions. Ron was there whenever I needed him. He was the publisher of my book. Like Jim, I'll miss Ron a lot. An expedition was proposed for an American team to both fly a helicopter and climb Ararat. Included in this expedition were up to four Turkish climbers and Turkish Mountain Federation guides. We called it the "Turkish-American Scientific Quest" (TASQ). The American ground team was composed of three climbers, a photo documentation expert, a climber who was also a computer expert and myself. The helicopter team consisted of another photo documentation expert, a science teacher who also knows his way around a camera and an eyewitness of the ark's location. An archaeologist was waiting "in the wings." Did I say an eyewitness? A minister, Vincent Will, of Springfield, Missouri tells us that he saw Noah’s Ark in the late summer of 1944. At that time, he was a young military man, an avionics technician on a flight from Italy to the city of Yerevan in the former Soviet Union. Yerevan sits near the base of Ararat. The pilot of the C-47 (DC-3) knew of reported sightings by other pilots of what appeared to be the remains of a massive barge-like structure locked high in the ice cap of Mount Ararat. Taking advantage of the opportunity afforded them by the military flight, Vince and the pilot flew close to the mountain, and they identified what appeared to be a very large wooden structure protruding from the ice cap. Vince was able to see inside of the broken front end of the structure. I met Vince in 1995 and his contribution to the rediscovery of the Ark is of tremendous importance. Even though my team had applications hand-carried to the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and also to the offices of the ministry in Ankara, Turkey, permission was again denied. While our American team waited patiently in the States, I flew to Turkey to negotiate with the authorities in Dogubeyazit (at the base of Ararat) in Agri in an attempt to gain the legal permission to climb.
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During this trip I met up with two mountain climbers from Switzerland—Karim Presti and Guiseppe Rezzonico. They also had intentions of climbing the mountain in search of the ark. This was a prearranged meeting between the Swiss climbers and myself. We had considered that they would work with TASQ. If permission for TASQ was again denied, the hope was for the three of us to get permission to climb. Guiseppe and I had communicated for several months. Guiseppe had first contacted me in 1994 and sent me an Ararat photo which he had taken in 1993. He had been held on the mountain as a captive of the Kurdish rebels. He was one of at least 13 people who had been caught on or near the mountain that summer and held as captives of the PKK. While being a captive, he was given limited freedom to climb on the ice and take a few pictures. Guiseppe told me that they actually treated decently by the rebels. The photo he sent to me seemed to indicate a possible structure in the Araxes glacier. I matched his photo with my own file photos and three which matched the object in the Araxes glacier. I had taken two of the photos from an airplane in 1986 and John McIntosh had taken the other one from a high ridge on his first climb in 1978. Until I received the Swiss photo, neither I nor John had noticed the apparent structure in the glacier. Although the evidence on the photographs was not conclusive, I decided this location needed to be searched more. During out time in Doğubeyazit, Karim and I (Guiseppe was sick) spent some time with the local military authorities. We had a discussion that lasted about an hour, and were politely informed that Ararat was off limits to everyone including Turkish citizens. It was even off limits to the Kurdish shepherds who would normally have their flocks of sheep on the lower grassy slopes of the mountain. I asked about the possibility of a ride in a military helicopter and told that also was impossible. Then on a table, which was between us, I put two photos of what I then believed was part of the ark. The two military officers immediately showed a level of excitement and interest that was new to our conversation. They wanted to know where I got the photos. I told them that I took the pictures ten years ago. One thing led to another and I said, "I know the Ark is on the mountain, and you know the Ark is on the mountain." The reply was, "We don't care! That is your problem. We have another problem." He was referring to the PKK problem but I think they knew more than they were telling us. I was not disappointed. I expected this answer but it was necessary that I ask. That's why we were there. Their parting words before good byes were "It's impossible to go the mountain. It's forbidden, maybe next year, maybe not for five years." No Climbing—1997 I went to Turkey twice in 1997. On the first trip, which took place from mid-July to the end of August, John McIntosh and I traveled together. We spent nearly five weeks in the country. Much of our time (three weeks) was spent with Dr. Salih Bayruktutan of Atatürk University, located in the city of Erzurum. After phone contact, by the authorities in Ankara again denied our requests (Salih had been in Ankara to personally request permission just before John and I arrived in Erzurum). We traveled from Erzurum toward Ararat while stopping to speak with every civil and military authority we could contact. Even with the backing of the university, the military would not allow us on or near Mount Ararat. During the two remaining weeks that John and I spent together, we tried everyday to get the legal permission to climb. We also met some interesting Kurdish locals in Dogubeyazit. One of these men claimed to know of the structure in the ice on the mountain. I asked if he would take me there and was told no. He said that it was too risky. I then asked if he would got to the mountain, climb it, and take photos for me. He would use my cameras and I would pay him well for success. It took our Kurdish friend about nine days to first make up his mind, come up with a plan, and make the round trip to the structure and back. I met him upon his return and he was a very tired but happy man. He said I would be very proud of him. I was informed that he did indeed see part of the structure sticking out of the ice and he did photograph it. However, on his return he had to hide the cameras and film in a villager's home because of the military presence in the area, who would have searched him as he left the villages at the base of the mountain. I told him that he had to go back after the cameras. He and another Kurdish friend did just that. A day later the Kurdish friend returned. The military had caught the climber with the cameras. The military had caught him with the cameras, confiscated them, put him in jail and were searching for the American who gave him the cameras. Now, although I had not really broken any law, I guessed that the Turkish military was probably getting a bit iritated with me. So I got advice from the Kurds and John and I were in a fast taxi out of town within ten minutes. I later learned that the military arrived at our hotel about 45 minutes after we had left. I made a second trip in 1997. This was at the end of September. Canadian Ark explorer George Kralik went with me on this trip. We met other local Kurds who attempted to help us by climbing the mountain with our cameras but a heavy snowfall hampered their efforts. After a little more than two weeks, we left the country. No Climbing—1998 I arrived in Turkey on August 19th and left three weeks later. Most of the time John McIntosh and Dave Larsen (a friend and educator/businessman from Pasadena, CA) were with me. Because of discretion, the full details of this trip cannot be discussed. The full story will be published at a more opportune time. In spite of the problems, I have reason to believe that the Ark is indeed on Ararat and a discovery may be soon. I fully intend to make another trip—my 15th—to Turkey. As in the past, I intend to again be in the company of individuals who are highly dedicated. The next year there will in fact be several fully financed organized teams entering Turkey. Revealing the Ark may have an impact on some people. On others, they could care less. Regardless, I believe it is our place to try and succeed in finding the truth, to tell others, let them make their own decisions and to God be the glory. Conclusion
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Dick Bright, Dave Larsen, and John McIntosh 1998 Courtesy of Dick Bright This should give the reader an idea of some of the problems many of us go through in an attempt to search for the ark. Along the way, we've made mistakes, and hopefully, learned from them. It hasn't been easy, but then if it were, the Ark would have long since been revealed, and perhaps its impact on future events would be lessened. Many of us are convinced the Ark is on Ararat and, even though we have trouble along the way, there is a level of commitment to make every effort to reach it. Why? I imagine each person who gets involved in this quest has his own personal reasons for his desire to do so. Could it be to do what we believe is the will of God in our lives? Maybe. Is it to do something to show where we stand in our beliefs? Maybe. I've heard it said that people may doubt what you say in your life, but they will believe what you do. Is it to hope God will say, when the time comes, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant?" Is it, that in doing this, we hope to reach the lives of other people? Is it to help get the Word out? Maybe. Is it just the adventure? I think most of us have reasons that are similar, and those reasons are, for the most part, good, and hopefully acceptable to God. In my mind, some of the people mentioned here in this small effort are giants in this undertaking for God. Among them are such people as Jim Irwin, the ex-astronaut, evangelist and team leader, who had a tremendous impact on my life; Eryl Cummings, who researched Ark stories for over 40 years; and Violet Cummings, who wrote two books on the subject. John Morris, Ph.D., a creation geologist, author, and veteran of Ararat was once struck by lightning while on a climb. He survived, is a leader in this effort and he was kind enough to write the foreword to my book. There are others not mentioned here. Their contributions and efforts, according to their own beliefs, I think, will be accepted as gold. From a personal standpoint, I was taught in college that theories of evolution, particularly the Darwinian Theory, natural selection, and chance, were responsible for my existence and that of every person and type of animal. In essence, life was an accident. I was taught that Uniformitarianism was the guiding geological principle in the history of the earth. There was no room for cataclysm. I sat in anthropology classes and listened to the way anthropologists, paleontologists, and other scientists of one name or another could take a tooth, a jawbone, or a portion of a skullcap determined to be of great age, and then build a model of some gigantic beast to fit the fragment. They even put fleshy and hairy exteriors on the products of their imaginations and sold it to the students as part of our heritage. I didn't buy it.
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I took the classes, passed the tests, giving the appropriate answers, and I graduated. But, down deep, I didn't believe that which I was being taught was, in fact, the complete truth. The subjects are too involved and complicated to be discussed here. It would mean defining evolution and natural selection, and discussing mathematical probabilities of chance and mutation. It would involve discussing creation, the Laws of Thermodynamics, and the fossil record. It would involve defining Uniformitarianism as a geological doctrine versus the extent of cataclysm. I discussed these things to the best of my ability in The Ark, A Reality? I will not attempt to do so here. There are many books by creation scientists who do a far better job than I could. Besides, I don't think those topics necessarily fit in well with the topic of this book. The bottom line is that I am of the belief that we are not here by random chance, having so evolved from as simple a form as a unicellular organism. Accidents and random chance cannot be the creator. I believe there is purpose to life; there is someone with a "blueprint." We were created by purposeful design. "Chance" is not my God. Geology has not been uniform throughout history. The geologic column in its entirety does not exist outside of the textbook. The history of the earth has signs of cataclysm all over it—cataclysm by water. All of this is obvious as we open our eyes and do our own study apart from the college classroom. This is my opinion, and I was heading in this direction even before I opened page one of the Bible. According to the Bible: "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ...So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:10,12). The problem, I think, is first a spiritual problem. At age 35, I bought my first Bible and started reading it voraciously. Then I started to read the scripture. A couple of years or so later, I read Violet Cummings' book, Has Anybody Really Seen Noah’s Ark? I then met her and her husband Eryl, and Jim Irwin. You know the story. During the years since I read that first book concerning the ark, I have read as much as I could find on the subjects of Noah’s Ark and the Genesis Flood. Over the years, I have read many accounts of reported sightings of the ark. I have even spoken with people who claim to have seen the ship many years ago as it lay in the ice and rocks of Ararat. By the vast numbers of reported sightings alone, (200 or more since antiquity) one would tend to believe there is something to the reports. When one considers the similarities of many of the reports the tendency to believe is further strengthened. Details vary from one report to another. Some of the reports may have no basis in fact, or there may have been a misidentification of what was seen. However, it takes just one true sighting to put the Ark on Ararat. Let's consider the possibility of truth by a comparison test. From the pages of my own book: "There are four reports of the Ark with the door off. There are seven reports of one end broken off, and eighteen of its sticking out of the ice and snow or with snow on the structure. There are nine reports of a meltwater pond, eight reports of a ledge, and ten reports of a ravine, valley, gully, or some such place, which the ark, sitting on a ledge, could be in. There are three reports of a very difficult or hazardous climb to reach the ship. There are at least two reports to my knowledge of the ark's leaning against a rock or ridge, and two reports of its sitting in a north-south direction. There are three reports of the pond's overflowing in a stream down the mountain and two reports of the Ark as having openings around the top. There are many more comparisons that I could include, and with the addition of more reports, the numbers you have just read would increase. However, these should be enough for us to come to a conclusion and to the point of this exercise. We can choose to believe that all of these reports are based upon lies, or, based on the information presented, we can choose to believe that the Ark or a large wooden barge is on Mount Ararat, if just one of the reports is true." THE YEAR 1999 & 2000 I made three trips from the United States to Turkey in 1999. The first trip was in April. Why so early? It was expected by the local Kurds that the military would declare the mountain open to the shepherds and allow them to take their sheep to their summer mountain villages. From there they would be allowed to find pasture to graze. My plan was to go to the mountain with the shepherds and their sheep when the military, for that purpose, declared the mountain to be open. I thought it was a good plan, and I had a good reason. For one thing, I would not be expected in eastern Turkey in April. No one in his “right mind” would try to look for the Ark in April. There is to much snow. George Kralik, my Canadian friend was with me. Perhaps that says something about his frame of mind as well. That’s the way it sometimes seems to be with those of us in the quest to find the Ark. That isn’t the reason, this is: Before I had left the country the previous year, I had spoken with a Kurdish shepherd (through an interpreter) who believed he knew the location of a structure on the mountain that appeared to be made of dark wood. This Kurdish man had been brought to me by Kurdish friends of mine in order to tell me what he knew of the structure. According to what he had told me, the snow would melt so that part of the structure could be seen in the late spring of the year. He said that the sheep would graze as high on the mountain as the snow would allow, and he would walk up to a waterfall above the “pasture” in order to get water for himself. He said that from the location of the waterfall, the structure could be seen in a canyon close by. With the Kurdish man’s permission, George and I were planning to dress as shepherds and join the flock.
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After the April arrival in eastern Turkey, a few things turned out not to be in our favor. For one, the Kurdish shepherd had changed his mind. He said he didn’t understand what we were looking for, and that what he had previously seen was the remains of an old house located at an elevation of a little over 3,000 meters (almost 11,000 ft.) It seemed to me that either someone had convinced him to change the story, or we hadn’t communicated very well when I had spoken with him the previous year. I was sure at the time that I had, since I had shown an illustration out of a book to him of what the Ark is thought to look like, and he seemed to recognize the likeness. He had said then that the only difference to the illustration was the color. The illustration in the book was brown. He said the structure was black. That is what many of the others who had reported to have seen the Ark had said. It was “black.” I still would have joined the flock as a “shepherd in training” except that the military decided that they would not allow the Kurds to set foot on the area of the mountain we were interested in. Their mountain village was off limits. The Kurds then decided it was in their best interest not to graze their sheep on Ararat at all. It was evident from this point that our planned April parade up Ararat had met with April showers. The military had rained on our parade. Being that we were there anyway, and so were the military, George and I devised a plan to convince them, the military, that we needed to climb that mountain. It didn’t work. We went back to the states and Canada in early May. The full story is to be published this year, (2001) in my own book by New Leaf Press/ Master Books. The second Trip of the year to Turkey took place in July. I was determined to get on the mountain on this trip, and did so. A “special permission” was arranged with the local military authorities that originally allowed me (and a few Kurdish friends) five days on the mountain. We would climb up the Ahora Gorge straight into the heart of the northeast side of the mountain. Our special military permission did have a few restrictions tied to it. It also had a few “liberties.” We had the liberty to begin our climb at night if we so desired, and we did. We began our climb at night. In the lower part of the gorge there were rivers and deep ravines to negotiate our way in, out, over and through, and although the course of our chosen travel at night was somewhat challenging, the morning light found us to be enjoying the ascent toward the heart of the mountain on a rather steep, and safe grassy slope. It took us three days to climb to a place high in the gorge that provided with an excellent view of the Araxes, and the Abich glaciers. It was from this high place that we saw something we couldn’t identify. It looked like a giant houseboat “hanging” out of the end of the Araxes glacier. It seemed to have a “bow.” I focused the binoculars on whatever it was I was looking at, and I thought I could see a “roof” - a dark red roof. I could even imagine broken ends of timber making up part of the roof. Between the bow and the roof was an indistinguishable mess that could have been a collapsed “cabin.” It was a “big” whatever it was. Next question: “ How do we get over there?” There was a deep chasim between us and the Araxes glacier. It looked like an impossible task for us to descend from our high place of observation into the chasm , cross the terrain inbetween, and then climb up the near verticle and unstable approach to the object at the end of the glacier. Could we do that and still be off the mountain in two more days? I realized - I didn’t care. We had to find a way. My heart seemed to be racing. What was I looking at?? Was it ice and rocks somehow masked by dirt and debris of the mountain? Was it a giant houseboat? I’m not looking for a giant house boat; especially one with a red roof. I’m looking for a giant black barge! Somewhere in my jumbled thoughts of the moment I remembered something about a story of a report that said the ship looked like a house on a barge. Somewhere in my jumbled thoughts of the moment I remembered something about wood being deep red in color. Somewhere in those same jumbled thoughts I remembered someone reporting a structure in the Araxes glacier. Was this the - whatever it is- that someone else - whoever that was - had seen? Then, somewhere in the middle of these confused thoughts, the phone rang! One of my Kurdish partners had a cell phone so as to be in constant contact with the Turkish military. He answered. We were given an order. “Be off the mountain by midnight, or by early dawn we would be captured, or shot!” The conflict between the Turkish military, and the Kurdish separtests (PKK), was not necessarily over. Something had happened on the other side of the mountain; I think it was a minor clash of some sort, and the mountain was now closed. Our special permission had been revoked. A new military commander was moving into the area and the mountain would be sealed off by dawn or before. I was told the new military commander didn’t care about our special permission. We took photographs, and left. I had decided two things: Since we had been warned, my Kurdish friends lives would be in danger - as well as mine; we would get off the mountain. Also, I would have to return - someday. By the grace of God, and despite the tumbles, bumps and bruises along the way, we were off the mountain before dawn. It was now August. I was in the United States, preparing to return to Turkey for the third trip of the year. George Kralik from Canada would join me again. So would a guy I had met in Turkey in 1985, again in 1986. Bob Cornuke, who heads the Bible Archeology, Search and Exploration (BASE) Institute of Colorado Springs would be there. So would Bob Stuplich, an “extreme” mountaneer and good friend from Colorado. Bob and I were together on the nearly disasterous climb of 1985. That was the year that I had met both of these guys through astronaut Jim Irwin. The man I hadn’t met till then was Dave Banks, a professional photographer, explorer, and mountain climber who, with his wife, Terresa, worked
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as “Team Banks” with such organizations as “Discovery” and “NOVA.” The Kurdish and military connections I had were to make it happen. Again, “special permission” was provided. Again, because of certain restrictions of the special permission, we would begin the operation at night. There were five, plus two Kurdish guides, plus six horses to carry the gear. Seven people and six horses, and we were climbing at night. The story in it’s entirety is told in my own book to be published this year by the afore mentioned company. I will briefly outline the events. The nighttime climb was far more difficult then anyone had foreseen. I think we were lost until the dawn. We camped twice on the way up the mountain. The second day we found a place to call our high camp. It was at 12,000 feet. We left the horses and the two Kurds there. On the morning of the third day, Bob, and Bob, and Dave, and George and I, climbed a painstakingly difficult 2,000 feet to the edge of the western glacier of the mountain. Around noon of the day, we stepped on the ice cap at 14,000 ft and crossed from west to east till we found the places above 15,000 ft. on the edge of the high reaches of the Ahora Gorge. It was now about 3p.m.. Due to the lay of the rocky and ice-covered terrain, we could not see the end of the Araxes glacier and the object I had seen on the previous climb. We did see a lot of ice. Because of the time of day, we observed the gorge to be impossible to descend into and climb back out of again before dark. We looked over, and photographed everything we could see. We did not see the Ark. We left the edge of the gorge around 4:30p.m., and returned to high camp, reaching it more than an hour after dark. Along the way we crossed above the heavily crevassed area of the ice cap known as the Cehennem Dere (hell’s canyon). It was about there that I managed to trip over my own feet, and after a “somersault” I arrested my slide by thrusting the jagged tip of my ice ax into the glacial ice. When I stopped sliding, my legs were hanging over a wide crevasse which was maybe a hundred or more feet deep. As I crawled to safety and thanked God for saving my life, I saw George nearly to his waist in another crevasse. It was one of the many “highlights” we had on this particular Ararat experience. On the following day we began a descent which ended two days latter in the middle of the night. Again we got lost. The places we descended would have been out of the question had it been day; had we been able to see what we had gotten ourselves into. All of us had a turn at falling down somewhere. One such event took place when a horse lost its footing and crashed into Bob Cornuke so hard he was knocked probably 20 feet down a rock face til he landed in a “V” shaped by two slabs of rock. He thought for a minute or two that he had broken his arm. He didn’t. Bob’s tough. We continued down the mountain. It proved to be a great test for all of us. We made it - alive. I don’t know why. I guess God does. It was now September. George and I had stayed in Turkey. We were recovering from our “wounds” of the previous Ararat experience. The others had left the country. Paul Thomson of New Zealand joined George and me. Paul had recently returned from a climb on the mountain that proved to be a test in itself. He spent 4 days in a cave he fashioned out of rocks and ice, and waited out a snowstorm on the mountain. He’s a real mountaineer. He would have to be. He survived the ordeal, and he, along with George and I, have decided that we needed to see the object that I had seen on the first climb of the year. Therefore, we would climb - again. It took us about 5 days to go up there and back. Perhaps I should say 5 days, and nights. We took a different route to get to the inside of the gorge than I had taken the previous time. We came in low from the west side, and not straight up the gorge. The special permission had changed.. The climb was tough. It always is on this - “the mountain of pain.” The rocks almost got us. Rockslides are no fun. I’ll elaborate a little on that as you read of the experiences of the year 2000. Right now we’re still in 1999. Ultimately, we reached the same high place where I had observed the “whatever it was,” nearly a couple of months prior to this climb. There was more snow then there had been on that previous climb. A Result of the same storm that had trapped Paul on the mountain for 4 days. Still, the object of interest was easy to see. We looked again with binoculars, and Paul used a telescope. It was now obvious. The object that was a source of some excitement on that previous climb, was - - ice, - and rock. Look at the photograph that was taken on the first climb. That is ice, and rock. It could well be the same rock and ice that confused someone else at an earlier time. Someone who had talked about a giant house on a barge; and there was dark red wood. We descended the mountain, and went home. Again, we were disappointed, but that’s ok. We did our best, and there’s still next year.
TURKEY AGAIN - YEAR 2000 -- TO OLD TO CLIMB? It is July 31st, 2000. I am seated in “business elite” class of Delta flight 72. This is my second trip to Turkey this year. The first one was a stopover for a few days to take a good look at the ice melt on the mountain, then go on into Iran. I joined Bob Cornuke, businessman, author, and explorer Larry Williams, Author Dave Halbrook, Dan Toth, fitness director and a former navy seal, and several others to climb Mount Sabalan. The result of some of Bob’s research indicated to him
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that the Ark could be in Iran. I believe it is on Ararat in Turkey, but Bob was gracious to invite me along, so I went. I will say that we did not find the Ark in Iran. The story of the climb is told in a book about the search for Noah’s mountain, by Cornuke and Halbrook of the BASE Institute of Colorado Springs. This time my intention is not to go into Iran, but to - one last time - again climb on Mount Ararat in search for the Ark. Certainly I must be nuts. This is my 19th trip to Turkey. Most of those times I actually managed to set foot on the mountain called Ararat. That is where I think the Ark rests, and will be reveled for what it is. If I am going to be a part of the discovery, or re-discovery of Noah’s Ark, then it will have to be on this trip. I’m to the point in my life that age (55 years) is challenging my physical abilities to climb as I once did. Even I have to admit this is the case. I think people I love are beginning to worry about me. Yet equally, they hope for success. I think. We push off the gate at 5:48 p.m.. It’s raining. There will be a delay. What else? I’m on my way to Turkey. We lifted off at 6:27 p.m., and touched down nine hours and 16 minutes later at 10:43 a.m. August 1st (there’s a 7 hour time change) in Istanbul. I hadn’t had time to previously reserve a flight on THY (Turkish Airlines) to Van, Turkey and consequently I found that all flights were full for the next three days. I called the Airport Inn and Mehmet, the owner, and (due to my several visits to his hotel,) a friend, sent Hussain, (driver and bartender) who I also know fairly well, to the airport to pick me up. From the Airport Inn I phoned the Asur Hotel in Van and spoke with my influential friend Remzi Bozbay, a part owner of the hotel, and told him of my predicament. There is a THY office on the street level below his hotel, and Remzi knows the people who work there. A couple of hours later, I was confirmed on a flight from Istanbul to Van for the next morning, Wednesday August 2nd. The ticket was in my hand. It is all in who you know. August 2nd At 11:25 a.m. and now at the airport In Van, Turkey. I met with Paul Thomson who had just flown in from Aukland, New Zealand, and My very good friend Murat Sahin of Dogubeyazit, Turkey. After a lunch of donner kabob, and greetings at the Asur hotel, (where I had the opportunity to thank Ramzi for the favor), Murat, Paul and I were on our way to Dogubeyazit. This might be a good time to re-introduce Paul Thomson. At the time of this writing, Paul is 29 years old. This will be his 7th time on the mountain, his 4th time in Turkey. On two of the previous climbs, Paul was taken hostage by the PKK and spent more then a month on the mountain. I believe the years were 1992 & 1993. He is a survivor of a motorcycle/bus accident, where he was run over. Paul tells me he was a “judder bar.” That’s a New Zealand term for a “speed bump” for the bus. That happened on July 7th 1997. Paul miraculously survived several operations to put his pelvis and a few other bones back together, plus fix his liver that had been cut in half. He beat all the odds against him to return to climbing mountains. He was with me on one climb a year ago. Watching him climb, one would never know that only a short time ago his body was badly broken in several places.. He’s a Christian who is well studied. He has a degree in Accounting and Finance from Aukland University, and makes his living working part time for Levi Straus as an accountant. Paul spends his “free” time in studies of nuclear physics and closely follows the “speed of light” work of Astronomer Barry Setterfield of Australia. Ultimatly, Paul’s goal with his current studies is to use the knowledge learned to the “pulling of energy from the fabric of space.” He’s an intellegent man as well as a great mountain climber. This story gives testamony to his strong Christian faith. The folowing story gives testamony to his ability as a climber. At five minutes to seven p.m. on this 2nd of August, Ararat the magnificent, the massive, the monster, was in sight. As I looked at the giant volcano I heard myself saying “Do we have to go up there - way up there?” I wasn’t expecting any answer. Like a magnet it draws me back - yet again. Why can’t I get this out of my system and just go to the beach like other people on vacation? We drive then in silence. We study what we can see of the mountain. The ice melt back seems to be good. It seems to be very good. Soon we’ll find out if it’s good enough. The thought of what lies ahead seems to make my heart beat loud, maybe even faster - in a nervous sort of way. Upon arrival in Dogubeyazit, we make our way to Murat Camping. That will be our new home for a while. Murat Camping, owned by Murat Sahin and his brother Siam, is located on a hill above Dogubeyazit, below Isak Pasa Palace and amongst the ruins of the old city Bayazit. Murat Camping offers a campground, rooms and a restaraunt as well as a great view of the city and the surrounding hills decorated with ruins that date back to 800B.C. and the Urartu culture. This summer a new restaurant is being built to replace one which they just tore down. Murat Camping is a gathering place for hikers and campers and adventuresome people from nations around the world. No passport number is required to check in as it is with the hotels in town; therefore, it is my secret place to hide. I thought. I learn that a couple of days prior, there had been a knife fight at the camping place Mousa, a cousin of Murat had been attacked by a drunk, and stabbed high in the left leg. When the drunk tried to stab Mousa a second time, this time in
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the stomach, Mousa took the knife away from the attacker and then stabbed him - several times - 32 times I was told. Then, to top off the event. Mousa cut off the man’s right ear. Amazingly, the man did not die, but was recovering in the hospital at the time I heard the story. This event did however arouse the anger of the families of the two knife fighters. Now a 3rd party of individuals belonging to a third family were trying to negotiate and settle the matter before violence esculates to the next level. In the mean time, pistols, rifles, shotguns, and knives were seen in the area and on the persons of some of the members of the family I was visiting. For instance, it was such a nice night that many of this Kurdish family were sleeping on the roof (under the stars) of the small “hotel” at the camping place. They were armed with a pistol, 2 shotguns, a sword, and a knife. That is just what I was able to observe. I assume the other family was armed in the same manner. It was protection in the event members of the other family would seek to retaliate in behalf of the wounded son. I trusted the negotiations would go well - I prayed that they would. It might be understood here that the police were informed of what had happened. They are Turks. The victims are Kurds. The police just said: “Why should it matter that they kill each other? Let them.” The Kurds will settle this problem among themselves. As we organize ourselves in our room, in enters Mahmut. He is a tall rugged looking Kurdish man who sometimes resides at Murat Camping. I am to learn that he occasionally works for Murat. Now, however, he will work for me. The entire story is told in my own book to be published this year by New Leaf Press/Master Books. What you have here is much of the action in an abbreviated form. JUMPING AHEAD August 10th. I’m up at 6 a.m. and feeling quite well; so much so that I decided to climb a hill in back of our camp site. That exercise took about 2 hours with the return to camp. Then I made what I later considered to be a mistake. I went with Paul to downtown Dogubeyazit. We needed to pick up a few things to better ready us for the hoped for climb. Because of my many visits to Dogubeyazit over the past several years, several people often recognize me the moment I set foot in the city. Sure enough, I hadn’t been out of the vehicle for 10 seconds and 2 people, relatives of Fatih Tan, who I worked with in the 80’s welcomed me to sit next to their place of business (a clothing store) on a corner location of a busy street, and have cay (tea). After accepting the courteous gesture, and drinking the tea, Paul and I politely excused ourselves and started to walk up to another shopping area. Within a minute or so, we met Mustafa, who Paul and I both know. Mustafa was to be Paul’s guide on Paul’s first attempt of last year. On that climb, Paul and Dave Larsen, Paul’s climbing partner on that attempt, had arranged a deal with Mustafa. However, on that attempt, Mustafa had entrusted the guiding duties to another man by the name of Mehmet, and after starting Paul and Dave on their climb, Mehmet turned around and went down the mountain leaving Paul and Dave to figure it out for themselves. Because of time constraints, Dave descended early. Paul had wanted to stay on the mountain longer than Dave was able to, and this decision got him caught in the snowstorm I mentioned in the last report. He spent 4 days in a small snow cave he hollowed out for himself, then he too descended the mountain. I tell you, Paul’s a mountain man. After meeting Mustafa, I elected to go back to Murat Camping and let Paul do the Shopping. I had originally wanted to keep out of sight in the city of Dogubeyazit, it is easier to accomplish what I want to accomplish (getting on the mountain) if the local authorities don’t know I am there. It’s not that I intend to do any thing illegal, I’m not and I don’t. But I can get permission to do what I want to do without giving every one who wears some sort of a uniform, authority over me. Years ago, I’ve seen where a local cop would deny a person the permission to climb which had been authorized by a military general. I had hoped not to “enjoy” an experience like that again. But now I knew the word was out that I was in town, and people who know me, know that I am there for one reason. That reason is to climb Ararat, and find the Ark. They also know the door to the mountain is closed, and the military controls the door. At least that is what some of them think. If one person mentions to the police or to a military officer that I’m in town, then I will be watched. Others will just say “en-sha-la,” which translates: “if God wills” and let it go at that. As I find out, I really didn’t have to worry about my trip into the city spoiling the secret of my stay in Turkey, and at Murat Camping. I didn’t have to worry about the military finding out. They already knew. Back at Camping I had tea with a Kurdish man who worked at the camping place. He speaks a little English. I was then told that 2 days ago an army officer had asked him if a American was staying there at Murat Camping. This fellow
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had said “yes.” The soldier wanted to know if the American (me) was planning to climb Ararat to search for the Ark. The Kurdish fellow told the soldier: “He used to, but now he’s to old. He just comes here to visit.” How about that? I’m too old! I hope that doesn’t sink in till after we have one successful climb and a discovery. Apparently the army officer was reasonably satisfied with the explanation of my presence. Still, the Kurdish fellow was instructed to tell him (the officer) if I suddenly decided that I wasn’t to old, and decided instead to climb Ararat. I thought: “Suddenly? There is nothing sudden about it. I decided quite some time ago; even if I am to old.” I might add that up to that point the Kurdish fellow did not know my plans. I was at this point just visiting. There was no fabricated story told to the soldier. I probably am too old to climb. Over the course of the next hour, I talked some with this Kurdish fellow, and sat alone for a time thinking of what I had been told. Being somehow curiously content with the new knowledge that I was to old, yet without fully realizing that fact, I thought about how we were going to go about the next climb. I thought about where we would search. And, with a feeling of some peace over the prospect of it, I began to see my surroundings. I’m sitting at a table in the garden at the camping place. I look out at the picturesque and towering Isak Pasa Palace, and the ruins of old Bayazit. The old city, once constructed of mud and rocks had been partly destroyed by an earthquake a hundred years ago. The residents who survived, then moved and built the new Dogubeyazit on the plains below. Parts of each structure of the old city, - a wall, part of a wall or a section of the foundation still in place; are monuments to destruction in this earthquake prone land. Beyond them, the story of a violent earth history is evidenced by the giant slabs of limestone rock uplifted to form an impenetrable wall with peaks side by side almost evenly spaced appearing as a colossal picket fence pointing - even reaching for the sky. Ancient ruins of a civilization long gone (Urartian time-800 B.C.) decorate high on the wall of rock with an ancient mosk at the base. The mosk is about a thousand years old and for a few hundred years it was an Armenian church. The Ottoman Turks converted the church to a mosk. All of this now a peaceful place of beauty colored in various shades of sandy brown and gray punctuated by the likeness of an oasis in a desert, the green trees of the garden. This is what I see as I listen to the music of the high pitched sound of a Kurdish saz and an accompaniment of singing. In this setting I learn that an Armenian climbing team is in Dogubeyazit and that they have been refused permission to climb. Turkish police are keeping very close track of them; even following them around. Rod Baber, Jiles Pittman and Mark Anstic are the names of three Englishmen here at Murat Camping. They too want to climb Ararat. However, they are not really interested in finding the Ark. These three gentlemen have been on a record breaking European tour climbing the tallest peak in everyone of the 47 countries of Europe, and Ararat is #47. They are quite delightful chaps to talk with and are quite concerned about their hoped for permission to make the Ararat climb. As I write these notes, there is a work in progress to improve that possibility. Jiles is writing a book about the experience. It is to be titled “A Natural High.” Since meeting these guys, I’m looking forward to its publication and reading the book. Army people are here at the campsite. They keep their distance, but seem to take notice of me sitting in the garden. Obviously my hiding place is no longer a secret. I too am being watched. JUMPING AHEAD August 12th. It’s early in the morning and I’m in the garden having my 1st cup of tea of the day. Two workers (employees) are wrapped in blankets and are sleeping on the tops of two long tables. A hawk is on a tether is perched above me on some sort of a cupboard-like contraption. An Egret, or white stork is standing about 30 feet to my right, and 3 rabbits hop from one grassy area to another in front of me. A dog lies just to the side of the steps that lead down to the garden from the roadway above. The worker who made my tea is busy with a hose watering the dirt. I’ve sort of have been wondering about that. I guess the purpose is to keep the dust down - or make mud? Off to one area of the garden, tourists are speaking languages I don’t understand; I think it’s Italian. Sparrow - like songbirds are above me in the trees and seem to happily greet the day. This is the assortment of wildlife and activity around me at this present time. It’s peaceful in a way. a warming by the sun gives comfort on a windless morning. I’m in an oasis and surrounded by the ruins of a city (Bayazid) long ago destroyed and deserted and on a hillside dominated by the long abandened palace of Isak Pasa. I feel quite confident as I’m assessing the situation. The British climbers, Mark and Rod are climbing, or at least they left the Camping last night with a guide and the intent to get on the mountain with military approval. If they get approval, I expect through a certain amount of negotiations, we will too,
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As I await the developments of the day in expectation of good news, I am twice surprised. First John McIntosh arrives at Murat Camping. He’s the “Rock of Research” and is there to keep up on events of the search and to help when he can. It was good to see this old friend, but the meeting was short. My new friend and partner, Mahmut, shows up, and the plan is to move, and to move now. He has managed to secure a “special military permission.” We are ready to move. That’s my second surprise of the day. The “we” is our climbing group. “We” are Paul, Mahmut, myself and two people who will act as porters and carry some of our luggage. I will call them Ironman and Kannot. They are both young and very strong. JUMPING AHEAD - AND CLIMBING Up, up, up the steepening high hills we walked, over rocks, and scree and past nomad camps. Finally at 7:15 p.m. on this 12th day of August, we set our 1st camp adjacent to a nomad camp. Several of the residents of this home in the eastern Turkish hills came out to meet us. They are a friendly group. Most Kurdish shepherds are. Many times in the past, shepherds have prepared a glass of tea (cay, or chi) for me; or us, as the case happened to be. My only concern being that the water was contaminated with bacteria that my tourist body couldn’t handle very well. August 13th. The night was reasonably warm and the stars were everywhere. I slept a little and then was awakened by a shepherd’s whistle and a flock of sheep as they were brought down from the hills yet above us. They passed close by our camp. We were up at 5:30 a.m., and muesell served as our quick and cold breakfast. With the tents and sleeping bags secure, we’re moving and on our way by 6 :40 a.m.. I expect that today will be a workout. For starters, the melt water stream that provided us with water last night at the camp, is now dry. We should have expected that would be the case, but didn’t. Therefore, having not planned ahead, we have very little water to begin the day. Water is crucial for us. It will be mid-morning before we will find water, and that will probably be in about 2 hours when we reach Lake Kop. The water will need to be purified. Lake Kop is a watering hole for sheep. The sun is rising over Ararat. It will be a nice day. The direction is up: always up, and the hills are steep. With a pack on your back it is challenging - even painful. At 8:14 we take a rest break. Our water bottles are nearly empty. At 9:25 a.m. we’re at Lake Kop. At this place we fill our water bottles and add the purification tablets. It is a rest stop. We’re tired. It doesn’t matter. We’re on the mountain. At 12:15 we are up to last years high camp at 12,000 feet. This is where we had horses last year, and the dung the horses left behind is now the fuel used to boil water for our tea. The Kurds insist that they have got to have their tea. At 2:45 p.m we started what turns out to be the most difficult part of our rocky climb. This is an area of the mountain that proved a real test a year ago, and I determined then that I would never be fool enough to attempt it ever again. What does that say about me? Up-up - straight up, or nearly so. Rocks and more rocks and more rocks still, big rocks, little rocks, rocks that roll and fall and rocks that are unclimbable; and I begin to hate rocks. Eventually, the climb takes us to an almost flat area next to the glacier. It’s an exhausting effort that takes us past and high above the Parrot Glacier on our right to this place which is to be our new high camp. The elevation is 14,000 feet. We are there to set our camp just before dark. The time is nearly 7 p.m. By 8 p.m. there is a full moon over the glacier in front of us; the west glacier of Ararat. That turns out to be a blessing as we eat a dinner meal cooked over Paul’s cooker. None of us brought flashlights with us. We didn’t want to be seen at night. Besides, they were to heavy to carry. A couple of other things we simply forgot. Eating utensils for instance. We had one spoon (Paul’s) and one knife (mine). We were fully dressed and in our sleeping bags and tents by a few minutes past 8 p.m. It’s cool and quiet. August 14th. We’re up before 6 a.m. The sun is up. It promises us a nice day, but the wind is a bitter cold. A quick and cold breakfast made up of some concoction Paul dreamed up was in order, then it was time to begin the search. By 7:30 a.m. Paul, Mahmut and I are on the ice and moving up the long ascending glacier. We left Iron man and Kannot in camp. The glacier affords us another thousand feet in elevation as we proceed up toward the Ray Anderson site, our 1st priority. (Ray Anderson, an Ararat veteran of the ‘60’s, 70’s, and ‘80’s and a diligent researcher who was with me in 1993 on the failed helicopter mission, believes the Ark rests high in the ice in two pieces between 15,000 and 16,000 feet above the
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Ahora Gorge). Then at approximately 15,000 feet, Mahmut and I both fall to our knees and nearly our waist in a crevasse that was covered by a snow bridge. We quickly rolled out of that predicament and as I did, I saw the snowfall into the ever-widening opening in the ice. I peered into the opening, the place I had nearly gone, and I couldn’t see the bottom. We roped up. The time was 10:45 a.m. The climb from that point on became one of a grueling physical exercise for each of us. It was a slow - painful climb up a heavily crevassed steep mountain glacier that we couldn’t seem to reach the top of; nor even a flat place along the way. Paul and Mahmut each had headaches. This was due to not allowing the time to acclimate, or get used to the altitude before the experience of this strenuous climb. I did not have that problem. I was more concerned about the workings inside my chest. I had been taking vitamin “O” (oxygen) to possibly add more oxygen to my blood and hope to diolate the blood vessels. This probably prevented me from a headache such as Paul and Mahmut were enjoying. Also, I would take an aspirin or few, to thin the blood, and a couple of Advil’s to eliminate the chest pain. This may sound little foolish, but keep in mind I was intent on keeping my heart beating. Under the circumstances this was my best effort at doing just that, while doing my best to keep up with my climbing companions who were 25 and 26 years younger then myself. (The two we left back at camp are 32 years younger than I am). At 55 years of age, I need all the help I can get. After all, “I’m too old to climb.” Above the Ahora Gorge just below 16,000 feet, we found the area thought to be Ray Anderson’s “lower object” location. Ray had shown us a photograph of what appeared to be a doghouse type of formation sticking out of the ice. Ray is sure that formation is not ice or rock, but part of the Ark. We found nothing but ice. We even peered into a couple of large openings in the ice to see nothing but the inside of a crevasse and more ice. We photographed everything. This is not to say that part of the structure is not there; this is to say that we couldn’t find it. We climbed to a place abeam the upper portion or “long piece” of the Ray Anderson site at 16,000 feet and took photos from a relatively close distance of maybe 100 -200 meters. I carried a GPS (Global Positioning System) with me and the reading at this location gave a coordinate of 39 degrees 42 minutes 41 seconds north and 44 degrees 17 minutes and 64.4 east. There were three or four evenly spaced “holes” which could have passed at a distance as having the appearance of windows, but when Paul looked through his telescope, they were seen to be only rocks. Our intent was to climb higher and past this point to walk over “the long piece” and then toward Cakmac peak which is behind and above Ray’s site, but the weather turned bad on us in a hurry. The wind was ferocious; maybe 50 - 60 miles per hour and driving ice pieces like sleet, piercing bits that slashed at the face threatening the eyes through the glasses we wore. The ice flew at us horizontally or parallel to and across the surface of the glacier. We kept low in an attempt to keep out of the full blast of the ice-cold wind. It would not let up. The time was 4 p.m. Nothing could be seen at 16,000 feet at the Ray Anderson site from our perspective. With the weather closing in we began our descent to the 14,000-foot high camp on the edge of the glacier. The descent took 2 hours. When we arrived, Kannot and Ironman had dinner and tea waiting. I’m not sure what the dinner was, but I think it came out of a package. I didn’t care. It was warm. It had been a full day. Now it was night, and there was a full moon. I thought about Jim Irwin who had walked on that moon. I wished he was there with us. Maybe he was. August 15th. We’re awake at 6:25 a.m. and begin our preparations for the day. Paul and I move a little slower today and deal with the various pains earned from the climb of yesterday. The plan today is to reach the Ahora Gorge at about 15,500 feet. This is high enough to look into the heart of the glacial areas of the gorge and determine if a structure can be seen and recognized. We also plan to find a place to view the rocky walls of the gorge. Mahmut’s feet are terribly blistered and he’s in some pain as a result of yesterday’s exercise. He stays in camp to doctor his feet, heal and rest. Paul and I started out at approximately 8:30 a.m. Before we left camp, Paul asked me to put the coordinates of the camp into the memory of my GPS. Up until now, I had intended only to use the GPS to mark the coordinates of a discovery, but as per Paul’s suggestion, I did put the coordinates of the camp into waypoint 1 of the GPS. They are 39 degrees 43’ 45” North and 44 degrees 17’ 22” East. By 10:30 a.m. Paul and I are on an out cropping that extends from below and just N-W of the Cehennem Dere (hell’s canyon). We slid down a snowfield from the glacial ice to this rock outcropping. That was an exhilarating exercise in itself. The blade of the ice ax was the brake used to stop the slide from becoming a “flight” into the gorge. Paul slid down first. Then I decided to enjoy the slide. As the speed increased, I just thrust the blade of the ice ax into the ice and snow, and that slowed my rapid descent at just the right time. It was a chance to “live on the edge.” The cloud cover in the gorge was heavy, and although we waited and hoped for the clouds to clear, they only seemed to thicken. We were unable to see the Araxes Glacier because of it. We did however, on occasion get a pretty good (and fleeting) look at the western wall of the gorge and the canyons formally thought to be Davis canyon. (The place
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thought by some to be where Ed Davis had reportedly seen the Ark in 1943). We were able to see two interesting objects in two separate canyons, but we determined them to be to small to be the Ark. After a couple of hours (I don’t recall the exact time), Paul and I climbed the steep slope of ice and snow that we had previously slid down (I used 2 ice axes and crampons), to reach the glacier above. Then we proceeded to hike to the edge of the gorge. Along the way we found the skeletal remains of some type of goat that Bob Cornuke, Bob Stuplich, George Kralik, Dave Banks and I had seen last year. Paul thought the animal to be a “Thar.” Apparently this animal, if it is a Thar, is normally a resident if the Himaylays. I guessed it either had gotten lost, or had been a resident of the mountains in this part of the world as well. No doubt, it has been on this mountain a long, long time; maybe centuries. If my memory of last year serves me correctly, then the goat had moved, or turned about 180 degrees from a previous position of head pointing down the ice, to the present position of the head pointing up the ice. Also, the body of the animal seems to be more “on top” of the ice then last year when it appeared to be more “in” the ice. This indicates to me that there has been more of an ice melt then we experienced last year. I was encouraged. Maybe the melt would be enough to expose the structure we were after. From the edge of a rock outcropping near the Heart Glacier, Paul was able to see fairly well into the Avalanche Canyon which is below the finger of the Abich 2 glacier. He had thought that there might be part of the Ark in that canyon. During his days as a captive on the mountain by the PKK (1993), Paul thought he could see part of a barge-like structure in that canyon. He has now pretty well decided that what is there is only rock. However, that decision is not written in stone. I was more interested in photographing all I could on the Araxes. The clouds did part just long enough to allow me to do just that - and as expected, there is always an object or two that raises the question - “What’s that?” We wouldn’t find out. Paul and I would be unable to descend from our perch at 15,000 + feet to the lower Abich and then the Araxes. The ice is so broken, and the distances so great, that an attempt would be suicide. There would be a probability that we, like the goat, would become permanent residents of the rocks and ice below. I’m not quite that committed to this place. We walked on upward along the Abich ridge above and west of the gorge photographing everything in sight. There was a broken piece of ice that looked like a piece of a barge; but it was white and in a moving glacier full of similar white pieces. There are so many things on that mountain that look (imaginatively) like what we think the Ark looks like. I wonder, when the real thing is sighted, if not already, then will we be able to recognize it? Davis and Hagopian had said that it looked like a big blue rock until they finally recognized it as a ship. If it is still covered in ice, the melt back has to be greater till the “blue rock” is seen. Paul and I decided to move on up the ice toward the upper area of the Ray Anderson site. That place was yet above us about 600-700 feet. I wanted to see the back of the site and if possible, even the 16,500-foot plateau by Cakmak peak. I had camped on that plateau in 1986, but then there was a lot more snow than there is now. I wanted to see that same place today. Paul thought that if he felt up to it, he would summit the mountain. Ataturk peak is 16,946 feet high. I had done that in 1984, 85, & 86. I would not summit again this year. I would save that energy to descend back to the high camp. After all, I need all the energy I can get. “I’m to old to climb.” As we began our climb in the direction of the Ray Anderson site, we were suddenly in a fog. It quickly became so thick that we were actually in a “white out.” We could barely see each other and we were only about 3-4 feet apart. The time was somewhere close to 3p.m. We roped up. Our plans to climb higher were now suddenly changed. In this “white out” we had to find our way to our high camp which was nearly 2.000 feet below us and generally west of our present location. I figured the descent would take us about 2 hours. Here is where the GPS came in very handy. Because Paul had suggested I enter the position of our camp into a waypoint in the GPS, which I did do, we simply used the GPS to guide us back to camp. Along the way, Paul, who I called the “warm-hearted ice-man,” an experienced glacier traveler on the glaciers of New Zealand, led us around and over the openings in the heavenly crevassed Abich and West Glaciers of Ararat. Paul led us across the crevasses, and I handled the GPS. We were a team. As we came upon the crevasses, which in the white out we couldn’t see till only a couple of feet from them, we would crawl across a snow bridge, or find a narrow place to step over. We did this while being guided by following the “highway” the GPS provided to us. At about 1/10th of a mile distance remaining to the destination, I hollered for Mahmut, and he answered. We couldn’t see him; we were still unable to see more than a few feet in front of us, but we had found our way back to camp. Dinner was ready. The time was 5:10 p.m. It rained on us that night, and the wind howled. The temperature dropped. It must have; it got cold. I expected it would be snowing on the summit and at the Ray Anderson site. Maybe even it would soon be snowing on us. Four people crowded into Paul’s two-man tent to keep out of the weather, while I alone in my one man tent was protected from the
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same elements. The tents were secured to the campsite by pegs and rocks. Fortunately, they didn’t blow away. Over all, we held up quite well in what turned out to be - a storm. August 16th It did snow last night. Everything above us on the mountain had a new covering of white. If any part of the Ark was located at an elevation above us, and had it been visible before the snowfall of last night, then certainly it was covered this morning. Our plan was now to descend below the ice on this day, and move around to the Ahora Gorge and look at it from the rocks and the high hill where we had seen the object on the Araxes glacier a year earlier. We cleaned up our camp and began the decent from the 14,000-foot camp at 8:20 am. I hate rocks. (I know, it’s illogical to hate rocks. It’s the exercise of the climb and descent that I’m not fond of, but I found it less threatening for myself - to put the blame on the rocks; Indulge me for awhile). This was a treacherous and miserably rocky descent, and I swore to myself (like I did last year) that this was the last time I would ever set foot on this miserable over grown rock pile. Was there a danger? You bet, but then I’ve heard it said that the only way a mountain climber can be safe is to stay home. Well I’m not a mountain climber, at least I don’t think of myself in that circle. I don’t even like to climb. So what am I doing here, why do I continue to struggle to climb this mountain and deal with all the problems? I’m looking for a boat, I should be at the beach. A warm beach with no ice, ice is cold and beaches are warm. That’s were I should be, I’ll find a boat there. The problem here is I’m after one certain big boat. A boat that no longer can float. so I ask myself: “What sense does it make to look for a boat that can’t float?” Then I think I’ve been up here to long. It seems that Noah and God parked the big boat on this rock pile. “When I get to heaven I’m going to have to talk to someone about this.” I wonder if I’m losing my mind. Big boulders and small rocks, and shale and stuff that moves is all around us. One wrong move and its off to a wild ride which could be a bit more then I would want, under any circumstances. Somehow I managed to find a short stretch of weeds and grass between the rocks on the steep slope and I was almost thrilled for a few minutes. I enjoyed that walk in the park. Then there were more rocks of almost every size and shape imaginable till we reached the 12,000-foot camp of the previous year, and collapsed for a few minutes of rest and discussion. We had a slight disagreement. Mahmut is afraid that if we circle around and head toward the Ahora Gorge, the Ahora army will see us and take us. I don’t even give that a second thought, neither does Paul. We were going to the gorge, planning to camp there and do the work we had to do in the best way we were capable of doing. At the time of our discussion I had my shoes and socks off and was putting Band-Aids on the beginning of a few new blisters. Then Mahmut apparently discontent with what I had to say threw caution to the wind and said “Ok we go to the Ahora Gorge, we go now.” Mahmut, Paul, Ironman, and Kannot, picked up the heavier packs, including the one that held my tent and sleeping bag, then they left me. Well I wasn’t quite sure of the exact direction of their travel as the terrain prevented me from this view. So, I finished “fixing” my feet, put shoes and socks back on, and threw the few things back into my lighter pack (which I had tossed out when looking for the first aid pouch and Band-Aids). Then proceeded to find my way toward the Ahora Gorge. What I had somehow missed was that Mahmut had planned to descent to the plain below (11,500 feet) and set up a camp and further discuss the Ahora Gorge trip. They, including Paul, were waiting for me 5,00 feet down, and I was staying high and without realizing where they were, I went into the direction of the gorge. I was now, certainly in forbidden territory. The Igdir army controlled the area of the mountain I was passing though and the Ahora army camp controlled the area of and around the Ahora gorge. I hate rocks. Again I crossed boulder fields and climbed hills (they seemed to me to be almost straight up and down forever) and crossed steep slopes of rocks that move in mass when you’re just getting close to them. Again I was crossing an area that I had crossed last year and had promised myself that I would never do it again. I hated that broken promise. Then the dreaded thing happened, rock slide! I was caught in the middle of it and it was taking me for a ride. I landed on my back and pack and tried to roll free but it seemed to keep me in its grip and moved faster. Rocks tumbling over me and on me and the direction was down. I heard myself holler “God stop this!” Then in a second, it stopped. I laid still trying to assess the situation. My left knee hurt. Was it broken? Was I able to move it? I tried and it worked fine. I eased myself out of the slide area and found that outside of the back side having been torn out of my trousers, a bloody finger nail and a sore knee. I was in good shape. My pack had taken much of the punnishment and saved me from other hurts. I thanked God and moved on toward the Ahora Gorge. I do not like rocks.
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I heard Paul and Kannot holler “Richard.” I looked back and they were topping a hill some distance behind me. Paul had figured that I had left the 12,000-foot camp, stayed high and turned towards the gorge. He and Kannot were following and intending to catch and join me. They did. In fact after a short time of conversation with Paul, they passed me. They’re a lot younger then I am, and I was not really in a hurry. The gorge was there, only a few valleys ahead of me. Besides I’m too old to climb. When I reached the gorge I forgot the time it had taken me to travel from the 12,000-foot camp to the gorge. (I was probably about 12,000 to 13,000 feet) It had been approximately four hours. Paul, Kannot, and I in that order, eventually reached the high spot in the middle of the gorge where I had stood and looked at the object in the Araxes that had gotten my attention a year ago. This time it was obvious. The “bow” of what last year I thought may be the Ark (or a giant houseboat), had now melted to form the shape of a triangle. We were looking at ice at the end of the Ararxes glacier. Somehow, the dirt, rocks, sunlight of a year ago had “created” the deception I mentioned earlier. We photographed everything we could and although we could see areas of ice and rock that looked like they might be a section of the Ark., we could not say that it could be so identified. Mahmut and Ironman joined us, differences were settled and we made our way off of the high spot and retreated about 1/2 hours walk toward the direction that we had just come from. This took us pretty well out of jurisdiction of the Ahora army and their binoculars. Camp was setup. Mahmut had brought my tent to me, and Kannot had brought my sleeping bag. The night was clear and cold and disappointment was qietly ever present in the depths of my very being; yet again. August 17th We left camp at 6:45am. Eight and a half hours later, after walking , stumbling, falling, and sliding across some of the same rough terrain we past over the previous day, and after a couple of minutes hiding against a rock out cropping in order to not be seen by a low flying passing airplane, we passed lake Kop. After lake Kop we found some relief as the flat plain beyond the rugged area provided (for a time) an easy decent. On this plain at 11,500 feet, we experience a high moment with being invited to tea with a nomadic group of Kurdish shepherds. With them were their dogs, donkeys, and perhaps 2 - 3 hundred sheep. After a rest and the social exchange, we made our way over and down the hills of rocks and grass until the late afternoon turned into early evening and as we got closer to Dogubeyazit, we found a road where we hitched a ride to Murat Camping. The next couple days would be days of rest. August 20th Today is Sunday. The time is 2:24 p.m.. We have healed somewhat from the physical experience, except that I still have a sore knee. I think I may have developed a minor limp. On the day following our return to Murat Camping, we had our photographs of the Ahora gorge developed; and we’ve studied them. John McIntosh had waited for our return, and being the consumate researcher that he is, we invited him to join us in our study of the photographic results. We decided that according to what we could determine from those results, there are 3, possibly 4 objects of Interest. Paul, Mahmut, and I decided that we must get a closer look. Consequently we immediatly made a decision and took action to put the wheels in motion that we hoped would take us to a favorable result. If Mahmut can manage to get us a 4 wheel drive and a certain amount of army permission, we will drive partway up the east ridge of the Ahora gorge. Then climb up the east ridge to 14,500 feet or so and if able, drop into the gorge and try again to find what we’re after. We could also climb higher to Cakmak peak and take a look at the Ray Anderson site from the backside. I just hate to quit and I am definitely tired of going back home without a discovery yet again. It’s like going home “empty.” As Johm McIntosh had to leave for the states, Dave Larson from California, an Ararat Veteran , has arrived in Dogubeyazit and he will join us on the next climb. This will be my last climb on this, or probably any mountain. When this is over, the beach is next. That’s guaranteed! I will want to climb nothing higher than a beach at today’s sea level. That’s how I feel so then that’s it - period! (I wonder how many times I’ve said that)? August 23rd We have been waiting for permission from the authorities in Ankara to climb again. What? did I say Ankara? Why? Didn’t I do that over and over again for years with only negative results? Yes, and now I’ll try yet again. The point here is that it has never been my desire to break any law. However, I admit that on several occassions in the past years I haven’t exactly agreed with what I was told I could or could not do. Sometime back I came to the conclusion that the authorities had a different agenda then mine. That doesn’t mean I was determined to go against the wishes of the people who were in a position of authority. I did however, sometimes try to find a way to change their minds and find something that we could both live with. Usually Ankara didnot become involved with those kind of decisions. I want to climb the east ridge of the Ahora gorge. I have never done that before and the east ridge may be the key to the discovery or the Ark. From the east ridge I can see the east glacier, and if I decide, I (we) can climb to the 16,000-foot peak and beyond to see the plateau at 16,500 feet near Cakmak Peak. I camped on Cakmak peak in 1986. There was a
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lot more snow and ice at that time then there is now. I want to see that plateau at a point of a great meltback of the ice; such as now. Also I want to see the backside of the Ray Anderson site. As previously detailed, we attempted to reach that those areas twice on this climb, but bad weather in the form of strong winds and sleet on the first attempt, and dense fog the “whiteout” on the second attempt stopped us. New snow on the summit put the “kabosh” on the consideration of a third attempt. I am beginning to wonder if “someone” is trying to keep us away from there at this present time. If that’s a consideration, then a person could possibly think that there must be a reason. Is the opposing force to strong , and/or is the time yet not right for a discovery? There is an advantage of a climb up the east ridge to Cakmak and the back side of the Ray Anderson site. We could then take a short walk to the place on the ice where the wind and sleet stopped us a few days ago. We could descend at least partway down the Abich to the lower part of the Ray Anderson “lower object/short piece” site, and then return to the higher site. Then we could descend back down the east ridge a short distance and repell from the ridge into the gorge. There would be tremendous opportunity to search areas from close up and to see those areas from an angle that was not possible from our previous viewing position on the west of the gorge; or even from above the gorge. If the structure is still not found after the climb to the top of the ridge, Cakmak, the Ray Anderson site and areas near there, as well as on the ridge side of the inside of the gorge, then we could descend to and reach at least 3 and possibly 4 objects that are of great interest to us. One is on the inside of the gorge on the ridge, another is below the “pie-shaped” area at the top of the gorge, another is on the Araxes glacier, also there appears to be a large “something” in avalanche canyon below the Abich. If that is accessible, I’ll go there, if not, then I can at least photograph what there is with my 200 mm lens. Along the way we could study the hidden areas below the ice finger of the Abich 2 glacier. The reason for the permission is because the Military complex and company of soldiers will see us as we try to climb the east ridge. If they see us, they will very quickly find a way to stop us. I don’t wish to have our lives put in that potential position of jeopardy. With this in mind , we have 2 avenues to choose from. We could attempt to obtain permission from the authorities in Ahora, or go over their heads to the authorities in Agri, and subsequently to Ankara. We’ve already quickly and quietly made the proper contacts with the city and military officials in Ahora, and found them to be unreasonable. This was done right after we studied the photographs on the day following our descent of the mountain on the 18th. Subsequently we’ve contacted the Vali, (Governor) of the Governing District of Agri with a hurriedly delivered letter of application from Murat’s travel agency, and photo copies of our passports (Paul, Dave’s, and mine). Since this is an attempt to do everything with permission of the authorities, I can get Murat’s travel agency involved and I am quick to do so. The travel agency will do all it can legally to help us. This application sent to Agri by the agency was forwarded by the Vali, along with a letter from him, to the authorities in Ankara. We are waiting for a fax from those authorities in the hopes that the permission we seek to climb the east ridge will be granted. Upon receipt of a favorable response, we will climb immediately. If the response is unfavorable, then perhaps we’ll come up with a new plan. The delay we’ve experienced while waiting for Ankara’s reply is costly. It’s been five days at last count. Paul could wait no longer. His time is up. He left today for Istanbul and eventually Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve got a week before I must be on my way. Dave also has just one week before he must return to the states. We want to move now and get this job finnished. August 24th Nick Balaskas was born in Greece, Today, he is a citizen of Canada. He is also a laboratory technician in the physics and astronomy department of York University, Toronto, Canada. Yesterday, I met this man in Dogubeyazit, Turkey. The information he shares I think you’ll find very interesting. He relates that a year and a half ago while visiting Panajie, a Greek Orthodox monastery, in Bartow, Florida, about 50 miles south of Tampa, Florida. He met a fellow he remembers as “Fred” who told him that he had for a while lived in a monastery in eastern Turkey. In that monastery he saw artifacts and wood that he was told had come from the Noah’s Ark. Is this possible? I asked Murat’s brother, Siam about the possibility and he said: “There is a monastery in `Mardin’ a city south of Dogubeyazit in eastern Turkey. There is a Armenian population there”. Looking back into history, the Armenians once had a monastery in the Ahora gorge that reportedly had artifacts from the Ark. That monastery was destroyed and covered by debris in the devastating “blowout” on Ararat in 1840. According to the report (The Ark A Reality),1 All who were in the village near the monastery, and all who were in the monastery at the time of that disasterous event, were killed. The monestary was covered by the debris from the mountain during that disaster, and Turkey has yet to allow anyone to excavate the ruins. Is it logical that shortly after that event , Armenians from neighboring villages could have dug into the ruins and recovered the artifacts which were believed to have previously been found in the Ark? Is it possible those artifacts are now in the old Armenian monastery near Mardin? There is no fax from Ankara – they say tomorrow.
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August 25th Its 6:25 pm and today has been one of negotiations. Mahmut assures me that an agreement with necessary authorities has been reached. We will act according to that agreement, with or without the fax. Our time is short. There is no more time to waste waiting for the fax. It’s time to move. The problem we still have however, is that the agreement reached in today’s negotiations does not include the east ridge. August 26th At 4:48 a.m., A man I’ll call “Hollywood” (wants to be a movie star), Kannot, Dave, and I drove out of Dogubeyazit. Family and employment responsibilities had caused Mahmut and Ironman to stay behind. Due to the time constraint we decided not to wait for a time that was convenient for them, so we left without them and drove west and north toward Igdir, then we had traveled toward the mountain to embark on another “last climb.” We are now in a 4-wheel drive vehicle which Hollywood (a Kurdish friend of several years) managed to borrow from a distant relative who happened to be visiting in Dogubeyazit. Our intent is to drive to lake Kop on the road which the military had constructed on Ararat during the years of conflict with the PKK. We’re on that road a few minutes after 5 a.m.. At 6:15 a.m. we can drive no further. Large rocks in the road make the travel by even this 4 -wheel drive, impossible. The road, it seems, is in need of serious repair. Dave, Kannot, and I put on our packs and start walking. Hollywood turns the 4-wheel drive around and returns back down the road just traveled. There is a bitter cold wind against our face and the way is long, strenuous, arduous, and we’re climbing. After some time, perhaps a couple of hours, we reached the top of a rise where the travel toward lake Kop promised to be relatively flat. It’s the plain, or plateau on the western side of the mountain where had we continued in the direction of lake Kop, we would have passed the area where Kurdish shepherds had treated us to cay (tea)a little more than a week ago. As it is now, I expect to walk over the plateau, pass lake Kop, climb up the steep and rocky hillside that follows, and then cross the few yards of relatively easy terrain which slopes down to a wide area of grass, rocky moraines, an extensive flat area of difficult rocky terrain. The rocky terrain is bisected by numerous glacial melt water streams at elevations of approximately 11,000 - 11,500 feet. Then we would get to the place where we can begin our long and slow climb to pass by last years camp at 12,000 feet, and continue up (and I mean up) the most difficult area of the mountain I’ve experienced till now. I expect that we’ll be at the 14,000-foot camp by late afternoon. We would spend the night there. I’ve done this before. Why do it again? This is the plan: Dave and I will do just what Paul and I did except, we will push on past the place the weather had stopped us on that previous climb, and walk over and pass behind the upper part of the Ray Anderson site and continue up to Cakmak peak at 16,500 feet. Then continue down and around the 16,000 foot peak to descend the east ridge (quickly) to a place we can descend (repell if necessary) into the gorge and investigate the 3 or 4 areas of interest. We would find a place in the gorge to spend another night. What we would find along the way would influence our decision on how long we would stay in the area. Our direction of departure would be over the same miserable terrain I left the mountain on the previous decent. That was the plan. However, as should by now be expected, the unexpected happened. Kannot said something about wanting to stop and camp. We said “no, we go to the ice.” [Although He was well aware of the plan, and since he was with me on the previous climb, Kannot certainly knew the way, in retrospect, perhaps I should have been more specific about the ice we go to. Then again, maybe not. He had his own plan]. A short time later, Kannot says (in the motion of hand and only the few English words he knows) we must go to the right of Kop and climb a ridge. “Why?” I ask. “Jandarma” he says. I argue that there are no Jandarma and we will not be stopped. “Jandarma” he says, and turns to the right. I thought maybe he had a phone call (cell phone) when I wasn’t paying attention and maybe too there is something I don’t know. Maybe our agreement with the authorities wasn’t exactly solid as rock and he had found this out in by a phone call. But, if that is the case, then why wasn’t I given this information? If the agreement had been breached, then Mahmut would have phoned Kannot and asked to speak with me. This had not happened, and Kannot was climbing fast away from us and going in a direction I was beginning to question. We had little choice except to follow Kannot. He had a largest of my 2 packs on his back. That was his purpose on this trip, to carry the weight. I knew that even in this new direction we traveled then, that we could reach our destination. It would just be a longer and more difficult trip. The terrain ahead of us was steep and the rocks promised to be the kind that cause you to slide down a few steps for each few steps gained. They are loose and miserable to try and climb over. So what’s new? Then Kannot, who at 23 years of age and strong, is far ahead of Dave and me, turns further to the right and heads toward the ice cave - the “eye of the bird.” I do not want to go there. That is entirely the wrong direction and takes us away from our objective. He has my pack and he moves quickly. He is way out in front and won’t respond to as we hollar for him to stop. I need that pack and he is taking it in the wrong direction. Kannot has his mind set on the ice cave. We have to follow him; he has my stuff!
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Something else is beginning to be of a concern. The cloud cover is heavy, and the weather is closing in. I realize that I am not able to see the ice cave much of the time and the upper part of the mountain in front of us is obscured in clouds. What I don’t seem to realize however, is how close to vertical the ice and terrain is above the ice cave. The reason that is becoming important is because if Kannot continues in this direction, we’ll have to climb the mountain to the ice cap from wherever Kannot decides to stop. We’re on a time schedule and this new direction of travel is rapidly cutting into that schedule. We may not have time to retrace our steps and get back to the climb we had planned, and too, we may not be able to climb the ice or the rock above the ice cave in order to reach the ice cap. Over rocks, sliding down rocks, falling down, getting back up and climbing over big and bigger rocks, splashing through a melt water stream that has found its place between, over, under and among the rocks. We’re tired, aggravated, a little wet, and generally “ticked off.” By the time Dave and I caught up with Kannot, He is resting on a ridge below the stretch of ice that leads to the ice cave. The pack he had been carrying was on the ground. The argument (I’ll call it a “discussion”) that followed was one to behold. Kannot and I have a definite language problem but I endeavored to made myself completely understood as to how I felt about his direction of travel. Kannot says, “we camp here.” I said :“No, we go to our camp.” I pointed back to my left which was in the direction we had planned to climb. He said :“No, we camp here.” In anger, I tossed my pack to the ground. Then I said (among other things) :“We can not camp here, we must go to the top.” He said :“No -- can not.” He also replied with a few more things in his language which I couldn’t understand. Kannot, who had wanted to camp shortly after we had begun the work of this day, had made up his mind to take charge of the events of the day and camp right on this spot and go no further. As far as Dave and I were concerned, to agree with that decision was absolutely out of the question for the success of this mission. Kannot, Dave and I had a further “discussion.” When I decided the discussion was over, I picked up the pack that Kannot had been carrying, removed his sleeping gear, leaving it with him, and put the pack on my back. Then in my right hand I took my other pack, the smaller one which I had been carrying and said to Kannot: “You go back to Dogubeyazit.” He was fired! “We camp there.” I pointed up beyond the ice cave to the top. After I made that statement and looked up in the direction above and beyond the ice cave, which I then could see were two identical caves side by side looking to me like the top half of a double barrel shotgun pointing right at me, the heavy cloud cover gave way for a few seconds and the near vertical and the seemingly “impossible to climb” terrain above the ice cave came into view. Then the clouds took over again. Everything above us was obscured. Dave and I had a decision to make. Do we go back down the more than a thousand feet we had just gained – (it took us nearly 4 hours to do that while we were trying to catch up to Kannot), do we climb the rocky ridge to the ice, put on crampons and walk up to the ice cave (or caves) and maybe camp there if a climb above the caves was out of the question, or do we attempt to climb the rocks well to the left of the ice cave till we reach the ice cap? Could we short cut the distance and the time to the 14,000 foot camp site by climbing this direction among all these rocks? Certainly not by the end of the day. Then, would we find a suitable place to camp if we chose this latter direction? Would the weather get us before we were ready for it? I knew we had wasted a lot of this day, and the mountain yet above us was enshrouded in a dense cloud cover. What was clear was that if we descended to the plain that takes us to lake Kop, then we could no longer reach the 14,000-foot camp we had initially intended to reach before dark. Most likely we could not even reach the 12,000-foot camp. It was now early afternoon, over 6 hours had past since we had left the 4 - wheel drive truck. By choosing to descend and pick up on the planned route and continue past lake Kop, it would take the rest of the day and all of the morning tomorrow to get us from where we then were to a place on the ice just above the camp site at 14,000 feet. We would be exhausted and to go on the ice at that time could be suicide. There is also the fact that we now have more weight to carry. Kannot is no longer on the team. Could I even climb any higher, let alone to the 12,000 and 14,000-foot camps with this extra weight on my back? Another factor, the weather was closing in. During the “discussion” with Kannot, he had said: “Go there,” (pointing toward the ice below the ice cave along with everything above it which was now covered in clouds) “Crampons” and motions a left turn and climb-- “No problem” he said. I replied: “You’re a problem - big problem.” He countered with a like observation he had made of me, and I told him: “Go back to Dogubeyazit.” Dave and I divided the weight of the three packs into two, and proceeded to climb a ridge in front of us toward the ice cave. That was a bigger job then I ever thought it could be. Rocks of all sizes rolled when we stepped on them. That slowed us down all the while we needed to hurry to try and accomplish something in our favor before the end of the day. Discouragement was lingering in the background as we continued toward the ice cave without a clear cut plan. Then we reached a very deep vertical drop-off that completely changed our direction of travel. “No problem Kannot?” I said aloud--”It’s a big problem.”---of coarse Kannot could not hear me. He had long since started back down the hill and was out of sight. Kannot had lied to me about the Jandarma. There were none. Our way of travel according to the original plan would have been clear. In the middle of our “discussion,” I had asked Kannot for his cell phone to call Mahmut. Kannot said: “No credit”- meaning there was no credit left on the phone. Dave’s cell phone we couldn’t get to work and I didn’t have one. Then a few minutes later, Kannot was on the phone. Obviously he had “credit.” I have no idea who he phoned on that call. Finally he did call Mahmut and was told to do everything I told him to do. However, Kannot and I had a communications problem. I was angry and I told him to go back to Dogubeyazit. I couldn’t depend upon him and that kind of relationship is the last thing we need on a mountain. Kannot had indicated we would have no problem reaching the ice
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below the ice cave, but there was a problem. It was inaccessible from this approach. The deep vertical drop-off that threatened to prevent Dave and I from climbing higher, extended as far in either direction that we could see. Basically, Kannot did not know the terrain, and even though he was being paid for his help, he was too lazy to carry my expedition size pack to the previously planned 14,000-foot camp. He saw ice that was “low down” and decided he would take my pack there and then lay down and sleep a few days while Dave and I would try and figure out how to climb the near vertical ice and rocks above the ice cave to the ice cap and places beyond and back again. Dave and I had our ropes and could have repelled off of the ridge, but to climb out of the “pit” that repell would have put us into, just didn’t seem to be an option. We turned to our left paralleling the vertical drop and continued to climb toward the far left of the glacial ice finger that surrounds the ice cave. It was at least in generally the correct direction toward the camp site at 14,000 feet. We crossed the glacial stream previously crossed when trying to catch Kannot, and we stopped long enough to fill our water bottles. We stumbled in the rocks and were blessed when we found a solid sandstone formation that provided us with good footing for at time that seemed all to short. Dave and I reached the end of our uphill climb when a few raindrops promised that the rest of the day and probably the night would present us with a problem we really didn’t care to face. There was going to be a storm. With the weather closing in all around us, we talked it over, prayed, and decided we had better head back down and find a reasonable place to camp and wait out the storm. Still, we were hesitant in doing so. In trying not to lose to much altitude we initially traveled to our left in the general direction of lake Kop. We didn’t want to quit this attempt to complete our job, and delayed our descent as long as we could. There was some hope (though not much) that we could find a sheltered place to sit out the storm while we were still on this part of the mountain. Then the rain and sleet began to fall and we did begin our descent. It was downhill, and I mean downhill. That was a trip I’ll not forget anytime soon. Considering all the descriptions of the rocky travels you have read that I have experienced so far in this book, take those combined experiences and multiply them by a factor of 10! Then you’ll appreciate what I’m about to share (Maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but not much). The mountain moved, and rocks of every size and description were on the mountain. Every step turned into an adventure and not the kind that I thought I had “signed up” for. Rock slides were our constant companion. Dave and I slipped, fell, slid, rolled, and simply crashed at least 20 or 30 times each on the way down on this treacherous and dangerous part of Ararat. It’s a part of the mountain that I’ve never heard of anyone trying to climb up or down. There was the rain and sleet, then too there was the wind. The wind was blowing I would guess about 40-50 mph and every time we’d try to stand - down we would go. Fortunately, the fall was usually backwards and I would land with my back pack protecting me from the jagged rocks, and I would slide till I stopped. Dave had similar good fortune. On at least two occasions I went head over heals and I experienced a tumble or two that should have left me with broken legs, ankles, and arms. But, by the Grace of God, I survived. By the Grace of God Dave and I both got through the ordeal with only minor bumps and bruises. I did pick up a new limp not unlike the one I “earned” on the previous climb a week and a half earlier. We “rolled” onto a fairly level place and tried to hide from the wind behind a row of rocks, and make some sort of a camp. We were beat-up and absolutely exhausted. Nine hours had passed since we had gotten out of the vehicle for what we had hoped and expected to be a profitable day. It was 3:15pm. Dave Larson’s a nice guy. A Christian 1st, back in the states he owns a small business. He runs a modest picture frame business out of his home in California. Dave has a Masters degree, and is also a math and physics teacher as well as a part time preacher. Dave is a very knowledgeable - quiet spoken man, with a lot to say. He gives a lecture tour on invitation, to churches and other events mainly in the California area. He’s 44 years of age and will spend his 45th birthday while still in Turkey (I think this adventure was part of his “party”). He’s in good physical condition. One day I watched and counted him do pushups to the number of 80 (he didn’t realize I was paying attention). To his credit he cooks a mean chicken stew (out of a package) and carries a supply of metro (or some such Turkish brand) candy bars. I was exhausted; Dave did the cooking, and shared the results. I sure was glad he’s a nice guy. Chicken stew and candy bars; that was our supper! Despite the wind and the rain, it was a pleasant ending to a rather rough day. August 27th Last night we were treated to a wind that must have reached 60 mph; a drop in temperature and a rain that we weren’t really prepared for. I kept dry in my one man tent-which I used as a bivey sack since I couldn’t put up the tent in the wind. But Dave’s bibby sack turned out not to be as waterproof. His experience was a bit wetter then mine, yet he still laughed it off (at least I think he was laughing). The morning found us a bit chilled and ready to get off of that mountain. We had wasted a day of valuable time, and Dave and I each had a plane to catch. I believe that we could have completed our job and located the objects which we saw on my photographs and on Paul’s video, and maybe even found the Ark had Kannot had given us a bad steer that cost us a day of valuable time. But it happened. If you consider the 2 attempts on the previous climb, as well as give credit to the serious consideration of the third attempt which was decided against due to reasons previously mentioned, then this could possibly be considered the 4th attempt this year to reach the top of the Ray Anderson site, Cakmak peak and now the east ridge. Again I am faced with the questions: Was the opposition just to strong, or is it just not the right time for a discovery? I choose to believe that the time wasn’t right. The opposition is not too strong. God’s in charge. He must be, He kept us alive.
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At 8:15 a.m. we started another descent. From this part of the mountain, the remaining descent wasn’t to difficult, it was just a walk down a very long, steep, and rocky hill. we did manage to find a couple of boulder fields to cross, I guess we just couldn’t pass up those opportunities. But we also found the lake Kop road and that was a relief. Dave’s cell phone worked just once, that’s all we needed. He got ahold of a friend of ours in the city, and Dave told him to send someone to find us. That was at 12:30 pm and by 2pm Mahmut with Hollywood driving had reached us as we walked on the lake Kop road. They somehow managed it in a 2-wheel drive car. Dave and I were on our way back to Dogubeyazit. Kannot was nowhere to be seen and hadn’t been seen. August 28th The status of things are thus; The expedition is over, for now. Dave and I have to return to our responsibilities in the states. Now what about Kannot? Why did Kannot act this way? Why was he, or why did it seem that he was instrumental in the failure in this climb? Here’s a thought; In the book of Daniel chapter 10 verse 13, the answer to Daniel’s prayer was delivered by an angel, but that answer was delayed 21 days because of a battle between the angel and the “Prince of Persia”; a fallen and powerful member of Satan’s angelic force. The “Prince of Persia” is still in Satin’s force. Mount Ararat can be considered on or within the border of Persia. The Apostile Paul wrote to the Ephesians (chapter 6 verse 12) “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Could this have been the case with the fellow I refer to as Kannot? I think it could have been. It’s reasonable to think that Satin and his force would not want the Ark revealed. Then again, perhaps the time was not right. I followed up on the information that Nick Balaskas gave me on August 24th. The information I refer to is in reference to the monastery in the S.E. Turkey that is supposed to have wood and artifacts from Noah’s Ark. Through phone calls from Mahmut and the people who work in Murat’s travel agency to a few selected people in and around the city of Mardin, we learned that there is indeed such a monastery. It’s an old Armenian monastery in the town of Moralkin. it’s either named the “Moralkin Monastery” or “Zaceran Monastery.” We would not have the time to search for and visit this monastery, and I guess at this time that is just as well. The monastery apparently is not open. It is located in an area near the Iran border and the military has determined that entry to this area is forbidden! Is it the prince of Persia- again? On August 29th, Dave and I left Murat Camping on our individual journeys back to the states. Journeys that include the usual traffic stops, passport checks and occasional automobile searches by the police and the army. We, as every other traveler, would be subject to the security measures imposed by the airline on which we traveled. That airline would bring us back to the United States and the end of this phase of our journey by August 31st. One month to the day since I left the states on this second trip of the year, the 19th since my 1st trip in 1984. Another “vacation” is over. This time I didn’t come back completely empty-I have a limp. It’s a temporary thing. It is now January 10th, 2001. Last night I spoke by phone with Nick Balaskas. He is the Canadian who visited me in Turkey and shared the information of the photographs of the Ark as seen in the high office of the United States government in the 1960’s or 70’s. You will recall this from the information presented on the previous pages of this report, and recorded on August 24th. I do not know if that information is accurate or not. I have learned that after Nick and I parted company in Turkey, he went to what he calls the “Turabdin” region of Turkey and investigated the possibility to any truth of a monastery in the region that might contain wood from the Ark. The results of his research, although not conclusive, give him reason to believe that there is such a place. Based on what I had learned on August 28th, there is such a place. On his journey, Nick found a Christian community (Armenian) that still speaks the Aramaic Language. It was indicated to him by these people that the wood does exist. Then there is this: Some time ago, I spoke (in person) with another man who at present, happens to be in Canada. This fellow has family in northern Europe., and he is living temporarily in Montreal. Because of some fear on the part of the individual, he asked me not to reveal his name or any details about him. I know this puts some doubt on the story I’m about to share, but that’s all I’ve got, and that being the case, I wouldn’t share even this, except to make a point. I was told by the man in Montreal, that his uncle, now deceased, had been an officer in the US air force during the 1960’s. He was a pilot. He was also a man who spoke Russian fluently and because of this he was invited into the offices of the higher levels of the US government. Again, to honor the man in Montreal’s request, I will not mention any names. I admit that there are somethings in the story that are somewhat unclear, and as I write this, I am also in the process of trying to get the facts. Granted, it has the undertones of some sort of a “spy” story, but that may not be the case. It is because of the desire for secrecy concerning the officer’s family members, and also the timing of this writing, that I will not be able to share all of what I hope to learn on the pages of this report. According to what I was told, the officer saw the Ark from an aircraft as he flew around Ararat. The officer, had told his nephew (the man I spoke with) that a small part of the Ark was visible, while the rest of it appeared to be buried. It was unclear if it was buried in ice or in rock, but the nephew thinks the uncle meant it was in ice. It appeared to the uncle (officer) to be in a place that could only be seen from above, as from an aircraft, and that it was located in a place that would be “impossible” to reach by climbing. Through various discussions of the event, I was told that photographs were taken and the information was given to authorities in the offices of the higher levels of the US government. Is the story true? Maybe. Maybe not. However, It is one of several stories that has in some way involved some branch of the military, or the US government. Heres the point:
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When the facts are in, I’m sure we’ll find the US government knows all about the location of the object on Ararat which could well be the Ark. If so, then they have purposely suppressed the information. There could be a couple of reasons for this action. One could be to protect their military interests and investments in Turkey. A finding such as the Ark would no doubt bring Christians, Jews, and Moslems from around the world to see this truth. The discovery of tremendous historical and scientific implications could bring about a religious revival, and in Turkey, any increase in the Islamic party because of the discovery would possibly threaten the political arm of government as well as the military control over the country. It serves the interests of the governments to keep the information suppressed. There is also the fact that educational institutions of the world would be threatened. In the battle of Creationism vs. evolution, consider if you will - the plight of the scientist; the teacher of “scientific” thought, and those whom he has influenced. Henry and John Morris say: “The evolutionary philosophy thoroughly dominates the curricula and faculties of secular colleges and universities today, as well as the schools of the large religious denominations. It is not well known, however, that this philosophy has also had considerable effect on many evangelical Christian colleges.” 2 “It is bad enough for theological ` liberals’ to embrace evolutionism, but absolutely inexcusable for those who profess to believe the Bible and to follow Christ.” 3 The key word here is “inexcusable.” I sat in church on two occasions this past year when I myself heard a preacher speak of long ages and in so doing, indicated evolution with some rational for his belief. I confronted the preacher on each of the two occasions by letter, and what I thought to be a reasonable approach to a future discussion. Although I was complemented on what the pastor referred to as “a scholarly work” on my first contact, on the second I was ignored. I no longer attend that church, but that’s not the point; the point is he is a product of what he has been taught, and I’m of the belief that what he, and others with a similar background and belief teach, is a compromise, and not the truth. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” (Romans1:20). The Apostle Paul said “O timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith.” “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” “Ever learning , and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim.6:20-21; 2 Tim. 4:3,4; &3:7) So, The question I have is ; “What were you taught in school?” I believe it is important that you seriously entertain that question. Consider this: Drs. Henry and John Morris of the Institute for Creation Research in their exhaustive three volume set “The Modern Creation Trilogy,” discuss the subject of Creation verses evolution and it’s effect on society in the greatest detail one might ever want to read. I will not attempt to discuss the subject except to quote the question, and the answers. “”Did the very first one-celled organism evolve naturalistically from non-living chemical molecules, or was life created supernaturally? 4. The simplest one-cell organism contains over 200 interrelated parts. To function, they must be perfectly integrated. Life is organization of the parts. The probability of the correct alignment of parts is one in 10 to the 375th. The idea that the simplest of organisms could be arranged by chance is absurd. Consider the human cerebral cortex. It contains over 10 billion cells all arranged in order. By chance? Not a chance. Disorder never spontaneously turns into order. Organization requires an organizer,: A Creator. 5. Consider the first and second Laws of Thermodynamics. The first law says: “Energy can be transferred from one place to another, or transformed from one form to another, but it cannot be created nor destroyed.” 6 That’s because the creation is finished. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him.” 7.Thesecond law says: “The total quantity of energy in the universe is constant, but the quantity of available energy is decreasing.” 8 This means that disorganization, or entropy increases and an evolutionary theory would require just the opposite; an autoorganization. It doesn’t happen. The Laws of Thermodynamics, open and closed systems, entropy, probabilities, Biogenetic Law, cause and effect, etc. etc. is discussed in scholarly detail in particularly volume 2 of the trilogy. The bottom line is that although there can be some limited environmentally influenced horizontal movement within a kind, evolution is not possible. An intelligence is needed to organize the molecules into life. The scientific facts show there was a plan, therefore there was a planner; a Creator. You are not here as the result of an accident. There is a purpose. You and I have a purpose. The truth is evidenced in true science, and written for us in God’s Word. This truth is not what we are taught in a secular university! We are taught a lie! I think it is this fact that drives me. The Scripture says: “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 9. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the Ark, And knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the comining of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”10 That’s the Rapture. Are you ready?
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It’ll be business as usual, then without warning, people disappear, and “as the days of Noah were,” -- so shall it be. God said then, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and I will destroy them with the earth.””But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” He provided a way. What would you have paid to get passage on that boat? Think about it. He provides a way now: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE.” 11 What cost is eternal life? The price for eternal life has been paid, for those who choose to accept it. Those of us who search for the truth realize the re-discovery of Noah’s Ark could be seen as a warning, perhaps a final warning of things to come. Scripture does not tell us the Ark will be revieled befor the Rapture. If He allows this to happen, then possibly a few people will be wise enough to pay attention, and choose to accept the gift. “For BY GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is a GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” 12. A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE SEARCH FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. Since my earlier entries into this collection of experiences by many who are in the search for truth, I have climbed on Ararat several times. The record of those climbs will be published in what is hopefully the reasonably near future. I don’t have that record with me as I write this, but I trust what I will say here will provide some interest, and surely make one aware of some of the dangers of the mountain. I’ll recap here just the past three years events as I remember them. In this report I will not include the names of the Kurdish and the Turkish climbers. The reason is because of their safety should this publication reach the hands of anyone who would take it upon themselves to cause them or their families harm. Dave Larsen was with me in 2003. As I recall, we had a team of four climbers, four horsemen and four horses. We also had with us two of the grandsons of Abas, the man who took Ed Davis to the location of the Ark in 1943. We climbed on the east side of the mountain, and I’m not sure if the Abas brothers really wanted us to find the right location. After about 3 days climb they pointed us toward a general direction and said they had never seen the structure, and their father, now diseased had made them promise they wouldn’t go there. They would obey their father, and wouldn’t go any further. We continued to find our way across the rocks and attempted to find where the structure was resting and probably mostly buried, but The Kurdish climbers were connected to the world below by cell phone, and we got a phone call from the military demanding that we get out of the area. The Kurds obeyed, and what were Dave and I to do? Well, the Kurdish men carried most of my luggage, and all the camping gear. We left the mountain. Were we in the right area? A year earlier I climbed the into the same general area, and according to one man who was with me, his father had been chased out of the area 50 years earlier by the Turkish military, and this was the “Ark Area” The soldier had said that to the man’s father. Exactly where the Ark area happened to be wasn’t exactly clear, but it seemed to be in the east, or north east on the mountain. The year 2004 has its moments too. Russ Cook from Australia teamed up with me and we climbed the mountain twice. The 1st climb was up the east ridge above the Ahora Gorge to an elevation of approximately 15,500 feet. We intended to search a canyon that Russ thought looked like the canyon described by Ed Davis from what he had recalled of the 1943 climb.. We reached the canyon about the time thunder clouds sent its lightening down on the mountain. Along with it came a sleet storm. We tossed our metal ice axes and crampons to a rock formation a distance away, then hid among other rocks while trying not to slide down the mountain. After the storm we gathered the Ice Axes, and crampons and slowly made our way down to camp about 2,000 feet below us. That was interesting to say the least. We were descending a steep and rugged area on rocks covered by a couple inches of sleet and snow. It was slippery, and the descent went slowly into the darkness of the night. We knew the general direction of our camp, and well before we reached it, two of our Kurdish teammates had come up to find us. They were successful. The following morning we decided to find a place to drop down into the gorge from high on the east ridge. Eventually we did, and Russ (a good man with a rope) and I set up a rappel down a vertical rock face for about 70 feet, then it was a scramble and slid and went into the Gorge low down at about 12,000 feet. The Kurdish teammates had never rappelled before and it was fun watching them have that experience. Once in the gorge, Russ and one of the Kurdish climbers set up camp while I and 2 Kurdish climbers proceeded to hike up the east side of the inside of the Gorge. What I didn’t take into account was that there are a number of rock slides and avalanches into the gorge when the warm air allows the ice to melt. The rocks loosen up and fall into the canyon. I had sent the two young Kurdish men on ahead because they are much faster then I am, and told them that I would be along as I was able. I had given them my digital camera to take pictures of what looked like a structure and return to me if I hadn’t caught up by then. I was in the middle of an obvious rock slide area when I heard a tremendous roar high off to my left. I looked up and what I saw immediately got my attention. A side of the mountain had let loose, and “all the rocks in the world” were coming straight at me – and they were almost here. I had nowhere to go. I was in an open area on a steep grassy slope with nothing to hide behind. The only big rock which I could have hide behind was about 20 yard ahead of me. I knew I would not get that far. A smaller rock, or one that was imbedded in the earth with about 2 feet of it exposed above the ground, and that portion being about as wide as my shoulders was about a 3 second move up the hill from me. That is about all the time I had. The decision was immediate and that is the direction I went. It was a difficult up hill move as I was
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on a steep hillside, and I tried to dive to the rock, but ended up short and crawled and clawed my way up to hit. I was prone behind it and laying on my belly and face, and as soon as I reached the rock, so did the avalanche. Rocks, and boulders of every imaginable size fell from the rocky heights above and landed all around me. I was right in the middle of an avalanche and the roar was deafening. Boulders bounced past and over me and down the side of the mountain to the heart of the gorge landing below me on the Black Glacier. Rocks hit near my left side so close that at least a couple hit my jacket sleeve, Rocks hit to the right of me so close the dirt from the impact sprayed over me. They showered down from above and hit the rock I was laying behind. It seemed every couple of seconds that happened. They bounced in front of me and just behind me missing my legs and feet by inches. It continued for a minute or more. Russ, who was a distance down the mountain was so impressed by the size and duration of the avalanche that he had the notion and time to pick up his video camera and get nearly a minute of the avalanche on tape. He knew we were somewhere up there, but wasn’t sure where. Then it there was a pause in the rock fall for a matter of 3 or 4 seconds. I looked up only to see what I thought was the biggest rock on the mountain, and it was coming my way. I saw it bounce and the trajectory of the bounce looked to me that the next landing was bound to be right on top of me. If that would happen there would be body parts for miles. I had no time to move. I prayed, I mean I had been praying constantly up to then But now I really prayed. “JESUS I NEED YOU NOW!” I put my arms over my head (they had been there most of the time any way, but now I was really serious. “ANGELS COVER ME – COVER ME WITH YOUR WINGS -- I NEED ANGELS WINGS NOW! GOD I NEED THEM NOW! JESUS – JESUS NOW!!!” The massive boulder hit directly on top of the little outcropping I was laying behind. It hit little more than a foot above my head and glanced just over me landing again a few feet below my feet. The ground shook – and so did I. I laid there, I couldn’t move, but I realized I was doing something I never do. I was trembling. Then, slowly I realized it was over, and I had been spared. I was not hurt. Certainly God had saved my life on that mountain that day. I checked my arms and legs to see if they were ok. They were. Then I noticed my right index finger from the middle joint down to the finger nail was bleeding. A splinter had hit me. There was no pain, only blood trickling from a small cut. That was my only wound. I laid there for a few seconds and just looked at my finger. I think I was suffering from a minor case of shock. Then it seemed to dawn on me little by little until I seemed to realize that I had been given a message. I’ve been reminded of it ever since, and I’m reminded of it now, and every time I touch that finger – usually with the thumb on the same hand, that God did save my life. That I know for sure. When all that was happening, the two Kurdish guys who were now a ways ahead of me heard the avalanche and turned to witness the event which they were certain had killed me. When the rocks stopped falling, they dropped down on the Black Glacier and were running to get to a place just below my position with the intent to climb reach me – hoping that somehow I had survived. One of the guys stepped on a soft spot in the ice and it gave way opening up to a large hole which took him nearly to his death. He fell in to his shoulders and somehow the walking sticks he had were in such a position jammed in to the ice that they prevented him from falling completely in what had become an open crevasse.. He looked down and he saw a raging river beneath him. Had he fallen into that river it would have taken him beneath the ice, and to his death. He couldn’t move. There was nothing to grab onto to pull himself up and out of the crevasse. He was slipping down when the hand of the other Kurd grabbed his jacket by the collar behind him, and the strong man pulled him out of the grasp of certain death. I didn’t know that was going on at the time. It was all I could do to move out from behind that rock, and gather enough sense to realize I had better get out of there and call it a day. I tried to walk, but slipped and landed on my back side and slide down the steep slope till I reached an area that dropped to the gully at the edge of the moraine and ice of the Black Glacier. Then I made my way back down toward the camp. Russ and the Kurdish man at camp saw me, relieved that I was alive they met me as I reached the camp. I then sat down, still a bit shaken, and said a few words into a microphone while Russ had me on camera. Then I saw the 2 Kurdish climbers coming toward the camp across the black ice and Moraine. When they reached me they realized I was ok, and then they shared the experience they had just survived. My Kurdish friend who had nearly lost his life got emotional, I just held him and we prayed and thanked the Lord God that we were still alive and in one piece. After a few minutes we decided to pack up and move the camp further down the gorge and away from any rock avalanche threat. We did so, and then after a good nights rest, we left the mountain. Russ and I did climb up the gorge again a few days later. We climbed the west side of the Gorge till we got to the area of the rock slides, and then up the middle of the Black Glacier keeping away from the sides of the gorge where the majority of the rock would fall if another avalanche would occur. Watching the ice for dangerous areas, we roped up and climbed as high as we could in order to get a good look at the black, and Araxes Glacier as well as the Abich Glaciers. When we got about as high as we could go before dark, the weather began to close in on us, and we decided it best to return to camp. The next day we left the mountain again. This year 2005 Dave Larsen joined me again and we climbed from the south side and around the east side to the northeast and we searched everywhere we were able to reach. Dave and a Turkish mountanier rappelled onto a glacier from a place above and at an elevation of around 14,000 feet. They the crossed a glacier and investigated a hole in the ice which turned out to be an ice cave. I watched from a ridge above. One of out Kurdish climbers was still eating breakfast when we started our climb, and he was to carry some of my gear up after me. Included were my crampons. He got sick on his climb and didn’t reach me. No crampons, no work on the ice for me.
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The Turkish climber with Dave descended into the ice cave which was 50 or more feet deep, and Dave had him on belay. They were still holding on to the thought that the Ark may have been in there, but no wood was found. They left the area and descended down the glacier while I walked down the ridge above them. A few falling rocks did get their attention especially as one large boulder bounded by them only a few feet away. It is a dangerous mountain ; Agri-Dagh – “Mountain of Pain.” Dave returned to the states after that climb, and I climbed again. I carefully reached a point beyond where Russ and I had been a year earlier. Again, I could distinguish only ice and rocks and was not able to find a structure. This past year I spent 12 days and nights on the mountain. I had decided before the climb that this would certainly be my last year. However, after my 2nd climb of the year, I was given another clue by a Kurdish man from the village. Do I think it is something to be serious about? I’ll see when next year rolls around. So, what does this all mean to me? It means I believe the Ark is on the mountain. If so, why hasn't it been verified? By what you've read in these pages, you can understand that it is presently difficult to even get to the mountain. Beyond that, I can only guess that the time hasn't been right. There is other evidence not mentioned here that leads me to believe the time for the Ark to be revealed will be soon. Will there be other expeditions? Absolutely! Why? It's a search for truth. Pilate said to Jesus, as recorded in John 18:37-38, "Art Thou a King, then?" Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." Pilate saith unto him, "What is truth?" If a huge, partially petrified, frozen wooden structure, resembling a barge or ship with cages built inside, were found in the ice and rocks high on a mountain, what would you think? Jesus said, as recorded in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." We have all heard so many times that the new millennium, the approaching turn of the century, signals the return of Christ. Is this true? Is the Ark of Noah a biblical type of the Ark of salvation through Jesus Christ? When will Christ return? From Matthew 24:36-39: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days of Noah were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. The majority of the people will not expect the discovery of the ark. I would guess that most of the people do not believe in its existence now or probably even in the past. If the Ark is revealed, could that be a warning—maybe a final warning that Jesus Christ is on his way? Most people also would not expect that. Again, as I hate to say it, most people may believe very little about Jesus, and the fact that he will return as he promised. I believe it will happen. When? "As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matt 24:37) It could be a day like today. It will be "business as usual" and he won't be expected. Will the Ark be discovered first? Whether or not this is to be the case, I believe we have a responsibility, and that responsibility is in part, to give reason for, and to share with the best of our ability, what we believe is the truth—To God be the Glory!1
1
The Ark, A Reality? by Richard Bright, Ranger Associates, 1989. Reprinting and updating by New Leaf Press, 1995. (Title pending) The Report of the Search For Truth Scientific Research Team and Expedition of 1993, by Richard Bright.
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REFERENCES 1 The Ark , A Reality? Richard Bright, Ranger Associates, New York, Longwood, Florida, 1989 p69 2 The Modern Trilogy volume 3 Henry M. Morris, John D. Morris Master Books Green Forest AR 1996 p186 3 IBID p 185 4 IBID volume 2 p161 & volume 3 p 165 5 IBID volume 2 p 163 6 IBID volume 2 p 130 7 Colossians 1:16 8 The Modern Trilogy IBID volume 2 p 131-136, 175 9 2nd Peter 3: 5-7 10 Matthew 24: 36-42 11 John 3:16 12 Ephesians 2: 8-9
B.J. Corbin (b. 1958) considers himself to be the "regular guy" of Ark research. His attempt in initating this book and starting the web site (www.noahsarksearch.com) was to bring Noah’s Ark research and researchers closer together in a spirit of unity and harmony. We can accomplish much more when we share information and resources. I was happy to provide a forum and clearinghouse environment on my web site for all Ark researchers. Chapter 26
1986-2003 B. J. Corbin I hope the preceding chapters have given you an appreciation for the explorers of Ararat. Searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark is a very difficult task. I will attempt to summarize some of the key points expressed by the explorers and offer some thoughts of my own. Of the explorers that still believe the remains of Noah’s Ark exist on Ararat, most of them favor the northeast summit and Abich II glacier areas. There is still interest in the Western Plateau, Parrot Glacier and Ahora Gorge areas. B.J. CORBIN Many people have asked me over the years how I got involved in the search for Noah’s Ark. In the mid-1970’s, my mother gave me the book Noah’s Ark: I Touched It by Fernand Navarra. I was intrigued by Navarra’s claims of finding Noah’s Ark and actually showing wood fragments, but I had serious questions as to why there were not more follow-up expeditions (other than the 1969 SEARCH expedition) to uncover more of the artifact and conclusively validate the discovery. Little did I know then, that I would be researching many other claims of discovering Noah’s Ark. I openly admit my Christian bias and beliefs, but try to be fair and honest in my appraisals of the various claims of discovering Noah’s Ark. I truly hope that we will one day see the remains of Noah’s Ark conclusively verified so people can know and trust that the Bible is true. Some years later, I graduated from college and was working for a large national foodservice company. Though successful in my new career, I still wanted to become involved in projects of a higher calling, and more inline with my interests. (Not that I have anything against food!) My Bachelor of Arts degree is in Sociology, and I took several related courses in Anthropology and Archaeology. I have strong interests in advanced ancient civilizations, origins, and biblical archaeology. From what I have read and seen on television, I think the pre-Flood civilization was very advanced in many ways. You can see that selling food was not a perfect match for my interests! I knew that I needed to get away and sort out my thoughts, so I took a trip to Cancun, Mexico to relax and visit the Mayan ruins. Before returning from this trip, I knew that I would be leaving my job and heading in a new and different direction, even if that were to mean selling the BMW! So I quit my job as an Account Executive and moved in with supportive friends. Maybe it was the exposure to the Mayan ruins that jarred my memory of the search for Noah’s Ark, I am not sure, but I recall thinking about the book on Noah’s Ark and that I would like to pursue this a little further. Where to start my search for Noah’s Ark? My late father, Robert Gardner Corbin, Sr., always used to tell me to “go to the source” on any issue, so I called John Bradley, who at the time was the president of the SEARCH Foundation that worked very closely with Fernand Navarra, especially the 1969 expedition to Mount Ararat. I contacted Mr. Bradley by phone and found him to be very friendly and cordial. He explained that SEARCH was not planning any future expeditions to Mount Ararat, and that I should contact Bill Crouse, the editor of a popular ark research newsletter called the Ararat Report. So I called Bill Crouse who was also very helpful by suggesting that I contact Dr. Charles Willis of Fresno, California who was planning an expedition. 1988 Dr. Charles Willis - Snow Tiger Team I called Dr. Willis in 1986 and we communicated by phone and mail for several months until he invited me to participate in an upcoming expedition. We did not go in 1987 as planned, but went the following year in 1988. Since Dr. Willis has his own chapter in this book, I will try not to duplicate information, but rather attempt to add my perspective of that 1988 expedition. One of the things that I liked about Dr. Willis’ premise was that he thought Ararat had been adequately searched on the surface of the mountain, and that a subsurface search was reasonable. He surmised that the ark should be near the summit and buried underneath a frozen ice field, not a moving glacier. Based on earlier studies by Nicholas Van Arkel, Ph.D., Willis concluded that the eastern summit plateau of Ararat was the only part of the mountain that fit all of his criteria. He recruited team members with a variety of skills and backgrounds. One of the more important aspects of the expedition was the use of subsurface ground penetrating radar or GPR, operated by Mr. Robert Roningen.
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As of this writing, the 1988 Willis Team stands as one of the best expeditions to Mount Ararat. Subsurface radar and polar ice drilling were used to eliminate the large eastern plateau summit area as a likely landing area for the ark. This research approach should be used as a model for future research expeditions searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark. While writing of successful expeditions, I should mention the 1989 expedition headed by Scott Van Dyke, where many high-resolution aerial mapping photos of Mount Ararat were taken. I have only seen one of the images, but understand from other ark researchers that have visited Scott in Houston, Texas, that the image quality is the best available to date, or I should say, the best that we know about or have access to. What the results of this expedition confirmed is, that if the remains of Noah’s Ark are indeed on Mount Ararat, they are hidden and not in plain view. 1989 Chuck Aaron / Bob Garbe - Immanuel Expeditions Team In 1989 I teamed up with Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe to combine the use of a helicopter and ground penetrating radar. Since both Chuck and Bob have their own separate chapters that deal with this particular expedition, I will attempt to only add my perspective. Though Dr. Willis’ assessment that the eastern plateau was the most probable location that one could expect to find substantial remains of Noah’s Ark, others wanted to be sure that the ark was not hidden somewhere else under the permanent ice cap. Chuck is a seasoned helicopter pilot, Bob had built a portable ground penetrating radar (GPR) unit, and I had just been on the Ararat ice cap the year before on a similar expedition. We were assisted and supported by Debbie Redmer, Gerry Garbe, Linda and Chuck Aaron, John Wanvig, David and Kathy Montgomery, Paul Schemer, and our many Turkish friends. Though our homespun radar was less capable than the Geophysical Survey Systems model SIR-3 unit we used the previous year, a few things of note were accomplished on this expedition. The first accomplishment was the helicopter landing by Chuck Aaron on the Western Plateau at 15,000 feet in a Huey 500C! I am told that this is well above the ceiling for this aircraft. Though I followed behind Chuck and Bob and landed on the Western Plateau on the second flight with our Turkish pilot, I should mention this was my first trip riding in a helicopter! Although the radar we used did not have continuously profiling capabilities, we were able to measure the ice depth on the Ararat Western Plateau. To our surprise, we obtained an ice depth measurement in one area of over 250 feet on the Western Plateau. To Chuck, Bob and the rest of us, this seemed to imply that the Western Plateau is possibly a caldera or sunken volcano cone. This could explain the accounts that mention the ark resting in a large lake high on Mount Ararat. The other accomplishment of this expedition was quite by accident. As David Montgomery was in the helicopter approaching the Western Plateau, he took a picture of our camp. His picture combined with our GPR survey of 500 feet in 50’ foot increments of the plateau gives us one the best estimates of the Ark’s scale on the Ararat ice cap. [Insert Photo of Ark Scale] This expedition had several incidents that I will only summarize since both Chuck and Bob have chapters in the book. Let me say that this expedition was so exciting that it, along with the Dr. John Morris and Jim Irwin expeditions, were the basis for a book called The Mystery of the Ark by Paul Thomsen. • We had problems with our flight out of JFK airport in New York. • One team member forgot their passport, so we had to meet them in Europe. • While on the Western Plateau at 15,000 feet we were approached by two men with machine guns. No fun! • One person accidentally drank generator fuel (that was in a water bottle) thinking it was water, and had to be taken off the mountain via helicopter and then on to a hospital. • The helicopter was not permitted to take Chuck, Bob and myself off the mountain. We had to hike off with the help of a guide, and were forced to camp in the rocks with no tent at 14,000 feet. One of the coldest nights in my life! • One of the guides that retrieved the rest of our stranded gear from the Western Plateau kept the climbing gear that I let him borrow. Fortunately on another trip, Chuck was able to get most of it back. • On our hike down the mountain, I drank what turned out to be spoiled goat’s milk offered by a little shepherd boy and I got very sick on the trip home. The 1989 expedition was very exciting and quite a learning experience for me. Having climbed Ararat slowly in 1988 to properly acclimate to the higher elevations, and also taking the quick jump on a helicopter in 1989, I definitely encourage others to climb and allow time to acclimate. I promise you will feel a lot better and can accomplish more on the mountain! I really respect and admire the effort and intellect it must have taken my friend Bob Garbe to build the ground penetrating radar, but would suggest to other groups to take more advanced equipment. There are few opportunities to
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conduct this type of research on Ararat or other mountains in the region, so if your budget does not allow for the equipment needed to get the job done, then keep praying and fund-raising. 1990 Dr. Don Shockey / Dr. Carl Baugh – Ararat 8 Team In 1990, I went to Turkey with Don Shockey O.D., Carl Baugh, Walt Brown Ph.D., Ron Charles Ph.D. and others to locate a barn-shaped object that was photographed in 1989 by Ahmet Arslan. The ground-based expedition including Arslan was based on secret information obtained the year before by Don Shockey and Robin Simmons of there being two unnatural objects high in the northeast Abich II glacier on Mount Ararat. We were able to take many helicopter flights around Mount Ararat at close range while flying in a Russian MI-8 helicopter. The southwestern Ice Cave, of interest to Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe, and the eastern summit area of special interest for Ray Anderson, were both checked out. We also visited the Durupinar/Telçeker formation. The late Ron Wyatt and late David Fasold were two of the main proponents of this site. I have visited this site on three separate trips and do not have any hopes that it is the remains of Noah’s Ark. I have seen other similar mound sites near Ararat. The 1990 Shockey expedition obtained lots of video and pictures of Mount Ararat at close range from a helicopter. Robin Simmons and George Adams produced an excellent video called Visions of Ararat and later another video called Riddle of Ararat. Both Dr. Don Shockey and Robin Simmons have chapters in this book providing more details of this expedition. 1998 Jim Hall – Ark Research Project Team Robert Michelson and Dr. Salih Bayraktutan - SEPDAC I worked with Jim Hall and the Ark Research Project (ARP) in 1998 and part of 1999. In an attempt to "open" the doors to research in this part of the world, Professor Robert Michelson at Georgia Tech in the United States and others have been working very closely with Professor Salih Bayraktutan of Ataturk University in Erzurum, Turkey. Professor Bayraktutan was the initial contact person in Turkey for permission to search the eastern region, which includes Mount Ararat and the Durupinar boat-shaped formation. Many ark researchers do not fully understand the complicated and bureaucratic permit process. Even if Professor Bayraktutan submitted a research application for approval or further processing at that time, it moves through various government agencies, governors, mayors, and the military before full permission can be granted. Even if all permissions are in-hand, there is still no guarantee of access to the desired research sites. During the Summer and early Fall of 1998, I worked with Professor Michelson who was coordinating a conference with Professor Bayraktutan at the Ataturk University Earthquake Research Center in Erzurum, Turkey. The title for the conference was "The First International Workshop on the Noah Flood and The First Settlement in the Agri Mount Region." Where I was also acting as a consultant to Jim Hall and the Ark Research Project, I quickly put Jim in contact with Rob to ensure representation at the conference. The planning session was held on October 6th, with fieldwork conducted on October 7th and 8th at the Durupinar boat-shaped formation and what is believed to be remains of an early settlement in the hills above the site. Some in the group prematurely called the site "Naxuan" or "Naxuana," which according to Josephus, refers to the place of first decent. The field group also spent an hour or two at Kazan, which is just west of Mount Ararat, to see large stones that some speculate are sea anchors or drogue stones from Noah's Ark. During the workshop and at other informal meetings, most people expressed a desire for all potential sites related to Noah's Ark and the flood to be researched. In reality, most participants could be divided into two research paradigms, Durupinar and Mount Ararat. The first group included Salih Bayraktutan, Robert Michelson, David Deal, and Bill Shea, who are interested in the Durupinar boat-shaped formation and the site above. To be fair, Bill Shea was more of a neutral observer who added a sense of balance between the two groups. I would also place Jerry Kitchens, the primary fund-raiser into the category of neutral observer initially, but as time progressed, he became more interested in Ararat. The second group included Mark Jenkins, Matthew Kneisler, Michael Holt, and myself representing the Ark Research Project directed by Jim Hall. Unfortunately, Jim Hall suffered from intestinal bleeding and was forced to stay at the hospital in Erzurum during the workshop and fieldwork. To Jim's credit, he remained in good spirits and was continually encouraging the team to accomplish specific tasks. The Ark Research Project team was primarily focused on researching Mount Ararat. We met Ed Crawford along with guide Peter Aletter at the hotel and nearby restaurant in Dogubayazit, the small town south of Mount Ararat. Mr. Crawford is interested in the Abich I glacier just above the Ahora Gorge on the north side of Mount Ararat. His assumptions for potential discovery of Noah's Ark are based on rock inscriptions found in the Ahora Gorge and from a variety of photos of the glacier. Crawford admittedly stated that he preferred to work independent of other Ararat research groups (http://www.vonbora.com).
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A third research group interested in the Mount Cudi or Cudi Dagi site, some 150 - 200 miles southwest of Mount Ararat, was not represented at the workshop or in the field group. Currently, I am only aware of Dr. Charles Willis of Fresno, California, being active in the search of this site, though Lloyd Bailey and Bill Crouse have expressed written support of the site. Dr. Willis, a veteran of several expeditions to Mount Ararat in the 1980's, has made a couple of trips in the mid-1990’s to the Cudi site to prepare the way for a future expedition to search for petrified wood and other fragments that may still remain. Excerpts From My Daily Journal of the 1998 Ark Research Trip Thursday 10/1/1998 I left Salisbury Regional Airport on a commuter to Philadelphia, only to find out that my connecting flight to Washington Dulles had been cancelled. My only option was to fly to Washington National Airport and hope to catch a shuttle bus to Dulles. When I arrived at Washington National and asked the US Airways representative at the gate about getting to Dulles to catch my International flight, he said there was no way to make the flight. A young man overheard my dilemma and suggested the only way possible to make the connection would be to take a cab for around $50 dollars to Dulles, and he offered to split the fare with me. We raced to Dulles, then I dashed to the Lufthansa ticket counter out of breath and gave the short version of the story to the ticket agent. She completed a fast transaction and quickly directed me to the appropriate security checkpoint (which I cut in line to the front) and then to an airport shuttle to the correct terminal. I ran through the airport with two fairly heavy bags and saw Jim Hall, Matthew Kneisler and Mark Jenkins (with wife and two sons to see us off) already in line to pre-board the flight. It took me several minutes to catch my breath and cool down. I made the flight from Dulles to Frankfurt/Ankara! Friday 10/2/1998 We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany very early Saturday morning. Michael Holt and Jerry Kitchens were waiting at the gate for us. Michael Holt, an employee of United Airlines, coordinated special accommodations for the team, including a place to rest, eat, and take showers. We were soon joined by Rob Michelson and discussed tentative plans for our trip to Turkey. We all flew to Ankara, and then took a 15-20 mile taxi ride to the Tunali Hotel. Saturday 10/3/1998 We left Ankara airport to fly further east to Erzurum, Turkey. We stayed at the Oral Hotel and got settled in. We had dinner at the hotel and Dr. Salih Bayraktutan (Our Turkish co-host from Ataturk University) stoped by to meet everyone and to pick up Rob. Later that evening the Ark Research Team met in Jim Hall's room. Jim shared his overall goals and visions for the project, and then shared a long and detailed testimony. We had a time of fellowship and prayer, then it seemed only minutes afterwards that Jim went into the bathroom and sounded sick. Most of us figured that it was something that he had eaten. He returned with us for a brief time, and then returned back to the bathroom. The group broke up and decided to give Jim some privacy. Only minutes later did Michael Holt knock on our door (Matthew Kneisler and myself) and said we needed to get Jim a doctor. There was a large amount of blood in Jim's bathroom floor that had been coming out "both ends." I ran downstairs to the front desk and attempted to explain the situation. We soon had an ambulance to take Jim to a hospital in Erzurum. Michael rode in the ambulance with Jim as Salih Bayraktutan and Rob Michelson returned to the hotel from a pre-conference meeting. Salih Bayraktutan and family, along with the management and staff of the Oral Hotel, and the staff at the hospital all need to be commended for the excellent care and concern expressed to Jim in his time of need. They even donated their own blood to help him. The team was obviously very concerned for Jim's well being, and had felt like we had witnessed a spiritual attack on Jim and the team, though logical explanations were offered. Sunday 10/4/1998 This was one of the longer days of the trip. We were all concerned about Jim and visited him at the hospital. We were supposed to have had a pre-meeting with Salih around 5 P.M. that evening, but later received a call from Rob stating that the meeting would be moved to 7 P.M. Around 9 P.M. the rest of the team was getting both anxious and frustrated. I recall Rob returning to the Oral Hotel around 10 P.M. to a semi-hostile crowd. Monday 10/5/1998
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The workshop began around 10 A.M. with opening statements from Dr. Salih Bayraktutan. He expressed an interest in having an international team of researchers investigate all sites and areas of interest relating to the flood of Noah. Professor Robert Michelson gave a detailed presentation for the Durupinar boat-shaped formation, though careful not to make any claims of discovery. He also echoed the call for collaborative scientific efforts for sites related to the flood of Noah. David Deal followed Rob with his interpretation of aerial photos and historical references regarding the Durupinar site and to a new claim of discovering "Naxuan" or "Naxuana" in the hills above Durupinar. He boldly proclaimed that Durupinar was indeed the remnants of Noah's Ark, and the upper site was probably Naxuan. I personally found these statements to be total conjecture since Mr. Deal, at that time, had never even been to either of these sites, and presented little in the way of conclusive evidence. After lunch, Matthew Kneisler presented the Ark Research team proposal, in proxy, for Jim Hall who was in the hospital for intestinal bleeding. I presented a brief history of research on Mount Ararat and concluded with the most likely areas left to search on Mount Ararat, including the ruins at Eli, Korhan, and the St. Jacob's monastery. Tuesday 10/6/1998 We left in three rented cars for Dogubayazit, which is just south of Mount Ararat. We stop in Agri for lunch and photo opportunities. We encountered some typical communication problems at the entrance of the governor's office building because of the video camera. The situation was soon resolved and we were escorted out of town by police and registered with Turkish security. After passing through several military checkpoints, we arrived in Dogubayazit late in the afternoon. Salih met with local police, security, mayor, and military to say that we were in town and give the nature of our visit. We checked into the Hotel Grand Derya, which was quite nice by eastern Turkey standards, and noticed that we had two Turkish security assigned to us in the lobby. There was also security posted outside of the hotel on our behalf. Wednesday 10/7/1998 We stopped at the military headquarters to see about our escort for the day. Two Turkish soldiers were assigned to protect us as we ventured on the Durupinar site, where a short, but solemn memorial service was held in honor of David Fasold, as David Deal sprinkled some of the ashes of David Fasold on the site. The group also went up near the Iranian border to search for ruins of an ancient settlement. We did hear some gunshots, and were hoping these were only from target practice, or maybe warning shots from Turkish military, as we were very near the Iranian border. No ruins or artifacts were easily discernable to most of the group once we reached the upper site of interest. We concluded the day with a drive to Kazan, a small village west of Mount Ararat, where some claim large stones are actually sea anchors or drogue stones from Noah's Ark. We arrived in Kazan near dark, and it was decided we should wait until morning of the next day to visit the stones. Thursday 10/8/1998 We went to Kazan to see the large stones. After about an hour or so, we returned to the Durupinar site, where the Ark Research team conducted an interview at the visitor’s center, and the others went back up to the upper site. We heard more gunshots, and could only hope for the best. There was a brief period of tension during the afternoon, where most of the Ark Research team was left at the visitor’s center with no car or person that spoke Turkish. At one point, we got a little nervous watching a crouched person in the bushes for over a half an hour. Too long for a mere bathroom break! Not to mention the occasional gun shots in the background. Salih, Rob and Dave announced the discovery of what they believed to be the top of a tomb at the upper site. I recall them saying that they found corners of a 3' by 5' stone slab. Due to some confusion, I did not go up to see the sites, but Rob later showed me some photos of the sites, which seem to warrant further investigation. Some members of the group claimed to have found pieces of pottery and bone. We eventually left for Erzurum around 4 P.M., stopping again in Agri for dinner, this time without incident. Friday 10/9/1998 Matthew and I went to Erzurum airport to catch an earlier flight out. We arrived at Ankara and spent several hours changing tickets. We also alerted Lufthansa of Jim Hall's condition and had phone numbers of doctors and wheelchairs waiting. We were able to make a standby flight to Frankfurt and were very pleased. We celebrated by staying at the Sheridan Hotel at the airport, mostly at our own expense.
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Saturday 10/10/1998 I caught a train to Augsburg, Germany, stayed with good friends for a few days before returning to the United States. I left Matthew at the airport to catch a flight back to Dulles and then on to Tulsa. Only after receiving an email from Matthew, did I learn that the remainder of the ARM team had been traveling behind us and actually met Matthew at the airport gate in Frankfurt. They said Jim was bleeding a little, but was in good spirits and made it home safely. Jim Hall and the ARM team started making plans for a possible expedition in 1999. Regarding the larger group that met in Turkey, there are other plans to raise about $2.5M for a 30-day scientific expedition that will consider the Ararat sites, Durupinar, "Naxuan," and any other sites of interest. They plan to use advanced remote sensing technologies under a coordinated research effort called the Search for Early Post Deluvial Anatolian Culture (SEPDAC), between Ataturk University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. 2000 & 2001 – Archeological Imaging Research Consortium (ArcImaging) Team The ArcImaging team is currently comprised of Rex Geissler, Tom Pickett, Bob Stuplich, Jim Hays, Ed Holroyd Ph.D., Jonathan Brisbin, David & Teresa Banks, Gary Pryor and myself. Our primary focus is to use the latest remote sensing technology in the search for Noah’s Ark. This includes the latest satellite imagery, aerial and ground sensing using SAR, thermal IR, hyper and multi spectral, GIS mapping, GPR and other techniques. As a group, we have concluded that if the remains of Noah’s Ark are on Mount Ararat, then they must be buried, and that remote sensing is needed to finally answer the question of whether the Ark is on Ararat. We are also interested in other mountains that are within the biblical mountains of Ararat (ancient Urartu). Detail Meetings with Ataturk University … We have a good team with a workable plan, and what is currently needed is prayer, research permission from the Turkish authorities, and financial resources. For those interested in learning more about ArcImaging, please visit our web site at http://www.arcimaging.org. Where do I think the remains of Noah’s Ark are located? As of this writing, though I still remain hopeful, I have not seen any conclusive evidence for the remains of Noah’s Ark. There are many intriguing accounts listed within the pages of this book, but still no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. The four primary areas that people are still searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark today are Mount Ararat, Durupinar (mound-shaped site near Ararat), Mount Cudi, and a few sites in Iran. Though I encourage continued research in all of these locations, I still believe that Mount Ararat (having the most accounts by far) has the best potential to conceal an ark under the frozen permanent ice cap. With the eastern summit plateau having already been subsurface-surveyed and eliminated by the 1988 Willis team, this leaves only a few logical places large enough to contain substantive remains of an ark. 1) From the northeast saddle between the two main summit peaks down the Abich II Glacier to the top of the Ahora Gorge. 2) The western summit plateau at approximately 15,000 feet. A subsurface radar survey conducted in 1989 measured ice depths over 250 feet, considering the plateau to be a caldera or sunken volcano cone. 3) The upper Parrot and Abich I Glacier area around 14,000 feet. In my opinion, these are the three remaining areas (in order of priority) of Mount Ararat left to search via subsurface radar and other remote sensing techniques. [Insert photomap of prime target sites on Ararat] Recommendations for Future Expeditions I must admit there is a strong spiritual presence on Mt. Ararat that I cannot fully explain. I can remember having one of my most powerful prayers while camping under the stars of Mt. Ararat (my whole body felt electrified). I have also been fearful of what could happen while on Mt. Ararat.
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It sounds like a cliché and oversimplified, but if you are interested in the search for Noah's Ark, you really need to pray constantly for God's will concerning any involvement. As you have read, it is a very dangerous expedition. If you are planning an expedition to Mt. Ararat, I recommend the following: 1. Try to establish contact with established veteran ark researchers to avoid common pitfalls and mistakes—have them join your team, or join their team, if possible. 2. Start early establishing government agency contacts to secure permits—even though a permit will not guarantee you will get on the mountain. 3. Follow standard mountain climbing protocol—many ark researchers seem interested in a quick helicopter landing on the ice cap to avoid unfriendly confrontations below. I was part of the 1989 expedition that actually landed on the ice cap by helicopter. We struggled with mountain sickness and were still confronted with machine guns at 15,000 feet! I would only recommend a helicopter landing if the climbers were fully acclimated (say on a nearby mountain) prior to takeoff. 4. Guard against the lack of water on the mountain—most camp fuel stoves do not melt water efficiently at high altitudes 5. Start ascents to the ice cap early (pre-dawn) before the ice melts and rocks begin to loosen and fall from above 6. Have a good Turkish/English-speaking guide or translator with you at all times—things can get confusing real fast 7. Learn the culture of Turkey and show respect for the people and authorities 8. Have strong leadership that will provide team correspondence every month or as needed, starting at least a year before the actual trip—have the entire team meet prior to expedition (preferably a practice climb or two) 9. Be cautious of what you eat—many a climber has suffered from stomach and intestinal problems on Ararat. I found success in this area by eating the local yogurt. (I received this advice from Robin Simmons father, a doctor, just before leaving on our 1990 trip) 10. Maintain proper diet and exercise prior to an expedition—if you drink coffee and/or smoke cigarettes—plan on some extra problems at high altitudes 11. Given all the failed attempts to find the Ark on the surface of Ararat, one should explore the latest subsurface radar and satellite technology—I believe if the Ark is on Mt. Ararat, it is under the ice cap or possibly buried at a slightly lower elevation. Don’t just believe your eyes, believe the GPR or SAR. 12. Avoid the common tendency to "harmonize" claimed sightings of the ark that are unrelated – in other words, try not to force all the historical accounts to match your current site of interest Given all the past land and aerial expeditions to Mount Ararat, it would seem unwise to continue planning conventional expeditions to hike or fly around the mountain in the hope of spotting Noah’s Ark. This has all been done several times over with no conclusive evidence of an ark on Ararat. Satellite technology has advanced to a level that can easily monitor the mountain without the risk and money required for traditional expeditions. If any group plans an expedition to Ararat or other mountains in the region, it only makes sense to be equipped with the latest remote sensing technology. Hopefully, these recommendations and suggestions will benefit future expeditions. I am glad to share my thoughts and experiences with any individual or group who are searching for Noah's Ark with a heart for God's will. What is Really Important? Searching for what could be one of the greatest archeological discoveries in all of human history is very exciting. But what is really important? Even if the discovery of Noah's Ark could be validated and proven beyond a reasonable doubt, what would it mean? If you have read this book because of an interest in the search for Noah's Ark and you are not a Christian, please consider the following:
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When you look at a watch, you can reason that there must be a watchmaker. Though you may not know the watchmaker personally, you know he exists by his creation. Take a good look at this world and universe we live in, at the uniqueness of mankind, especially in comparison to the other creatures in nature. There is just too much design for creation to be mere chance. I have studied evolution at the college level and would contend that it takes more faith to believe in evolution than in creation. If a person is interested in these subjects, there are a couple books referenced to study the issues. The Bible says that God considered Noah a righteous man living in a wicked world. In the Old Testament, God provided a plan of salvation for Noah and his family through the building of the ark. God convicts our hearts when we sin and have done something wrong. In the New Testament, God now writes his laws (The Ten Commandments) in our hearts. God in his mercy and love provided a permanent "ark of salvation" through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ. If you would like to learn more, the New Testament of a Bible is the place to start. For if we search for the remains of Noah's Ark for any reason other than to build trust in God and the Bible, we are missing the boat! Though the focus of this book is on the exploration of Mt. Ararat, I should mention there was attention given to a boat-shaped object researched by Ron Wyatt, David Fasold and others, approximately 18 miles south of Mt. Ararat. Most of the explorers of Ararat, including myself, have been to this site and find it interesting, but believe it is most likely a natural formation. I have actually seen similar-shaped objects between Big and Little Ararat from a helicopter. I visited the Durupinar or boat-shaped object in 1998 with Dr. Salih Bayraktutan, Professor Robert Michelson, Dr. Bill Shea, David Deal, and fellow Ark Research Team (ART) members. Primarily, Bayraktutan, Michelson and Deal are interested in conducting a more in-depth analysis of the boat-shape and surrounding area before dismissing it as a natural formation. Ron Charles Ph.D. theorizes that Durupinar may be an old Mongol fort possibly used and fortified by Tamerlane's army in the conquest of Armenia. Albert Groebli has an interesting alternative premise about the Ark landing in Iran. The details are listed on the author's website.1 It should also be noted that Pierre Daniel Huet created a conception map in A.D. 1722 entitled "Terrestrial Paradise" which placed the Ark on top of another traditional "Mount Ararat" in Iran, "Kuh e Alvand." The map was placed in Calmet's Dictionnaire historique del la Bible. Of course, it should be noted that "Kuh e Alvand" is outside the biblical "mountains of Ararat." This book also includes two explorers who surmise the Ark may have landed on Mt. Cudi. I have included a summary
Ark Research Field Team 1998 Driver 1, Jerry Kitchens, Driver 2, Mark Jenkins, Matthew Kneisler, Michael Holt, Robert Michelson Salih Bayraktutan and B.J. Corbin Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
1
B.J. Corbin's website is http://www.noahsarksearch.com, which ihas been maintained by Rex Geissler since 2002.
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B.J. Corbin next to Tent at Mihtepe 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
table of promising locations for Noah’s Ark by the various explorers. For those of us who search for the ark, it is frustrating to know that the potential discovery and validation of the Ark seems so close, yet still eludes us. Many people believe Noah’s Ark has already been discovered, or at least had that impression prior to reading this book. Given all the news stories, books and movies claiming the discovery of Noah’s Ark over the years. This book was not meant to confuse or challenge your beliefs. It is intended to take a deeper look at the evidence (or lack of evidence) for the discovery of Noah’s Ark. I am currently unaware of any evidence that would validate the discovery of Noah’s Ark. I have not given up on Mt. Ararat as the location for Noah’s Ark, though historical text and references seem to point towards Mt. Cudi. I believe some of the eyewitnesses may have been telling the truth about Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat. The biblical account of the flood (Genesis) states that it took over seventy days for the water to recede and for the tops of other mountains to appear. This would seem to indicate a summit or near-summit landing of the ark. Mt. Ararat, as the tallest mountain in the region, would be a likely place for the ark's landfall. Its height and the difficulty of climbing Mt. Ararat does concern me with respect to the people and animals of the Ark descending the mountain. Mt. Cudi, with an approximate elevation of 7,000 feet, would seem a more reasonable location to unload the ark's passengers and cargo. In 1988 the Willis expedition, using subsurface radar, eliminated as a possible landing site a large area of summit snowfields called the Eastern Plateau. If one suspects that the Ark landed near the summit of Mt. Ararat, there are only a few places remaining that could contain Noah’s Ark.
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THE EXPLORERS OF ARARAT Location Northeast Summit Area Abich II Glacier Western Plateau Upper Parrot Glacier Ahora Gorge Northwest Mt. Cudi
Elevation 16,500 feet 14,000-16,500 feet 15,000 feet 14,000 feet 12,000-14,000 feet 13,000-14,000 feet 7,000 feet
Northeast Summit Area / Abich II Glacier Much of the evidence for the ark's existence on Mt. Ararat seems to point to the upper northeast ice cap. One would expect major ice disruption caused by a petrified Ark moving slowly down a glacier. We find such ice disruption in the Abich II area. This would be consistent with the scenario of the Ark landing between the two summit peaks, with all or a portion of the structure moving slowly moving down the ice. There is a large box-like shaded area on the northeast summit that appears to be the right size. Many people underestimate the size of Noah’s Ark when observing objects of interest. I am fortunate to have good helicopter photographs that scale a known area 500 feet in length on the Ararat ice cap. In Dick Bright's book The Ark, A Reality? displays a composite drawing including many of the alleged sightings of the Ark on Mt. Ararat. Most all of the sightings appear in the northeast area of the ice cap. Another reason the northeast ice cap may be a likely resting spot for the remains of Noah’s Ark, is a lack of access to that part of the mountain. Permission to climb that region of the mountain is rarely given, partly because it faces the border of Armenia. It is one of the most dangerous areas to climb on the ice cap. The general tourist route to climb Mt. Ararat approaches the summit from the south. There is a rock outcropping located at approximately 14,000 feet on the northwest side of the mountain called "Ark Rock." I have heard that some of the locals were afraid to approach the Ark for fear of spirits guarding it. You can view the entire northeast ice cap and upper Parrot Glacier area from Ark Rock. One could speculate that people would view the Ark or what they thought was the Ark from this vantagepoint. There is also a claim that satellite photos exist indicating two unnatural objects at approximately 15,000 feet in the northeast Abich II Glacier. Like so many other Ararat clues, it is difficult to confirm or validate the evidence from the original source. It is not my intent here to summarize in detail all the various Ark sightings on Mt. Ararat throughout history. There are many claims of discovering the Ark on Ararat by dozens of people. I tend to trust the testimony of the late B.J. Corbin at Mihtepe 1988 George Hagopian. He seemed an honest Courtesy of Ross Mehan via BJ Corbin Armenian Christian who lived in the vicinity of
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Mt. Ararat as a boy when the mountain was still part of Russian Armenia. I have listened to a taped interview of Hagopian by Elfred Lee many times. I perceive Hagopian as telling the truth about his two experiences with Noah’s Ark. Hagopian claimed the Ark rested between the two peaks, what is also called "The Saddle." For those interested in researching alleged sightings in more detail, a recommended reading section can be found at the end of this book. Western Plateau Many of the local mountain people who live on or near Mt. Ararat communicated to me that the Ark lies beneath the western part of the ice cap. There is a military photograph that was recently declassified showing an ark-like structure on the edge of the Western Plateau at approximately 15,000 feet. It is interesting to note that the ice on the Western Plateau was measured with subsurface radar at a depth over 200 feet thick. As you have read, Chuck Aaron and some others believe that the Western Plateau is a caldera (collapsed volcano cone). This could explain why the ice is so deep in this area of the mountain, which would explain sightings of Noah’s Ark high on Mt. Ararat partially submerged in a lake. While hiking and camping on the Western Plateau, I could see and hear water running under my feet. A picture I have by Chuck Aaron and Bob Garbe shows how the Western Plateau could melt enough to appear as a small lake near the summit of Ararat. From airborne photos one can see the Western Plateau as the largest and most stable "landing area" on the entire ice cap. Parrot Glacier This area of the mountain became a prime search target after the claimed discovery of wood by Ferdinand Navarra in the 1950's. A book and movie transpired from several expeditions and discoveries made at this site. Problems began when conflicting reports emerged regarding the age of the recovered wood. In Navarra's book Noah’s Ark: I Touched It he reports the wood is approximately 5,000 years old. Other independent reports using Carbon-14 dating revealed the wood to be considerably younger in age. What is more puzzling, as described earlier by Elfred Lee, is that Navarra claims to have discovered wood in other parts of the mountain. Also, consider that Navarra may have observed a large dark structure under the ice while he was climbing the Abich II Glacier, not the Parrot Glacier. I recently received some information of a claimed discovery of Noah’s Ark by an Italian named Angelo Palego. The photographs appear to place the location of the Ark in the Upper Parrot Glacier region at approximately 4600 meters (14,000 feet). He identifies his discovery as a continuation of Navarra's original discovery. The photographic evidence that is available to me does little to convince me of the claim. Please understand that I have seen dozens of more interesting shapes on Mt. Ararat. The more one researches objects of interest on Mt. Ararat, the more cautious one becomes. Many claims of discovery have been made to newspapers prior to any validation of the actual discovery. We wait for evidence that will prove this claim of discovery and others beyond a reasonable doubt.
B.J. Corbin at Mihtepe 1988 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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B.J. Corbin at Durupinar Site 1998 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
I should note that the upper Parrot Plateau continues to be an area of interest for veteran Ararat climber Ahmet Arslan. Ahmet has climbed Mt. Ararat at least fifty-four times. He is originally from Turkey and knows many of the local Ararat people, and the folklore concerning the whereabouts of Noah’s Ark on the mountain. Ahora Gorge The Ahora Gorge area of Mt. Ararat gained popularity in recent years after Dr. Don Shockey and other veteran Ark researchers interviewed a man named Ed Davis. Mr. Davis was in the Army and stationed in Iran during World War II. In 1943 Mr. Davis earned the confidence of a man who claimed to know where Noah’s Ark was located. Davis later climbed Mt. Ararat and viewed the Ark from a distance and in cloudy conditions. It is interesting to note that Mr. Davis was stationed in Hamadan, Iran. Not far from Hamadan is a mountain called "Kuh e Alvand" that also has a Noah’s Ark tradition. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that it has a history of being called "Mount" Ararat. Mr. Davis, in his initial interviews, referred to the local people as Lurs or Lors from Luristan (a region in the Zagros mountains of western Iran) and not Kurds. Though most Ark researchers believe that Davis was on the Turkish Mt. Ararat, one can only speculate that he may have been taken to the Iranian "Mt. Ararat." I have some concern regarding Ed Davis' testimony. I understand that he passed a polygraph examination, but I have two separate interviews in which he places the location of the Ark in different places. In his original interviews, veteran Ark researchers surmised that Mr. Davis viewed the Ark in the Ahora Gorge. This site in the Ahora Gorge became known as the "Davis Canyon." In a taped interview with another Ark researcher, he concurred that the Ark was located near the northeast summit (some 2000 feet higher), where he had earlier testified that he was not on the permanent ice cap. Though Davis' story lacks consistency, his description of mountain landmarks and drawing of the Ark is similar to other accounts on Mt. Ararat. It is possible that Davis unintentionally allowed himself to be led during some of his interviews. It is a natural tendency for Ark researchers to harmonize accounts that favor where we expect to find Noah’s Ark.
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Jim Willis, Scott Little, Willis Newton, Jr. at Mihtepe Courtesy of Dr. Charles Willis 1988
The Ahora Gorge has been extensively photographed with no definitive Ark discovered. There was some excellent aerial photography of Mt. Ararat orchestrated by Scott Van Dyke. I understand that he discovered several objects of interest in the Ahora Gorge, but awaits a ground expedition to confirm whether they are artifact or rock. Several climbing expeditions took place in the 1970's by Ark researchers in the Ahora Gorge. There were some close-up helicopter flights of the area in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The close proximity of the Ahora Gorge to the Armenian border and civil unrest make it unlikely that any permission will be granted to search this area in the near future. Ark researchers Dick Bright, John McIntosh, Ken Long, and others have "objects of interest" located in the Ahora Gorge area. Ed Crawford is interested in an object between the Abich I Glacier and the upper Parrot Glacier. Northwest Site In the 1970's there was a man who supplied Ark researchers with very specific details and maps of Noah’s Ark and its location. Knowledge of the mountain was apparent by the landmarks and details he described. He claimed that his father had actually been to the site some two-thirds of the way up the north-northwest side of the mountain and that he had seen the remains of Noah’s Ark. To my knowledge, this site has not been fully identified. I have helicopter photographs of what may be the location described by the gentleman. In one of the ice-laden valleys near the location is a large rectangular-shaped shadow under the ice. I believe the best practice is to fully eliminate all possible sites until the remains of the Ark are found. Mt. Cudi Of the explorers highlighted in this book, two of them believe that Noah’s Ark did not land on Mt. Ararat, but on Mt. Cudi (pronounced Judi), which is located approximately 200 miles to the southwest of Ararat. Both of these men have previously explored Ararat and originally thought Ararat to be the landing area for the ark. Based on what I have read by Lloyd Bailey and other Bible scholars, they may be correct about their assumptions about Mt. Cudi. Though Mt. Cudi has
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B.J. Corbin with Immanuel Expeditions Flag Courtesy of B.J. Corbin 1989
little in the way of sensational eyewitnesses, ancient historical texts and documents seem to favor Mt. Cudi over Mt. Ararat as the landing site for Noah’s Ark. None of the Ararat eyewitness accounts have proven the ark's existence on Ararat beyond a reasonable doubt. The various opinions and conclusions expressed in this book demonstrate that good people can disagree. The key for researchers is to respect each other and keep the lines of information and communication open. It seems that many of us who search for Noah’s Ark have pieces of the puzzle, but would gain a better understanding if information were more openly shared. Attempts have been made in the past to bring Ark researchers together. I did not attend the last ark-aThon, but understand it was beneficial. Other attempts to bring Ark researchers together have failed. Though the primary reason for the book was to offer some straight talk about Noah’s Ark from people who have been to Mount Ararat, another reason for this book was to promote unity among Ark researchers. I also wanted to include some new information and clues for future Ark researchers. I hope you have enjoyed this attempt to bring together some of the world's leading researchers and explorers of Mt. Ararat as they shared their hopes and frustrations of searching for the elusive remains of Noah’s Ark. We leave Ankara airport to fly further east to Erzurum, Turkey. We stay at the Oral Hotel and get settled in. We have dinner at the hotel and Salih stops by to meet everyone and to pickup Rob. Later that evening the Ark Research Ministries (ARM) team meets in Jim Hall's room. Jim shares his overall goals and visions for the project, then shares a long and detailed testimony. We have a time of fellowship and prayer, then it seemed only minutes afterwards that Jim goes into the bathroom and sounds sick. Most of us figured that it was something that he had eaten. He returned with us for a brief time, then returned back to the bathroom. The group broke up and decided to give Jim some privacy. Only minutes later did Michael Holt knock on our door (Matthew Kneisler and B.J. Corbin) and said we need to get Jim a doctor. There was a large amount of blood in Jim's bathroom floor that had been coming out "both ends." I ran downstairs to the front desk and attempted to explain the situation. We soon had an ambulance to take Jim to a hospital in Erzurum. Michael rode in the ambulance with Jim as Salih Bayraktutan and Rob Michelson returned to the hotel from a pre-conference meeting. Salih Bayraktutan and family, along with the management and staff of the Oral Hotel, and the staff at the hospital all need to be commended for the excellent care and concern expressed to Jim in his time of need. They even donated their own blood to help him.
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421 The team was obviously very concerned for Jim's well being, and had felt like we had witnessed a spiritual attack on Jim and the team, though logical explanations were offered. Sunday 10/4/1998 This was one of the longer days of the trip. We were all concerned about Jim and visited him at the hospital. We were supposed to have a premeeting with Salih around 5 P.M. that evening, but later received a call from Rob stating that the meeting would be moved to 7 P.M. Around 9 P.M. the rest of the team is getting both anxious and frustrated. I recall Rob returning to the Oral Hotel around 10 P.M. to a semihostile crowd.
Jim Hall in Bed at Hospital in Erzurum with Matthew Kneisler 1998 Courtesy of Michael Holt via B.J. Corbin
Dr. Salih Bayraktutan. He expressed an interest in having an international team of researchers investigate all sites and areas of interest relating to the flood of Noah. Professor Robert Michelson gave a detailed presentation for the Durupinar (boat-shaped) formation, though careful not be make any claims of discovery. He also echoed the call for collaborative scientific efforts for sites related to the flood of Noah. David Deal followed Rob with his interpretation of aerial photos and historical references regarding the Durupinar site and to a new claim of discovering "Naxuan" or "Naxuana" in the hills above Durupinar. He boldly proclaimed that Durupinar was indeed the remnants of Noah’s Ark, and the upper site was probably Naxuan. I personally found these statements to be total conjecture since Mr. Deal had never even been to either of these sites, and presented little in the way of conclusive evidence. After lunch, Matthew Kneisler of ARM presented the team research proposal, in proxy, for Jim Hall who was in the hospital for intestinal bleeding. B.J. Corbin presented a brief history of research on Mount Ararat and concluded with the most likely areas left
Monday 10/5/1998 The workshop began around 10 A.M. with opening statements from
B.J. Corbin at Kazan west of Ararat with large stone that has a hole in it 1998 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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Ark Research Team in Richmond, Virginia 1998 Courtesy of Jim Hall
to search on Mount Ararat, including the ruins at Eli, Korhan, and the St. Jacob's monastery. Tuesday 10/6/1998 We left in three rented cars for Doğubeyazit, which is just south of Mount Ararat. We stop in Agri for lunch and photos opportunities. We encounter some typical communication problems at the entrance of the governor's office building because of the video camera. The situation was soon resolved and we were escorted out of town by police and registered with Turkish security. After passing through several military checkpoints, we arrive in Doğubeyazit late in the afternoon. Salih needs to meet with local police, security, mayor, and military that we are in town and the nature of our visit. We checked into the Hotel Grand Derya which was quite nice by eastern Turkey standards, and noticed that we had two Turkish security assigned to us in the lobby. There were also security posted outside of the hotel on our behalf. Wednesday 10/7/1998 We stop at the military headquarters to see about our escort for the day. Two Turkish soldiers are assigned to protect us as we ventured on the Durupinar site, where a short, but solemn memorial service was held in honor of David Fasold, as David Deal sprinkled some of the ashes of David Fasold on the site. The group also went up near the Iranian border to search for ruins of an ancient settlement. We did hear some gun shots, and were hoping these were only from target practice, or maybe warning shots from Turkish military, as we were very near the Iranian border. No ruins or artifacts were easily discernable to most of the group once we reached the upper site of interest. We concluded the day with a drive to Kazan, a small village west of Mount Ararat, where some claim large stones are actually sea anchors or drogue stones from Noah’s Ark. We arrived in Kazan near dark, and it was decided to wait until morning of the next day to visit the stones.
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Thursday 10/8/1998 We went to Kazan to see the large stones. After about an hour or so, we returned to the Durupinar site, where the ARM team conducted an interview at the visitors center, and the others went back up to the upper site. We heard more gunshots, and could only hope for the best. There was a brief period of tension during the afternoon, where most of the ARM team was left at the visitors center with no car or person that spoke Turkish. At one point, we got a little nervous where someone was crouched in the bushes for over a half an hour. Too long for a mere bathroom break! Not to mention the occasional gun shots in the background. Salih, Rob and Dave announced the discovery of what they believed to be the top of a tomb at the upper site. I recall them saying that they found corners of a 3' by 5' stone slab. Due to some confusion, I did not go up to see the sites, but Rob later showed me some photos of the sites, which seem to warrant further investigation. Some members of the group claim to have found pieces of pottery and bone. We eventually left for Erzurum around 4 P.M., stopping again in Agri for dinner, this time without incident.
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Chuck Aaron (b. 1948) is one courageous guy. He has made more helicopter flights around Mount Ararat than any other American civilian I know. Chapter 27
1988-1993 Chuck Aaron Disappointed? Yes. Discouraged? Sometimes. Defeated? Never! I am forty-seven years old and have owned and operated my own helicopter business for the last twenty years. I have logged more than sixteen thousand hours as a pilot and am rated in both helicopters and airplanes. I am also a certified airframe and power plant mechanic. I consider myself a very stable and objective individual who tries to examine all sides of an issue before I make decisions. I am very active in reading, studying and researching the Bible, especially the Old Testament. This is because I am interested in eschatology or the study of end times, which I see as the bud of the tree. In order to understand the bud of the tree you must first learn the root of the tree and what makes it grow. I believe that root is the book of Genesis. I became interested in the search for Noah’s Ark before the first time I read the Bible. My son Shawn, who had always wanted to be an archaeologist, came to me one night in 1984, right after he had seen the movie Raiders of the Lost ark. He asked me if there was anything else out there that would be neat to look for. As if a light bulb had just come on, I thought of Noah’s Ark. Why don't you look for Noah’s Ark? I don't know that anyone else has tried. His immediate response was, No! That triggered in me an impulse to take down the Bible that my mother had given to me several years before. It was just sitting on my bookshelf collecting a lot of dust. As a matter of fact, I had never opened it since she had given it to me. My mother loved God very much and had been trying for years to get me to read the Bible. I always thought it would be too difficult to understand and I just was not motivated spiritually enough to even try. I decided I could see what the Bible had to say about Noah’s Ark, and I knew that it was in the front of the Bible somewhere. Sure enough, I found it in Genesis and I read what it had to say so I could tell Shawn when he came home that night. After reading chapters six, seven and eight, I thought since it was so close to the front of the Bible I should read from the beginning just so I would not miss anything else about the Ark that might have been mentioned. I flipped back to the beginning, and what did I see but a note from my mother that she had written in 1981. I did not even known it was there. It said, "To my very dear son, Charles Patrick Aaron. About 3/4 of the way through this book begins the New Testament. Read it slowly so you learn more about him whom you seek. I love you, Jesus loves you, Mom, Christmas, 1981." I was in shock! My mother by this time was in a nursing home in St. Cloud, Florida. She was the victim of poor judgment, which had left her with little or no mental faculties. I hated the place she was in, but she needed 24-hour-a-day care for almost all her needs, as she was completely bedridden. She finally passed away a couple of days before Easter in 1987. What happened next was really neat. God obviously had his own agenda that was different from mine. By the time I got through chapter eight that night, I found myself really enjoying the picture that was forming in my mind about God and man. I decided to read on a little more. By the time I went to sleep that night I had read through Genesis. I was able to follow the Bible and was beginning to have a new understanding of God. When I woke up the next day I decided that since it was Saturday I would read Exodus until I got bored. By the end of the day I had finished Exodus, and while I was reading it, I had cried, laughed, and cried and laughed, all at the same time. I was hooked. It was by far the best book I had ever read and I could not put it down. I finished the whole Bible within six months. The most important thing I can tell you is that my whole life changed from just reading this one book. I had a totally different outlook on life on this planet earth. Now I could understand the meaning of life itself. I could spend eternity telling how this book changed my life. I remembered that in the New Testament Christians are called to use their God-given talents for the glory of God. I was a well-seasoned helicopter pilot and God knows I'm the type of guy who carries through a project once I have it in mind. I've always been an extrovert and involved in all kinds of sports and activities. My friends have always told me that grass never grew between my toes. Now that I had accepted the Bible, I asked myself what I could do with my talents to serve God? I remembered my conversation with my son, and decided to look into the possibility of locating Noah’s Ark myself. I also decided that as long as the doors opened up for me I would continue, but if they closed, then they were closed. I began by getting two 36" X 36" NASA photos of Mt. Ararat taken by satellite. I started jogging every day to get into shape, because I knew that someday I would go to Mt. Ararat. I didn't know when or how, but I knew I would go, I could just feel it. Six months later, by which time I was jogging up to twelve miles a day, I got a phone call from an individual in Istanbul, Turkey, who wanted to buy one of my helicopters. He said that he wanted to give me a deposit on my JetRanger, but preferred to meet me before transferring $300,000 into my account. He suggested that I fly to Turkey to meet with him for a week. He said he would pick up the tab and show me Istanbul. Of course, I said that would be fine! That was on a Thursday. Two days later, Federal Express showed up at my house with round trip airline tickets. The plane left the next day, and on Monday afternoon I found myself in Istanbul.
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Chuck Aaron Flying Helicopter Over Mount Ararat Courtesy of Chuck Aaron via B.J. Corbin The Turkish gentleman picked me up at the airport and we drove over to one of his offices right on the airport. We had been sitting there, chatting for about twenty minutes when the phone rang. For the next several moments I became very nervous as he spoke in Turkish to the caller, but kept glancing over at me. "Am I going to be taken hostage?" I thought. I was not feeling good about this at all. Finally he hung up the phone and said, "Chuck, that call was from a friend of mine in Ankara. He needs one of my helicopters in eastern Turkey. It seems there is a man there named Jim Irwin, an American astronaut, who is looking for Noah’s Ark. My pilots are afraid of that area and don't really want to go there, but I could convince them to go if they knew that someone with your experience was with them. What do you think?" He stared at me in disbelief when I began to cry. I could not believe what I was hearing. I had difficulty keeping my emotions under control. I was in shock. After I got hold of myself I told him the whole story about my personal quest to look for the ark. Now he was in shock. The next morning at 7:00 A.M., one of his pilots, one of his mechanics, and I lifted off the ground in his JetRanger helicopter and began the twelve hundred mile trip across Turkey. We arrived at the foot of Mt. Ararat around 9:00 P.M. and the first person to meet us was Jim Irwin himself. I told him the story of my getting there and he became visibly shaken. At that point, Jim and I became the best of friends. Because of legal issues with Russia and the border agreement between Turkey and Russia, we were not allowed to fly the helicopter on the north side of Mt. Ararat, which is where we wanted to search. In spite of this, the trip was not at all a loss for me. On the contrary, I met many great people who were with Jim: Bill Dodder, Bob Stuplich, Bob Cornuke, Dr. John Morris and John McIntosh. All these men were soldiers for God who were willing and able to risk their lives in the service of God. Now that you know a little bit about me and my involvement in the search for Noah’s Ark, let's press on to the facts that I have found after eight expeditions to Mt. Ararat. There are two basic questions each person must answer. First, is there a God? Does God exist only in our minds? For me, the answer is easy. Of course there is God, and only one God! That became very evident to me after I read the Bible. Second, did God through the Holy Spirit inspire the Bible and is every word factual? Again I overwhelmingly say yes. If these two essentials are agreed upon, we can proceed to see what God has to say about where Noah’s Ark landed. In the New American Standard Bible, Genesis 8:4 states, "And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the Ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat." We know from Genesis 7:20 that "the waters prevailed fifteen cubits
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higher, and the mountains were covered." For the definition of a cubit, we turn to 2 Chronicles 32:30 where it says, "It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them to the West side of the city (of David)." An inscription found in 1880 near the mouth of the Siloam tunnel describes this remarkable engineering feat by which water was brought from the spring of Gihon to a place inside the City of David. Diggers worked from both ends, meeting almost exactly in the middle of this self-described twelve hundred-cubit-long tunnel. Since we know from excavations that by today's measurement it extends 1,777 feet, we know that the cubit was about 18 inches in length. According to the Bible, the Ark landed on Mt. Ararat and the waters were twenty-two and a half feet higher than any mountain in the world. We know the elevation of the highest mountain in the world today, Mount Everest at 29,029 feet. If one assumes that Everest were the same height at the time of the flood, that would put the depth of the floodwaters at about 29,051 feet. I have researched this subject thoroughly, and while there are some who question what happened to allow the waters to abate after being at that depth, I will not go into the answer to that question now. The answer however can be deduced fairly easily using scientific data available today. In Genesis 8:5 we read, "and the water decreased steadily until the tenth month, in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible." Noah landed on the mountains of Ararat in the seventh month and the seventeenth day, and no mountain could be seen at that time. This is a very important point to remember. It was not until the tenth month on the first day of the month (or 74 days later) when Noah first saw another mountaintop. It is certain that the only mountains he could have seen would have been the top of little Mt. Ararat to the east, or if for some reason the summit of Ararat blocked his view, the next mountain tops would be 33 miles to the west at an elevation of 11,014 feet. I have flown a helicopter around that mountain many times. I have landed a helicopter on the 15,200-foot western plateau, and have even camped and walked around there for three days with one of the editors and co-authors of this book, B.J. Corbin, and another Ark researcher and co-author, Bob Garbe. Greater Mount Ararat is about 17,000 feet at its summit, and Little Mount Ararat is beside it five miles to the eastsoutheast at 13,500 feet. I conclude that when Scripture refers to the "mountains" (plural) of Ararat, it is referencing these two mountains. Since no other mountain could be seen for 74 more days that leads me to the conclusion that Noah landed on the taller of these two mountains.
Bob Garbe, Chuck Aaron, and Alparslan Demirural 1989 Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
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The next step is to find out where Noah landed this 450-foot-long, 75-foot-wide and 45-foot-high barge on Mt. Ararat (see Genesis 6:15 for the dimensions). But first we have to ask the all-important question, did God plan to save the Ark to allow it to be seen again at some future date or not? To answer this I refer you to Genesis 6:14 which says, "Make yourself an Ark of gopher wood; you shall make the Ark with rooms, and you shall cover it inside and out with pitch." Pitch? What is pitch? Pitch is the sap of the tree. It was used between logs as a sealer that kept water out. The thing that has always puzzled me is why God told Noah to put this sticky pitch or sap on the inside of the ark. Putting pitch on the outside of the Ark was understandable, but why the inside? To me that only makes sense if you want to preserve the ark. By putting pitch inside and out and placing it on Mt. Ararat, which has a perennial ice cap, it makes sense to believe God intended its preservation. If the Ark is on Mt. Ararat and in the ice cap, and if it was originally manufactured of wood covered with pitch both inside and out, then it could easily be preserved indefinitely. In Matthew 24:36-38 Jesus is talking about the second coming (or as some call it, the end of time): But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the Angels of heaven, nor the Son (Jesus), but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man (Jesus) will be just like the days of Noah. For in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. Jesus was hinting that we would know when the time of his second coming is near because we will be reminded of how far people had turned from God in the days of Noah. This leads to the whether God is planning to show the Ark again at some future time. If not, why did he seal it up so well and put it on a mountain, so that it would be preserved for as long as God wanted. Furthermore, why would God preserve such minute detail as to the size of the Ark and the number of days of the receding of the water? These seemingly meaningless facts can actually be clues that lead to a possible location. My understanding of God according to the Bible is that God often uses man to fulfill his prophecies, and he uses things in the past to reference the present and future for warnings and heavenly reasons. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. I believe that if God holds true to his long-standing dealings with man, He not only will disclose the location of the ark, but also other items like the Ark of the Covenant. Why? I believe it might be to show the glory of God and act as a silencing agent to man. A sort of divine "I told you so." Furthermore, these things could be strengthening agents to the Christians on earth during the tribulation period, because they will need a lot of encouragement in that time. I know that these things will not "save" anyone. When I first began my search for the Ark I believed that proof of the existence of these items might help convince people of the truth of the Gospel, but I found after reading and studying the Bible, that only God himself can do that. Because Eve and Adam ate the fruit, gaining the knowledge of Satan and sin, that knowledge passed to their offspring, causing the corruption of mankind. We are therefore incapable of saving ourselves. I believe the Ark to be on Mt. Ararat in the ice cap somewhere between 13,500 and 17,000 feet. That is the altitude range of the perennial ice cap. As to where on Mt. Ararat, that is another question? I can tell you for certain, as can many of my close friends who have been with me on these eight different expeditions, that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. We have been all over that mountain by helicopter many times at very slow speeds and right up next to the mountain also. We have seen every square inch of it, photographing it as we went. But don't lose hope. We haven't finished yet. So where could it be? There are only a few places on this mountain that a 450-foot-long barge could hide. There are three peaks: the center peak, the western peak and the eastern peak. Approximately one-half of the ice cap covers the east and south sides right up to the eastern peak. It is thin on this side because it receives the sun's direct rays. I have photos and videos of this area taken from a helicopter in September 1989 showing little or no ice on it at all. The center peak is the highest at about 17,000 feet, and between this and the western peak is a possible caldera (a large crater formed by the collapse of a volcanic cone, very common to volcanic mountains) located at 16,500 feet. This is one place the Ark might be. The presumed caldera is about 700 feet in diameter. There is also another huge caldera on the northwest side of the summit at 15,200 feet. This area is called the western plateau. I believe this caldera has a lot of potential for being the resting-place of the ark. Imagine God looking down on the earth at the end of the flood. He sees Noah floating around in this huge boat, knowing that it has all the life on earth inside it. God not only wants them to be saved from the flood, but after the flood as well. God certainly would not let the Ark land on the mountain at its summit where the steep angle of the ground makes it difficult to disembark. He would plan for it to be as flat as possible and have a route down the mountain for all the animals and Noah's family to be able to get down safely. Also, you can imagine how rough the waters might have been during the flooding because of the incredible altering of the earth's plates and bodies of waters. The scene certainly was not an idyllic setting like "On Golden Pond." We know by comparing Genesis 7:11 and Genesis 8:14 that Noah was in the Ark for a total of 370 days from the time he and his family entered the Ark and God locked the door behind them.
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Immanuel Expeditions Team David Montgomery, Kathy Montgomery, Paul Schiemer, Chuck Aaron, Jr., Chuck Aaron, B.J. Corbin, Bob Garbe, John Wanvig, Debbie Redmer 1989
Courtesy of B.J. Corbin
Basing our calculations on the 30-day month that ancient calendars generally used, we find that Noah landed on Mt. Ararat exactly five months later, and had therefore spent 150 days floating before the Ark actually touched hard ground. But why did Noah stay in the Ark for another 220 days after landing? Anyone, who has seen Mt. Ararat from a helicopter's perspective, knows why. The mountain is very steep on all sides, and continues to be steep from the summit down 12,000 feet before the piedmont, or level ground, is reached. We know that Noah had problems: rough seas and a tall, steep mountain, virtually pointed on the top with very little flat terrain to support the Ark in rough water. How did they get down once they landed? The western plateau. Actually, this western plateau was a small lake roughly 2,000 feet in diameter. Noah had been floating around in very rough seas, and as the water subsided the summit of Greater Ararat appeared, and the dove that Noah let out came back with an olive branch in its beak (Genesis 8:12). Note that this dove was gone for one day at the most (Genesis 8:10-11). At this point there was no land in sight, so the dove came back in the evening. The nearest mountain to Mt. Ararat that is as high or higher is found in the Caucasus mountain range in southern Russia, 248 miles to the northwest. The name of that mountain is Mt. Shkhara. Its elevation is 17,064 feet, only a few feet higher than 17,000-foot Mt. Ararat. The next highest mountain is in the same range but is located an additional 37 miles beyond Mt. Shkhara. This mountain is 1,461 feet higher than Ararat, having a summit of 18,481 feet. These two peaks of Ararat would be the only two peaks visible above the water at this point from which the dove could have retrieved an olive branch, unless it went to China. Based on these facts, I take the position that this dove got the olive branch from Mt. Ararat itself. If this theory is correct, then the summit of Ararat was higher than sea level before the Ark had landed. This would leave only one other place for the Ark to land on relatively level ground. I think that God put the Ark on the western plateau-lake. It would be easy for God to get the Ark inside the rim of the caldera just as the flood was subsiding, and there it would float naturally
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South side of Mount Ararat 1988 Courtesy of Chuck Aaron
and calmly, safe from winds and weather, while the porous volcanic mountain allowed the waters to subside slowly in the caldera. This is one explanation as to why Noah waited an additional 220 days in the ark. Furthermore, it would be an easy walk for Noah and all the animals if they had walked down the northwest face. That is the path the locals usually use when they climb the mountain, and I have excellent photos showing how easy it could have been. In 1989 I had the opportunity to lead three more expeditions to Mt. Ararat. The first one, in July, was made up of fourteen people. On this trip B.J. Corbin and Bob Garbe assisted me in a company we formed called "Immanuel Expeditions." On this expedition we were able to prove that the western plateau was indeed a caldera, using the subsurface radar unit that Bob Garbe had brought with him. I had the opportunity to camp on top of that western plateau at 15,200 feet. B.J. Corbin, Bob Garbe and myself were able to use a special radar unit that Bob had brought. This instrument was for the purpose of looking into the ice on that plateau and seeing how deep the caldera was, perhaps even finding the Ark itself. That was the plan, anyway. What actually happened was that two men with AK-47s who had a different agenda from ours. A Turkish Major told me later that there were a group of four PKK who were caught by the Gendarma and were executed. Just before that incident, however, we were able to conclusively prove that we were reading depths of the ice right underneath our tents of 256 feet. In other words, that caldera we were on was now a frozen pond or lake all the way to rock bottom. That is the reason this area is so flat on top. I believe this caldera's frozen lake may be the hiding place of Noah’s Ark. My next trip was in September of 1989. On this expedition there were just Bob Garbe and myself. You have possibly heard about this trip. It was on this trip that the claim was made that we had "found" Noah’s Ark. That statement hit the papers and TV all around the world. We were sure. Anyone with us would have been sure too! The object that we saw fit most all the clues that some "eyewitnesses" had stated about the Ark over the years. It was on the side of a steep wall, encased in ice, protruding out at an angle, etc. What we saw at 14,500 feet on the west side of Ararat, fit that description exactly, and we had never
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seen it before, even though we had been all over that mountain many times in the past. The only reason we saw it this time was because of the tremendous amount of melt-back that had occurred that summer. Many of the past sightings had been by pilots flying past Mt. Ararat. Astronaut Jim Irwin made the comment, right after he saw our videos of it, saying, "It looks like it could be Noah’s Ark, and it probably is what other pilots have claimed to be Noah’s Ark. But what is it, really?" There is no question that it looks like Noah’s Ark to a pilot in an aircraft, but confirmation by a ground team was still necessary. A Mr. Gunner Smars called me from Sweden. He had seen our videos of what we thought was Noah’s Ark on TV in Sweden and he called me in Orlando, Florida, asking me to send him a copy of the tape so he could analyze it. I sent him a copy immediately and after reviewing it, he also thought it was the ark. He arranged an immediate expedition and went to Ararat and climbed up to it. He was able to get to it by traversing the mountain, and even then was only able to get above it. He wrote a letter to Jim Irwin (which I have) in which he told Jim that he did not think it was the ark. He said the place where he stood was solid rock and that he could not see any wood. Therefore he surmised that it could not be the ark. Thanks mainly to a brother of ours in the faith, Mr. Robert Van Kampen, a third expedition was made possible that year in October 1989. By then I was completely out of spare funds and Bob was gracious enough to fund the entire trip. On this expedition we took Grant Richards and John Morris, both experts in archaeology and geology, as well as experienced mountain climbers. The thing I personally appreciated most about them was that they loved the Bible. We got a helicopter in Istanbul, flew it out to Ararat, and on this trip were able to fly within 100 feet of the object that appeared to be the ark. After close inspection we all agreed that it was not the Ark after all. We also agreed that from a distance of five hundred feet or more, most people would swear that it was. A man who wants to remain anonymous once contacted me after reading an article about me in an Orlando newspaper. He told me a story which, after having talked with him on many occasions, I sincerely believe to be true. He is about 70 years old now and has no reason in the world to track me down just to tell me a lie. I will call him Caleb. Caleb told me that about 1945 he was loadmaster on a U.S. Air Force C-47 (DC-3) cargo airplane. While based in England he made many trips into Turkey to re-supply military bases. On one of his trips he had to go to eastern Turkey to drop some supplies. After they dropped off the supplies, the pilot said to the crew (four people in all), "Let's fly over Mt. Ararat and see if we can see Noah’s Ark." Sure enough, Caleb told me details of the mountain that he would not know if he had not been there. He told me that they saw Noah’s Ark complete, not broken up, and he described it as a long, dark, wooden barge made of logs. He said it was lying in a north to south position, and it looked like it was half-sunken in the ice. It was on the west and north side of the mountain at around 15,000 feet. He said that the pilot indicated they were at 16,000 feet, and they made two passes by it. The passes they made were flown north and south, and when they were flying south on the final pass the summit of Ararat was on their left (east) side, and was above them. The sight mesmerized everyone on the aircraft. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. He said over and over again how positive they all were that it was Noah’s Ark. The sky was clear, and the view of the Ark was perfect, leaving no doubt in any of their minds that it was the ark. Because of the secret military mission they were on, when they returned and told their commander of what they saw, he ordered them to forget about it and to never mention it again. When Caleb and I first met, before he told me this story, he wanted me to check with the military to see if he would get into any trouble for telling me. He was afraid that I might repeat it to the general public and mention his name. I assured him of the constitutional rights of a writer, and told him not to worry about my revealing his true identity. I can say with God as my witness, this is a true account of the story that this man told me. Astronaut Jim Irwin personally told me that he was told by an active duty Air Force General that there was a secret file on Noah’s Ark. It was so "top secret" that not even Jim Irwin could see it, but the general assured him that the file does exist. So where do we go from here? If anyone knows any way to get permission from our military or CIA to use the socalled "top secret" radar satellite that looks underground (the one used in the Gulf War to find underground bunkers), or if anyone has access to the archives of the satellite data recorded on tape, please contact me and I will give you the exact coordinates of the place where I believe the Ark is located. The best time of the year to look would be during the coldest part of the winter, because when the ice is frozen solid, radar, set at the right frequency, will penetrate ice as if it was not even there. I believe that with the right equipment, at the right place, at the right time, Noah’s Ark could be easily found by one of these satellites.
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Others have different ideas about where Noah’s Ark is located. Many of them are friends of mine. May God bless them. All I have said here are my thoughts and ideas about where I believe it is located and why. The fact remains that none of us has actually found it. However, a photograph of the summit of Mt. Ararat hangs in the hallway of my house and that keeps me pressing on. I took the picture on one of my expeditions and at the bottom of the photo I have a note that reads: Disappointed? Yes. Discouraged? Sometimes. Defeated? Never! I just keep reminding myself that this is God's plan. This is a test. This is only a test. I believe that God, not Chuck Aaron or any other person, will decide if and when he wants to show the ark. Whether the Ark is substantiated or not, I am content with my search for the Ark and to continue living my life based on the Bible.
In a slightly s diffeerent form, this t chapter was w the coveer story for the British maagazine Forttean Times (March, (M 19999). In the earrly 1990s, Simmons coproduced a segment off NBC's "Un nsolved Mysteries" that included oriiginal aerial footage f of Ararat, statements from f eyewitn ness Ed Davvis and satelllite imaging specialist George Steephen, III. Robin R Everett Simmons is i an artist, writer w and filmmaker. fi Y may conttact him at FindTheArk@ You F @aol.com. Chapter 28
19 989-19 990 Robin R Simmo ons
Robin Simmo ons with Heliccopter Pilot Yu uri Poskrebyssheb 1990 Courtesyy of Robin Sim mmons. Photo by George Adams
The storry of a catacllysmic flood and a a lone fa amily that survivess in a hand-m made boat is s one of the oldest storie es of our glo obal culture. Hundreds off similar but apparently independent versionss exist all ove er the planett. Is it possiblle that this epic myth is based b on factt? Even more e fantastic, could the e great Ark off Noah be pre eserved, rightt now, in the icy reaches off Mount Arara at? The ere's a well-known accoun nt of ten-year--old Georgie Hagopian, who saw Noah h’s Ark while climbing Ararrat with his uncle in 1904. The da ate isn't preciise but this was w around the e time my gra andfather wass in the region and heard convincing stories of o the ark, pre eserved in ice and snow, sttill occasionallly visible. My grandfather died in 1980 0, aged 106. As a boy, I listened to hiss adventuress as a doctor in eastern Turkey T and b 1904 4 and 1910. He H worked in the very sha adow of Greatter Ararat―th he legendary biblical landin ng place of Russia between Noah's ship. s My gran ndfather said some of the Kurds K and Arrmenians he treated t confid ded that the great g Ark was preserved on Arara at. They said d, it's "high on n the northern side, a little e below the saddle" s of the e twin-peaked dormant vo olcano. He showed me the spott on an old photograph p o Ararat. He said the old of dest place na ames of that area preservve antique meaning gs that translate as "Noah h's Village," "First " Vineyarrd," "House of o Shem" (No oah's son), "F First Market Town" T and "Place of o First Desce ent" and so on n. Most of the ese names, he e thought, are e no longer in n general use e but are very specific in old-style e Armenian. My grandfather'ss story so imp pressed me th hat over the years y I noted any a material pertaining to this enduring enigma. It seems as a if, every co ouple of yearrs, someone claims c a new w Noah’s Ark discovery in a book, docu umentary or TV T special. Some arre laughably amateurish; a others o are clumsy hoaxes.
Robin Simmons
Ed Davis Photo by Robin Simmons
459 Even supermarket tabloids regularly exploit this mystery. Before long, I had a veritable flood of questionable and unverifiable data. There were arks everywhere – all over Ararat as well as boat-shaped earthen impressions in nearby lower elevations and many more in the pass between Greater and Lesser Ararat. The Koran speaks of the Ark landing on Al Cudi; there's a mountain by that name 200 miles south of Ararat. (Some researchers suggest that the Arabic root for Cudi mean "the highest" and refers to the upper part of Greater Ararat.) Kuh e Alvand, yet another "Ararat" is in Iran. It has a long tradition among locals as the ark's landing place. More contentious sites exist in other countries and continents. I spoke to several living eyewitnesses―like Georgie―who claimed to have seen the Ark of Noah, or big parts of it, on Ararat. And there's the tale of a monthslong expedition by Czar Nicholas' soldiers, during which the Ark was supposedly entered and photographed. It's location was allegedly mapped somewhere in the rugged, canyon-riddled upper regions on the "Armenian side." This expedition was just prior to the Bolshevik Revolution during which, it is said, many of the Czar's soldiers were hunted down and slaughtered and the Ark photos, maps and artifacts disappeared. Relatives of the few soldiers who survived have family records that seem to confirm the authenticity of the expedition. A recent story hints that some of Czar Nicholas' personal items may have been transferred from their secret vaults in Moscow and Leningrad to the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in California. The SRI is a federally funded 'institute' that serves the intelligence community. Could the cache of alleged transferred items include documents pertaining to the Czar's Ararat expedition? Then I met the late Ed Davis, an octogenarian and breeder of prized Nubian goats in the American southwest. His story of seeing the Ark has been circulated widely among Ark hunters and dismissed by many as the pipe dream of an old man with a big imagination and a faulty memory. I
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spent a day talking with this smart and kindly gentleman. This is a condensed version of what he said: Something happened to me in '43 that's haunted me all my life... I'm in the 363rd Army Corps of Engineers working out of a base in Hamadan (ancient Ekbatan), Iran. We're building a Way Station into Russia from Turkey. A supply route. My driver's a young man named Badi Abas. One day while we're at a quarry site loading rock, he points to a distant peak that's sometimes visible and says, "Agri Dagh, my home." We can see it clearly on the horizon with its year-round snowcap. "Mt. Ararat, that's where the Ark landed?" I say. He nods. "My grandfather knows where it is and has gone up there," he says matter-of-factly. I thought, Boy would I like to see that... One day in July, his grandfather, Abas-Abas, visits our base and tells Badi the ice on Ararat is melting to where you can see part of the ark. Badi tells me if I want to see it they will take me there. I had done a favor for their village that put me in good stead with the Abas family. In fact, they now have water, where before they had to walk two miles to get it... So I go to my commanding officer and ask for a leave. He says, "It's dangerous, you'll get killed." I tell him how much I want to go. He says, "I can give you R&R in Tehran and you could take the long way." I stock up on extra gasoline, oil and tires. A few days later, we get up early and Badi Abas and I drive down along the border as far as Qazvin until we get to his little village. This was the settlement I had helped them get water. We spend the night there... At dawn the next day, we reach the foothills of Ararat and arrive at another primitive village. Abas tells me the name of the village means "Where Noah Planted The Vine." I see grapevines so big at their trunk you can't reach around them. Very, very old. Abas says they have a cave filled with artifacts that came from the ark. They find them strewn in a canyon below the ark, collect them to keep from outsiders who, they think, would profane them. It's all sacred to them. That night, they show me the artifacts. Oil lamps, clay vats, old style tools, things like that. I see a cage-like door, maybe thirty by forty inches, made of woven branches. It's hard as stone, looks petrified. It has a handcarved lock or latch on it. I could even see the wood grain. We sleep. At first light, we put on mountain clothes and they bring up a string of horses. I leave with seven male members of the Abas family and we ride—seems like an awful long time. Finally we come to a hidden cave deep in the canyons of Greater A View of Upper Ahora Gorge, the Summit, Saddle, and Abich II Ararat. They say it's where T. E. as well as the Relative Positions of Three Possible Ark-like Objects. Photo by Robin Simmons 1990
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Lawrence (of Arabia) hid when he was doing reconnaissance. There's a huge pot of hot food waiting for us. There's fungus there that glows in the dark. And they say Lawrence put it on his face to convince the Kurds he was a god and get them to join him in his war against the Turks. We eat and then climb back on our horses and continue riding higher on the narrow trail. They tell me we're going through the "Back Door." It's a secret route used by smugglers or bandits. Along the way, they point out a pair of human legs sticking out of the ice and tell me he shouldn't have been up there. I believe them. I don't know how the horses are able to follow the route. In some places you can tell we were riding along a high cliff but most of the time it's hard to see because of the rain and fog. A freezing wind is blowing and it feels like it's going right through me. Soon, Abas tells me to be quiet because we're at a place where Russian sentries, stationed below, might hear us. We ride in silence for the rest of the day. Sometimes they'd communicate in their own private code by short whistles. Eventually we run out of trail. Someone from the Abas family is waiting for us, takes our horses and we are roped together and climb on foot much higher to another cave. I can't tell where we are. The rain never lets up... After three days of climbing we come to the last cave. Inside, there's strange writing, it looked beautiful and old, on the rock walls and a kind of natural rock bed or outcropping near the back of the cavern. Another pot of food is waiting for us. Everything's prepared for my visit by the Abas family. It rains hard all night. The next morning we get up and wait. The rain lets up and we walk along a narrow trail behind a dangerous outcropping called "Doomsday Rock." I guess it's called that because it's a place you could easily die and many have. Some not of their own doing. We doubled back around behind the imposing rock formation and come to a ledge. We are enveloped by fog. Suddenly the fog lifts and the sun breaks through a hole in the clouds. It's a very mystical sight as the light shimmers on the wet canyon. My Moslem friends pray to Allah. They speak quietly and are very subdued... After they finish praying, Badi Abas points down into a kind of horseshoe1 crevasse and says, "That's Noah’s Ark." But I can't see anything. Everything's the same color and texture. Then I see it— a huge, rectangular, man-made structure partly covered by a talus of ice and rock, lying on its side. At least a hundred feet are clearly visible. I can even see inside it, into the end where it's been broken off, timbers are sticking out, kind of twisted and gnarled, water's cascading out from under it.
An Illustration Based Solely on Description of One of the Ark-like Objects Ed Davis Saw. Compare it to the Third Object Photos.
Illustration by Elfred Lee 1
It is interesting to note that on the Tom Pickett Corona Satellite picture in the Introduction, there is a horseshoe-shaped valley in the Abich II glacier below the saddle of the peaks
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Shooting of Riddle of Ararat with Director Robin Simmons, Don Shockey, Pilot Yuri Poskrebysheb, Producer George Adams Background Russian Navigator, Turkish Co-pilot 1990 Courtesy of Robin Simmons
Abas points down the canyon and I can make out another portion of it. I can see how the two pieces were once joined — the torn timbers kind of match. They told me the Ark is broken into three or four big pieces. Inside the broken end of the biggest piece, I can see at least three floors and Abas says there's a living space near the top with forty-eight rooms. He says there are cages inside as small as my hand, others big enough to hold a family of elephants. I can see what looks like remains of partitions and walkways inside the bigger piece. I really want to touch it—it's hard to explain the feeling. Abas says we can go down on ropes in the morning. It begins to rain and we go back to the cave... Next morning when we get up, it's snowing. It had snowed all night and it's at least belt deep on me. I can't see anything down in the canyon. The Ark is no longer visible. Abas says, "We have to leave, it's too dangerous." It took us five days to get off the mountain and back to my base. I smell so bad when I get back to Tehran, they burn my clothes. And no one seems interested in what I saw, so I quit talking about it. But I dream about it every night for twenty years. There's something up there... As part of my ongoing film project called RIDDLE OF ARARAT, we (producer George Adams, cameraman Paul Zenk and myself) recorded Davis' amazing tale. Although Ed Davis' story struck me as unusually detailed and unpretentious, it was almost too good to be true. When it was privately printed and distributed by one of his friends, Davis says he received bizarre phone threats warning that he had betrayed an ancient family secret and as a result "the Black Hand of Allah was upon him."
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Intuitively, I believe Davis but have many questions about his details. For instance, how is it possible to see Mount Ararat from Hamadan, over 400 miles away? Davis supposes peculiar atmospheric conditions that create mirages. Again, Kuh e Alvand, the Iranian 'Ararat' is close by Hamadan— did Ed go there? Using archival photos and old maps, I see a likely and possible route for Davis from Hamadan to Tarlabas ("Village of Abas"?) near the new village of Ahora (some say the old name translates as "Where Noah Planted The Vine") into the Ahora Gorge and to a place beneath the massive ice finger that curls off the Abich II glacier (but it's difficult to clearly discern an obvious route to the higher elevation just below the saddle). About this time Adams and I got a promise of full funding for RIDDLE OF ARARAT from entrepreneur Ed Shaida, a man referred to me by Eryl Cummings. An initial deposit of a $1.5 million to cover initial filming and expedition set-up expenses was to be made on a specific date. I had accumulated a great amount of data pertaining to Ararat and the possibility of the ark, or parts of it, being preserved. In fact, a specific target area that stretched from below the twin peaks into the upper Ahora Gorge seemed a very likely and unexplored zone to explore. We needed a helicopter and George Stephen III Approximate Site Map 1989 pilot and permits. We also wanted to Courtesy of Robin Simmons frame our movie around a colorful Ark hunter and we decided on Don Shockey, an optometrist-treasure hunter with pronounced cowboy tendencies. Shockey agreed to let us pay his expenses for multiple trips to Ararat in exchange for all filming rights. Out of the blue, Dick Bright called and suggested that I contact Chuck Aaron, a fellow pilot who had a Turkish military approved permit to fly a chopper around and on Greater Ararat. I invited him to join our team. Assuring him that in the event we found something, that information would be made available to all. That our film project was to record the steps that led to any initial discovery so people could decide for themselves without bias or preaching. I liked Aaron a lot and we hit it off immediately. Adams and I invited Aaron to check out a remote sensing expert that George Stephen III Examining Infra Red Satellite Image (not Ararat but Alaska) taken by Space Shuttle Astronaut with a 35mm Hand-held Camera
Photo by Kathy Stephen
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we planned to visit with Shockey. It seemed to me that the pieces of the puzzle, to not only locate the possibly preserved Ark but to document it, were falling into place almost too easily. Chuck Aaron and I were especially in agreement that this was not just another treasure hunt and that personal agendas, or profit, were not to be motivating factors. George Stephen III is a military-trained, 30-year veteran of remote-sensing, high-resolution, infrared and other satellite type photo interpretation – a specialist who says he had access to "every square foot" of planet earth. When Stephen was asked to look at upper Ararat for any man-made anomalies, he agreed. When we met some time later, Stephen said: I looked at the mountain from the 10,000-foot altitude to the top. I'm a hundred percent sure there's two man-made objects up there on the north side of the mountain above the 13,000-foot elevation. What amazes me is a structure at this altitude. The terrain is just treacherous! And the amount of ice on it... It's definitely not a military object or device because it couldn't be used since it's under ice almost all the time. The process I use is a Photo Analysis Material Spectra (PAMS). We pull up a photo from a satellite, I can't tell you which one, but it's available. The photograph is put into one of our own processes which is a laser process that takes a spectra reading. We work with 64 different shades of every color. Each one of those shades means something that is going on with that anomaly or target. Then we use "perforation" in which we take "plugs" out of that area. In other words, instead of looking for the needle in the haystack, we remove the haystack. We perforate the area and pull those plugs until we come up with an "image" of whatever is in the target area. On that mountain (Ararat) is the rectangular shape of two man-made organic objects. One above the other. Looks like maybe 1,200-foot difference. Both objects look like they were joined at one time because there's a spectral trail going down from one to the other. They're sitting in a fault on a ledge. The upper one is hanging. They are both in a glacier. Last time I looked there was about 70 foot of ice over the upper object. The lower one I can't tell because it's at too steep of an angle. I can't tell you what it's made of, but it's not metal and it's not rock. It would have to be organic, perhaps wood. It's ancient but I'm not saying it's the Ark because I haven't "seen" it. All I can say is that I'm a hundred percent sure it's a man-made object. But for somebody to take something up there, to haul it up there, to build a thing of this size would be an amazing feet. The most peculiar thing about this anomaly is that there are no trails to it that indicate it was constructed on this site. I don't know if this is the original location of this object. Maybe it's been raised up from a lower elevation. Or maybe it was higher and slid down throughout the centuries. It's almost like it crashed or landed there... Perhaps this glacier melts back and this object being hollow, up there George Stephen Marked Approximate Sites on Corona Satellite on this ledge like it is, with thousands Photo of tons of ice in it and around it, breaks off and takes part of it on down the canyon. Personally, I don't believe in Noah’s Ark. And frankly, I've no idea what it is.
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When Stephen marked his two part, broken anomaly site on the topo and satellite graphics we gave him, Shockey, Aaron, Adams and I leaned in unison like novelty dipping birds. We couldn't get close enough! I immediately saw that the Stephen Site was in the same area my grandfather indicated to me many years before—a little below the saddle. Actually it was the upper Abich II Glacier. However, this area did not match with Davis' story—he never mentioned crossing ice fields on being anywhere near the summit. Is it possible to reconcile the apparent discrepancy? Was the Abich II cleared of ice in 1943 and did Davis get there without going over the ice cap? Or is the Ark broken into at least two more pieces in a lower location? Immediately after our meeting with Stephen at his former lab near Ridge Crest, I noticed a somber change in Chuck Aaron. Much later I learned that Shockey talked privately with Aaron and made certain private contractual demands. Shortly thereafter, Aaron disappeared and went to Turkey and Ararat to fly on his own. I was puzzled by this turn of events and even more disappointed at Shockey when I found out why Aaron exited our team. A real loss. What else was in store for us? To some, it seemed like certain dark forces were conspiring to prevent us from accessing and documenting this potentially significant anomaly. What else could go wrong? Our promised funding was delayed, but Shaida said to go ahead and secure confirmation of security permits, research, photo and trekking permits from Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC, and we would be reimbursed. Adams and I flew to DC and got clearances in writing from the Turkish Embassy—a building with no name or street address marker—for filming in all areas except Korhan, which they said "did not exist." A further curious restriction: we were allowed only 35mm still and 8mm cameras on Ararat. We also were required to use an approved guide for Ararat. While in Maryland, Adams and I met with Turkish citizen Ahmet Arslan, a former Azerbaijani broadcaster/translator for Voice of America, who agreed to be our guide and to film on Ararat—off the trekking route if necessary—for a fee in the thousands in addition to, of course, round trip air fare and hotel, meals, etc., as well as his hiring a climbing assistant of his choice and his fee, also in the thousands! I was determined to visit the area in a recent August when the thaw should be at its maximum. George Adams, my film-making partner and I made arrangements to get funding to document this anomaly, the security clearance and research and climbing permits for Greater Ararat. I kept in touch with Stephen as he updated the amount of ice covering the upper object. I calculated that at the apparently extraordinary rate of evaporation and melting, that by mid August something would be visible. Even though Shaida's promised funding inexplicably evaporated like the ice over the anomaly, I was determined to get a camera aimed at the target! On our own, George Adams and I arranged payment and airfare for Shockey, around whom we still planned a documentary. In addition, we officially hired Ahmet Arslan—an Azerbaijani-Turk who grew up in the Ararat foothills—to hike to the target zone and take some pictures for us. Shockey and I took off for Turkey. We met Arslan in Ankara. He seemed surprised, and strangely upset, to see me.
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Photo of First, or Uppermost Object as Pinpointed by Satellite Interpreter George Stephen III. The Object Looks Like the End of a Boxcar Embedded in the Ice. Photo Similar to 1973 Hewitt slide 1989 Photo by Ahmet Ali Arslan was taken about 1,200 (?) feet distance
Writing on Photo by Robin Simmons of First, or Uppermost Object as Pinpointed by Satellite Interpreter George Stephen III. The Object Looks like the End of a Boxcar Embedded in the Ice 1989 Photo by Ahmet Ali Arslan was taken about 1,200 (?) feet distance Somehow Arslan got the impression that he was working solely for Shockey. I went to the various government
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Drawing of first or uppermost object based on eyewitness description of Ahmet Ali Arslan and an Armenian businessman in Istanbul 1989 Courtesy of Robin Simmons agencies to get confirmation of my permits and security clearances. All were in place. Arslan said he would pick them up and arrange to have them wired to the Ararat region where the military would hold them. Arslan talked about his previous fifty some climbs to Ararat's peak as well as stories he heard from childhood regarding the legends of the Ark being preserved. Arslan received a doctorate (University of Edinburgh?) collecting mostly Kurdish folktales from the Ararat region. Unfortunately, these stories did not pertain to the Flood or the ark. Strangely, Arslan also spoke of a 40 day mission, guiding and accompanying the late Bud Crawford onto Ararat's ice-cap when an electronic cache of listening devices were planted in the ice for the CIA. Bud Crawford died alone at 1:45 AM on 16 October 1970 in what some say was a bizarre and suspicious auto accident on an otherwise empty Colorado road. We went to Ararat and prepared for our trek. We showed Arslan the Stephen Site on the topo map and told him what we wanted him to do. I showed Arslan how to operate the personal video cam and where and what angle to shoot footage as well as still photos. Suddenly, Arslan demanded that an additional $5,000 plus be wired into his wife's Maryland bank. Since the anomaly was off the approved trekking route, and since my climbing permits had "disappeared" during the transfer to the Ararat region, according to Arslan, Adams and I felt we had no choice and arranged to have the money wired as demanded with the understanding that Arslan was being hired to photograph the anomaly site and it, the photographs, were our property. At the last minute, Arslan refused to take the video camera and battery belts. He only wanted to use a still camera. Shockey accompanied Arslan and his climbing assistant part way up the sanctioned tourist trek route on the easier southern slope. Early the next morning, I waited in the foothills by my short-wave radio as Arslan set off by himself, leaving the sanctioned climbing route to a place overlooking the Stephen Site on the upper Abich II. Arslan left Shockey on the trekking route and continued to our target area. Eventually, I got an excited coded call that he had reached an area overlooking the target, that something was visible and he was going to photograph it from a safe distance then come and get me as agreed. The next day he arrived back at the base camp shaken and apparently frightened. His behavior was odd, punctuated with unexpected outbursts. He refused to take me back up the mountain as originally agreed. He would hardly talk but,
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gradually, I pieced together his account: "I grow up with mountain behind my village." He said, "I climb to peak over 50 times. As a boy, I hear all the Ark stories but I never see anything before this time when ice is melt back more than I ever know... I see a dark area in ice... Like a coop (barn) but still most inside the glacier. You can see the object—backside stuck in the ice—front exposed. Looks like a roof with snow on it. Shaped rectangular. I see timbers and brown gray color. Not rock or natural. Very dangerous there. Ice crust—but under it is empty! Deep crevasses. Can hear water rushing beneath. Gorge breaks off down below. Steep. I couldn't push in closer..."
About a year after Ahmet took the photo of the first object area it then looked like this. There was about 24 feet of ice covering it according to George Stephen III. This photo was taken from a distance of about 1,500 feet 1990 Photo by Robin Simmons from Helicopter
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This shadowy shape similar to the first and third objects, seems to protrude from a place about 1000' below the first object. It is approximately the position of a broken part of object one as "seen" by George Stephen III. Are these parts of the same object? Are they Ark parts? 1990 Photo by Robin Simmons
Arslan claims he got about a quarter mile from the object, from where he took a few photographs. Later, when
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George Stephen saw the pictures, he said it was indeed the uppermost of the two objects he 'saw' using his specialized satellite software. Dr James Eberts, a highly regarded forensic archaeologist, examined Arslan's photos under a high-resolution process and said: "This does not appear to be a natural part of the landscape. Looks strikingly man-made to me. With a peaked roof and rectangular sides or walls. The only way to be sure is get on it." Strangely, Ed Davis did not recognize the high altitude photos as resembling what he saw. Months later, I am flying over Ararat in a sturdy Russian built MI-8 chopper with my filmmaking partner George Adams. The Turkish military refused to let us land on the mountain so we photograph and videotape Ararat and the Ahora Gorge from the air. Despite the estimated 23 feet of additional ice over the object area, we quickly identified the spot. It looks like a frozen wave-like formation of ice hanging over something embedded in the glacier. As we circle the mountain, I look for evidence of the lower, broken part of object that Stephen says is perhaps 1,200 feet below in a steeper part of the glacier. I take some long-range shots of what appears to be a similar-shaped brokenended, roofed structure barely visible in an ice wall. Is this the second, broken object Stephen described? As we make another pass over the awesome Ahora Gorge, I look down to the spot, about 2,500 feet distant, where I theoretically located Ed Davis' object. In a debris-ridden canyon of ice and rock, there appears yet another similar-shaped anomaly jutting out from a steep scree. Water courses under it. The end appears broken and there's a peaked roof-shape with parallel sides. It looks battered. Is it a rock formation? Or something man-made? This object closely matches Ed Davis' description. If it is that ark-object, then there's another big part buried in the rubble above it.
Hand drawn outline of third object. From extreme enlargement (1000x Plus) taken from below in Ahora Gorge. Notice shadow of protruding rectangular object embedded in scree. Photo by John McIntosh
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Upper Ahora Gorge and Abich II Glacier 1990 Photo by Robin Simmons
Upper Ahora Gorge and Abich II Glacier and objects of interest 1990 Photomap by Robin Simmons There are those who call it a rock (McIntosh, Van Dyke, Kneisler) and those who see something provocative and
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worth investigating (Setterfield, Thomson). No one has been on it, to my knowledge. McIntosh, Thomson and myself have looked at it from a distance and widely different perspectives including from above and below. All three anomalous shapes are extremely similar and could in fact be broken parts, all fallen from the same singular source still lodged in the fault line high in the icecap. Unfortunately, there's no accurate scale cues for any of these objects. The biblical original is described as at least 450 feet long—longer than that length if the cubit is a "royal cubit." So is it possible that the Ark could have broken into at least four large pieces? The answer is just out of reach―but maybe not for long. Now the story gets even stranger. According to a source, who would talk only if guaranteed anonymity, in 1974 a US "special operations" team was engaged on a secret mission to photograph a Soviet radar device that was tracking SR-71 flights out of Turkey into Soviet air space. Returning over Ararat to avoid detection, the team was caught in an ice storm and sought shelter in a crevasse. They literally fell into a huge structure they at first thought to be an ancient Byzantine shrine. As one, the team suddenly realized the elevation was far too high for such a structure and they all concluded it must be the Ark of Noah. Code named "Black Spear," their report apparently went to the White House for the President George Bush (41) to read. A friend of Presidential advisor Jim Schlesinger told me that the advisor saw the still classified report in the Oval Office and it included a specific reference to what the special ops team believed to be a preserved, iceencased portion of the true Ark of Noah. From an illusive source, another story has recently come to light, full of details which seem to partially check out. Between December 1959 and April 1960, a pilot made between 40-50 flights from a secret base in Turkey into the Soviet Union as a 'decoy' for Francis Gary Powers' U-2 flights under an ID of 'DET TWO TEN TEN'. Many of these flights included documentation of the construction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant [expedition members on the 1966 and 1968 Archaeological Research Foundation (ARF) expeditions testify to Rex Geissler that this research did in fact occur]. They would return to Turkey over the Russian/Iranian border zone and head up towards Ararat. Out of his left window, the pilot said he saw, many times, an oblong, rectangular ark-like object protruding from the ice at an altitude maybe between 14,500' and 15,000'. The pilot says the photos are stored, today, seven floors below the Pentagon. A request has been made to obtain these high-resolution close-up images of the anomaly in Ararat's ice cap. In talking to people about this persistent enigma, there's one thing I hear over and over; the notion that the Ark has been preserved for a purpose as An Armenian explorer made this drawing around 1973. It is an object a witness in our time. But a witness to he saw protruding from the ice of upper Ararat. Compare it to the photo of what? the first object. Notice the "ice wave." At the University of Erzurum, [an Courtesy of Robin Simmons Islamic scholar told me]: "The Ark is a bomb in the world." There is a widespread belief in the region that the revelation of Noah's ship will be a sign that Mohammed is returning to purge the earth of heretics in a holy war. All true believers will then go to heaven in a restored golden ark. One of Ed Davis' guides told him: "When the Master returns, a light will shine on the Ark and restore it." An Old Testament professor at a respected liberal arts university once reminded me of the Gospel's warning—"As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man." The text's true meaning, he said, a reminder that when the 'sons of God' (the fallen angels in Genesis 6) again breed with the 'daughters of man', the great deception of the Antichrist that precedes the Second Coming is imminent. This puts so-called alien abductions in a whole new light. The same scholar asked me: "What would happen if the Ark were conclusively proved to be preserved in the ice of Ararat and then it became apparent that it had been looted by the West? And further, that it was a long-known secret kept by the powers that be? That this sacred mountain and its treasure had been profaned by the 'great Satan' (America)?" He went on: "And what if the Ark were revealed to be on Ararat and not on Al Cudi, as some translations of the Koran say? Would that further aggravate the situation by making it appear that Mohammed was a liar?" The idea of the great Ark of Noah actually existing—to say nothing of being preserved into our day—goes against consensus academic and scientific opinion. However, as every researcher knows, geologic anomalies abound that challenge standard models of slow, uniform changes over millennia. Colonel James Irwin, the late moon-walking Apollo astronaut, apparently had access to information not generally available. He made several high altitude explorations of Ararat. He told me he thought the preponderance of evidence indicated there was something ancient and meaningful hidden on the heights of Ararat. Something that would affect the
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way all mankind relates to each other—and the Creator. Irwin said, "It's not about walking on the moon, it's who walked on earth." Perhaps the real riddle is why the solution to this mystery remains just out of reach. Are there forces that actively protect it? Greater Ararat is off limits to scientific exploration. The Ahora Gorge is a forbidden zone to climbing and to photography of any kind. The trails have been mined and military encampments ensure enforcement. If this ancient riddle can't be satisfactorily explained, then a new paradigm is needed to explain the observed out-ofplace artifacts. Perhaps they are evidence of an antedeluvian world that included human beings like us who were suddenly drowned in a global cataclysm. On the other hand, perhaps it's too late and too dangerous for the true identity of the Ararat anomaly to be revealed?
Robin Simmons Photographing Mount Ararat from Helicopter. Next to Robin is George Adams who is roped into the open door while filming Mount Ararat from thousands of feet above the mountain 1990 Courtesy of Robin Simmons
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Contents
EDITOR:
Bryant G. Wood, Ph.D.
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Editorial Comment: The Genesis Flood: An Interpretative Key to the Past Henry Smith......................................................................................97
Richard D. Lanser Jr., MA, MDiv
GRAPHICS AND PHOTO EDITOR: Michael C. Luddeni, NAPP
ART EDITOR:
Gene Fackler, BA, BD
Mount Cudi–The True Mountain of Noah’s Ark Bill Crouse and Gordon Franz.......................99
Wood Remains from the “Landing Site of Noah’s Ark” Nearly 6500 Years Old Friedrich Bender.................................113
The Case for Ararat Richard Lanser...............................114
Why Not Nabatea? The Flight of Joseph’s Family from Bethlehem to Egypt and Migration to the Town of Nazareth in Galilee Bruce R. Crew…...........................................119
Front cover: Looking south toward the north face of Mount Ararat. The gaping Ahora Gorge, which opened up following an earthquake in 1840 and is nearly a mile deep, dominates this view of the awesome volcanic peak in northeastern Turkey. Photo by Bill Crouse
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CONSULTING EDITORS:
Rev. Gary A. Byers, MA Col. (R) David G. Hansen, PhD David P. Livingston, PhD William Saxton, MA
OFFICERS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Albert L. Fuller, President Gary A. Byers, Vice President George DeLong, Treasurer Ronald K. Zuck, Secretary
Bible and Spade is received four times a year by members of the Associates for Biblical Research. For an annual contribution of $35.00 or more, members sustain the research and outreach ministries of ABR, including the world-wide radio program “The Stones Cry Out.” To contact ABR, write P.O. Box 144, Akron PA 17501; or email office@biblearchaeology. org. Visit our website at http://www. biblearchaeology.org. © 2006 Associates for Biblical Research. All rights reserved. ISSN 1079-6959 ABR purpose and statement of faith sent on request. Opinions expressed by authors not on the editorial staff of Bible and Spade are not necessarily those of the Associates for Biblical Research. All Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version unless specified otherwise. Editorial guidelines will be sent upon request.
Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
The Genesis Flood: An Interpretative Key to the Past By Henry B. Smith, Jr. In the 600th year of Noah’s life, on the 17th day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (Gn 7:11). For centuries, the Biblical Flood described in chapters 6–8 in the book of Genesis was considered global, cataclysmic and historical. Since the late 18th century, however, the historicity of the Flood has come under constant attack, and is now rejected as a fable by most people in Western societies. Even some in the Church have rationalized the so-called “evidences” against the Flood, trying to reinterpret it as local event. This has been most unfortunate, because Noah’s Flood is one of the most significant events in the history of the world, impacting interpretations in the physical sciences, history, archaeology and Biblical studies. My purpose here is to briefly review the implications on some of these fields of study. 1) Geology.1 Clearly, if the Flood of Noah’s day was a recent and worldwide event, it would have drastically affected the topography and geology of the entire planet. Major geological structures and topography are much better explained by recent catastrophism, not slow processes over eons of time. Mountain formation, ocean floor topography, plate tectonics, river valleys, volcanism, canyon formation, the formation of coal deposits, lakes and a plethora of other geologic features are dramatically impacted by the reality of a recent, cataclysmic Flood. The formation of these and many other structures will be misunderstood if not interpreted via a young earth/Flood model, a framework that the Bible plainly presents in its teaching. The dogma of uniformitarianism dominates all current paradigms, so the Flood is rejected out of hand. Additionally, the Flood is a very plausible triggering mechanism for the Ice Age, which required a set of unique and simultaneous circumstances unexplainable by uniformitarian principles.2 2) Biology. The Bible tells us that God sent two of each kind of land animal to the Ark so that they would be preserved during the Flood (Gn 6:19–20). When the Flood ended, the animals dispersed from “the mountains of Ararat” (Gn 8:4) and began to repopulate the planet. The history of animal habitat and genetic distribution across the planet must be understood in the context of the Flood and its immediate aftermath, or erroneous conclusions will result. The Flood or its subsequent affects serve to explain animal extinctions on a massive scale.3 This includes dinosaurs, which have been hijacked by the evolutionary establishment as a propaganda tool against the Scriptures. Most of the dinosaurs were simply unable to survive the adverse environmental conditions that existed after they left the Ark. Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
The Flood would also have drastically impacted the entirety of the plant kingdom, which most likely survived via floating mats of vegetation and other mechanisms. Since the Flood lasted for a period of 371 days, the carbon cycle of the entire earth was completely disrupted in a relatively short period of time. This state of affairs would drastically affect the results of C-14 dating methods as one moves back in history closer to the Flood. Rejecting the historicity of the Flood leads to erroneous assumptions built into the C-14/C-12 ratios4 needed to calculate dates. Again, ignoring the historicity of the Flood and its consequent effects on the entire planet leads to flawed conclusions. 3) Anthropology and Archaeology. 5 Almost all current scientific paradigms assert that man evolved from primitive life forms into humans at some point in the distant past. This dogma is so deeply entrenched in the mind of the scientific community that no other paradigm will even be considered. Therefore, when “primitive” remains of ancient human societies are discovered, it is automatically assumed they are from an earlier time when man was less evolved. The Bible, however, plainly teaches that man was created fully formed and with a sophisticated intellect right at the beginning of creation (Mk 10:6, Gn 1:27). When God decided to judge the world because of its great wickedness (Gn 6:7, 2 Pt 2:4–5), Noah and seven others from his family were spared in the Ark. All human beings alive today are descendants of Noah’s family. If this fact of history is rejected, once again false conclusions will be drawn. Noah and his immediate descendants entered a brand new world, a world that had lost most of its technical knowledge and civilization. Although Noah and his sons were certainly quite intelligent, they did not carry the full knowledge of all human society wiped out in the Flood. In a real sense, they were starting over (much like a modern man being stranded on a deserted island, isolated from civilization, yet not a primitive brute), so the technologies and level of civilization of humanity were no doubt more “primitive” in the immediate post-Flood world. Living in caves and using more “primitive” tools to survive would have been perfectly logical for humans living in a new and barren world. Neolithic and other ancient remains predating the explosion of civilization in the third millennium BC therefore need to be reinterpreted in a post-Flood context. The errors of evolutionary interpretations are further compounded by a rejection of the Tower of Babel incident (Gn 11), which fractured the human community and sent various people groups all across the globe. Genetic distribution in human culture was vastly affected by this event. People groups were separated because they could not communicate with one another and therefore the human gene pool was split apart. Cultural identity began with similarity of language and expanded to include physical fea9797
tures such as skin color and various other physical, yet superficial, differences. Modern anthropology and archaeology are entrenched in a paradigm antithetical to the Biblical young earth/Flood/Babel paradigm and therefore have continuously drawn incorrect conclusions from the data in their respective fields.6 4) Biblical Studies—The Plain Meaning of the Text. One interesting aspect of the Genesis Flood is the unique use of language7 in Scripture when referring to the Flood. In the Old Testament, the authors utilize a unique Hebrew word, mabbûl, when referring to the Flood. This word is used mainly in the Flood narrative, Genesis 6:17; 7:6–7, 10, 17; 9:11, 15. Genesis 9:28; 10:1, 32 and 11:10 utilize mabbûl when referring to the Flood as a past event. Psalm 29:10 is the only other passage in the Old Testament where mabbûl is found. This psalm of David describes the “voice of the LORD,” referring to His authority and power. In this context, David speaks of the LORD’s power over the mighty waters and the cedars of Lebanon. He continues in verse 10, “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood [mabbûl]; the LORD is enthroned as king forever.” The context asserts the great power and majesty of God, which is required to be in control of a cataclysm like Noah’s Flood.8 In the New Testament, we find several references to the Noachian Deluge. The unique Greek word used in these passages of Scripture is kataklusmŏs and its derivatives. Strong’s Concordance defines this word as meaning “to dash, wash down, to deluge, surge of the sea, inundation, flood.”9 From this we derive the modern English word “cataclysm.” Jesus describes the time of His return as analogous to that of the Flood in Matthew 24:38–39: For in the days before the flood [kataklusmŏs], people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood [kataklusmŏu] came and took them all away.10 The immediate context indicates there will be universal and worldwide ignorance about the time of Jesus’ return, just as there was a universal and worldwide ignorance regarding the coming inundation in Noah’s day. A local flood was not in Jesus’ view. The Apostle Peter certainly recognized the universal and cataclysmic nature of the Flood when he wrote: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood [kataklusmŏn] on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others...11 Of further interest are references to the Flood in the Septuagint, the third century BC Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. In every instance where mabbûl appears in the Hebrew text, the Septuagint translators used kataklusmŏs as the Greek translation. Genesis 7:6, 17; 9:11 are translated as kataklusmŏs. Genesis 6:17; 9:15, 28; 10:1, 32; 11:10 and Psalm 29:1012 are translated as kataklusmŏn. Genesis 7:7, 10 and 9:11 are translated as kataklusmŏu. In each instance, the Septuagint translators recognized the unique nature of Noah’s Flood and used derivatives of this specific Greek word to communicate that fact. It appears that the New Testament authors picked up on this usage, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit continued us98
ing it when they authored the New Testament in the first century AD. Jesus Himself verified this usage when speaking of His return in Matthew 24 and Luke 17. For the Christian, there should be no doubt that Jesus verified this usage and its clear meaning (universal and cataclysmic, not local) by virtue of His absolute authority.13 This is just a small sampling of the impact of the Flood on Biblical studies and the historical realm of the physical sciences. In this issue of Bible and Spade, you will read research regarding the landing place of Noah’s Ark. It is ABR’s position that the Flood in Genesis 6–8 was a recent, global, cataclysmic event and there is no hermeneutical, exegetical or Biblical justification for reinterpreting it as some localized event in Mesopotamia.14 To do so is to contort the Biblical text in a way that cannot be justified. We must remain true to the plain meaning of Scripture. If we cannot fully understand how a universal, cataclysmic Flood occurred, we must still submit ourselves to the authority of Scripture and adopt the attitude of Martin Luther: “if you cannot understand how this was done...then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are.”15 Noah’s Flood must be given its proper place in the history of the world and in Biblical history. Ignoring or dismissing its historicity impugns what God has plainly said, a serious sin indeed. The spiritual lessons are obvious as well. God is gracious and merciful, but takes sin very, very seriously. Let us give the Flood its proper place in our Biblical studies and as an important factor in developing a Biblical worldview.
Notes 1 The most notable work on this subject is by Henry Morris and John Whitcomb in their classic The Genesis Flood (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1961). 2 See Michael Oard, An Ice Age Caused by the Genesis Flood (El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 1990). 3 Some animals such as the wooly mammoth appear to have been wiped out in catastrophic events after the Flood. For a discussion on the wooly mammoth, see Michael Oard, Frozen in Time (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004). 4 See Don Batten, ed., The Answers Book (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2000), pp. 75–94. 5 “The Sumerian King List records the rulers of ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia prior to and following the flood.” (Genesis 5 and 11b—From Moses or Mesopotamia? Bible and Spade 1 [1972]: 84–86.) 6 For a detailed study of the Flood in the ANE context, see the four-part series in the 1996 issues of Bible and Spade by David T. Tsumura, “Genesis and Ancient Near Eastern Stories of Creation and Flood” (Bible and Spade 9). 7 We should be careful about dogmatically asserting the inherent definition of words alone (especially when one solely looks at etymology), but in this section we see how references to the Flood are quite unique. 8 For further reading on Psalm 29:10 and the Flood, see John Wheeler, “Who Wrote Psalm 29: David or a Canaanite?” (Bible and Spade 5 [1992]: 28–33). 9 See James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984), p. 40. 10 We find the Synoptic parallel in Luke 17:27, where kataklusmŏs is once again used. 11 2 Peter 2:4–5. Peter’s reference to the Flood in 1 Peter 3:20 is undoubtedly universal, but he does not use kataklusmŏs in that context. 12 The Septuagint and the Hebrew Psalms differ by one chapter. This passage is found in Psalm 28:10 of the Septuagint. 13 Jesus’ absolute authority and supremacy over all existence are indelibly stamped on the pages of the New Testament, notably in Colossians 1:15–20. 14 Local flood eisegesis has even afflicted the NIV translators, readily apparent in reading the footnotes of the NIV in Genesis 6–8. 15 See Martin Luther, What Martin Luther Says: A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1986), p. 1523. In this quote Luther is referring to the six days of Creation, but Luther’s attitude toward Scripture is my main point.
Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
Mount Cudi— True Mountain of Noah’s Ark By Bill Crouse and Gordon Franz (A defense of the Cudi Dagh site has been published previously by Bill Crouse in Archaeology and Biblical Research vol. 5, #3, Summer 1992; TJ vol. 15(3); and in The Explorers of Ararat, edited by B.J. Corbin, chapter 7.) For its historical claims the first eleven chapters of Genesis are possibly the most attacked section of the entire Bible, and the story deemed most implausible, without a doubt, is the story of Noah’s Ark. That there could be such a great flood, a ship of 450-500 feet in length containing pairs of every air-breathing animal in the land, and only eight survivors, is usually treated by most critics as the equivalent of a nursery tale for children. Hence, it’s no secret that theological liberals view the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark as “the impossible voyage,”1 and we suspect, for many evangelicals, the search for Noah’s Ark constitutes “the impossible quest.”2 Though evangelicals fully believe that the Flood was a historical event, the attempt to discover the Ark’s remains stretches credulity. The whole issue of the search for Noah’s Ark is not helped by the fact that its “discovery” is frequently announced by a press that is not
only gullible, but also enables the spread of sensational stories by indulging those looking for a moment of publicity. All would agree that the discovery of the Ark’s remains would be a find unprecedented in the history of archaeology. Finding an artifact from antediluvian times would be second to none, with the potential to alter the currents of thinking in several disciplines. Nevertheless we do make such a claim, as we believe the German geologist, Dr. Friedrich Bender, discovered remains of Noah’s Ark of the Biblical Flood story in 1953. His scientific test results, coupled with other historical studies presented here, give credence to the idea that the final berth of Noah’s ship has, in fact, been located. (See the Bender article later in this issue.) The modern search for Noah’s Ark began in 1948 when an alleged eyewitness claimed he stumbled onto the Ark high on the snowcap of Mt. Ararat (Smith 1950: 10). Since then others have made similar claims. Based on these alleged eyewitness accounts, many expeditions have been launched, innumerable hours have been spent in research, and large sums have been spent trying to verify what many critics said was a waste of time.3
Bill Crouse
Mt. Ararat in northeastern Turkey. The Ahora Gorge is clearly seen in this view of the northern side of the mountain. Though this towering volcanic peak, having a permanent snowcap from about 14,000 ft to its summit at 16,945 ft, is the focus of most modern searches for Noah’s Ark, it does not have the support of the historical sources we find for Mt. Cudi. Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
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NASA
Location of Mt. Cudi relative to other landmarks in Turkey. Mt. Cudi has been circled in red; Mt. Ararat is the peak circled in blue. Lake Van lies between them, with the Black Sea and Caspian Sea at the top left and right respectively. Note the many snow-capped peaks of the “mountains of Ararat” in the central part of the photo. For the most part, the search has been confined to the massive ing the missing evidence and contradictory testimony are many 16,945 ft (5165 m) Mt. Ararat in northeastern Turkey. Despite implausible ad hoc arguments. A few of the sightings have been Herculean efforts and countless heroic attempts, no Ark remains made by pilots who appear to be of reputable character. However, have ever been properly verified at this location. We believe there these sightings, in our opinion, are explainable by the fact that are a number of reasons why these efforts failed. the mountain has an abundance of large blocks of volcanicallyFirst, there is the mistaken belief by many that the Bible des- produced basalt, and when seen under the right conditions, they ignates Mt. Ararat as the landing place.4 Contrary to this belief, can easily resemble a huge barge. Photographs of some of these the author of Genesis does not designate a specific mountain. As formations are enough to take your breath away!8 most of our readers are already aware, the 8:4 passage refers only Third, the mountain is a volcano with no alluvial evidence. to a mountainous region, i.e., the mountains of Ararat, trra rh.5 While there is sedimentation on the mountain, it is from volcanic No exact peak is referred to. The earliest reference to this region action and not from flooding. This is a very stubborn fact that outside of the Bible is Assyrian in origin, and it referred to the cannot readily be explained, had a great flood once inundated mountainous territory directly north of the Assyrian kingdom.6 the mountain. It is the consensus among scholars that the Urartian state at the Fourthly, Mt. Ararat has been thoroughly searched over the last time Genesis was written (assuming the authorship of Genesis 50 years. Neither fixed-winged aircraft, helicopters, nor satellite ca. 13th to 15th centuries) did not extend as far north as the pres- imagery have turned up any undeniable evidence.9 ent-day Mt. Ararat.7 W.F. Albright, known as the dean of Biblical In this article we would like to propose another site located in the Cudi Mountains in southeast Turkey, just east-northeast archaeologists, wrote: of the Turkish city of Cizre.10 This site is not only well attested There is no basis either in biblical geography or in later tradi- by ancient tradition and an abundance of literature, but by some tion for the claim that Mount Ararat (the mountain bearing this well known authorities in archaeology. We will go so far as to name in modern times) is the location of the settling of the say that the location of the Ark’s ruins was well known in this ark. (Genesis 8:4 says the Ark “rested...upon the mountains region up until about the end of the first millennium AD. Ancient chroniclers recount that it was a site for pilgrims and rites of of Ararat.”) (1969: 48). veneration and worship (Ritter 1844: 154). Consequently, over Secondly, the searchers proclaim the sheer number of sightings the millennia, pilgrims carried off pieces of the Ark for relics and that have been on Mt. Ararat, particularly during WW II. They talismans as would be expected, and by the seventh century AD, argue, “Where there is smoke, there must be fire.” However, these according to one account, its final remaining beams were carried numerous eyewitness accounts have not been helpful in locating off for the construction of a mosque (Komroff, ed. 1989: 284). the lost artifact. The accounts are often contradictory, and under After this, its secret seems to be remembered only by the local close scrutiny, most are suspect. There exists an incredible amount villagers as the scene shifts to Agri Dagh, or Mt. Ararat as it was of lost documents, lost photos, and lost witnesses. Accompany- later to become known. Hence, from about the 13th century, that 100
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majestic, 16,945 ft (5165 m), snow-capped mountain, which many of the ancients said could not be climbed, became the focus of the Noah’s Ark traditions. To the Armenians, present-day Ararat was always called Massis.11 From antiquity to the present, the Turks have called it Agri Dagh. We must, however, note that there is at least one clear exception. The fifth century historian, Philostorgius (c. 368–c. 439), makes the following geographical observation: The Euphrates, however, to all appearance, takes its rise among the Armenians; in this region stands the Mount of Ararat, so called even to the present day by the Armenians, —the same mount on which the Holy Scripture says that the ark rested. Many fragments of the wood and nails of which the ark was composed are said to be still preserved in those localities. This is the place where the Euphrates takes its rise (Book III, Chapter 8).
Mt. Ararat.14 At about 6853 ft (2089 m) it is not a terribly high mountain, though it is often snow-capped most of the year. Cudi Dagh overlooks the all-important Mesopotamian plain and is notable for its many archaeological ruins in and around the mountain. There are also many references to it in ancient history. Sennacherib (late seventh century BC), the powerful Assyrian king, carved rock reliefs of his victories in battle in the vicinity (King 1913).15 The Nestorians, a sect of Christianity, built several monasteries around the mountain, including one on the summit called the Cloister of the Ark; it was destroyed by lightning in AD 766.16 The Muslims later built a mosque on the site. In 1910, Gertrude Bell explored the area and found a stone structure still at the summit in the shape of a ship, called by the locals Sefinet Nebi Nuh, the Ship of Noah. Bell also reported that annually on September 14, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sabians and Yezidis gathered on the mountain to commemorate Noah’s sacrifice (Bell 2002: 289–294). The evidence for this site as the landing place of Noah’s Ark, coupled with the findings of Bender, is compelling. If all we had to go by were the ancient references, the evidence for this site easily outweighs the evidence in the literature for Mt. Ararat. Some of the more important ancient witnesses to this alternate location are the following.
If the Armenians called it “Ararat” at this early date, we have no other evidence for it. We believe there is reason to doubt the accuracy of Philostorgius at this point. While he is certainly correct here in his description of the source of the Euphrates being near Mt. Ararat, he is notorious for his inaccurate geography in the corpus of his works (Cross 1974: 1086). It seems rather strange that he would be in disagreement with many others of the same Jewish Literature time period. After him we find no other clear references till the middle of the 13th century. When Marco Polo traveled past Ararat The Samaritan Pentateuch in the 13th century on his way east, he was told by the locals that the mountain sheltered the Ark of Noah (Polo 1968: 34). This This manuscript contains the first five books of the Old Testasuggests that the tradition arose some time prior to Polo’s trip, and ment and puts the landing place of Noah’s Ark in the Kurdish by the end of the 14th century it seems to have become fairly well established.12 Prior to this time, the ancients argued that the remains of the Ark of Noah could be found on another mountain currently known as Cudi Dagh. Let us now look at the evidence from what we believe are those compelling ancient sources. Cudi Dagh is located approximately 202 mi (325 km) south of Mt. Ararat in southern Turkey and within 9.3 mi (15 km) east-northeast of Cizre, and within sight of the Syrian and Iraqi borders. The Tigris River flows at its base. The coordinates are 37 degrees, 23 minutes N, and 42 degrees, 26 minutes E. In the literature there are many variant spellings, but all are cognates. Over the centuries it has been called Mt. Judi, Mt. Cardu, Mt. Quardu, Mt. Kardu, the Gordyene mountains, the Gordian mountains, the Karduchian mountains, the mountains of the Kurds, and Rex Geissler www.noahsarksearch.com to the Assyrians, Mt. Nipur.13 It is Mt. Cudi, looking east. This rather low peak, at 6853 ft in elevation, overlooks the also important to note that at times Mesopotamian plain and has a great deal of support in historical sources as the this mountain has even been called Mountain of the Ark. Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
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mountains north of Assyria. The Samaritan Pentateuch was the Bible used by the Samaritans, a Jewish sect which separated from the Jews about the fifth century BC. Ancestry-wise they were of mixed blood, dating back to the time the Assyrians deported many from the Northern Kingdom. The Assyrians then colonized the area with citizens from that country. The Samaritans were the result of the intermarriage between the Jews who were not deported and these new Assyrian colonists. Their version of the Pentateuch shows a definite propensity to update geographical places and harmonize difficult passages. 17 There is much evidence that the Samaritan Pentateuch was formulated during the fifth century BC, though the earliest manuscript extant today Google Earth dates to about the 10th century Satellite view of Mt. Cudi, circled in red. It is at the northern edge of the Mesopotamian AD. Even though this reference plain, near Cizre and Silopi. does not mention a specific mountain, it does narrow it down considerably to a mountain of their former captors. These paraphrases were originally oral. range north of Assyria. There is some evidence that these Hebrew They were rather loose paraphrases, and in some instances were tribesmen from the northern kingdom populated the area in and like running commentaries. The targums later attained a fixed form around Cudi Dagh.18 and were written down and preserved. They give Bible scholars a valuable tool for textual criticism and interpretation. Three The Targums of these targums at the Gn 8:4 reference (Onkelos, Neofiti, and pseudo-Jonathan) put the landing place of the Ark in the Qardu The targums are paraphrases in Aramaic that were made for (wdrq, i.e., Kurdish) mountains.19 It is possible they did not know the Jews after they returned from the captivity in Babylon (see of the kingdom of Urartu (Ararat) by this time, since it had ceased Neh 8:8). After their long captivity many of the Jews forgot their to exist around the seventh century BC (Lang 1980: 13). native tongue (Hebrew), only understanding the Aramaic language The Book of Jubilees
Stone structure called by the locals “Sefinet Nebi Nuh,” the Ship of Noah. 102
Gertrude Bell
This book belongs to a group of writings known as the Pseudepigrapha. Scholars date it about the middle of the second century BC (Charlesworth 1985: vol. II, 44). It has been called the “Little Genesis” and is known for its extensive geographical details. Scholars believe it was originally composed in Hebrew, but only fragments of the Hebrew text remain. The English translations were made from a combination of Ethiopic, Syriac (eastern Aramaic), and Latin texts. The author of Jubilees men-
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tions the landing place of the Ark on several occasions as being on “the top of Lubar (rbwl))) one of the mountains of Ararat” (5:28). In 7:1 he says, “Noah planted a vine on the mountain on which the ark rested, whose name is Lubar, (one) of the mountains of Ararat.”20 Later the author writes that Noah’s three sons built three cities “near Mt. Lubar” (7:17). Finally, the author tells us that when Noah died, he was “buried on Mt. Lubar in the land of Ararat” (10:15). This designation for the landing-place of the Ark is a mystery, and it seems to have originated with the Book of Jubilees. If it could be known, the Genesis Apocryphon, which is missing the text at Gn. 8:4, might also give Lubar as the site of the Ark’s landing since it names it as the place where Noah planted the vine. Other literature, papyri 4QpsDn and 6Q8, and the Midrashic Book of Noah, likewise, give this name. Later, Epiphanius (fourth century) and Syncellus (ninth century) assign this name to the mountain of the Ark. Sayce suggests that the lu may come from another ancient name Gertrude Bell of the Urartian region, which when combined Carved rock relief of King Sennacherib, commemorating one of his military with baris yields lubar (Sayce 1882: 389). victories. Steiner believes that since some of the documents noted above were in Aramaic, the etymology of the word OT, translated about 200 BC), knew that it substituted “Armenia” should be sought there. He notes that there is an Elephantine for “Ararat” where it occurs in the Hebrew original in Is 37:38. document of the fifth century BC where the word lubar is descrip- At the time Josephus wrote, near the end of the first century AD, tive of a piece of wood used to repair a boat. He also notes the the Armenians were officially still a pagan nation. However, there relationship of lubar to labiru in Akkadian, probably a cognate is a tradition that some Armenians had been converted by this word used to describe wood. While there is some uncertainty, time through the missionary efforts of the apostles Bartholomew lubar seems more likely to point to the southern region than to and Thaddeus (Lynch 1990: 276–77). The big question is, was Mt. Ararat (Steiner 1991: 248). Cassuto is also of the opinion Josephus quoting Christian Armenians at this early date, or were that Mount Lubar is possibly identical to the Baris of Nicholas these pagan Armenians of which he spoke? The answer could be (Cassuto, 1965, 105). significant if the Armenians had this tradition before they officially converted to Christianity as a nation in 301. Josephus Concerning the Armenian name for the landing place, William Whiston, in his translation of Josephus, has the following His writings date from the late first century AD. Josephus was footnote: a man of Jewish birth, but was loyal to the Roman Empire. He was a man of great intellect and a contemporary of the Apostle This Apobaterion, or Place of Descent, is the proper rendering Paul. As an official historian of the Jews for the Roman Empire, of the Armenian name of this very city. It is called in Ptolemy he had access to all the archives and libraries of the day. He Naxuana, and by Moses Chorenensis, the Armenian histomentions the remains of Noah’s Ark, and where it landed, on rian, Idsheuan; but at the place itself Nachidsheuan, which several occasions. signifies The first place of descent, and is a lasting monument of the preservation of Noah in the ark, upon the top of that Then the ark settled on a mountain-top in Armenia...Noah, thus mountain, at whose foot it was built, as the first city or town learning that the earth was delivered from the flood, waited yet after the flood. See Antiq. B. XX. Ch. 2. sect. 3; and Moses seven days, and then let the animals out of the ark, went forth Chorenensis, who also says elsewhere, that another town was himself with his family, sacrificed to God and feasted with his related by tradition to have been called Seron, or, The Place household. The Armenians call that spot the Landing-place, for of Dispersion, on account of the dispersion of Xisuthrus’s or it was there that the ark came safe to land, and they show the Noah’s sons, from thence first made. Whether any remains of relics of it to this day (Antiquities I: 90–92: LCL 4: 43, 45). this ark be still preserved, as the people of the country suppose, I cannot certainly tell. Mons. Tournefort had, not very It is interesting that Josephus says the remains of the Ark exlong since, a mind to see the place himself, but met with too isted in his day, though he himself was not an eyewitness of them. great dangers and difficulties to venture through them (Whiston Also, his mention of an unknown Armenian source is intriguing, trans. 1998 reprint: 38). even the fact that he calls them Armenians. They were first called Armenians by the Greek historian Hecataeus (from Miletus), who Whiston wants to identify the apobaterion, “the place of dewrote of the Armenoi in the sixth century BC.21 Josephus, who scent,” with the modern city of Nakhichevan situated about 65 also undoubtedly used the Septuagint (the Greek version of the mi (105 km) southeast of Ararat in Azerbaijan. Ark researchers Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
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in the past have used this footnote as a seemingly early (100 AD) evidence for Mt. Ararat being the site for the Ark’s landing place. However, we must ask if this is the intent of Josephus, or actually the 19th century (1867) interpretation of Whiston? There seems to be linguistic and other evidence that the latter is the case. First of all, to identify the current Mt. Ararat as the landing place of the Ark, as per the footnote of Whiston, is contrary to Josephus clearly identifying it elsewhere as a mountain in Gordyene. Second, the early Armenian historians identified the Gordyene (Gortuk) mountains as the landing place of Noah’s Ark at least up to the 10th century. Thirdly, according to the Armenian language scholar Heinrich Hübschmann, the city of Nakhichavan, which does mean “Place of First Descent” in Armenian, was not known by that name in antiquity. Rather, he says the present-day name evolved to “Nakhichavan” from “Naxcavan.” The prefix Naxc was a name, and avan is Armenian for “town.” It was not known as Nakhichavan until the 10th century (Hübschmann 1901: V: 73).22 The second quote follows right after the first, and is perhaps the most important reference, and is largely from the above-mentioned Chaldean priest, Berossus. We quote here the entire paragraph: This flood and the ark are mentioned by all who have written histories of the barbarians. Among these is Berosus the Chaldean, who in his description of the events of the flood writes somewhere as follows: ‘It is said, moreover, that a portion of the vessel still survives in Armenia on the mountain of the Cordyaeans, and that persons carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they use as talismans.’ These matters are mentioned by Hieronymus the Egyptian, author of the ancient history of Phoenicia, by Mnaseas and by many others. Nicolas of Damascus in his ninety-sixth book relates the story as follows: ‘There is above Minyas in Armenia a great mountain called Baris, where, as the story goes, many refugees found safety at the time of the flood, and one man transported upon an ark, grounded upon the summit; and relics of the timber were for long preserved; this might well be the same man of whom Moses the Jewish legislator, wrote’ (Antiquities I: 93–95; LCL 4: 45, 47). Again, note that Josephus is not an eyewitness, rather he is quoting all the ancient authorities he had access to, most of which are no longer extant, and indeed are known only from his quotations of them.23 It is impressive to us that Josephus seems to indicate there is a consensus among the historians of his day, not only about the remains of the Ark still existing, but also concerning the location. Josephus, in order to more specifically locate the Ark’s remains, quotes the work of Nicholas of Damascus, friend and biographer of Herod the Great and the Roman Emperor Augustus. Nicholas claimed that he put great labor into his historical studies and apparently had access to many resources. It is possible he was one of Josephus’ main sources. His story of the Flood, however, does deviate from the Biblical account in that he has some surviving the Flood outside the Ark. His location for the final resting place of the Ark seems to be in harmony with the Gordyene, i.e., the Cudi site. He claims the Ark landed above Minyas on a great mountain in Armenia. According to ancient geographers, Minyas (same as Mannea, or Minni) was a country slightly below and to the east of Armenia, below present day Lake Urmia. Louis Levine says the land of Mannea 104
…extended from Parsua in the south to Urartu in the north, and that it bordered Zamua and Assyria in the west. The eastern extent of the Mannea is indeterminable. In terms of the modern map, Mannea extended from the shores of Lake Urmia in the north to the Lake Zeribar region in the south, and the chaine magistrale of the Zagros probably acted as its western frontier (Levine 1973: 116). The name Nicholas gives this mountain, Baris, however, is a mystery. According to Lloyd Bailey, the Greek word baris means “height” or “tower,” and even “boat” (Bailey 1989: 216)! Others identify Baris with Lubar, as mentioned earlier. The third reference to the remains of the Ark is found in Antiquities 20: 24, 25: Monobazus, being now old and seeing that he had not long to live, desired to lay eyes on his son before he died. He therefore sent for him, gave him the warmest of welcomes and presented him with a district called Carron. The land there has excellent soil for the production of amomum in the greatest of abundance; It also possesses the remains of the ark in which report has it that Noah was saved from the flood—remains which to this day are shown to those who are curious to see them (LCL 10: 15). The context of this incidental citation of the Ark’s remains has to do with a certain royal family in the Kingdom of Adiabene, of which the King and Queen were converts to Judaism. The capital of this kingdom was at Arbela (modern-day Erbil in Iraq). In the immediate context of the above citation, Monobazus, the man who converted, gives his son Izates the land of Carron. The clues given as to the location of the Ark’s remains in this passage are not unequivocal. The remains are said to be somewhere in a country called Carron, which must be found in the greater country of Adiabene. Why? Because the king could not have given what was not his, Carron must be found within the kingdom of Adiabene. It is fairly certain that Adiabene is bounded by the Tigris on the west and the Upper (north) and Lower (south) Zab Rivers. Today this would be largely northeastern Iraq but would include the Cudi Mountain range. The land of Carron presents some difficulties. It is mentioned only by Josephus. There does seem to be some doubt about the text here since the Loeb edition emends the text to read “Gordyene.” Note how easy it would have been for someone reading a hand-written Hebrew text (assuming he was) to make a mistake: wdrq = kardou. Here is what the Greek word karrwn (Carron) would look like in Hebrew: wrrq. Notice the subtle difference of the daleth and the resh. If Josephus did misread these two similar letters in the Hebrew alphabet, then he is not giving us a second location for the remains of Noah’s Ark. He may have associated Adiabene with Gordyene since they were next to each other. Bailey believes there is precedent for this (Bailey 1989: 66). Pliny, the Elder, a Roman author and contemporary of Josephus, places the city of Nisibis in Adiabene when it is actually located to the west of Gordyene (Pliny 6.16). It is interesting to note also that Hippolytus (second century AD) agrees. He says, “The relics of the Ark are...shown to this day in the mountains called Ararat, which are situated in the direction of the country of Adiabene.” This would be correct since he wrote from Rome (Hippolytus, second-third century: 149). A fourth reference in Josephus is found in Against Apion (1.20: Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
130), where he reiterates his earlier reference to Berossus. He notes that This author, following the most ancient records, has, like Moses, described the flood and the destruction of mankind thereby, and told of the ark in which Noah, the founder of our race, was saved when it landed on the heights of the mountains of Armenia (LCL 1: 215). We find it interesting that in this passage Josephus believes he was quoting from “some ancient records,” and, that he corrects Berossus by changing the name of the hero from Xisuthrus to Noah. From the above references, there seem to be grounds for arguing that Josephus pinpoints the Gordyene site (Cudi Dagh) as the landing place of Noah’s Ark. While we cannot say this with absolute certainty, we feel we can conclude that nowhere does Josephus say anything definitive that might lead us to assume that present-day Mt. Ararat is in view. We also disagree with Bailey, who believes that Josephus gives three different locations for the Ark’s final resting place (Bailey 1989: 66). Benjamin of Tudela Writing in the 12th century, he says he traveled two days to Jezireh Ben Omar, an island in the Tigris on the foot of Mt. Ararat...on which the ark of Noah rested. Omar Ben al-Khatab removed the Ark from the summit of the two mountains and made a mosque of it (Komroff ed. 1989: 284). The ruins of this city, Jezireh Ben Omar, are located at the foot of Cudi Dagh, now the modern Turkish city of Cizre. Here also is evidence that this mountain was also called Mt. Ararat. What he could mean by the “two mountains” is somewhat problematic. The Cudi Mountain range does have two higher peaks that are of similar altitude, though the reference still is uncertain.
Pagan Berossus A Chaldean priest of Bel and historian writing in the third century BC, Berossus shows the influence of a Hellenistic Mesopotamia. His major work, Babyloniaca,24 was published about 275–280 BC, but only survived insofar as it was quoted (mostly third-hand) by others—by Alexander Polyhistor, a first century BC Greek historian and native of Miletus, and by Josephus at the end of the first century AD, as already noted. He is also quoted by a few others as late as the ninth century AD (Syncellus). He wrote in Greek, but according to Komoroczy, he knew Akkadian. If he was priest of the Esagila, he also had to know some Sumerian. And in the Marduk temple of Babylon he could also study the texts in cuneiform writing (Komoroczy 1973: 127–128). Berossus’ account borrows heavily from the Babylonian version of the Flood account as one would expect. He notes that a portion of the ship which came to rest in Armenia still remains in the mountains of the Korduaians of Armenia, and some of the people, scraping off pieces of bitumen from the ship, bring them back and use them as talismans (Burstein 1978: 21). Some believe that Berossus was acquainted with both the Hebrew version, which puts the Ark in Armenia (Urartu), and a Babylonian text that puts the Ark in the Gordyaean Mountains. They conclude the reason he mentions both Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
territories is that he is trying to reconcile the two accounts (Parrot 1953: 61). This may be true, but it is an argument from silence. The fact is, this location, Cudi Dagh, is both in the Gordyaean Mountains and within the borders of ancient Armenia (Urartu).25 It may be that Berossus is just trying to be precise! The very fact that he narrows the location to Armenia, in light of the Babylonian Flood story that locates the landing place on Mt. Nisir, is an intriguing thing to consider. To clarify the point, Berossus, who had the Babylonian account in front of him, knows that his Babylonian text says “on the mountain of Nisir the boat held fast” (Gilgamesh 1972: 111), but does not in his own account write that the Ark’s landing was on Nisir!26
Christian Sources Theophilus of Antioch of Syria He was the Bishop at Antioch, a city not too far removed from the Cudi site. He does not mention it by name, but notes that “the remains are to this day to be seen in the Arabian mountains” (ad Autolycum, lib. iii, c. 91). It is not likely that the great Bishop is referring to the mountains of Saudi Arabia. The Greek word arabia, in the strict sense of the term, means “desert” or “wilderness,” and during the early second century it often referred to the desert areas east of Syria (Arndt and Gingrich 1957: 103). Cudi Dagh is not directly east of Syria, but if you go east from the northernmost tip of Syria you would be right at Cudi Dagh. It is not a positive directive, but most certainly does not refer to Saudi Arabia or Mt. Ararat. Julius Africanus He lived in the first half of the third century. He may have been born in Jerusalem. His major work was a history of the world in five volumes, some of which survived in the writings of Eusebius, and later in Syncellus. In the section describing the deluge in the extant writings of Julius, he states: And Noe was 600 years old when the flood came on. And when the water abated, the ark settled on the mountains of Ararat, which we know [emphasis ours] to be in Parthia; but some say that they are at Celanenae of Phrygia, and I have seen both places (1994:6:131). Some are quick to say Africanus was mistaken, but in fact, the Parthian Empire lasted into the first part of the third century and did extend eastward into the area of Cudi Dagh. Eusebius Bishop of Caesarea in the third century AD, he was the first great historian of the church, and in his two-volume work Chronicle, he notes that a small part of the Ark still remains in the Gordian Mountains (Eusebius 1818 : 1: 36–37). This seems to be a clear reference to this southern mountain range. The Peshitta The Peshitta is a version of the entire Bible made for the Syrian Christians. Scholars are not sure exactly when it was translated, but it shows up for the first time around the beginning of the fifth century AD; however, Syriac versions of the Pentateuch may have been circulating as early as the middle of the first century (Harrison 241: 1969). In Genesis 8:4 it reads “mountains of Quardu” 105
for the resting place of Noah’s Ark. This version also shows a definite influence by the targums mentioned above. Faustus of Byzantium Faustus was a historian of the fourth century AD. Very little is known about him except that he was one of the early historians of Armenia, though he was of Greek origin. His original work is lost but has survived through translations. It is from Faustus that we first hear the story of St. Jacob (Hagop) of Nisibis, the godly monk who asks God to see the Ark (Garsoian, Book III, Chap .XIV, 87: 1989). After repeatedly failing to climb the mountain, an angel rewards him with a piece of wood from the Ark. It is this story that is oft-quoted in succeeding centuries, and the location given for the event in these later sources is the Mt. Ararat of the north. However, please note, Faustus, the one who presumably originated the story, puts this event not on Mt. Ararat of the north, but in the canton of Gordukh in southern Armenia. The St. Jacob of the story was the Bishop of Nisibis (modern Nusaybin), a city which is only about 75 mi (120 km) from Cudi Dagh.27 Mt. Ararat, to the bishop, was a mountain far to the north. If Faustus had meant this mountain, he undoubtedly would have called it by its Armenian name of Massis, as he does elsewhere in his work (Garsoian, Book III, Chap. XX, 96: 1989). As noted earlier, Armenian historians are in agreement that the early Armenian traditions indicated the southern location as the landing place of the Ark (Thompson 1985: 81). From the 13th century, however, all Armenian sources support the northern location as the landing place of the Ark. Wouldn’t it be strange for the Syrian bishop to ignore what his own Syrian Bible told him was the landing place of Noah’s Ark? Also, St. Jacob’s own student, St. Ephraem, refers to the site of the landing as “the mountains of Qardu.” It is hard to believe that one of his intimates could be that confused! The natives of the area, even as late as the beginning of the 20th century, tell the story of St. Jacob the Bishop and similar traditions associated with Mt. Ararat, i.e. the city built by Noah and his grave, etc. (Bell 2002: 293).
of the Flood—of that universal destruction? That was not a threat, was it? Did it not really come to pass—was not this mighty work carried out? Do not the mountains of Armenia testify to it, where the Ark rested? And are not the remains of the Ark preserved there to this very day for our admonition? (Sermon, “On Perfect Charity, ” trans. John W. Montgomery, The Quest For Noah’s Ark, p. 73.) Chrysostom seems to be saying, “If you don’t believe God will judge again, you can still go and see the evidence for his judgment in the past.” Isidore of Seville He was the Archbishop of Seville, Spain. He wrote in the sixth and seventh centuries, and was known as a very careful scholar of the Middle Ages. In his compilation of all knowledge (summa) he writes: “Ararat is a mountain in Armenia, where historians testify that the Ark came to rest after the Flood. So even to this day wood remains of it are to be seen there” (Lindsey 1911: 14, 8, 5). Eutychius Patriarch of Alexandria in the ninth and 10th centuries and of Arabic origin, he had a background in medicine before he became a leader in the church. His most important work is Nazm al-Gewahir (Chaplet of Pearls), a history of the world from Adam to 938. He says, “The Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, that is Jabal Judi near Mosul” (Eutychius, 41). Mosul is a city near ancient Ninevah about 81 mi (130 km) south of Cudi Dagh. This is a very precise geographical reference. He may have been influenced by the Quran, but he specifically adds the referent “Mosul.” As noted earlier, sometime around the 10th and 13th centuries, Christian sources begin to point more specifically to Mt. Ararat of the north as the landing place. Muslim Sources
Epiphanius
The Quran
The Bishop of Salamis, Epiphanius was born in Palestine and was a fierce opponent of heresy in the fourth century AD. On two occasions he mentions that the Ark landed “in the mountains of Ararat in the midst of Armenia and Gordyene on a mountain called Lubar” (Panarion I.i.4). In fact, he says the remains are still shown, and that if one looks diligently he can still find the altar of Noah. He seems to be acquainted with the Jewish writings, notably the tradition of Jubilees (noted earlier), in that he puts the Ark specifically on a mountain called Lubar. What he adds here is a slight measure of exactness when he comments that it is in the “midst,” “middle,” or “between” Armenia and Gordyene.
The Quran, dating from the seventh century, says: “The Ark came to rest upon Jebel al Judi...” (Houd 11:44). The modern Muslim Encyclopedia is familiar with the early traditions that the Ark came to rest on Cudi Dagh. However, the writer of the article under Jebel Judi believes Mohammed was referring to the Judi Mountains in Saudi Arabia. This is not certain. Mohammed was very familiar with Christian and Jewish traditions, not to mention the fact that he may well have traveled to this area during his days as a merchant. In the English translation of the Quran made by George Sale in 1734, a footnote concerning the landing place of the Ark states that the Quran is following an ancient tradition (Sale 1734: 195, 496; Weil 1846: 54). At least the following Muslim sources seem to agree.
Chrysostom He was known for his oratory and was the patriarch of Constantinople in the fourth century. While he does not get very specific, it is notable that he says you can still go there and view the remains. He writes in one of his sermons: Let us therefore ask them (the unbelieving): Have you heard 106
Al-Mas’udi A 10th century Muslim scholar and native of Baghdad, he was known for his travels. “...[T]he ark stood on the mount el-Judi. El-Judi is a mountain in the country Masur, and extends to Jezirah Ibn ‘Omar which belongs to the territory of el-Mausil. The Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
mountain is eight farasangs [about 30 mi (48 km) - ed.]28 from the Tigris. The place where the ship stopped, which is on the top of this mountain, is still seen” (Young 32). This puts one right on Cudi Dagh! Remains were still seen in the 10th century, and notice his precision about the location. Ibn Haukal He was also a 10th century native of Baghdad, and an early Muslim geographer. He places Cudi near the town of Nesbin (modern Nusaybin) and mentions that Noah built a village at the foot of the mountain. As earlier noted, Nusaybin is about 75 mi (120 km) west of the site. Ibn al-Amid or al-Macin In his 13th century history of the Saracens, he informs us that the Byzantine emperor, Heraclius, climbed Mount Judi to see the site in the seventh century after he conquered the Persians. He does not mention whether or not he was giving an eyewitness account (Erpenius 1625). Zakariya ibn Muhammad al Qazvini He was a Muslim geographer of the 13th century from modern Qazvin, Iran. He was not a traveler, but compiled his two major works from the writings of others. He reports that wood from the Ark was still seen on Cudi Dagh as late as the Abbasid period (eighth and ninth centuries AD) (Hamd-Allah Mustawfi, 1340, trans. by G. Le Strange, 1919, 184). He reports that wood was removed and used to construct a monastery (others say a “mosque”). The ancient references cited above—pagan, Jewish, Christian and Islamic—seem to clearly point to a long and old tradition that the Ark of Noah landed in a mountain range north of Assyria, a site that was both within the ancient region and kingdom of Urartu, as noted in Gn 8:4, and within the land of Armenia and Kurdistan. While it may not be conclusive in itself, it certainly is more compelling than the rather late and questionable evidence in support of present-day Mt. Ararat. Along with these ancient voices are numerous historians and archaeologists who achieved some authority for the quality of their work. As an example, Claudius James Rich, a scholar and traveler who visited the area early in the 19th century, wrote in a footnote: The Mahometans universally maintain that it was on Mount Judi the ark first rested, and that it is Ararat, and not the mountain to which that name is given in Armenia. Don Calmet, Storia del Nuovo Testamento, p. 275, says, “Monobazes, King of Adiabene, gave his younger son Izates the government of Keron or Kairoun, a country where they showed the remains of the ark.” Calmet supposes from this that the country must have been near Mount Ararat in Armenia: —he is not aware of this tradition, which places the ark on Mount Judi, or Cardoo, which is evidently the Keron here mentioned. Hussein Aga maintained to me that he has with his own eyes seen the remains of Noah’s Ark. He went to a Christian village, whence he ascended by a steep road of an hour to the summit, on which he saw the remains of a very large vessel of wood almost entirely rotted, with nails of a foot long still remaining. In the third volume of Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
Assemanni, p. 214, occurs the following expression: “There is a monastery on the summit of Mount Cardu, or Ararat. St. Epiphanius attests that, in his time, remains of the ark still existed, and speaks of relics of Noah’s Ark being found in ‘Cardiaerum Regiones’” (Rich 1836: 2: 123–124 footnote). Please note that Rich cites an eyewitness who saw remains as late as the 19th century. Israel Joseph Benjamin was a Jewish scholar and traveler who adopted the name “Benjamin the Second” after the famous Jewish traveler, Benjamin of Tudela, who lived in the 12th century AD. He traveled throughout the Ottoman Empire looking for Jewish communities. While visiting Kurdistan in the 19th century, he wrote: Six hours’ journey from the town rises the summit of a great mountain, which joins the chain of mountains of Kurdistan. The Jews believe that this is Ararat, and that here the Ark of Noah rested after the Deluge. If this really be true the place is very remarkable for its ancient associations. We find in the Bible the word Ararat, which the Targum Onkelos translates by Touri Kardu (mountain of Kurdistan); from which the country received its name. The mountain is very steep, almost perpendicular, and it takes six hours to reach the summit from the bottom. Wonderful things are here related of the Deluge. One of the Kurdish tribes annually towards the end of June, ascends the mountain, and spends there the whole day in devotional exercises, they use on the occasion large lighted torches. They believe themselves descended from the royal house of Sennacherib; and retain the tradition that King Sennacherib himself had divine service performed in memory of the Ark. On descending the mountain they bring with them some remains of the Ark, which according to their assertion, is still deeply buried in the earth. The little pieces received are in the form of planks; some whitish grey; some black and pierced with holes. It is not possible for me to give a more accurate account of this Kurdish ceremony; for it did not take place during my stay; and I can only repeat what I heard in answer to my questions. At the base of the mountain stand four stone pillars, which, according to the people residing here, formerly belonged to an ancient altar. This altar is believed to be that which Noah built on coming out of the Ark. They likewise assert that his remains are buried in this vicinity; they do not however specify the exact spot. I myself obtained several fragments of the Ark which appeared to be covered with a kind of substance resembling tar; but of these, as well as of many other things, I was robbed between Bagdad and Constantinople...(Benjamin 1863: 93–94). Benjamin himself was given a piece of the ruins from the site, which he said had the appearance of tar on it. W.A. Wigram, author of numerous histories of the area around Cudi Dagh and the Assyrian Church, wrote in 1914: Still, of all survivals from early ages in this land, whether monumental, superstitious, or religious, none is more remarkable than the “Sacrifice of Noah.” It must be understood that 107
no people here, save the Armenians, look on the great cone which we call Ararat, but which is locally known as Aghri Dagh, as the spot where the ark rested. The biblical term is “the mountains of Ararat” or Urartu, and the term includes the whole of the Hakkiari range. A relatively insignificant ridge, known as Judi Dagh, is regarded as the authentic spot by all the folk in this land; and it must be owned that the identification has something to say for itself. It is one of the first ranges that rise over the level of the great plain; and if all Mesopotamia (which to its inhabitants was the world) were submerged by some great cataclysm, it is just the spot where a drifting vessel might strand. Whatever the facts, the tradition goes back to the year AD 300 at least. That date is, of course, a thing of yesterday in this country; but the tale was of unknown antiquity then, and is firmly rooted in the social consciousness now. In consequence, Noah’s sacrifice is still commemorated year by year on the place where tradition says the ark rested—a ziaret which is not the actual summit of the mountain but a spot on its ridge. On that day (which, strange to say, is the first day of Ilul, or September 14 of our calendar, and not May 27 mentioned in the account in Genesis) all faiths and all nations come together, letting all feuds sleep on that occasion, to commemorate an event which is older than any of their divisions. Christians of all nations and confessions, Mussulmans of both Shiah and Sunni type, Sabaeans, Jews, and even the furtive timid Yezidis are there, each group bringing a sheep or kid for sacrifice; and for one day there is a “truce of God” even in turbulent Kurdistan, and the smoke of a hundred offerings goes up once more on the ancient altar. Lower down on the hillside, and hard by the Nestorian village of Hasana, men still point out Noah’s tomb and Noah’s vineyard, though this last, strange to say, produces no wine now. The grapes from it are used exclusively for nipukhta or grape treacle, possibly in memory of the disaster that once befell the Patriarch (Wigram 1914: 335–36). And finally, Sir Henry Rawlinson asserts his opinion after a lecture given by James Bryce to the Royal Geographical Society of London. It was at this lecture that Bryce relates the story of his ascent to the summit of Mt. Ararat in 1876, and his subsequent discovery of a piece of wood. In this lecture, Bryce had made the case that Mt. Ararat was the Biblical Ararat and the landing place of Noah’s Ark. Rawlinson, great scholar that he was, disagrees. Whoever kept the minutes of the meeting summarized his remarks: The mountain in question [Agri Dagh], however, had nothing whatever to do with biblical Ararat. No one who had really gone into the question could doubt that the popular notion was a fallacy. The mountain had never been called Ararat in the country from the remotest times to the present day. The name AghriDagh, and Ararat did not apply to that part of Armenia at all. The history of those countries from the earliest antiquity, was now, owing to the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions, almost as well known as that of Greece or Rome. There were contemporary annals of Assyria, dating two thousand years before Christ, in all of which Ararat was as often spoken of and marked geographically as was Ninevah or Babylon. It was the 108
name of a province which might be called Southern Armenia. It never extended further north than Lake Van, but included what was now called Persian Kurdistan, being the country east of Ninevah, and between the valley of the Tigris and the Persian plateau. In the Chaldean legend of the Flood, made known by the late Mr. George Smith, the Ark was made to rest upon Mount Nizer, which was explained to be another name for the range of Judi. It was immediately east of the basin of the Tigris, in the very centre of the province called Ararat—so called, it must be observed, not in one or two solitary instances, but throughout Assyrian history; the name, moreover, having been taken up by the Greeks, and passed on the Armenians. Even in the geography of Moses of Chorene, the province of Ararat had nothing to do with the Northern Armenia. The mountain north-east of Mosul, which, at the present day, concentrated in itself all the biblical traditions referring to Ararat, was still called Jebel Judi, and was visited by thousands of pilgrims annually in search of relics of the Ark, who bore away with them amulets made of small portions of wood which they found at the top of the mountain, no doubt supplied periodically by the priests. The practice had been going on for centuries, and was mentioned over and over again in history. He had himself seen troops of pilgrims going to the mountain of Judi from all parts of the East (Bryce 1877–1878: 184–85). That Rawlinson knew his geography and his Assyrian history is well attested. While he himself had never seen the ruins, he was certainly acquainted with the tradition. Conclusion We are well aware of the fact that most religious relics should be viewed with a great deal of skepticism. However, with regard to possible remains of the Ark of Noah, we would like to postulate that remains of the Ark would be a different kind of relic. Consider hypothetically: if such an Ark vessel once really existed, with the Scriptural dimensions of nearly 500 feet in length and being built of a durable wood and coated with a preservative such as tar, wouldn’t it make sense that it would have taken centuries, even millennia, to decay, and that everyone in the general vicinity would know where such a hulk would lie? We are not talking about a small relic that cannot be readily seen by the general populace. Over the centuries, indeed millennia, people would know about it; it would be a topic of conversation and people would want to see it. In other words, in the case of the Ark of Noah, it is easy to imagine that a piece of wood from the Ark would be highly venerated and a prized possession, resulting in its being gradually dismantled by the faithful. At some time during the first millennium it seems the final large pieces of the Ark disappeared. As we noted earlier, one writer claimed that as Islam moved into the area, beams were removed to put into a mosque. Currently it is our assumption, as Bender discovered, that the only remains to be found would require some excavation. We believe the traditions regarding Cudi Dagh are reliable. Bender’s tests proved the remains are ancient, and to confirm the thesis that they are remains of the Ark of the Biblical Flood, we believe core holes should be drilled, and with positive results, then latitudinal and longitudinal trenches should be dug using proper archaeological protocol. Hopefully, at some point, the Turkish government will grant the permits for such a project. Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
Thanks We would like to thank the following people for their help in various ways in our research. Some knew what we were working on, other did not. Some will agree with our conclusions, others will not. However, we thank all of them for their contributions, big or small, in making our research project a success: Dr. Hagop Aynedjian, Dr. John Baumgardner, Dr. Helene Dallaire, Eric Engleman, Dr. Tom Finley, an anonymous geologist, Kathleen Hurley, Dr. Gordon Johnston, Dr. Charles A. Kennedy, Dr. David Livingston, Nancy Kandoian, David Nazarian, Robert Nedswick, Walter Pasedag, Dr. Elaine Phillips, Ivan Reynoso, Nate Schmolze, Dr. Halvor Ronnings, Brad Sparks, Dr. Mark Wilson. The librarians at the Fair Lawn (New Jersey) Public Library and New York Public Library, as well as the libraries at the Austrian National Library, Columbia University (Avery, Burke, Butler and Lamont libraries), Drew University, Princeton University, Princeton Theological Seminary, University of Vienna, and Western Michigan University. Notes 1 For examples, see: Robert A. Moore, “The Impossible Voyage of Noah’s Ark,” Creation/Evolution XI (Winter, 1983); Robert A. Moore, “Arkeology: A New Science in Support of Creation?” Creation/Evolution IV (Fall 1981); Howard M. Teeple, The Noah’s Ark Nonsense (Evanston, IL: Religion and Ethics Institute, 1978); Robert S. Dietz, “Ark-Eology: A Frightening Example of Pseudo-Science,” Geotimes, (September, 1993); William H. Steibing, Jr., “A Futile Quest: The Search for Noah’s Ark,” Biblical Archaeological Review 2:21:1: 13–20. 2 Some evangelical skepticism about searching for Noah’s Ark was voiced in Eternity, Feb. 1978. See also the video by Hugh Ross, The Universal Flood in the Genesis and Science series, Part 6, 1993, distributed by Reasons to Believe. 3 For the most complete history of the search for Noah’s Ark, see: B.J. Corbin, ed., The Explorers of Ararat (Long Beach, CA: Great Commission Illustrated Books, 1999). 4 The writer of the excellent article in the Encyclopedia of Islam (M. Streck) believes Europeans were responsible for the Armenian tradition that led to Mt. Ararat becoming the landing place of the Ark. He thinks, and we agree, that they mistakenly transferred the name of the Armenian district of Ayrarat to the mountain named Massis through a misinterpretation of Gn 8:4. This belief was undoubtedly solidified by the fact that it was the highest mountain in Armenia. Why wouldn’t the Ark land on the highest mountain? 5 One writer believes Ararat-Urartu means mountainous country or land. Oktay Belli believes Urartu is not an ethnic term but a geographical one meaning mountainous terrain. See his The Capital of Urartu: Van, 20. 6 Paul Zimansky, Ecology And Empire: The Structure of the Urartian State (Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1982), 4; Boris B. Piotrovsky, The Ancient Civilization of Urartu (New York: Cowles, 1969), 43. 7 According to scholars, the Mt. Ararat area did not come under the Urartian kingdom until the ninth century BC under the leadership of Menua (810–786 BC). See: Edwin M. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1982), 34. See also: Piotrovsky, 65. 8 Bill Crouse, “Phantom Arks on Ararat,” Ararat Report, 14 (Feb.–Mar. 1990), pp. 1–4. 9 One man, Porcher Taylor, a former employee of the CIA, using the Freedom of Information Act, has obtained high-resolution satellite photos. He believes a certain object on the west side of Ararat near the summit is man-made, though it has been thoroughly examined by explorers. See: Timothy W. Maier, “CIA Releases New Noah’s Ark Photos,” Insight, 13 November 2002. 10 Edwin M.Yamauchi suggested this site as early as 1978 (“Is That an Ark on Ararat?” Eternity, Feb. 1978). Lee A. Spencer and Jean-Luc Lienard were also early advocates of this site in an unpublished paper dated 1985. It can now be found on the Internet at http://origins.swau.edu/papers/global/noah/default.html. 11 According to Armenian tradition, Massis was named after a certain Amasia, a grandson of Haik, a descendant of Japheth. Amasia supposedly settled at the foot of the mountain and named the mountain after himself. S. Eprikian, Penashkharhik Pararan (Venice: 1903). This work is in Armenian.
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12 Another early traveler in the area of Ararat in the 13th century who mentions the tradition of the Ark on Ararat is William of Rubruck. See: Manuel Komroff, ed., Contemporaries of Marco Polo (New York: Dorset Press, 1989), 202. Vincent of Beauvais, an encyclopedist, also wrote of the traditions of Ararat in the same century. 13 L.W. King translated the cuneiform on the several rock reliefs carved by Sennacherib, and proves that this mountain was once known as Nipur. L.W. King, Studies of Some Rock Sculptures and Rock Inscriptions of Western Asia,” Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology XXXV (1913). This should not be confused with the Sumerian city of Nippur. 14 Faustus refers to the mountain as Ararat but puts it in the canton of Gortouk. Benjamin of Tudela likewise refers to it as Ararat. 15 L.W. King, “Studies of Some Rock Sculptures and Rock Inscriptions of Western Asia.” 16 According to the chronicle of Zuqnin there were many who lost their lives in the conflagration. “A huge and dense gathering of Nestorians took place in the monastery of Beth Kewala (the Ark) on the mountains of Qardu. They celebrated a feast as they had custom to in the place where the ark (of Noah) came to rest. As a huge crowd gathered there in the middle of Later Tisri (November), lightning occurred in the sky and fire came down from high and consumed that shrine and burned it, together with the people inside. Fire turned its stones into lime and even the people who were outside it did not survive this conflagration. It consumed all of them and no one escaped.” The historian goes on to say that 700 or 800 people perished along with many animals. The account really sounds extreme but the writer seems to indicate that the event was a punishment from God for venerating the site. See Part IV, pp. 204–205. 17 According more information about the characteristics of the Samaritan Pentateuch see: Bruce Waltke, “The Samaritan Pentateuch and the text of the Old Testament” in New Perspectives on the Old Testament, ed. J. Barton Payne (Waco, TX: Word, 1970). 18 The Turkish city of Cizre, which lies at the foot of the Cudi Mountains, was known to contain a large contingent of Jews in antiquity. See: Dickson 1910: 361. 19 Where Isaiah 37:38 notes that the sons of Sennacherib’s sons escaped to Ararat, the Isaiah Targum has Kardu for Ararat in the Masoretic text. 20 The Genesis Apocryphon also names “Lubar” as the site where Noah planted the vine. Since the manuscript is fragmentary, it is not known whether or not it names “Lubar” as the landing place of the Ark. Charlesworth believes there is definite evidence of the influence of Jubilees in the Genesis Apocryphon. Charlesworth, p. 43. 21 The Armenians seemed to emerge after the collapse of the Urartians in the late sixth century BC. 22 V. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia. (New York: Armenian General Benevolent Union, 1959). 1–2. Hübschmann notes that Armenian literature from the fifth to the 10th centuries knows nothing of Massis being the mountain of the Ark. Heinrich Hübschmann, “Armeniaca,” in Strassburger Festshcrift zur XLVI Versammlung Deutscher Philologen und Schulmänner (Strassburg: Verlag von Karl Taubner, 1901), Section V. An English translation of this passage is available in Bailey, Noah, pp. 190–195. 23 Hieronymus the Egyptian is not known. Mnaseas was a Greek writer at the end of the third century. 24 For the complete reconstruction of the text of Berossus see: Stanley Mayer Burstein, The Babyloniaca of Berossus (Malibu, CA: Udena Publications, 1978). 25 It is important to note that during the time that Berossus wrote, the Armenian Kingdom covered this area. See: Historical Atlas of Armenia (New York: Armenian National Education Committee, 1987), 10ff. 26 The mention of Nisir as the landing place for the Ark in the Babylonian flood story is apparently the only time it occurs. Speiser is confident that it is to be identified with Pir Omar Gudrun in the Zagros Mountains (Speiser 1928). 27 Jacob of Nisibis was one of the prominent figures at the Council of Nicea in 325. He was known for his ability to perform miracles and was known as the Moses of Mesopotamia. He was also a figure in the evangelization of Armenia. 28 An ancient Persian unit of measuring length: One farasang (parasang) equals about 6 kilometers.
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Bibliography Anonymous 1969 Wood on Mount Ararat Intrigues Explorers. Christianity Today 13/24 (Sept.) 48. Al-Mas’udi 1841 El-Mas’udi’s Historical Encyclopedia, entitled “Meadows of God and Mines of Gems,” I. Trans. Aloys Sprenger from Arabic. London: The Oriental Translation Fund. Arndt, W.F. and Gingrich, F.W. 1957 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago. Asher, A., ed. 1840 The Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela. London and Berlin: A. Asher. Bailey, Lloyd R. 1989 Noah: The Person and the Story in History and Tradition. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. Bell, Gertrude L. 2002 Amurath to Amurath. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias. Belli, Oktay 1986 The Capital of Urartu: Van, Eastern Anatolia. Istanbul, Turkey: T Turistik Yayýnlar. Benjamin, J.J. II 1863 Eight Years in Asia and Africa from 1846–1855. 2nd edition. Hanover, self-published. Bryce, James 1877–1878 On Armenia and Mount Ararat. Proceedings of the Royal Geo g graphical Society of London 22/3: 169–186. Burstein, Stanley 1978 The Babyloniaca of Berossus. Malibu: Undena. Cassuto, Umberto 1961 A Commentary on Genesis. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Magnes. Charlesworth. James H. 1985 The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. 2 Vols. Garden City, NY: Doubled a day. Chrysostom 1862 On Perfect Charity. Col. 287, 288 in Patrologiae Cursus Completus. V Vol. 56. Trans. J.P. Migne. Paris: Garnier et J.-P. Migne, Corbin, B.J. 1999 The Explorers of Ararat. Long Beach, CA: Great Commission Illustrated Books. Cross, F.L., ed. 1974 The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2nd edition. New York York: University. Crouse, Bill 1990 Phantom Arks on Ararat. Ararat Report #14. Dawood, N.J. 1974 The Koran. Translated from Arabic. New York: Penguin Books. Dickson, Bertram 1910 Journeys in Kurdistan. Geographical Journal 35/4: 357–378. Encyclopedia of Islam 1986 New edition. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Eprikian, S. 1903 Patkerazard Bnashkharhik Bararan. 2 vols. Venetik: S. Ghazar. El-Macin or al-Macin (George Elmacin) 1625 Historia Saracenica. Trans. Thomas Erpenius from Arabic. Leiden. Eusebius 1818 Chronicon Bipartitum. Translated by John Baptistae Aucher Ancyrani. P Paris: Venetiis. Eutychius Eutychius. Patrologia Cursus Completus CXI. Nazm al-Gawahir. Trans. from Arabic. Faustus 1989 The Epic Histories. Trans. Nina G. Garsoian from Armenian. Cambridge, MA: Harvard. Grant, Robert M. 1970 Theophilus of Antioch. Ad Autolycum. Oxford: Clarendon. Harrison, R.K. 1969 Introducing the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Historical Atlas of Armenia 1987 New York: Armenian National Education Committee.
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Hubschmann, Heinrich 1901 Armeniaca. Pp. 69–79 in Strassburger Festschrift zur XLVI Versammlung Deutscher Philologen und Schulmanner. Strassburg: Verlag von Karl Taubner. Hippolytus 1977 Hippolytus of Rome, Contra Noetum. Trans. R. Butterworth from Latin. London: Sheed & Ward. Ibn Haukal 1800 The Oriental Geography of Ebn Haukal, an Arabian Traveler of the Tenth Century. Trans. William Ouseley from Arabic. London: T. Cadell. Isidore of Seville 1911 Isidore of Seville. Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis. XIV. Trans. Josephus, Flavius 1976 Against Apion. Vol. 1. Trans. by H. Thackeray. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Loeb Classical Library. 1978 Jewish Antiquities, Books 1–4 Vol. 4. Trans. by H. Thackeray. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Loeb Classical Library. 1981 Jewish Antiquities, Book 20. Trans. by L. Feldman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Loeb Classical Library. Julius Africanus 1994 The Extant Writings Of Julius Africanus. Pp. 123–140 in Ante-Nicene Fathers. Eds. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson. Trans. S.D.F. Salmond from Greek. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. King, L.W. 1913 Studies of Some Rock Sculptures and Inscriptions of Western Asia. Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. 35: 66–94. Komoroczy, G. 1973 Berossos and the Mesopotamian Literature. Acta Antiqua 21: 125– 152. Komroff, Manuel, ed. 1989 Contemporaries of Marco Polo. New York: Dorsett. Kurkjian, V. 1959 A History of Armenia. New York: Armenian Grneral Benevolent Union. Lang, David 1980 Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. London: Allen and Unwin. Le Strange, G., trans. 1919 The Geographical Part of the Nuzhat-Al-Qulub Composed by HamdAllah Mustawfi of Qazin in 740 (1340). Leyden: E. J. Brill; London: Luzac. Levine, Louis 1974 Geographical Studies in the Neo-Assyrian Zagros. London: British Institute of Persian Studies. Lynch, H.F.B. 1990 Armenia: Travels and Studies. Two Vols. New York: Armenian Prelacy. M.W. Lindsay from Latin. Maier, Timothy W. 2002 CIA Releases New Noah’s Ark Photos. Insight. Nov. Montgomery, John Warwick 1974 The Quest for Noah’s Ark. 2nd edition. Minneapolis, MN: Dimension Books. Parrot, Andre 1955 The Flood and Noah’s Ark. London: SCM Press. The Peshitta 1957 The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts. Containing the Old and New Testaments, Translated from the Peshitta, the Authorized Bible of the Church of the East. Trans. George Lamsa from Aramaic. Philadelphia: A.J. Holman. Piotrovsky, Boris B. 1969 The Ancient Civilization of Urartu. New York: Cowles. Philostorgius 1855 Ecclesiastical History. Trans. Edward Walford from Greek. London: Henry G. Bohn. Pliny, The Elder 1885 The Natural History of Pliny. Vol. 6. Trans J. Bostock and H.T. Riley. London: H.G. Bohn. Polo, Marco 1968 The Travels. Trans. by Ronald Latham. London: Folio Society. Rich, Claudius James 1836 Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan. London: James Duncan. Ritter, Carl 1844 Die Erdkunde im Verhaltniss zur Natur und zur Geschichte des Menschen. Vol. 11. Berlin: G. Reimer.
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Ross, Hugh 1993 The Universal Flood. Video. Part 6. Reasons To Believe. Sayce, A.H. 1882 The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Lake Van, deciphered and translated. Journal of Royal Asiatic Society 14 new series: 377–732. Smith, A.J. 1950 On the Mountains of Ararat in Quest for Noah’s Ark. Apollo, PA: West. Speiser, Ephraim A. 1928 Southern Kurdistan in the Annals of Ashurnasirpal and Today. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 8: 1–42. Spencer, Lee A. and Lienard, Jean-Luc 1985 The Search for Noah’s Ark. Part II, The Observers. http://origins.swau. edu/papers/global/noah/default.html (accessed November 29, 2006). Steiner, Richard C. 1991 The Mountains of Ararat, Mount Lubar and mdqh rh. Journal of Jewish Studies 42: 247–249. Synkellos, George 2002 The Chronolog of George Synkellos. Trans. William Adler and Paul Tuffin from Greek. London: Oxford University. The Peshitta 1933 The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts. Trans. George M. Lamsa from Aramaic. Thompson, Robert 1985 History of the House of the Artsrunik by Thomas Artsruni. Trans. from Armenian. Detroit: Wayne State. Vincent of Beauvais 1624 Speculum Quadraplex. Douai Edition. Bill Crouse is the Founder and President of Christian Information Ministries and resides in Richardson, TX. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and did graduate studies in the History of Ideas at the University of Texas at Dallas.
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Waltke, Bruce 1970 The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Text of the Old Testament. Pp. 212–239 in New Perspectives on The Old Testament, ed. J. Barton Payne. Waco, TX: Word. Weil, G. 1846 The Bible, The Koran, and The Talmud: or, Biblical Legends of the Mussulmans. NewYork: Harper. Whiston, William 1998 Josephus: The Complete Works. Trans. from Greek. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Wigram, W.A., Wigram, Edgar T.A. 1914 The Cradle of Mankind. London: Adam and Charles Black. Williams, Frank 1994 The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, Vol. 35, 36. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Yamauchi, Edwin M. 1982 Foes from the Northern Frontier. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker. 1978 Is That an Ark on Ararat? Eternity 29/2: 27–32. Young, Davis 1995 The Biblical Flood: A Case Study of the Church’s Response to Extrabiblical Evidence. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Zimansky, Paul 1982 Ecology and Empire: The Structure of the Urartian State. Chicago: Oriental Institute. Zuqnin 1999 The Chronicle of Zuqnin Parts III and IV A.D. 488–775. Trans. Amir Harrak from Syriac. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Gordon Franz is a Bible teacher who has engaged in extensive archaeological research in Israel and the Mediterranean world. He is a former field trip instructor at the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem and presently team-teaches the Talbot School of Theology’s Bible Lands program.
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By Friedrich Bender
(Reprinted by permission from UMSCHAU-Kurzberichte aus Wissenschaft und Technik, vol.72, no. 1.Translated from the original German by W. Pasedag, ABR.)
Tectonic Lifting of the Taurus Mountains of Turkey Wood remains from Cudidag, a mountain range at the northern rim of Mesopotamia, were dated with the 14C method; they are 6500 years old, i.e. pre-Sumerian. According to archaeological findings, parts of Mesopotamia were flooded at that time. Compelling geologic and morphologic reasons limit this flooding to this region,2 and exclude the high peaks of Ararat, located about 300 km [186 mi] further north, the landing site of the ark according to Biblical tradition. The wood remains were found in a location called the “landing site of the ship” according to the Gilgamesh Epic and the Koran. If the find is considered to be the remains of a ship, it is difficult to explain the altitude of its location, about 750 m [2460 ft] above the rubble terraces of the plain. There are some observations, however, which point to a geologically very young tectonic lift in the region of the southern rim of the Taurus Mountains and southeastern Turkey. According to the Gilgamesh Epic, the “landing place of the ship,” and hence the northernmost range of the Flood, is to be found between the rivers Tigris and Zab (at the mountain of Nisir). The Old Testament locates it on the “mountains of Ararat.” The Koran (XI. Sura, 44) mentions the mountain Cudi (Cudidag, Al-Jûdî) as the landing place of the Ark of Noah. The Cudidagis a massif of the southernmost Taurus ranges in Eastern Turkey, between the Tigris and Zab, which is covered by the region mentioned in the Gilgamesh Epic. From geologic and geomorphologic considerations, the northern limit of the proven (Wooley 1955) pre-Sumerian flood covering Mesopotamia is more likely to be found at the first mountain range on the northern rim of the plain, rather than Ararat (5165 m [16945 ft]), 300 km [186 mi] further north. In the spring of 1953, I was able to climb Cudidag, despite the difficulties in reaching this location in eastern Turkey in those days, and to recover a sample of asphalt-bound wood remains (Bender 1956). The primary motivation for this endeavor was 112
reports of Kurdish Muslims that the Cudidag was a pilgrim destination where “pieces of wood from Noah’s Ark,” relics of great value, could be dug up. My guides’ constraints during this climb did not permit me to obtain detailed records of the geologic-Quaternary stratigraphy. The Cudidag is a southernoriented anticlinal (geologic saddle with a steep southern flank) of Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone with a west-southwest to east-southeast oriented axis. The spine of the mountain reaches about 1800 m [5905 ft] above sea level. Two parallel fault lines, with heavily faulted and displaced middle-Eocene limes between them, accompany the steep southern flank. Further south, Neogene (young Tertiary), presumably Pliocene, land and river sediments are covered by large terraces of rubble (L. Benda, U. Staesche, verbal communication). They cover the substrate in obliquely oriented layers (i.e. diagonal to the substrate orientation), and are tectonically displaced themselves. At least three (at the Tigris five?) distinct terrace levels are discernable, declining towards the south from the edge of the mountains (1000 m [3280 ft]) to 500 m [1640 ft] above sea level. Their relative ages are unclear. West of Cizre, similar rubble lies between quaternary basalt (Altinli 1963). The wood remains were found in an open syncline (basin) at the upper southern slope of the Cudidag, about 3000 m [9843 ft] northeast of the Kurdish village of Kericulya, at about 1700 m [5577 ft] above sea level (exact altitude uncertain), which is about 750 m [2460 ft] above the highest of the rubble terraces. The shallow basin, open towards the south, is surrounded by the thickly banked, massive limestones and dolomites of the “Cudi Group” (Altinli 1963). On the 6th of April, 1953, it was largely snow covered. Underneath the snow cover was a loamy silt sediment, which turned to a dark brown to black color at 0.80 to 1.00 m [2.6 to 3.3 ft] depth, and contained crumbly, up to pea-sized decayed wood remains. Many of the small wood fragments were bound together by an asphalt- or tar-like substance. My Kurdish guides did not permit any further digging or detailed examination. They considered the location a holy place. Following a thorough dissolution of the asphalt with carbon tetrachloride, the wood fragments were radiocarbon dated by the Bureau for Earth Sciences of Lower Saxony in Hannover. A theoretical age of 6635 +/- 280 years BP (before 1950) was determined. A second measurement, which consumed all of the remaining material, confirmed the result. The only conceivable source of error is a potentially incomplete removal of the asphalt binder, whose age surely exceeded 50,000 years.3 In this case, assuming that the carbon contamination was up to 5% (which is considered unlikely), the maximum increase in the apparent age would be 400 years. Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
Mrs. Friedrich Bender
Dr. Friedrich Bender investigating the “landing place of the ship” on Mt. Cudi in southeastern Turkey in 1953. If the analyzed wood was in fact carried to the location where it was found by a Mesopotamian flood, it is difficult to explain the altitude of the locus, at approximately 750 m [2461 ft] above the rubble terraces. Several observations, however, let us conclude that there was a significant uplift of the southern rim of the Taurus and eastern Turkey in geologically recent times. The local Neogene, for example, in the vicinity of the Taurus Mountains, is in a nearly vertical position. In an epirogenic rise (large area-wide uplift), even younger strata were included, e.g. in the foreland of the Cudidag, where Pleistocene sediments dive under younger alluvia (U. Staesche, verbal communication). The observations of Bobek (1941) also indicate a substantial uplift of the Taurus in this region. He suggests values up to 1500 m [4920 ft] for the lift in the region of the Bitlis Cay since the older Pliocene. Geologically young uplifts could have occurred at the main fault lines on the southern Cudidag. Thanks to Dr. M.A. Geyh for the 14C analysis and supplemental annotations, and to Dr. L. Benda for important textual advice. Both are at the Bureau of Earth Sciences of Lower Saxony, Hannover.
Summary The age of wooden residues found on the Cudidag in the southernmost Taurus Ranges is about 6500 years according to radiocarbon dating. Remains of a ship may be discerned here. Their location could be explained by a strong uplifting of this mountain area. Notes Friedrich Bender received his PhD in geology from the University of Heidelberg in 1949. He became one of the most prominent geologists in Europe, as he 1
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published numerous books and journal articles in his field. In the 1950s he was hired as a petroleum geologist by a Turkish firm searching for oil in eastern Turkey. He spent five years in this region, based in Camp Raman near Baturan. Upon his return to Germany, Dr. Bender worked as a professor and director in the Federal Institute for Soil Research (now the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) in Hannover, Germany. This article was published during Dr. Bender’s tenure at the Institute. The Institute’s website is at http://www.bgr.bund.de. 2 This suggestion by the author that the flood was local, not universal, is one with which ABR does not agree. Further, we disagree with the proposed dates for the Flood and the >50,000-year age for the asphalt. That said, the primary point of the article—the finding of ancient wood remains and bitumen on Mt. Cudi—is one that stands on its own merits, and warrants inclusion of the article in this issue. 3 See note 2 above.
Bibliography Altinli, I.E. 1963 Türkiye Jeolojie Haritasi, Explanatory Text of the Geological Map of Turkey 1:500,000, p. Cizre. Ankara: MTA-Institut. Altinli, I.E et al. 1961 Geologische Karte der Türkey 1:100,000, p. Cizre. Ankara: MTAInstitut. Becker-Platen, J.D. 1970 Beih. Geol. Jb. 97. Bender, F. 1956 Kosmos 52.4: 149–55. Bering, D. 1971 Newsl. Stratigr. 1.3: 27–32. Bobek, H. 1941 Zeitschr. Gletcherkunde 27: 50–87. Schott, A. 1966 Das Gilgamesch-Epos. Stuttgart: Ph. Reclam Jr. Wooley, C.L. 1955 The Ziggurat and its Surroundings. Ur Excavations V (1939). Quoted in Keller, W., Und die Bibel hat doch Recht, pp. 44–49. Düsseldorf: Econ.
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By Richard Lanser The accompanying article by Crouse and Franz is a fascinating compilation of historical data regarding proposed locations for Noah’s Ark. Taken together, those records present a reasonable case for giving credence to the Mt. Cudi site near Cizre, Turkey. However, not all agree it is a “compelling” one. In the interest of completeness, it is appropriate to mention some of the difficulties with the Mt. Cudi idea that do not appear to have yet been resolved, and which point to a continuing need to consider that the remains of the Ark are on Mt. Ararat in Turkey.
The Eyewitnesses
Mount Ararat from space. Note the clear evidence of volcanic activity, a reason to consider the Ark was buried in ash for centuries, and helping to explain the silence of the historical record.
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NASA
All agree that the most obvious point in favor of Mt. Ararat is the eyewitness testimonies. In contrast, the historical material we have from antiquity supporting the Mt. Cudi site is, at best, secondhand, and should not be given the same weight as the firsthand testimonies we have regarding Mt. Ararat. While admitting the force of the argument that many of the alleged Ararat eyewitness stories are open to serious doubt—whether due to the questionable reliability of the witnesses, their stories being plagued, as Crouse and Franz put it, by “lost documents, lost photos, and lost witnesses,” or the possibility they saw “phantom arks” from aircraft which were nothing but rock formations—it must be pointed out that, according to Scripture, it only takes two or three trustworthy witnesses to make a case (Dt 17:6, Dt 19:15, Mt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1). In the testimonies of Armenian George Hagopian (c. 1904–1906) and American Sergeant Ed Davis (1943) this requirement is met.1 They did not know each other and were widely separated by time and cultural background, so the amazing similarities between their stories buttress their credibility. In rejecting many alleged eyewitnesses for various reasons, we must not be guilty of “throwing out the baby with the bathwater” by lumping the more solid stories with the dubious. These men made their sightings on the ground, hence are not open to the charge of merely seeing rocks from the air and misinterpreting them. Hagopian not only claimed to have seen the Ark twice in the early 1900s, but to even have climbed onto it! Davis likewise claimed to have been in such close proximity to the Ark that it is not plausible to say he only saw a huge rock structure. There is no middle ground that allows anyone to claim
these men simply made a mistake. We have only two options: either they saw the Ark, or they were lying. The problem with the latter option is that their reputations were checked out by Ark researchers concerned with the possibility of fraud, and they were found to be sober, apparently honest men who were not “out to make a buck.” In the case of Davis, he passed a lie detector test that closely scrutinized the details of his Ark sighting (Corbin 1999: 108–110). Notwithstanding this, some suppose that a few seeming inconsistencies that came out during multiple retellings of his story point to its fundamental unreliability. I disagree. With the passage of time or under stress, people remember or forget various minor details or emphasize them differently, without thereby changing their fundamental story. I believe this is the case with Ed Davis. Though we can nitpick at some of the details, his central story, which allowed him to pass the lie detector test, remained the rock-solid core that we cannot ignore. It is worth reviewing the Davis lie detector test in some detail. The following is a quote regarding the polygraph test administered to Ed Davis (Corbin 1999: 109): Subject was asked to recall in detail what his recollection of the incident was. His answer was as follows: While this subject was in the U.S. Army and assigned to engineering duties between Iran, Turkey and USSR he met a male later identified as Abas-Abas. Subject stated that Abas’ son was working for the government at the time of this meeting. As the subject related the story, Mr. Davis did a great favor for Abas and his tribe. As a result of this favor Abas was asked by Davis to tell him (Davis) about the Ark or structure that was located somewhere around Mt. Ararat. Davis was told that if the weather was right he (Abas) would take him to see this structure. Some time later Abas and seven (7) of his sons escorted Davis to the site of the structure. In trying to solicit the information from Mr. Davis the following questions were asked: 1. Are you lying when you state that you were taken to Mt. Ararat by Abas and his seven sons? 2. Are you lying when you state that you climbed Mt. Ararat on horseback and on foot? 3. Are you lying when you state that the object you saw was broken in half? 4. Are you lying when you state that the structure was exposed between 100 and 200 feet? 5. Are you lying when you state that you saw a large wooden structure high on Mount Ararat? 6. Are you lying when you state that no one ever told you about the Ark other than Abas and the Bible? Mr. Davis answered all of the above questions with NO. After careful analysis of all this subject’s Polygrams it is the opinion of the examiner that he answered without showing any stress to questions 1-5. Regarding question 6, the subject did show Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
in snow and ice.2 Hagopian’s first sighting came after four years of drought conditions in the Ararat region (Corbin 1999: 67, 79), a fact attested to by climate records (Corbin 1999: 372; Shockey 1986: 33–34). Moreover, Hagopian indicated it was only exposed every 20 years or so (Corbin 1999: 75, 370). Further, even granting adequate meltback, the Ark’s visibility from the air is dependent on such conditions as the angle of the sun and cloud cover; a little shadow or cloudiness goes a long way toward obscuring things when air searches are attempted. All of these are reasonable explanations for the lack of success in spotting the Ark on Ararat from the air during the past 50 years.
The Big Switch The principle reason historians tend to reject Mt. Ararat as the Mountain of the Ark lies in the silence of the early historical records. As Crouse and Franz have abundantly documented, Elfred Lee - www.noahsarksearch.com in contrast to the early records apparently George Hagopian and Elfred Lee with painting done by Lee. supporting Mt. Cudi as the Ark site, there appear stress and answered that he has talked to a number of people to be no extant writings prior to Philostorgius (fifth century AD) about the Ark. He also stated that not one of the people that clearly tying Mt. Ararat to the Ark. Unambiguous references he has spoken to have ever seen or known the exact location to Ararat remain hard to come by until about the 13th century, when Mt. Cudi appears to basically have been supplanted by Mt. of where the Ark is. Ararat in the tradition. The big question to ask is, why did this My point in quoting the above passage is to make clear that transfer take place at all? If the Ark was ever on Mt. Cudi, what there were six distinct questions asked during the polygraph, and prompted the switch to Ararat? In the absence of more complete fully half of them specifically mentioned Mt. Ararat. The only ancient records there are no easy answers, but certain facts can question Davis displayed any tension in answering was the last be adduced to explain such a change. one. This is a patently insufficient reason for disregarding the The first is that Mt. Ararat is a volcanic peak. Satellite entire testimony. Davis knew where he went and what he had photos show the magma flows that form its base very clearly, seen and experienced, regardless of any apparent ambiguity that and blocks of volcanic basalt are all over its slopes. Armenian may have arisen as he retold his story at different times. scholar Robert Bedrosian (1993) notes that during the third George Hagopian likewise was found to be a reliable witness. through first millennia BC, Mt. Ararat was “among the more Elfred Lee, a researcher who later also interviewed Davis and prominent volcanoes spewing molten lava and rocks into the marveled at the many points of contact between the two accounts, night sky.” This means it is likely in the extreme that had the personally checked out Hagopian’s story and found that obscure Ark landed there, it would rather quickly have been covered in details about his childhood around Lake Van in Armenia held volcanic ash. If we make the entirely reasonable assumption that up, greatly enhancing the credibility of his admittedly incredible Noah and his family would not long have stayed in the vicinity Ark tale (Corbin 1999: 69, 72). Lee also affirmed that Hagopian, of an active volcano but would have moved off to friendlier like Davis, took and passed a lie detector test (Corbin 1999: environs, we are looking, at a very early point in human history, 79). at the Ark being both entirely hidden from sight by snow and These two testimonies, at the very least, cannot be lumped ice and/or volcanic ash, and in an area away from where people with the less well-attested ones and rejected out of hand. They would want to live. The story of the Ark and its location would are important parts of the overall picture of the search for the logically have quickly entered the realm of legend, because none Ark, and can be neither ignored nor easily explained away. would have been able to simply climb the peak and check it out. The power of the legend, however, would have sufficed to Hidden from the Air ensure its survival, with the story being passed down from one generation to another while the location eventually morphed in If we do have some reliable eyewitnesses, then how do we deal the retelling to another site. This observation also accounts for with the valid observation of Crouse and Franz, “no ‘undeniable the phenomenon of multiple Mt. Cudis (Geissler n.d.)—the one evidence’ for the Ark on Ararat has been turned up over the past near Cizre that Dr. Bender investigated, another near Sanli Urfa, 50 years of air searches?” Based on geographic clues in their yet a third in Arabia, one of the peaks of Ararat itself (Cummings testimonies, it appears that if the Ark is on Mt. Ararat, it is in 1973: 167–79), and even the Durupinar site popularized by Ron a high, inaccessible location on the north side above the Ahora Wyatt. Gorge, most likely nestled in a small valley within the “saddle” An additional factor to consider is the post-Flood climate. between the two peaks of Greater Ararat and generally blanketed Meteorologist Michael Oard constructed an eminently logical Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
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IfArarat existed before the Flood, it must be recognized that its steep-sloped form, subjected to erosion by rainstorms and melting snow over the centuries, cannot be expected to have retained sedimentary deposits on its slopes to the same degree as less inclined areas. (Think of the catastrophic mudslides in Honduras and Nicaragua due to Hurricane Mitch in 1998.) Unconsolidated sediments would be expected to wash off the slopes in heavy rains; mudslides would have taken place. The immediate area around Mt. Ararat is not a friendly one for the development of deep-rooted grasses, brush and protective trees that would aid in retaining soil. And if one further considers that there were magma flows at various times—particularly evident when one looks at satellite pictures of Mt. Ararat—there is also the distinct possibility that sedimentary rock layers could have been buried under volcanic material. Another option is that Mt. Ararat initially arose during the Flood itself, and did not exist during the Elfred Lee - www.noahsarksearch.com antediluvian age. In a letter published in TJ, Max Ed Davis and Elfred Lee drawing his account at the New Mexico Hunter pointed out that “Ark-a-thon” in 1986. case for the Ice Age being tied to warmer oceans after the If Mount Ararat was erected as a submarine stratovolcano Flood, resulting in copious snowfalls in the more northern and then it would be highly unlikely that conditions on the southern latitudes, with associated rapid formation of glaciers sloping sides of the active volcano would be conducive and deep icepacks in the mountains (Oard 1990). Ararat today to the preservation of ‘diluvium’ (‘coarse superficial has a permanent snowline beginning at about 14,000 ft, and it accumulations...glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits of the Ice makes sense that during the Ice Age the snowline would have Age’) or fossils (Hunter 2003: 62). been much lower. The Ark would thus have been hidden under deep snowdrifts as well as ash. It is therefore not surprising that Hunter further noted that “basaltic lavas, the most common there are no surviving writings from hoary antiquity tying the lithology in the Ararat area, commonly occur in sub-aqueous Ark to Mt. Ararat; by the time people developed the degree environments...” and went on to list several specific rock types of civilization required to write lasting records about it, it was that demonstrate why the geology around Mount Ararat fits well deeply buried, out of sight and out of mind. with a submarine origin of the volcano. These two considerations allow us to make a reasonable Although it is clear that further research needs to be done, at conjecture as to how the Ark landing tradition became attached least one credentialed geologist, Dr. Clifford Burdick, concluded to Mt. Cudi. With the establishment of civilization in Shinar— that there were sufficient indications to conclude that Ararat had the same civilization, we note, that gave us the Gilgamesh Epic, been under water at some point in its history (Burdick 1967).3 a corrupted version of the Flood story—it is no real stretch He made observations as a consulting geologist on exploratory to say that just as Gilgamesh replaced Noah in the Sumerian expeditions to Mount Ararat in 1966 and 1969, and reported that version, so Mt. Cudi replaced the inaccessible Mt. Ararat as the every sample of volcanic rock he examined on the mountain site of the Ark. Mt. Cudi is, after all, directly north of the plain evidenced high glass content, indicating that Mt. Ararat was of Shinar, and would have provided a convenient nearby locale submerged in water at least up to the 14,000-foot level. He also to connect with the tradition. claimed to have found deposits of sedimentary rocks at 13,500 ft, The flip side of the above scenario is that it can also explain and evidence of water-formed “pillow lava” at around 14,000 ft. why Mt. Ararat had the power to supplant the Mt. Cudi tradition The last observation is somewhat controversial because magma around the 13th century, after the former had already had hundreds released under ice and snow will have the same characteristics of years to take root: it was based on demonstrable fact, not mere as that extruded underwater, so this should not be given undue tradition. Facts trump “just-so” stories anytime! Just a few visits weight. However, Burdick also found cube-shaped salt clusters to the Real Thing, confirmed by others who could check it out “as large as grapefruit” near 7,000 ft, which he attributed to for themselves, would quickly have solidified the claims of the “dense, lingering ocean waters,” as well as what are called relative “newcomer” to being the genuine location. “conglomerate cones” near 13,000 ft, formed under pressure and a greater than normal degree of water agitation. The waters must Geological Considerations also have remained for a long enough time for these structures to cool and fuse, consistent with the mountain having been One point Crouse and Franz make in rejecting Mt. Ararat submerged for a significant amount of time. as the location of the Ark is the alleged lack of water-borne For the above reasons we cannot quickly dismiss Mt. Ararat sedimentary rock, indicating a post-Flood origin of the volcano. on the basis that it lacks evidence of sedimentary rocks. While If Ararat did not exist during the Flood, it follows that it could acknowledging the need for further fieldwork, there appear to be not have provided an anchorage for the Ark. However, the old a sufficient variety of clues to say with reasonable confidence saw, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” needs to that Mt. Ararat could indeed have been submerged during the be considered here. time of the Flood. 116
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candidate if they did not exist nearby. That they do gives reason to continue to seriously consider the Ararat option.
Dealing with “From the East” Genesis 11:2 can be interpreted in multiple ways. In the KJV it reads, And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
Richard Lanser
French lithograph from 1848 showing the reputed Tomb of Noah at Nakhichevan. It apparently no longer exists.
Nearby Place Names and Traditions A further reason for considering Mt. Ararat as the true Ark landing site is the meanings attached to place names in the immediate vicinity. For example, the city of Nakhichevan lies just a short distance away in the foothills of Ararat as one follows the Araxes River eastward. There are varying interpretations of what the name means. Some say it means, in the Armenian language, “the place of first descent,” and connects to Noah as the place where he first went after descending from the Ark on Ararat’s slopes (Kojian 2006); I personally find this interpretation makes the most sense. Others say the name comes from Nukkhtchikhan, meaning “colony of Noah,” and a third opinion is that it refers to the Ark itself “descending” in the water and glancing off the submerged summit of Nakhichevan’s Ilan-dag (“Snake Mountain”) prior to finally coming to rest atop Turkey’s Mt. Ararat (Azerbaijan24.com, n.d.). Regardless of the precise meaning, this city has a clear and ancient tradition connecting it to Noah, and when one considers that a reputed Tomb of Noah existed there as recently as the 19th century, it presents a tantalizing hint about which direction Noah may have taken after leaving the Ark. Other significant locations include the original village of Arghuri (Ahora) at the foot of Ararat, the name of which means “where Noah planted the grapevine” (cf. Gn 9:20).4 Near Nakhichevan in neighboring Iran is Marand—the Marunda of Ptolemy (in Armenian = “the mother is there”)—where tradition has it that Noah’s wife died and her bones were buried under a mosque. Granted that similar sites are said to exist near Mt. Cudi, it would be very troublesome to consider Mt. Ararat as a Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
This seems to be the most straightforward translation, rendering the Hebrew word miqqedem as a combination of the Hebrew preposition min, “out of, away from,” with qedem, “front, east.” The ancient Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations opt for the “from the east” translation as well, increasing its credibility. Robert Cornuke adopts this translation likewise—but in his case, it seems to be an attempt to justify searching for the Ark on an Iranian mountain (Lanser 2006). Some would go so far as to say this verse indicates the Ark landed east of Shinar, but this is reading too much into the passage. It does not say that Noah and his family disembarked there and stayed put for a few hundred years. All we can safely draw from it is that the descendents of Noah, at some point in time, from wherever they may have gone in their journeyings earlier, at length moved from the east, from what today is Iran, into Mesopotamia. There are other ways of translating miqqedem. The NIV chooses to render it as “eastward,” making the migration into Shinar from the west. The NEB chooses an indefinite yet still grammatically possible alternative, “in the east,” painting a picture of people moving to and fro, with no definite direction, prior to entering Shinar (although how such directionless movement can be said to be “journeying” anywhere—to take a journey seems to demand a destination—is unclear). Given that Mt. Cudi is directly north of the Mesopotamian plain and presents a location incompatible with either a westward or eastward migration, those holding to Mt. Cudi as the Mountain of the Ark appear to be forced to adopt the NEB’s indefinite directional translation of miqqedem, leaving them with little flexibility to accept the longstanding Septuagint, Vulgate and KJV translation, “from the east.”
The Bender Discovery It remains to consider what to make of the discovery by Dr. Friedrich Bender of decayed wood and bitumen on Mt. Cudi. (see his article in this issue). Despite the erroneous dating assumption expressed in Bender’s article, this is a very significant find if it holds up and carries with it the potential to discredit Mt. Ararat as the real Ark site, despite all that has been said above. However, we must remember that Bender’s research was very limited, and further work such as core drilling must be done to bolster the case enough to overcome all of the factors that still favor Mt. Ararat. It is also not wise to place too much stock in the alleged 6500-year radiocarbon age of the wood remains found by Bender. The method was invented by Willard Libby in 1947, only a short time before Bender put the technology to use, and its limitations were not yet fully appreciated. For some of the limits of radiocarbon as a dating method, the reader is referred to Brown 2006. 117
an eyewitness, Koor vouched for the veracity of the details given about the alleged Russian discovery of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat in 1917. Investigated by pioneering Ark researcher Eryl Cummings, Koor was found to be a distinguished, scholarly man of immense personal accomplishment, such that fraud on his part seemed unlikely in the extreme. 3 An abstract of Burdick’s CRSQ article can be found at http://creationresearch. org/crsq/abstracts/sum4_1.html. References to other Burdick observations for which original citations could not be found are online at http://www. parentcompany.com/creation_explanation/cx3e.htm, at http://pharyngula.org/ index/weblog/comments/ark_expedition (blog entry #1970 by Paul Shunamon), and at http://home.kc.rr.com/hightech/evolution/evolution205.html (all three accessed November 29, 2006). The latter notes, “Both Lake Van and Lake Urmia are surrounded by high volcanic mountains with no outlet to the sea, so that they remain salty as they were 5,000 years ago.” 4 In Transcaucasia and Ararat, James Bryce gives much valuable background information on place names in the Ararat area.
Bibliography
Phyllis Watson - www.noahsarksearch.com
Violet Cummings in Marand, Iran near Nakhichevan, at the mosque where the bones of Noah’s wife are said to be buried. Cummings was the wife of pioneering Ark researcher Eryl Cummings, and an accomplished researcher in her own right. There are two alternative explanations I see to account for Bender’s findings apart from supposing it to be evidence of the Ark’s landing place. One is that since Mt. Cudi, at around 7000 ft in elevation, is not a very high mountain, there could have been ordinary structures built upon it in the past. Moreover, Bender’s wood remains were found only 750 m (2460 ft) above the rubble terraces of the plain, making it difficult to reconcile this location with Gn 8:4–5, that it took three full month after the Ark rested before “the top of the mountain brcame visible” (NASB). The wood remains may thus not indicate the former presence of the Ark, but rather a shrine— with its proximity to the Mesopotamian plain, Mt. Cudi could have been a “high place” of Nimrod/Semiramis cult worship—or some other structure, such as a defensive outpost. Since bitumen is common around Mesopotamia, its presence does not require us to imagine that it was necessarily derived from the Ark; it could have been used simply to waterproof walls or a roof. All things considered, we do not yet know enough to evaluate the significance of the Bender find. In conclusion, while acknowledging the strength for the historical case in favor of Mt. Cudi, we must also admit that there are many observations that it does not satisfactorily explain, and which are more easily reconciled with Mt. Ararat in Turkey being the Mountain of the Ark. Notes 1 See The Explorers of Ararat for details about the testimonies o f Hagopian, Davis and many of the other known alleged eyewitnesses t o the Ark on Mt. Ararat. Agri-Dagh, Mount Ararat: The Painful Mountain gives many more details about Ed Davis and his testimony. 2 This is a conclusion arrived at by the author from his personal study of the eyewitness testimonies recorded in several references, but particularly in Explorers of Ararat. See, for example, White Russian Army Col. Alexander Koor’s statement on p. 379, “Lieutenant Leslin admitted he had also heard about the discovery of Noah’s Ark, not as a rumor, but as news, from the Senior Adjutant of his division, who had told him that Noah’s Ark was found in the saddle of two peaks of Mount Ararat” (emphasis added). Although not himself
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Azerbaijan24.com Tour to Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, www.azerbaijan24.com/tours/nakhichevan_tour (accessed November 29, 2006). Bedrosian, Robert 1993 Armenian Mythology. Eastern Asia Minor and the Caucasus in Ancient Mythologies, rbedrosian.com/mythint.htm (accessed November 29, 2006). Brown, Walt 2006 H o w A c c u r a t e I s R a d i o c a r b o n D a t i n g ? I n t h e B eginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (7th Edition), www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/FAQ2.html (accessed November 29, 2006). Bryce, James B. 1877 Transcaucasia and Ararat, fourth edition. London: MacMillan. Burdick, Clifford L. 1967 Ararat—The Mother of Mountains. Creation Research Society Quarterly 1(4): 5–12. Corbin, B.J., ed. 1999 The Explorers of Ararat, second ed. Long Beach, CA: Great Commission Illustrated Books. Cummings, Violet M. 1973 Noah’s Ark: Fable or Fact? San Diego: Creation-Science Research Center. Geissler, Rex Mt. Cudi. Noah’s Ark Search - Ararat, www.noahsarksearch.com/cudi. htm (accessed November 29, 2006). Hunter, Max 2003 Was Mount Ararat a submarine stratovolcano? TJ 17(1): 62–63. Kojian, Raffi 2006 Nakhichevan. Rediscovering Armenia Guidebook, March 18 2006, www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Rediscovering_Armenia_Guidebook-_Nakhichevan (accessed November 29, 2006). Lanser, Richard D. 2006 The Ark in Iran? Weekly Article (Associates for Biblical Research), July 19, www.biblearchaeology.org/articles/article49.html (accessed November 29, 2006). Oard, Michael 1990 An Ice Age Caused by the Genesis Flood. El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research. Shockey, Don 1986 Agri-Dagh, Mount Ararat: The Painful Mountain. Fresno, CA: Pioneer Publishing Co.
Richard D. Lanser, Jr. is a staff member of ABR with MA and MDiv degrees from Biblical Theological Seminary, Hatfield, PA. He serves as Assistant Editor of Bible and Spade and ABR’s webmaster.
Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)
THE SEARCH FOR NOAH’S ARK (Critique of 2008 Video Tape produced by the BASE Institute of Colorado Springs, CO. $14.95.) A review and critique by Gordon Franz, Bill Crouse, and Rex Geissler December 12, 2008 Introduction Adventurer Robert Cornuke has produced a new video which claims that remnants of Noah’s Ark have been found in the Elburz Mountains about 54 miles from Tehran, the capital of Iran. Cornuke is founder and CEO of the Bible Archaeology, Search and Exploration (BASE) Institute of Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 2005 and 2006, Cornuke and select volunteers, visited Mount Suleiman in the Elburz Mountains looking for an object they suspected might be the remains of Noah’s Ark. Prior to his claims about Mount Suleiman he was convinced that the Ark had landed on Mount Sabalan in Iran (Cornuke and Halbrook 2001). After his third trip to Iran in 2006 he posted articles on his website detailing the reasons why he thought Noah’s Ark might have landed on Mount Suleiman, northwest of Tehran in Iran (http://www.baseinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51 &Itemid=65 – some have since been taken down). Cornuke’s claims have been examined and reviews have been posted on the web (http://www.ldolphin.org/arkiniran.html), and by multiple authors (http://noahsarksearch.com/iran.htm). At the end of the reviews Cornuke was challenged to publish his findings from Mount Suleiman in a scientific peerreviewed publication but none have been forthcoming. Cornuke, while couching his claims in careful language, maintains that he has discovered the true Mount Sinai, the actual anchors from St. Paul’s shipwreck, the location of the Ark of the Covenant, and now Noah’s Ark in Iran (2005). Now this material is available in a high quality new video, the subject of this review. Since evidence and claims are being made in this video which we believe do not establish the case that Noah’s Ark has been found, or that it could have landed in Iran. However, due to its excellent production quality, we are concerned once again that its sensational claims will mislead the Christian public. Genesis 8:4 and the Mountains of Ararat The video begins by arguing that Genesis 8:4 does not specifically state that the Ark of Noah landed on modern Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey. That this Scripture only gives us a general location of the Ark’s final berth is one of the few points in the video with which we agree.
2 Main Premise of the Video The main premise of the video, as stated on the back cover of the video box, is that: “Based on the testimony of the Bible, personal investigation, examination of evidence, and other factors, Cornuke points to Mount Suleiman in the modernday country of Iran, as the most probable resting place for Noah’s Ark.” This premise, however, collapses on Biblical grounds and other known facts. Cornuke bases his conclusion on five main assumptions: • The veracity of the Ed Davis testimony as to the location of the Ark • The region (country) of Ararat (Urartu) extended into the central Elburz mountain range in Iran • An interpretation of Genesis 11:2 would mean that the Ark landed in Iran, east of Shinar (modern-day, south central Iraq) • Other ancient sources, for example Josephus, might extend the Land of Ararat eastward into Iran • The rock outcrop they found on Suleiman is the Ed Davis object, is petrified wood, and by implication, the remains of Noah’s Ark Let’s look briefly at each of these assumptions. The Ed Davis Testimony First, the main reason Cornuke began his quest to find Noah’s Ark in Iran, is based on the testimony of a World War II soldier who claims he was shown the Ark in 1943. In fact, we would be so bold as to say that without this testimony we sincerely doubt that Cornuke would have ever traveled to Iran. The soldier in question, the late Ed Davis of New Mexico, claimed that while stationed in Iran with the Army Corps of Engineers he was shown the sites of the Garden of Eden and Noah’s Ark (Shockey 1986). Ark researchers, including the authors, have spent many hours analyzing this testimony (Crouse 1988; 1989; 1993). The story Davis tells is riddled with contradictions and puzzling problems. For example, in his earliest testimony he indicated he was stationed in Hamadan, Iran, (Persia at that time) and because of a favor he did for his friends, they took him to the Garden of Eden and Noah’s Ark. In the very first recording of his testimony he noted that his native friends were Lurs or Lourds, a predominant ethic group in western Iran (Luristan) near the Zagros Mountains. However, zealous Ark researchers corrected him that they were Kurds since they are the major ethnic group in the villages at the base of Mount Ararat. Hence from then on Davis calls them Kurds. In subsequent debriefings, Ed noted other details such as the fact that he and his friends went through the town of Qazvin on their way to the mountain, and that he could see the lights of Tehran from the Ark’s site. It was these two facts that led former detective Cornuke to conclude that Ed must have been somewhere in the
3 Elburz Mountains north of Tehran. Cornuke and remote-sensing (satellite data) expert Ed Holroyd then began looking at satellite data of the Elburz Mountains to find a configuration of canyons that matched Ed’s detailed description. They concluded that just such a formation existed on Mount Suleiman. In 2005 Cornuke made his way to Mount Suleiman and found a large black rock extrusion he came to believe was what Davis was shown. What we find interesting is that while Cornuke believes he has found the Ed Davis object he does not tell his viewers the whole story. Davis also declared that the Ark was broken into two pieces and that you could see compartments inside. Because of the hollow nature of the Ark, he claimed that his friends had shown him artifacts that fell out of the broken Ark including lentils, beans, honey, hay, feathers, nuts, dried fish, oil lamps, tools, clay vats, petrified shepherd staffs and petrified woven twig doors! Davis and his guides viewed this “Ark” object from the edge of a cliff and were planning to use ropes to get down to it the next day. None of this description is shared in the documentary, nor does it square with the object shown in the video. There is no cliff and no “compartments” and no artifacts shown at this rock outcropping in the video. Most Ark researchers, however, do believe Ed Davis did have some kind of experience; his friends probably did show him something as he noted in the flyleaf of his Bible. Interestingly enough, according to Lur tradition (and Ed Davis’ friends were Lourds) both the Garden of Eden and the final resting place of the Ark are in the region of Luristan. According to Major Henry Rawlinson, the Lur tradition puts the Ark’s final resting place on a mountain called Sar Kashti, a mountain in the Zagros mountain range of Western Iran about a day’s drive from Hamadan (1839: 100). The Boundaries of Ararat/Urartu The second major problem with the Cornuke thesis is that there is no evidence yet discovered that indicates the region of Urartu/Ararat ever extended as far north and east into Iran as he claims. In fact, in the video, Cornuke’s map doesn’t even cover the ancient capital of Ararat/Urartu on Lake Van! This is a grievous error. What is at stake here is the inerrancy of Scripture. As far as these authors are aware, no Urartian scholar would put the Kingdom of Urartu as far to the east as Cornuke claims even at the height of its empire in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. when Urartu included about 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles) according to Zimansky. At the most, it extended only a few miles south and east of Lake Urmia. Most scholars are in agreement that when the author of Genesis referred to the mountainous region of Ararat in Gen. 8:4, he was making reference to the region directly north of Mesopotamia, centered around Lake Van (Zimansky 1998: 2). The tribes and regional kings of Ararat (Urartu) are first mentioned in Assyrian literature in the 13th century B.C. meaning it could easily have been in existence and known by Moses (Zimansky 1998: 6).
4
Urartu Map based upon Archaeologist Boris Piotrovsky’s Research The Urartu archaeological map extended with more labels is from noted Urartian Archaeologist Boris Piotrovsky, who was Director of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and directed the Urartian excavations at Karmir-Blour, one of the greatest fortresses of Urartu (1969: back cover). In order to accurately demonstrate how different Bob Cornuke’s map of Urartu shown in the video, the archaeological map of Urartu based upon Piotrovsky and Zimansky (1998: 2, 230-231) had to be completely re-drawn below (outlined in red with Urartian archaeological sites) in order to add entire areas of landmass to take into account Cornuke’s view of Urartu (outlined in blue and adapted from the locations shown on the video into a new map). Cornuke literally leaves out 36,500 square miles of the accepted archaeologists’ view of Urartu. In addition, it should be noted that Cornuke adds about 28,000 square miles of geographical area to his map of Urartu with no archaeological
5 support whatsoever, allowing his map to include some of the northern and central Elburz Mountains close to Mount Suleiman.
Archaeological Urartu (Red) with Urartian Archaeological Sites (Orange) Compared with Cornuke’s Urartu (Blue) The presumed Ed Davis landing site on Mount Suleiman, northwest of Tehran, is far outside the land of Ararat/Urartu (at least 250 miles as the dove flies from Urartu to Mount Suleiman), and deep inside the Land of Madaia of the Medes! This is a very crucial point to Cornuke’s claims. Is Mount Suleiman, northwest of Tehran, in the Biblical land of Ararat/Urartu or not? The BASE Institutes case stands or falls on this question. Cornuke gives a vague, non-factual answer to this question when he states: When people talk about the boundaries of Urartu -- which is the Assyrian designation, Armenia, [the] more modern designation -- They can’t be precise. There is not a boundary that you can draw a line around. It expanded and contracted up to a thousand [1,000] miles based on war, or famine, or some kind of drought, very mercurial in the boundaries. So we can say it’s just right in that area of Turkey, the area of Iran, the area maybe of Azerbaijan. It’s just right in that area of the world; we just can’t be precise where in the area when
6 we are talking about Iran. It’s right where the Bible indicates it should be [12 min.:30 sec.-13 min.:08 sec. into the video]. However, in the video, a speculative map of Ararat/Urartu graphic is shown that includes Mount Sabalan and comes close to Mount Suleiman. Cornuke knows he must have the Land of Ararat/Urartu extend all the way over to the Elburz mountain range in order to give his discovery any kind of credibility. It is our judgment that this graphic is very inaccurate and, in our opinion, deceptive. As noted earlier, Cornuke’s Urartu map does not even include the known historical capital and cultural center of Ararat/Urartu at Lake Van and its associated archaeological sites, the large Urartian site of Çavuştepe toward Hakkari, numerous Urartian archeological sites between Lake Urmia and Lake Van, none of the traditional Hurrian highlands extending west to Erzincan and Elizağ, nor does it include the Gordyene Mountains south of Van. However, Cornuke’s Urartu does conveniently extend southeast to the central Elburz Mountains and the edge of Mount Suleiman where not one piece of evidence for Urartian presence has ever been found. Here is a brief summary of the region of Ararat/Urartu by noted expert Paul E. Zimansky and notice that none of the landmarks he mentions are deep within Iran. He states: Urartian kings would have ruled all of the agricultural lands around Lake Van and Lake Sevan, and the southwestern shore of Lake Urumiyeh. The upper Aras, particularly the Armavir and Erevan areas, was firmly in their hands, and conquest took them as far north as Lake Cildir. Along the Murat, evidence for royal control is surprisingly meager, but sufficient to put the Euphrates at Izoli within the conquered zone and the Elazig area in the narrower sphere. Campaign inscriptions are found well to the east of Tabriz, but the nearest evidence for firm state control in that direction comes from Bastam, thirty-eight kilometers north of Khvoy. Missing from this picture are the large and fertile plains of Erzurum and Erzincan on the Karasu, the northwest shore of Lake Urumiyeh, the plain of Marand, and the middle Aras from Jolfa to the slopes of Mount Ararat. All of these are generally assumed to be part of Urartu in some sense, and it is worth examining other forms of evidence to see if there might be some grounds for including them within the perimeter of state control (1985: 10). Zimansky does not include the Elburz Mountains in the area of Urartu. Thus, it is NOT, as Mr. Cornuke claims, right where the Bible indicates it should be! Genesis 11:1, 2, From the East There is a third reason why we believe that Cornuke is wrong. The Genesis 11:1 and 2 passage is too weak an argument to use as a place reference. The passage states: “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
7 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there” (KJV). The argument goes like this: If you translate the Hebrew miqqedem mdqm as: from the east, as the KJV does, it would clearly seem to indicate that the Ark must have landed somewhere to the east of historic Shinar (Mesopotamia), in modern-day Iran since it is that country that is directly east of Shinar. However, if you translate the miqqedem as eastward, as the NIV does, then you have the migration coming from the west toward Shinar. Elsewhere the miqqedem is translated in the east (NEB), that is: men moved in the east, then, the directional point is much more indefinite. Given that this migration occurred several hundred years after the disembarking from the Ark from the previous context of chapter 10, it seems best not to push this passage too much. Wenham favors in the east when the miqqedem is used adverbially as in 2:8; 12:8; and Isa. 9:12 (1991: 238). In addition, Mathews believes miqqedem marks events of separation, so it can also have a metaphorical sense (1996:1:478). If you do select the more specific, directional interpretation as Cornuke does (as in the KJV), and you believe the Ark landed in northern Iran, or northeast Turkey, it would have certainly been more accurate for the writer to say they migrated from the north. Neither the Elburz Mountains, nor Mount Ararat is directly east of Shinar. The Biblical mountains of Ararat (Urartu) are directly north of the plain of Shinar. The apparent conflict between 8:4 and 11:2 is more easily resolved with a more indefinite interpretation in our opinion. It should also be pointed out that that there is least a 100-300 year period between the landing of the Ark after the Flood (Gen. 8), and the Tower of Babel event (Gen. 11). The peoples could have easily moved from where the Ark landed to other locations east or west of Shinar [Babylonia] before the Tower of Babel story took place. The Ancient Sources Fourth, one of Cornuke’s experts in the video, Frank Turek, briefly discusses the ancient sources. Unfortunately the editing in the video is bad at this point. Only the last part of a longer statement about Josephus and Nicolas of Damascus is given that seems to suggest that Ararat/Urartu extended further east than previously thought. Let’s examine one passage in Josephus. In Antiquities of the Jews 20:24, 25 (LCL 10:15), Josephus recounts the story of Monobazus, the king of Adiabene and the husband of Queen Helena, who wanted to see his son Izates before he died. The capital of Adiabene was Arbela in northern Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). When Monobazus saw his son, he gave Izates the district of Carron. The land of Carron is described as a place with “excellent soil for the production of amomum in the greatest abundance; it also possesses the remains of the ark in which report has it that Noah was saved from the flood, remains which to this day are shown to those who are curious to see them.” The land of Carron must be in
8 the mountains just to the north of Mesopotamia. These mountains would be in present day southeastern Turkey, but they were never considered to be part of what is now present day Iran! Petrified Wood? The fifth line of argument may be the weakest of all. In the video there are claims that the rock that was brought back from Mount Suleiman was petrified wood and that it contained animal hairs of various kinds, bird follicles, savannah grass, seeds, insects, and other such things. This material should have been published first in a scientific peer-reviewed publication, either archaeological or geological, so that the scholarly community could see the documented evidence and analyze it. The reviewers seriously doubt that this rock outcrop is anything but a solidified volcanic lava extrusion. This can look exactly like petrified wood in the way it fractures and can even have cellular structures when seen under a microscope. The viewer should be very careful about taking this evidence at face value until further documentation is available. For a discussion of the geology of Mount Suleiman, see: Gansser and Huber 1962: 583-630. Conclusion On the sleeve of the video case it states that this video is a Dove Family Approved documentary. It is our opinion that this should not have been approved because the video, in our opinion, does not accurately present the facts as recognized by experts in the field, i.e., the map with the supposed boundaries of Urartu. In addition, it is factually inaccurate and based on a questionable eye-witness. Also, in the credits at the end of the video one of the authors of this article (Bill Crouse) is listed as an advisor. This was not authorized and he in no way wishes it to be seen as an endorsement of the material. We have also noted how carefully at times statements are worded in the video. On the cover of the video box and the beginning of the video, they build up the fact that they are looking for Noah’s Ark. By the end of the video, they don’t claim they found Noah’s Ark, but rather the Ed Davis object. One wonders if this is a very clever change in case somebody challenges the content of the video. Our opinion is that they have found neither. We would caution those who read this: If you are considering forwarding this review to another Christian who is enthused about this so-called discovery, as well as others from the BASE Institute, we pray that you do it with a sensitive and kind spirit. It might be good to preface the review with a question: Have you considered, or would you be interested in reading a different perspective about these discoveries?
9 In this review we want it to be perfectly clear that in no way is this review intended as a personal affront, either about Bob Cornuke, or anyone who appears in the video. Our sole concern, at this point, is to review the information and make informed comments. If it was the motive of the producers to instill confidence among believers that the Bible is true this in our opinion sets a poor precedent, and could have the opposite result. Even worse, it may be a poor testimony to unbelievers.
Bibliography Corbin, B. J. 1999 The Explorers of Ararat: And the Search for Noah’s Ark. 2nd ed. Highland Ranch, CO: Great Commission Illustrated Books. Cornuke, Robert 2005 Ark Fever. The True Story of One Man’s Search for Noah’s Ark. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House. Cornuke, Robert; and Halbrook, David 2001 In Search of the Lost Mountains of Noah. The Discovery of the REAL Mountains of Ararat. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman. Crouse, Bill 1988 Is the Ark in the Ahora Gorge? Ararat Report #14 (Jan.-Feb.). 1989 The Ed Davis Testimony: An Addendum. Ararat Report #20 (Jan.Feb.). 1993 Modern Eyewitnesses: Are They Reliable? Ararat Report #32 (May). Crouse, Bill; and Franz, Gordon 2006 Mount Cudi – True mountain of Noah’s Ark. Bible and Spade 19/4: 99-113. http://www.biblearchaeology.org/publications/BAS19_4.pdf Gansser, Augusto; and Huber, Heinrich 1962 Geological Observations in the Central Elburz, Iran. Schweizerische Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen 42: 583-630. Geissler, Rex; Basaran, Cevat; and Keles, Vedat 2006 Mount Ararat Archaeological Survey. Bible and Spade 21/3: 70-96. http://www.noahsarksearch.com
10 Josephus 1965 Antiquities of the Jews. Book 20. Vol. 10. Trans. by L. H. Feldman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Loeb Classical Library 456. Reprinted 1981. Mathews, Kenneth 1996 Genesis. Vol. 1. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman. Piotrovsky, Boris B. 1969 The Ancient Civilization of Urartu: An Archaeological Adventure. Trans. by James Hogarth, from Russian. New York: Cowles Book. Rawlinson, Major Henry 1839 Notes on a March from Zohab, at the Foot of Zagros, along the Mountains to Khuzistan (Susiana), and from Thence Through the Province of Luristan to Kirmanshah, in the Year 1836. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 9: 26-116. Shockey, Don 1986 The Painful Mountain. Fresno, CA: Pioneer. Wenham, Gordon 1991 Word Biblical Commentary. Genesis 1-15. Vol. 1. Milton Keynes, England: Word (UK). Zimansky, Paul 1985 Ecology and Empire: The Structure of Urartian State, Chicago: University of Chicago. 1998 Ancient Ararat: A Handbook of Urartian Studies. Delmar, NY: Caravan Books.
About the authors: Gordon Franz is Bible teacher, and an archaeologist on the staff of the Associates for Biblical Research http://www.biblearchaeology.org Bill Crouse is a researcher and president of Christian Information Ministries http://www.rapidresponsereport.com Rex Geissler is a computer specialist, publisher, Ark researcher, and the president of Archaeological Imaging Research Consortium (ArcImaging) http://www.arcimaging.org
Contents
EDITOR:
Bryant G. Wood, PhD
EXECUTIVE EDITOR:
Richard D. Lanser Jr., MA, MDiv
GRAPHICS AND PHOTO EDITOR: Michael C. Luddeni, NAPP
CONSULTING EDITORS: Rev. Gary A. Byers, MA Rev. Scott Lanser, MA Henry B. Smith, Jr., MA William Saxton, MA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Delphi’s Influence on the World of the New Testament Part 3: Faults, Fumes and Visions Ernest B. McGinnis.......................................................65
David P. Livingston, Founder Gary A. Byers, President George DeLong, Treasurer Ronald K. Zuck, Secretary
Bible and Spade is received four times a year by members of the Associates for Biblical Research. For an annual contribution of $35.00 or more, members sustain the research and outreach ministries of ABR, including the world-wide radio program “The Stones Cry Out.” To contact ABR, write P.O. Box 144, Akron PA 17501, or email
[email protected]. Visit our website at http://www.biblearchaeology. org.
Rex Geissler
Mount Ararat sunset at the Işak Pasha Palace. Photo taken from Urartian Rock Chamber Tomb at the Beyazıt Castle. Mount Ararat Archaeological Survey Dr. Cevat Başaran, Dr. Vedat Keleş and Rex Geissler..................................................................70
Front cover: Urartu’s capital city of Toprakkale, showing Tushpa Fortress at Van southwest of Mount Ararat. Photo by Rex Geissler. 64
© 2008 Associates for Biblical Research. All rights reserved. ISSN 1079-6959 ABR purpose and statement of faith sent on request. Opinions expressed by authors not on the editorial staff of Bible and Spade are not necessarily those of the Associates for Biblical Research. All Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version unless specified otherwise. Editorial guidelines will be sent upon request.
Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Delphi’s Influence on the World of the New Testament Part 3: Faults, Fumes and Visions1
View of the valley of the Pleistos River from atop Delphi. By Ernest B. McGinnis For thousands of years, the ancient Greek city of Delphi has provided mankind with as many tantalizing questions as it has answers. As far back as the Roman period, men of science have questioned the validity of the oracular spectacle provided by the Pythia, the priestesses of Delphi, as they prophesied in their maniacal ecstasy. By the 20th century, archaeologists and historians concluded that the stories of the Pythia were either wildly exaggerated, or the Pythia were in fact thespians of the grandest sort. It was not until a chance “meeting of the minds” in a small tavern outside of Delphi in 1995, that once and for all the truth behind the Pythian spectacle was solved. In this article, we shall explore the scientific and psychological backdrop to one of history’s greatest mysteries, and the questions it poses to the interpretation of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Christians in AD 52.
Fumes or Fairytales? William J. Broad, a writer for the New York Times, wrote in Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Ernest McGinnis
2002 of a “ground breaking” discovery at Delphi, which changed the way scholars viewed the oracular shrine of Apollo located there. Broad noted, Modern scholarship long ago dismissed as false the explanation that the ancient Greeks gave for the oracle’s inspiration: vapors rising from the temple’s floor. They found no underlying fissure or possible source of intoxicants. Experts concluded that the vapors were mythical, like much else about the site (2002). However, as Broad reported, a geologist, an archaeologist, a chemist and a toxicologist have combined their expertise and have shown the ancients to be correct. The region’s underlying rocks turn out to be composed of oily limestone fractured by two hidden faults that cross exactly under the ruined temple, creating a path by which petrochemical fumes could rise to the surface to help induce visions (2002). 65
Ernest McGinnis
The temple of Apollo. Built upon crossing fault lines, it exposed the Pythian priestesses to vapors which put them into an ecstatic state. What this team found was that the fumes rising forth from beneath the Tripod—a high chair with three long legs, set atop a natural crevice on the temple floor, upon which the Pythia sat— were ethylene, “a sweet smelling gas once used as an anesthetic. In light doses, it produces feelings of aloof euphoria” (Broad 2002). These scientists have thus confirmed the historical accounts of the ancient writers, who indeed claimed the Pythia’s ecstasy was a direct result of the same chasm in the earth where ancient legend claims the shepherd Coretas and his herd of goats was overcome by hallucinatory gases flowing forth from the mouth of Gaia. The story of this profound discovery is as interesting as Delphi itself. Dr. Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, a geologist, was invited to Delphi in 1981 to assist the Greek government in assessing the region’s suitability for building nuclear reactors. Dr. de Boer’s job was to search out hidden earthquake faults that might disrupt a nuclear site (Broad 2002). While attending to his duties Dr. de Boer discovered a fault, which had been hidden by hills until their recent removal to carve a roadway. As he traced this 66
new fault he found that it linked to a known fault, which he discovered was partially hidden by rocky debris, yet appeared to run directly under the great temple of Apollo (Broad 2002). Dr. de Boer had assumed that this observation was made earlier and thus was of no great value. However, in 1995 at a chance meeting with Dr. John R. Hale, an archaeologist, Dr. de Boer learned that his discovery was just that—a discovery. The following year, the two scientists returned to the site to survey the city and study regional maps of Greek geologists. Broad’s reports note the findings from this trip: These revealed that underlying strata were bituminous limestone containing up to 20 percent blackish oils. “I remember him throwing the map at me,” Dr. Hale said of Dr. de Boer. “It’s petro-chemicals!” No volcanism was needed, contrary to the previous speculation. Simple geologic action could heat the bitumen, releasing chemicals into the temple ground waters (2002). Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
The investigations into this matter continued into 1998, when the two scientists discovered yet another fault, running north-south under the temple. Their final conclusions noted, the dry springs were coated with travertine, a rocky clue suggesting that the waters had come from deep below. When hot water seeps through limestone, it leaches out calcium carbonate that stays in solution until it rises to the surface and cools quickly. The calcium carbonate can then precipitate to form rocky layers of travertine (Broad 2002). Finally, Dr. Jeffrey Chanton, a geochemist from Florida State University, analyzed the travertine samples found from dry springs near the temple and the temple foundation, and found methane and ethane, each able to produce altered mental states (Broad 2002). The findings of this team have in recent years changed the way scholars view the ancient records dealing with Delphic ecstatic speech. They have shown conclusively that, in fact, ecstatic and wild behavior did accompany the giving of oracles at Delphi. This information helps to solidify our regard for the ancient sources as well as “define” ecstatic speech, by allowing us to gain knowledge of the effects the ethylene vapors had upon the Pythia.
Prophecy, Tongues, and the Power of Suggestion All this raises a related question concerning prophecy and speaking in tongues in the New Testament period. Can we connect their manifestation in any way to the Pythian oracles? They did not also involve hallucinatory gases, did they? What are we to Ernest McGinnis say of the pagan girl mentioned in Acts 16:16 Oracle cave built into the foundation of the temple at Delphi. who had apparently mimicked the Pythia’s “future-telling” behavior, yet despite that also speaks God’s truth The power of suggestion need not be defined merely as psychoabout Paul? What of the related issues in the Corinthian church supernatural, but is a general part of human existence in the that prompted Paul’s corrective instruction in 1 Corinthians context of community beliefs and norms. chapters 12–14? Certainly Corinthian Christian home churches There are several forces that induce suggestibility. The first of were not also built upon fault lines carrying ethylene, causing these is auto-hypnosis, which is a mechanism within the human tongue speakers and prophets to fly into maniacal fits. It could brain by which one disassociates oneself from the reality of the be said that our answer lies not in geology, but rather in a world in which they find themselves. This type of suggestion is combination of psychology (the power of suggestion) and God’s found within patients suffering from DID or Multiple Personality sovereign works of revelation. Disorder, and is used to develop alternate personalities as a The definition of “suggestion” can be described by terms method of escape from tremendous fear, pain or abuse. The varying in levels of intensity, such as “hypnosis,” “indoctrination,” second force that induces suggestibility comes from another “worldview,” and simply “cultural expectation.” The power of individual, and is best seen in incidents of hypnosis. Within the suggestion has been used in areas ranging from release from context of this form of suggestion, an individual is placed into a chemical addiction to cult loyalty, psychotherapy, religious highly relaxed and thus suggestible state of mind for the purpose beliefs, and even such simple things as political affiliations. of therapy. Finally, the third form of suggestibility comes within Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
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Delphi’s Castilian Falls. On this site, the Pythia would ritually bathe prior to taking their place in the temple of Apollo. the context of culture. It is here where such influences as culture and worldview come into play, and it is also here where I find the root of the Corinthian problem. In this form of suggestion, cultural norms and accepted worldviews influence the mind of someone living within a community, thus altering their patterns of behavior, belief and response, resulting in manners acceptable to the culture and community. This form of suggestion is the most indirect method of the three, and yet the most pervasive. It is through cultural suggestion that we learn acceptable manners by which we live within the context of our community, affecting such everyday behavior as appropriate responses, familial relationships, love relationships, community involvement, work ethics, acceptable religious beliefs and practices, personal hygiene, language, etc. This form of suggestion, though powerful, is learned over time and experience. Though indirect, its influence directly pervades all aspects of behavior and thought.2 It was this form of suggestion, which shaped the worldviews of first century people, that Paul found himself battling against in many of the churches he founded, including Corinth. I would 68
suggest that the Corinthians viewed inspired speech in terms of their own culture and thus, through the suggestion of their culture, practiced tongues in a manner that was appropriate to their community. This kind of suggestion is not limited to the first century Christian debate over the spiritual sign-gifts. In the recent book, American Exorcist by Michael Cuneo (2001), we find similar situations of divisiveness due to the power of suggestion as found in various churches and denominations. Cuneo provides countless incidents of “inspired speech,” “prophecy,” “deliverance or exorcism,” and other sign-gifts being practiced in diverse forms from other groups, and oftentimes in direct contradiction to one another. From his travels around the country over a two-year span, Cuneo shares encounters with “demon possessed” people who always react to their predicament in a manner matching how the community expected someone with a demon should act. In some cases “demonized” people were quiet and calm, responding to their exorcist as though they were simply conversing over a cup of coffee at Starbucks, while others flopped about on the floor, screaming obscenities, and vomiting forth their demons. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Sunrise view of Delphi and the Corinthian Sea. The unifying factor in all his encounters was that each person responded to their predicament in a fashion acceptable to their church or group. Through suggestion, each person learned how he or she should act, by simply watching and learning how others around them acted—a clear case of the power of suggestion. This same kind of behavioral influence could have penetrated the Corinthian understanding of divine speech. As pagan Corinthians living only 30 miles away from Delphi, they had learned through suggestion exactly how one should act when delivering inspired speech from a deity. Though the hallucinatory gases did not reach all the way into Corinth, the power of suggestion certainly did, and the result was exhibiting divine speech in a fashion that was acceptable to their community. It can be suggested that, at least in some cases, through subconscious influence, these early Christians could have believed mania accompanied tongues or prophecy, witnessed others exhibiting their gift in such a manner, had the imbedded worldview of inspired speech planted within their own minds through experience and cultural learning, and thus exhibited it in a manner likened to that of the Pythia of Delphi.
Conclusion In conclusion, while the geological and psychological findings answer the physical questions posed by the happenings in Delphi so many thousands of years ago, the larger and more important spiritual questions remain. In future articles we shall explore other connections between Delphi and Corinth, including temples, games, politics, commerce and religion, as Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Ernest McGinnis
well as clues provided within the pages and language of the New Testament books of Acts and 1 Corinthians. Notes This article is a continuation from Part 2 of this series, published in the Spring 2007 issue of Bible and Spade. 2 Much of the information on suggestion is based off of an interview with Dr. John Kelley, Co-Professor of the course “Issues in Spiritual Warfare” and Director of the Biola Counseling Center, Biola University, La Mirada, CA. However, all conclusions are my own and are neither supported nor denied by Dr. Kelley. 1
Bibliography Broad, William J. 2002 For Delphic Oracle, Fumes and Visions. New York Times: Science Times. Tuesday, March 19, 2002. Cuneo, Michael. 2001 American Exorcist. New York: Doubleday.
Ernest McGinnis holds two Master’s degrees in Systematic Theology and New Testament Language and Literature from Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He has served as a pastor and currently teaches high school history. He has studied Biblical archaeology in Greece, Rome and Malta. His academic focus is Greco-Roman backgrounds to the New Testament. 69
By Professor Dr. Cevat Başaran, Assistant Professor Dr. Vedat Keleş, and Rex Geissler Brian McMorrow
Great Ararat and Little Ararat aerial view with the Aras (Araxes) River Valley (international border) in the foreground looking southwest.
Introduction One of the most important and mysterious subjects that has remained from antiquity to this day has been the Flood of Noah, along with the views of where the Ark and those in it came to rest. We find various views about the Flood of Noah not only in the holy books representing the three great religions (Lewis 1984: 224), but also in almost all the important cultures of antiquity, in ancient sources (Montgomery 1974) and modern research about the Flood (Brown 2008). Throughout various time periods, research has been done regarding the location of the boat and the search for its remains. As expressed above, aside from the holy books, the event of the Flood is also referred to in Sumerian, Babylonian, Greek, Hindu, Gaul, Scandinavian and Chinese legends, with many interesting similarities, and with one of the distinctions being that the name of Noah is different (Bratton 1995: 35–36; Kramer 1999: 173–74). Many cultural histories around the world illustrate consistent Flood themes, including a global nature for the Flood, a favored family, survival due to a boat, that the Flood was caused by the wrongdoings of men, that there was a remnant who were forewarned, that animals were also saved by a boat, that survivors landed on a mountain, that survivors sent out birds, and that the survivors offered sacrifices after escaping the Flood (LaHaye and Morris 1976). One of the most common views presented is that Mesopotamia could be the area where the Flood of Noah might have occurred. Archaeological research in the region has produced some data 70
regarding the possibility of the Flood having taken place in Mesopotamia (Willcocks and Rassam 1910: 459–60; Frazer 1916: 232; Bright 1942: 56). The discoveries from archaeological research done in Mesopotamia’s important cities of Ur, Uruk, Kish and Shuruppak suggest that destructive local floods took place in that region of the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys (Woolley 1930 and 1938; Mallowan 1970: 238). Others contend that Mount Judi, which overlooks the Mesopotamian plain and the Tigris River Valley may be a good location for the Ark’s landing site. Mount Judi has support from local traditions (Rich 1836: 123–24; Bell 1910; Bailey 1989), a 1952 wood discovery and later radiocarbon dating (Bender 1956), and literature from antiquity (Crouse and Franz 2006). There is also a view that, aside from Mesopotamia, the Flood could have occurred at the Black Sea (Godfrey 1927: 239–40; Ballard 2001: 98). In general, the opinions about the subject as to where the Ark might have landed after the Flood can be summarized as follows: 1. Mount Ararat1 2. Mount Judi2 3. Mount Nemrut 4. Mesopotamia 5. Durupınar 6. The Black Sea 7. Unknown Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Map Legend Color Code White—National boundaries and country names Yellow—Towns Red—Archaeological sites Dark blue—Geological sites Light blue—Water bodies
Dr. Ed Holroyd construction with sources from Rex Geissler
Overview map extending from the Black Sea and Caucasus Mountains in the north to Mesopotamia in the south, and from Carchemish on the Euphrates River in the west to Iran’s Lake Urmia in the east. The map is based upon Blue Marble satellite imagery, using a resolution of 500 m per pixel. A prevalent view is that the Mount Ararat region in Eastern Anatolia (Asia) has much support for the Ark’s landing site, including regional Flood traditions, alleged eyewitness claims, potential geologic evidence (Polo 1968; Cummings 1973; Bright 1989; Corbin 1999; Lanser 2006), and the highest summit (Atalay 1982: 151) of the Eastern Anatolia highlands and Upper Mesopotamia, with an elevation of 16,945 ft (5,165 m). Great Ararat rises over 14,000 ft (4,267 m) into the air from the elevation of 2,800 ft (853 m) of the Aras River Valley at Iğdir, and has a circumference of 81 mi (130 km) around the mountain’s base, making Mount Ararat one of the largest singlemass mountains on the surface of the Earth.3 First Foreign Archaeological Research Permission on Ararat Since the 1980s The latest archaeological research regarding the possibility of Noah’s Ark having landed on Mount Ararat or its vicinity is the Mount Ararat Archaeological Surface Survey of 2001, undertaken by ArcImaging and the Archaeology Branch of Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Atatürk University’s Faculty of Science and Literature, with Rex Geissler and Dr. Vedat Keleş jointly in charge of the project. Since the 1980s, Mount Ararat archaeological research had been closed to foreigners. In 2001, the Republic of Turkey granted the first foreign permission since the 1980s to conduct archaeological research on and around Mount Ararat to ArcImaging in partnership with Atatürk University. The institutions planned to conduct the research in two stages—first the archaeological surveys in the area around Mount Ararat, and then the glaciological survey of Mount Ararat’s 17 mi2 (27 km2) ice cap that is at least 300 ft (92 m) deep in some locations. The snow line on Mount Ararat during the survey period, from October 20 through November 4, 2001, receded to about 10,171 ft (3,100 m), and since the research dates were not within the summer season, glaciological research using the Glacier Camp at the elevation of 15,419 ft (4,700 m) during that timeframe was too dangerous. So in 2001 only the first portion of the research, the identification and sampling of some of the archaeological sites in the surrounding areas, could be accomplished in the time allotted by collecting several hundred pottery, rock, soil and water samples.4
Mount Ararat Archaeological Survey Areas ArcImaging and Atatürk University planned the research surveys to focus on the regions of the Ahora Valley, the Korhan Pasture, Sağlıksuyu/Arzap region, Eli, Durupınar/ Uzengeli/Nasar, the Ice Cave, Doğubeyazıt, Tuzluca, Diyadin and Toklucak. Due to security concerns having to do with the international border regions, the Korhan Pasture and Ahora Valley in Iğdir Province5 could not be surveyed. Summaries of Pre-Classical Surveys of Mount Ararat Since the earlier pre-classical archaeological sites are of special interest in regard to the descendants of the Flood survivors, the following text will discuss some of the earliest archaeology known to the Mount Ararat region in order to help familiarize the reader with this area. Much of this article summarizes information that has not been easily available until this publication. One of the main challenges with researching the 71
Dr. David Graves
Great Ararat from the southwest Ararat Plain, looking up over 12,000 ft (3,665 m) vertically to the summit at 16,945 ft (5,165 m), with many grazing sheep and goats. archaeological sites of this region are the numerous international boundaries that make cross-border surveys in the Ararat Plain nearly impossible.6 In regard to the early archaeology of the region and the Flood, one assumption about the survivors of the Flood would be that they probably would have wanted to stay fairly close to fertile river valleys for the availability of consistent water, food, grazing lands for domesticated flocks of animals, and home construction materials. Keep this supposition in mind as we discuss the archaeology of the region. In regard to prehistoric anthropology, new research indicates that one of the early locations for Homo erectus includes Dmanisi in the Transcaucasian Republic of Georgia, having comparable dating with that of Homo erectus in Africa (Dennell and Roebroeks 2005). Dmanisi has become a primary location for anthropology and is thought to represent an important starting point for early man. Interestingly, Dmanisi happens to be only 112 mi (180 km) directly north of Mount Ararat, and its elevated terrain provides water runoff into the Kura River Valley. New anthropological perspectives suggest that humans may have originated from an undiscovered location in Asia and then migrated from Asia to Africa. Asia includes the vast majority of Anatolia (Turkey east of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosphorus Straight that connects the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea) all the way to Mount Ararat and the border of Transcaucasia. In regard to the Paleolithic era, there is a large Paleolithic site littered with obsidian blocks and a discovered Mousterian biface found 69 mi (110 km) from Mount Ararat at Meydan Mevkii 72
(Marro and Özfirat 2004). Unfortunately, there have been relatively few excavations or surveys in this region. However, French archaeologist Catherine Marro and Turkish archaeologist Aynur Özfirat should be held up with honor for their diligent work on many pre-classical site surveys in the region over the past decade. Going back to the earliest archaeological work, the Russian P.F. Petrov started some limited excavations at Melekli next to Iğdir and Kültepe in Nakhechivan (both in the Araxes River Valley near Mount Ararat) during 1914, with the resulting finds being kept in the Georgian State Museum in Tbilisi. The publication of Petrov’s excavation from one of the Melekli mounds was translated from Russian by Barnett (1963), and is considered a classic text and very enlightening. Kura-Araxes Early Transcaucasian Culture Connections with Mount Ararat During the Late Chalcolithic Age and throughout the Early Bronze and Middle Bronze Ages, archaeological sites of the entire region around Mount Ararat attest to the Kura-Araxes Early Transcaucasian Culture, which is also typified by Karaz, Pulur, and Khirbet Kerak pottery (Sagona 1984). This Early Transcaucasian Culture was named by Charles A. Burney (1971: 44), and tends to date around the middle fourth millennium BC (Late Chalcolithic Age) to middle second millennium BC (end of the Middle Bronze Age) and is typified by RedBlack Burnished Ware Ceramics, which were termed by R.J. Braidwood at Tell Judeideh in the Amuq (Braidwood 1937 and Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Map Legend Color Code White—National boundaries and country names Tan—Province boundaries and province names Yellow—Towns Gold—Villages Red—Archaeological sites Dark blue—Geological sites Light blue—Water bodies
Archaeological Site Mapping 1 Yalınçayır 2 Üçpınar 3 Ocakli 4 Ani 5 Elar 6 Metsamor 7 Mokhra Blur 8 Shengavit 9 Erebuni 10 Garni Temple 11 Karakala 12 Yaycı 13 Karakoyunlu / Gökçeli 14 Melekli 15 Hanago Tepe 16 Korhan 17 Yenidoğan 18 Eli 19 Mollacem 20 Arzap 02+03 Area 21 Arzap 01 22 Sarigül 23 Eski Doğubeyazıt 24 Çetenli 25 Toklucak
1960). The Kura-Araxes Early Transcaucasian Culture is one of the oldest known cultures that is spread throughout a large area via distinct archaeological sites. The Kura-Araxes Culture can be discerned by rectangular and round-shaped houses, limited agricultural activities, expansive animal husbandry-pastoral groups, and cultural materials (pottery, clay objects and limited metal objects). The ceramics are typically jars and bowls that are mostly handmade with the dominant colors of black, red, brown and grey. The pots are typically decorated with incised, grooved, dropped and relief techniques (Kibaroğlu, Satır and Işikli 2007). The origin of this culture appears to be in the Kura and Araxes (modern name Aras) River Valleys. Notably, the middle Araxes River Valley runs right alongside the northern and eastern extents of Mount Ararat through the Ararat Plain. After following a course of 665 mi (1,070 km), the Araxes River joins the Kura (Kür) River in Azerbaijan, 75 mi (121 km) from its mouth on the Caspian Sea. Since a flood in 1897, a separate portion of the Araxes (canalized since 1909) has emptied directly Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Dr. Ed Holroyd map construction with source locations from Rex Geissler
Mount Ararat regional map showing archaeological and geological sites in the area, based upon Blue Marble satellite imagery using a resolution of 250 m per pixel. into the Caspian Sea, which is the world’s largest salt lake. Studying the map of the Kura-Araxes Early Transcaucasian Culture sites, it is noteworthy that the early and well-regarded archaeologist of the region, Charles Burney, stated the following about the start of this culture: [The map of Early Transcaucasian Culture] shows too that certain centres of settlement may be discerned, among them the Araxes valley. By its geographical situation alone, it could be argued, this could have been the original home from which this culture subsequently expanded in all directions (1971: 44–45). While there have been questions about its origins (Frangipane and Marro 1998), Early Transcaucasian Culture pottery, which includes the Kura-Araxian culture of B. Kuftin (1941; KellyBucatelli 1974: 44–54), appears with homogeneity from an ethnic movement in the Transcaucasian region (Amiran 1965: 73
165–67). Due to the obvious early dating for the culture, the assumption could be made that this consistent ethnic movement might reflect closer descendants of those saved through the Flood, exhibiting a parallel development of a common cultural background from the Hurrian highlands of eastern Anatolia (Burney 1971: 50–51). The Mount Ararat region was also historically important due to its being the crossroads of Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Upper Mesopotamia. Historically, migration routes would go west from Nakhechivan via Erzurum to Central Anatolia or south from Transcaucasia to Upper Mesopotamia across this region between Lake Van and the Araxes River (Marro 2004). Consider what Charles Burney stated about Mount Ararat, which is directly across the Araxes River Valley from Erevan: Rex Geissler
The arguments for the placing of Detail map showing some of the archaeological sites on and around Mount Ararat. the original nucleus of the Early Trans-Caucasian culture in the Araxes valley around Erevan tepe, Makhta Kültepe, Khalaj, Arabyengije, and Shortepe are not based solely on the elimination of alternatives for (Seyidev 2000). Across the Araxes River from Mount Ararat varying reasons, nor only on the quality of the pottery nor in the Ararat Plain of Armenia are a number of Early Bronze again on the fertility of the region and its potentiality as the Age (if not older) sites, including Metsamor, Shengavit, cradle of an expanding population finding itself in need of Mokhra Blur, Shresh Blur, Keghzyak, Sev Blur, and Jerahovid. Lebensraum...in favour of the theory of an original centre Shengavit is distinct among the cities in Armenia for its use of of this culture in the middle Araxes valley, the plain around round-shaped dwellings made from river stones and mud brick. Erevan [Ararat Plain]; but they surely indicate it as the most The artifacts found at Shengavit include black-varnished, red probable centre (1971: 53–54). and grey pottery, in geometric patterns similar to those used in the Minoan culture. The culture had distinctive religious beliefs Only 35 mi (56 km) downstream on the Araxes River from revolving around the sun and planets, reflected in burial artifacts Mount Ararat in Nakhechivan are deep layers of the Kuro- found at the sites. Araxian culture from the Late Chalcolithic Age to the Early Marro and Özfirat conducted pre-classical surveys on many Bronze Age, including sites at Kültepe I, Kültepe II, Ovchular sites around the Mount Ararat and Van provinces in 2002–2004,
Survey Site Summary showing some of the 2001 survey results in a summary overview. 74
Rex Geissler
Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Erzurum Museum, with Mount Ararat location by Rex Geissler
Erzurum Museum, with Mount Ararat location by Rex Geissler
Kura-Araxes Early Transcaucasian Culture overview site map listing all archaeological sites and Mount Ararat’s location on a map stretching from southern Israel through the Caucasus Mountains.
Kura-Araxes Early Transcaucasian Culture Eastern Anatolia site map with Mount Ararat location on a map stretching from the Amuq River Valley to Transcaucasia.
including Hanago Tepe, which is located on top of a Mount Ararat lava mound and was initially occupied in the first half of the fourth millennium BC (Late Chalcolithic Age), as indicated by the Amuq E/F bowls with simple rims found there (Marro and Özfirat 2003). The finds included chaff-faced ware, mainly buff, brown or beige in color, resembling but appearing earlier than Amuq F (the earliest phase of which appears ca. 3700 BC), which was first found in the Hatay but is now supported throughout northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia. Along with Hanago Tepe, Marro and Özfirat found more Mount Ararat Amuq F Late Chalcolithic Age pottery at Gıcık mevkii, Çetenli, Sarigül, and Mollacem next to a Middle Bronze Age cemetery (Marro and Özfirat 2005). During the 1940s, archaeologist Ismail Kilic Kökten dated Gıkeli and Melekli sites near Iğdir to the Early Bronze Age. Another Early Bronze Age site, Sağlıksuyu/Arzap, is a mediumsize höyük or mound. As Marro and Özfirat explain, there is also the possibility that some of Mount Ararat’s Arzap/Sağlıksuyu ceramics represent a proto-Kuro-Araxes ceramic ware:
Pots found at Sağlıksuyu had loop and ladder motifs incised on the upper part and grooved on the lower part of the blackpolished pottery with a grey interior typical of Kuro-Araxes manufacture. The grey-black burnished ware of this region is known as the Lshashen-Metsamor culture:
A number of sherds of Kuro-Araxes manufacture (black or grey polished, contrasting interior/exterior, grit-tempered) seem much earlier than the EBA II–III wares, but their shapes is [sic] reminiscent of Late Chalcolithic more than EB I types (pl. V: 1–3): these are low-collared jars with a simple, slightly everted rim. Another type also rather alien to the KuroAraxes repertoire is a large-necked jar with a slightly flaring collar and a horizontal lug (pl. VII: 3). All these pots share the technical specificities of the so-called Early Transcaucasian ware, but not its typological characteristics. It is possible that such pottery [found at Sağlıksuyu] represents some kind of proto-Kuro-Araxian ware; a hypothesis which, if confirmed, would be very interesting as regards to the puzzle of the origins and development of the Early Bronze Transcaucasian culture. Apart from hypothetically proto-Kuro-Araxian pottery, Sağlıksuyu also yielded a handful of Middle Bronze and Early Iron Age sherds, which suggests that the site was occupied throughout a rather long timespan (2003: 391). Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
The typical pottery of the Ağrı and Iğdır region [Late Bronze/Early Iron] consists of grey-black burnished ware, well-attested throughout Transcaucasia and known as the Lshashen-Metsamor culture. In a much smaller amount do we find red-brown wares with a self-slip, brown wares with a red slip; cream, brown or grey wares with a cream slip. Bowls come either as deep vessels with a round body (pl. X: 1–2, 7) or with a carinated body and straight or inverted rims (pl. X: 3–11). Grooved triangles and parallel lines constitute a very common type of decoration. Neckless or short-necked jars usually come with a round body (pl. X: 12–14) whereas necked jars have an oval-shaped or a round body (pl. XI: 1–3). Body sherds belonging to jars are usually decorated with grooved triangles, notches and wavy lines (pl. XI: 4–7). Knobs are typical of this period; the examples we have at hand are all located around the rim of bowls... The Late Chalcolithic period, which is characterized by dense cultural interactions and exchange networks, is thus replaced by an Early Bronze age culture with clear Transcaucasian connections, which seemingly has been clamped over the area like a tight lid, limiting the impact of external influences, and this from the mid-4th. until the end of the 3rd. Millennium (Marro and Özfirat 2005: 328, 334). In regard to Urartu’s influence on the region in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, Urartean sites across the Araxes River in Armenia have been found at Karmir Blur, Erebuni (Yerevan), and Armavir. The original name the inhabitants of Urartu gave their country was Biaini and themselves Biainili, while the Assyrians called their country Urartu, which is from the same Hebrew root consonants “rrt” (Ge 8:4) from which 75
Arzap wall construction containing ceramics and cemetery bones. “Ararat” also originated. The Urartu capital city was located at Toprakkale and Tuşpa Fortress (Tushpa) in Van (Barnett 1963), 94 mi (150 km) southwest of Mount Ararat. Tushpa overlooks Lake Van, a large salt-water lake 5,640 ft (1,720 m) in elevation. Some believe that the Mount Ararat area may not have come under the kingdom of Urartu’s control until the ninth century BC under the leadership of Menua (810–786 BC) (Piotrovsky 1969: 65; Yamauchi 1982). The words “Biaini” and “Van” are not that far removed: several centuries of dialect pronunciations appear to have softened the “b” to a “v” and changed the diphthong “iai” to a short “a” sound. Marro and Özfirat found Urartean
Rex Geissler
rock tombs carved into a rocky hill overlooking the village of Büvetli, as well as elsewhere in the Mount Ararat region:
In spite of being part of the Urartu kingdom, this region yielded very little classical Urartean pottery or architecture. The most important Urartu site is the fortress of Karakoyunlu (Mağaralar Mevkii, I73/7), which we surveyed in 2002–2003 in the region of Iğdır. This site must be Minuahinili, the regional capital of a Urartean province that used to be called Luhiuni and was the capital city of Erikua, a small Early Iron age kingdom conquered by the Urartean King Minua. Apart from this large center, the Urartean cemetery of Melekli in the Iğdır plain, and the sites of Ziyaret Tepe (L73/4) and Çetenli in the Doğubayazıt plain, we did not find any site showing Urartean architectural characteristics. The presence of large basalt blocks in the far southern end of the plain at Çetenli shows that this site was an important Urartu center...It is interesting to note that classical red-burnished Urartu ware has only been found in regional centers or places located along major roads, which also show traces of occupation dating to the Late Bronze and the Early Iron age. In the same way, we collected Urartu pottery in the low kurgans located next to the Late Bronze age/Early Iron age and Urartean fortresses of Karakoyunlu. To conclude, we may say that apart from the large regional capital of Rex Geissler Karakoyunlu, which belongs to the kingdom Arzap ram’s-head gravestone, including the curled antlers of the ram’s of Urartu, and the sites of Çetenli and head and legs, along with a relief of a sword on the side. 76
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Dr. Vedat Keleş
Pottery catalog description summary listing archaeological diagnostics on ten selected sherds from Arzap. Ziyarettepe, no Urartu architecture is attested around Iğdır and Doğubayazıt: in these regions, both the architecture and the pottery maintain their regional character (2005: 332). Arzap/Sağlıksuyu Archaeological Site Survey The 2001 research began first in the area that is called by the old name Arzap, a few km west of the Doğubeyazıt-Iğdır highway, 12 mi from the Mount Ararat summit. The modern name for the Arzap region is Sağlıksuyu because of the mineralwater sources that are located west along the stream that flows north of the village. Arzap is mistakenly called Kazan by some, which is really a village on the south side of the prominent limestone butte south of Arzap. The Arzap area was separated into three segments: the village’s inner portion (Arzap 01), the area called the höyük (Arzap 02), and the higher elevated hilly area (Arzap 03). In the inner village, identified as Arzap 01, the remains of a wall approximately 66 feet (20 m) long and made of 4 layers of mixed stone and mud was discovered. When the wall was inspected, ceramic and bone fragments were noticeable within the wall. Also, the remains of an apse, part of a structure which the villagers consider to be a church, were noted. Unfortunately, since the time of the survey the wall has now been decimated by the villagers. Through the research done in the höyük area (Arzap 02) a few km west of the center of the village, two ram-shaped gravestones were identified. One of the gravestones was 4.6 ft (1.4 m) in length with a sword relief on one side. These gravestones are said to be customary for Central Asia (Borisenko and Khudyakov 1998: 51–53). The ram’s head stones typically belong to the Akkoyunlu State, centered in Diyarbikir during 1350–1502 AD, and the Karakoyunlu State (Karamağralı 1993: 18), located between Irbil and Nakhechivan7 and centered in Tabriz during 1380–1469 AD, which fought with Tamerlane. These types of gravestones are frequently found in the areas of Kars, Iğdır, Bitlis and Tunceli (Çay 1983: 34). These ram stones occasionally have an inscription along the bottom but none was immediately visible, although more research should be done on them. A number of the graves have been pillaged by the locals through illicit digging. Arzap Sample Pottery Sherds Beside the gravestones with the ram heads, a large number of Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
potsherds were found in the area. Some of the sherds found by the 2001 Mount Ararat Archaeological Survey in the area of Arzap/Sağlıksuyu were placed in the pottery catalog and numbered Catalog No. 1–8 (Kat. No. 1–8 in Turkish). The first of these belongs to the body of a vessel, Cat. No. 1. Because of the clay, color, firing, and burnishing characteristics of Cat. No. 1, they show characteristics of the Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age and Iron Age, similar to the pottery from the EB1 (first Bronze Age) found at the Çiğdemli Mound in Erzurum (Başçımkj 2000: 49; Karaosmanoğlu, Işıklı, and Can 2002: 347). Another important Early Bronze Age piece found in the area of Arzap 02 is the shiny red sample from Cat. No. 2. This rim belongs to a thick-walled, medium-sized pot. On this rim piece, the edge is made of a softly rounded passage, which has been cut straight across. The rim, which has been extended to the outside, transitions to the neck by means of a rounded piece. The characteristics of Cat. No. 2 are found in samples in Erzurum, Toprakkale (Başgelen and Özfırat 1996: 143–44), Stratum II of the Bulamaç Mound (Güneri, Erkmen, Gönültaş and Korucu 2002: 27–31), Stratum II of Sos Höyük (Sagona, Erkmen and Sagona 1998: 139 figs. 2–5/16), in samples from the surface survey and excavations at Elazığ (Russell 1980: 286 fig. 24; Sevin 1987: 5–6), in the museums of Kars (Kökten 1943), Erzurum, Van and Elazığ, in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, and in the Haluk Perk Collection in Istanbul (Derin 1994: 49–62; Belli 2003). For Cat. No. 3 of the 2001 Mount Ararat Survey, in a sample found in the same Sağlıksuyu area, and belonging to the base of a vessel, it can be observed that the clay was not processed well and is not very refined. This characteristic is typically encountered in the Late Iron Age (Korucu 2005: 40). Close similarities of Cat. No. 3 are seen in pottery found in Erzurum Toprakkale (Başgelen and Özfırat 1996: 146), the Sos Höyük Mound IIC (Sagona, Erkmen and Sagona 1999: 134), and the Iron Age Stratum B of the Bulamaç Mound (Güneri, Erkmen, Gönültaş, and Korucu 2003: 208). Another sample from Arzap 02 is the piece in Cat. No. 4, which belongs to the body of a largesize vessel. In this sample that has a protruding ribbon-shaped decoration, the changes of the outer layer of colors are darkish and blackish. A piece of pottery found in the Çakmak Village can be cited as an example of the Late Iron Age characteristics that are representative of this piece (Korucu 2005: 42). Another handmade piece found in the area of Arzap 02 is a dark brown lip piece that has an engraved stripe design on the 77
engraved stripe decorations of Cat. No. 6 found in the Middle Age city of Ani in Kars (Korucu 2005: 47 fig. 25/b). The last example found in Arzap 02 is a rim piece of a thin-walled vessel (Cat. No. 7). Similar pieces were frequently found in the surface surveys done in the Tepecik Village (Korucu 2005: 38 fig. 14/a), and around Erzurum and Kars (Karaomanoğlu, Işikli and Can 2002: 345–56 figs. 1–3). A good number of ceramics were also found during the research in the hilly area called Arzap 03, located on the south side of the butte as one travels toward Kazan, that could be a fortress area or some cist tombs, as some large slabs of stone are also present. Fortresses are typical found around the cemeteries of Mount Ararat. One of the many samples which most closely resemble Middle Age characteristics belongs to a thin-walled, mid-sized vessel that is bowl-shaped. It belongs to Cat. No. 8 with its darkish blackish outer coating. A piece similar to this sample has been found in the village of Çakmak and belongs to the body of a thin-walled, bowl-shaped vessel (Korucu 2005: 42 fig. 16/b). It was observed that the outer coating of this vessel was made in the same way. Beside the example from the village of Çakmak, samples showing close similarities to the pieces in Cat. No. 8 have been found during the surface surveys of Kars and Erzurum (Ceylan 2001: 165–79 fig. 1). The road that extends from Arzap 01 to Arzap 02 widens on the flank of this Dr. Vedat Keleş Dr. Vedat Keleş hill, and a few km from here turns south, Pottery catalog drawings showing Pottery catalog photo showing ten where ruins can be observed on both archaeological drawings (figures) on selected sherds from Arzap, Eli, and the sides of the road. There are probably eight selected sherds from Arzap. Ice Cave. both house foundations and graves transition from neck to body (Cat. No. 5). This sample with its among these remains. Pottery sherds collected systematically particular characteristics marks the earliest style of ceramics of from this area were cleaned and then documented via computer the Middle Ages (Arab Period). Pottery found in the Üçpınar for the pottery catalog. Large millstones from a flour mill were Village closely resembles Cat. No. 5. The edge of a rim piece found along the stream bank. found in this area, with its straight cut edge and its decoration, shows a close similarity to Cat. No. 5 (Korucu 2005: 48). Aside Hole Stones of Arzap from this example in the Üçpınar Village, other Middle Age pottery with the characteristics of Cat. No. 5 was found in the Another interesting archaeological feature of the Mount surface surveys around Erzurum (Karaosmanoğlu, Işıklı and Ararat region are the hole stones in the vicinity of Arzap. Some Can 2002: 345–56) and Kars (Ceylan 2000: 71–83), in the ruins have contended that the hole stones were originally drogue of the Middle Age city of Ani in Kars (Sinclair 1987: Vol. I, stones—flat Mediteranean anchors, typically 3 ft (1 m) or less 445; Karamağralı 1998: 37–42), in the Iron Age strata of the Sos in length—from Noah’s Ark itself (Fasold 1988: 319–25), but Höyük (Hopkins 2003: 84 fig. 40), and in the Iron Age strata of that claim should be completely rejected for the following and the Bulamaç Mound (Güneri 2002: 251). Another sample found numerous other reasons8, 9 (Snelling 1992). Across the stream in the area of Arzap 02 belongs to a thin-walled, mid-sized to the north of the flour mill stone are stones that bore cross pot, Cat. No. 6. This example bears close similarity with the reliefs (khachkars, as they are frequently called, where “khach” 78
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Arzap fortress or possible tombs with slabs and rocks surrounding them, overlooking the Mount Ararat plain. means cross and “kar” means stone). One of the cross stones had a pierced hole at the top edge of the stone. While there are more stones without holes, at least eight stones have been identified in the local vicinity with similar holes in the top of them. There is a well known standing hole stone next to the Sağlıksuyu (Arzap) village, situated looking east toward the horizon of Mount Ararat, while at least two other standing stones show signs of holes that have been broken off near the top of the stone. There are a number of other hole stones laying on the ground or being reused in various fashions. The stones are up to 10 ft (3 m) high and weigh 1,000 kg (about one ton each) to several thousand kg (several tons) (Snelling 1992). The holes on these pierced stones are typically 1.6–3.2 in (4–8 cm) in diameter and located 6–8 in (15–20 cm) below the top edge of the vertically standing stones. Many stones have a pointed or rounded shape near the top of the stone where the hole is located, while the bases of the stones tend to be flattened somewhat to help them stand erect. The surfaces of the inside of the holes are fairly clean and smooth as if they had been polished. Many of the stones have been knocked over and now lay horizontally or have been reused for other purposes, such as for building a wall, khachkars (cross stones), gravestones, building a church (according to the locals), tablets for relief drawings, etc. The surveyors found a similar hole stone at Toklucak southeast of Mount Ararat, and at least five other similar hole stones have been found at the Ahora Cemetery (near modern Yenidoğan) on the northeast slopes of Mount Ararat. The Arzap hole stones are likewise similar to the megalithic structure of Zorats Karer known as Carahunge, 93 mi (150 Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
km) east of Mount Ararat near the city of Sisian in the Syunik Province of Armenia (Khnkikian 1984; Herouni 2004). An ancient astronomical observatory (archaeoastronomy) consisting of 223 stones was built at Carahunge in honor of the sun god “Ar” (Herouni 2004). The Carahunge Monument surrounds a Bronze Age cemetery (Lisitsian 1938). Other old astronomical observatories in the region include Metsamor, just north of Mount Ararat and Iğdir, across the border in Armenia (Avetisyan 2000); Khndzoresk, 19 mi (30 km) from Goris; and locations in the Vardeniss volcanic ridge, Lake Sevan, Agarak (at the foot of Mount Aragats), and Syunic (Toumanian and Petrosian 1970). Pictograms at Metsamor and the Geghama Lehr record more and more sophisticated celestial iconography, including the signs of the zodiac. Using astronomy, these ancient peoples developed a calendar based upon 365 days, one of the first compasses, and envisioned the shape of the world as round. The appearance of the signs of the zodiac occurred in this region before the Hittite and Babylonian kingdoms, which were previously credited with developing astronomy. Metsamor also contains a series of stone platforms which were reported in 1967 to be part of an astronomical instrument dating to 2800 BC. The observatory at Metsamor is oriented towards the star Sirius, the brightest star in the northern sky. Numerous carvings show the locations of stars in the night sky, and one is a compass pointed due east. Other inscriptions include the signs for Aries, Leo, Capricorn and Taurus. Other megalithic astronomical monuments outside of the Mount Ararat region are found throughout Great Britain and Europe, such as at Holestone Road in Northern Ireland.10 Typical 79
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Arzap standing hole stone #1, front side, with Mount Ararat directly in the background horizon. (L-R) Peter Aletter, Dr. Vedat Keleş, Dr. David Livingston, Bob Stuplich, Mihmandar (Guide) Orhan Özçalik, Julie Geissler and a Sağlıksuyu villager. stone alignments for these monuments directly point at sites such as a mountain peak (consider the proximity and direct line of sight of Mount Ararat from Arzap) or a notch in a skyline, where the sun or moon or a first magnitude star would rise or crest at certain times during its nighttime path. Hole Stones of Carahunge As mentioned above, the closest and most striking resemblance to the Arzap hole stones is found at Carahunge (www.carahunge. com), which is made up of 223 similar vertically-standing basalt stones, of which 84 stones have holes at the top edge measuring 1.6–2.0 in (4–5 cm) in diameter. They point in different directions with such precision that they could be used for observing celestial events even today. The position of the rocks and the holes on each stone lead scholars to believe that Carahunge served as an astronomical observatory, where solar and lunar eclipses were predicted and a calendar was created. Professor G.S. Hawkins, a top specialist in megalithic monuments including Stonehenge (Hawkins and White 1965; Hawkins 1974), agrees that Carahunge is an ancient astronomical observatory (Hawkins and Herouni 1999).11 The primary researcher of Carahunge, Dr. Paris Herouni,12 explains the details of the stones with holes at the megalithic monument in the following summary: 80
Six expeditions took place on the equinox and solstice days in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2001. The detailed topographic map of the monument as well as the latitude, longitude, magnetic deviation of place, angular heights of ridges on the horizon, azimuth and elevation angles of the holes in stones and other features were measured. The Catalogue of 223 stones with their sizes along with many observations and video films of the moments of Sun and Moon rising and setting were completed. The heights of the stones range from 0.5 m to 3 m [1.6 to10 ft] (above ground) and weigh up to 8.5 tons. The basalt (andesite) stones are covered with masses of many colors of moss and lichen eroded by time. Many single stones with holes or groups of 2–3 stones are astronomical instruments for observations of the Sun, Moon and stars. The holes made in these massive stones result in highly stable and accurate pointing devices. The weight and hardness of the stone make it a very reliable instrument for observing celestial objects over many centuries. The long time stability of these stone astronomical instruments is rather remarkable. Most of the holes are directed at different points on the real horizon but some holes point above the horizon and look up to the sky. Holes had been made by instruments having obsidian centers put in fired clay. The direction of the hole in Stone No. 62 to the top of Stone No. 63 makes the angle of about 39.5º apropos of vertical, i.e. equal to the latitude of Carahunge itself! Thus, Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
using this Instrument, the Carahunge astronomers measured the geographical latitude of this location (within 30˝ or 2 sec accuracy for the Sun and Moon and 51˝ or 3.4 sec accuracy for stars and planet observations). Inside the Great Pyramid, a shaft going from the queen’s chamber is directed to the Sirius culmination point (at that time c. 2500 BC) and its inclination angle is 39.5º, which again is the latitude of Carahunge. This can be so only at latitude 30º where the Great Pyramid was built. Similarly, in Stonehenge the inclination angle of the Sun at equinox days’ noon is also equal to about 39.5º, which corresponds to the latitude of Carahunge. This can only be so at latitude 51º where Stonehenge was built. I presumed that this accuracy could be increased more than 50 times if it were observed through a pipe (made, for example, from bamboo or rush having an inside diameter of about 10 mm [0.4 in]) interposed and fixed in the hole by means of clay. If for a particular moment, such as Sunrise, it is necessary to be corrected, this can be done at that moment while the clay is still wet. The next day when the clay hardens it can be removed from the hole for use again for the same
event in future years. Ancient astronomers, knowing the azimuth of the sunrise point in the solstice days and latitude, would have discovered the declination of Sun in culmination days, i.e. the Ecliptic inclination (the angle of Earth axis incline).13 I took this into account and included only stones with the hole azimuth shifts (ΔAz) of which are less than 15°. At Carahunge, then we have 17 stones for Sun including Sunrise Stones for Summer solstice, Sunrise Stones for Winter solstice, Sunrise and Sunset Stones for Spring and Autumn equinox days, 14 stones for Moonrises, 31 Star Stones for tracking risings and settings of main stars, 3 stones to show the latitude of the location, 39.5º, and 2 stones for a teacher and student. More research needs to be done in regard to the planets as we only had time to focus on the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Five planets were known in the old times (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The Carahunge Monument had primary functions as a Temple of AR (Sun in Armenian and main god of old Armenia), as a large observatory, and as a university for teaching calendar and astronomical events. The old Armenian
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Arzap hole stone photo collage, showing smoothed holes toward the top edge for easier viewing and observations, just like at the Carahunge Astronomical Observatory. Bottom left hole stone is at Toklucak, but it was photographed from the wrong viewing side. If the photo were taken from the opposite side of the hole stone, the view would look upward to the heavens or the Toklucak horizon. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
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Ornate Eli cross stones of Armenian construction, probably from the Byzantine period through Bagratide Kingdom times. song of astronomers comes to mind, “The Sun, the Sun come, come to my stone top come. Clouds, clouds go away to make for Sun clear way.” In Carahunge, indeed, there is also a three-stone astronomical instrument where the Sun comes every equinox midday to the top of the main stone (Herouni 2004). The hole stones next to Mount Ararat in the area of Sağlıksuyu/ Arzap are similar to those of Carahunge in regard to composition, height, weight, size of the holes, pointed or rounded shape of the tops for many of the stones, location of the holes toward the top edge, visible mountain peaks or horizon, etc. The placing of the 82
holes toward the top edges indicates the hole creator’s desire for the hole to be easily accessible for a standing person, which again points to an observational purpose for “epiphany” events such as the sun rising, moon rising, star rising or cresting, etc. As well, it should be highly noted that the start of the location name Arzap (“Ar”) indicates that the location’s standing hole stones had a direct link to its function as a dedication or worship center for the regional sun god “AR.” This again points to the original function of an astronomical megalithic monument, similar in origin to the worship of the sun god “AR” at the ancient Garni Temple, only 36 mi (58 km) northeast of Mount Ararat, as well Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
as Carahunge (Herouni 2004). One may also note the numerous other names in the region that begin with “Ar,” such as Ararat, Araxes/Aras River, Arsanias (the old name of the Murat River that begins near Mount Ararat), Armenia, etc. Thus, it is possible to surmise that the hole stones were originally part of an astronomical calendar monument similar to other megaliths, especially Carahunge, with the khachkar cross reliefs probably being added at a much later time during the Byzantine /Armenian Christian period. Along with the added cross reliefs, some of the hole stones have had their tops, including the holes, broken off, similar to the way that many statues in the Near East have had their heads lopped off. This probably purposeful destruction may mean that some of the later inhabitants objected to the use of the holes for astronomical purposes, of which the Old Testament scriptures Is 47:13 and 2 Ki 23:5 provide examples. In Is 47:13, the prophet Isaiah talks specifically about people similar to those who created the astronomical calendar observatories like Carahunge, Arzap, and other monuments, “Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.” In a similar fashion, but with more emphasis on the destruction of those who focused on the celestial heavens, 2 Kings 23:4–5 discusses the removal and destruction of “all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts” and “those who
burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.” The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. He did away with the pagan priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts. When some of the locals became Christians during the Byzantine period, many of these pagan steles would have been “Christianized” with inscriptions and cross symbols, and others destroyed based upon the Scriptures above. This is why we surmise that many of them were simply reused at a later time period as gravestones found in and around cemeteries. The standing hole stones were special stones, first for the original peoples and then for the later peoples as well, just for completely different purposes. One group marked calendar events by the hole stones, and the other group marked graves for loved ones by the hole stones. Unfortunately, unlike at the remote site of Carahunge,
Photo of Eli cyclopean wall in the old village fortress area with Rex Geissler, who is 6 ft 4 in (2 m) tall. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Julie Geissler
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Old village area of Eli, with Mount Ararat in the background. most of the Arzap hole stones have been moved, knocked down, broken, or reused, preventing the immediate ability to determine their exact original locations or the precise hole views of the horizons and heavens at that time. For this reason, it is difficult to date the Arzap monumental stones, although the Carahunge stones also surround a Bronze Age cemetery and, based upon the principal star movements and positions of the hole stones, Herouni believes that the Carahunge Observatory was started 5,500 years ago during the Late Chalcolithic or possibly earlier. More study and documentation should be completed on the Arzap, Ahora, and Toklucak hole stones, as well as any others that are documented in the future.
with ornate crosses etched on them. Pottery pieces were also found in the Eli area. One of the samples that displays the same characteristics as the light brown pottery of Cat. No. 9 is a piece found in the well-preserved Middle Age (possibly the Bagratide Kingdom in the tenth century) antique city of Ani, east of the Ocaklı Village. The piece belongs to the rim portion of a thinwalled bowl-shaped type vessel (Korucu 2005: 47 fig. 25/c).
Eli Archaeological Survey Another area where surveys were taken during the 2001 Mount Ararat Surface Survey was the village of Eli, at an elevation of 7,250 ft (2,200 m) on Mount Ararat. In the Eli area, there are many volcanic rock cyclopean boundary walls or fortresses. It is difficult to tell the dates of the cyclopean walls for certain without diagnostic pottery or other dating methods. A rock with a manmade depression in the fortress area could have been used for a gatepost or a grinding stone. Discoveries were made of a large number of dwellings made of coarse stone walls and their respective cisterns. There were also a number of large stones (probably grave markers, as pillaged holes were nearby) 84
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Nearly complete pottery specimen from the Middle Ages found in the Ice Cave. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Ice Cave Archaeological Survey
Urartian Tomb Archaeological Survey
Another surface survey area of 2001 was the Ice Cave in the lava flow areas south of the Eli Village. The snows that melt in May, June and July drip into this cave and, when the temperature solidifies the waters, they form ice crystals in interesting shapes and colors. In the research done at the Ice Cave, a small piece of pottery was found that has a broken rim but is fully preserved otherwise (Cat. No. 10). This handmade piece, 3.1 in (8 cm) in diameter and 3.7 in (9.5 cm) in height, reflects the characteristics of Middle Age ceramics in color, production technique and clay characteristics. Similar pieces to the sample in Cat. No. 10 can be seen in the Middle Age pottery found in the villages of Üçpınar (Korucu 2005: 48–50) and Yalınçayır (Korucu 2005: 48). The natives stated that there were more ruins and reliefs among the lava flows further up Mount Ararat, but after hiking into the lava for an hour and not knowing where exactly the villagers were leading them, the researchers felt that it was better to return.
After visiting İshak Paşa Sarayı (Palace), the surveys located a rock chamber tomb close by, next to Beyazıt Castle in the rocky hill area, which contains arches and various passages. The rock chamber tomb was probably from one of the following empires: Urartu (858–585 BC and overthrown by the Medes); Media (728–559 BC); or Achaemenid Persian (550–330 BC under Cyrus the Great, Darius and Xerxes). The location of the reliefs, some 18–27 ft (6–9 m) up on a cliff, shows the importance of the one entombed there and the difficulty that the sculptor must have had in creating it. Reliefs are located to the left, right and above the entrance to the rock chamber tomb. The relief to the right is the dominant figure, the first in the procession, and is probably the one whose body was inside the tomb. He appears to be a local or provincial king. The king is wearing a striated or braided helmet/headdress, a garment like a robe or dress, a ribbon across the top of his shoes near the ankle, and carries a staff extending down to his feet. With his striated helmet, the king happens to resemble some of the Hittite reliefs from Alacahöyük that are located in the Anatolian
Bob Stuplich
Surveying the lava flows near the Ice Cave for other ruins and reliefs. (L-R) Local villager, Mihmandar (Guide) Orhan Özçalik and Survey Director Rex Geissler. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
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Beyazıt Castle ruins with Urartian-type rock chamber tomb that can be seen as the square opening above and slightly left of the mosque minaret. Photo taken from the İshak Paşa Sarayı. Museum of Ankara, or Median reliefs at the Achaemenid capital of Persepolis. Urartian relief headdresses traditionally have a more rectangular or boxy look, such as those at Van Museum. This king relief may have been simply an outlying regional variant from the Urartean reliefs that are known. The figure to the left, possibly a priest or the king’s mate, is holding up a goat or mythological animal in the center relief to the god as a sacrifice for the king. The reliefs may be Urartean
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because there are other Urartean remains found in the region including cemeteries and ceramics, even close by at the bottom of the hill in the area named Sarigül. Durupınar and Nasar Archaeological Survey Later, the Durupınar formation (named after Captain Ilhan Durupınar, who found it in 1959 on some NATO aerial survey
John Morris
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Urartian-type rock chamber Urartian-type rock chamber tomb with all Urartian-type rock chamber tomb tomb and reliefs on a Beyazıt three reliefs discernable. with King relief close-up. cliff. 86
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Great Ararat and Little Ararat with marshy swamp ground looking northeast from Durupınar. Photo taken in May 2006. photos) above Telçeker and near Uzengeli village was surveyed. Surveys were taken on and around the formation, as well as past Nasar village up the hills toward the Iranian border. Other than a few depressions that the local populace termed graves, neither archaeological traces of early settlements nor ceramics were encountered in the area around Durupınar and Nasar. In 1985, Atatürk University Archaeologist Professor Dr. Mehmet Karaosmanoğlu also surveyed the same area and found no ceramics. Due to the lack of archaeological materials, questions have arisen as to the actual nature of the Durupınar site next to Uzengeli. Many view it simply as a geologic formation rather than an archaeological formation (Snelling 1992; Collins and Fasold 1996; Avci 2005). In recent years the shape of the formation has also been changing due to natural erosion down the hill. From Durupınar, the expedition headed south to visit the Meteor Crater on the Iranian border. This meteorite crater, an interesting astronomical/geological phenomenon, was created in 1910 about 1.2 mi (2 km) north of the Doğubeyazıt-Iran highway. The crater, with its diameter of 115 ft (35 m), is one of the larger extant meteorite craters on Earth.14 Geological Surveys
hillside extending in a southeastern direction directly behind the Simer Hotel along the Doğubeyazıt-Gürbulak highway, across the valley from Great Ararat and Little Ararat. The discovery of sea fossils in the limestone and sandstone sediments of this region is of importance, in that it shows that an area of some elevation—5,192 ft (1,583 m)—was under water at one time, indicating Flood activity where the limestone sediments were deposited. The limestones and sandstones throughout the Mount Ararat region have numerous fossil deposits (Abich 1851). The survey team went on to visit the Tuzluca salt mines. Clifford Burdick, a geologist who studied the region from 1966 to 1974, suggested of the Tuzluca area that Flood evidence may be shown by the 400 ft (122 m) intermixed layer of salt crystals at the mines of Tuzluca where the expedition retrieved salt samples: The salt was laid down in layers exactly as the limestone and sandstone and shale were, interbedded with thin layers of silt and dust. After the salt was precipitated, the wind evidently blew dust over the salt layer, and then a stronger gale may have caused a tidal wave to bring in a fresh flooding of the basin. Then, as the winds died down, evaporating water again precipitated a new layer of salt. I counted as many as fifteen to twenty such layers in one place (1967).
One of the most interesting finds during the 2001 Mount Ararat Surface Survey were the numerous sea fossils found on the Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
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The Durupinar site is changing shape year after year with more rain and snow meltwater coming down the hill, which causes natural erosion to the site and vicinity around it. Diyadin Geysers Geological Survey The Diyadin geysers and hot springs were studied on the return route from Mount Ararat to Atatürk University in Erzurum, 34 mi (54 km) away from the provincial capital of Ağrı. The expedition viewed the limestone cliffs of the Murat River, which was named the Arsanias River in antiquity. The Murat River begins directly west of Mount Ararat and Tendürek Dagı, and is a principal source of the Euphrates River. The expedition stopped at the Diyadin limestone geysers and hot springs that may be evidence of recent Flood and lava activity where the ground water in the limestone sediments contacts the molten lava below it, causing it to heat up and spill out in geysers and hot springs (Burdick 1967). Toklucak Archaeological Survey The last area researched during the 2001 Mount Ararat Archaeological Survey was the Toklucak rock cliff dwellings. The group explored the area where the labyrinths of the rock caverns near the village of Toklucak were found. The hill rising inside the village is called “Fortress Hill” and is 492 ft (150 m) in height (Koçhan and Başaran 1986: 245). The upper part of the hill consists of a set of straight vertical rocks (Koçhan and Başaran 1986: 245). On the southern slope of the rocks, the villagers have discovered a graveyard as a result of their illegal digging. Among the graves, sepulchers from the Christian 88
Byzantine period can be found. The crosses engraved in the rocks on the east and west slopes of the hill can be seen as indicating a Christian settlement here. In this area deep narrow channels and corridors have been hewn into the rocks. There are rock labyrinths similar to those at Toklucak, even if only remotely so, in Urartian settlements (Koçhan and Başaran 1986: 245). The stairs on the southern slope of the Van Fortress, which are referred to as “One Thousand Stairs” (Burney 1957: 41) by the locals, are similar in their construction to the rock corridors of Toklucak. In Toprakkale there is a winding path with stairs hewn into the rock. In the way this path winds downwards, it very much resembles the Toklucak corridors. It has been indicated that the corridors of Toprakkale and Van were used to descend to the springs (Erzen 1976: 167, 1980: 47). Looking at the corridors of Toklucak in this way, we can propose that they were used to descend to the water supply. The modern-day villagers also stated that the corridors were used to descend to the springs. Local Traditions Around Mount Ararat While it is difficult to trace the dates in antiquity of Flood traditions around Mount Ararat, there are a number of such traditions to be considered (Parrot 1845; Bryce 1877). Along with the alleged eyewitness testimonies (Corbin 1999), the Echmiadzin monastery claims a relic that is said to be a piece of Noah’s Ark, which is reddish-brown petrified wood measuring Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Rex Geissler
The Meteor Crater on the Iranian border with Great Ararat and Little Ararat in the background, as well as parasite volcanic cones visible between the two large volcanoes. about 12 in by 9 in (30.5 by 23 cm) and about 1 in (2.5 cm) thick. The relic does appear to be an organic material with noticeable striations in it. The missing portion of the petrified wood on the lower left was broken off and given as a gift in the 18th century to the Russian Orthodox Queen Catherine the Great (sovereign of Russia from 1763 until her death in 1796). The name Echmiadzin itself means “those who descended.” Noah’s wife’s tomb is said to be at Marand, the Marunda of Ptolemy (meaning “the mother is there”). The eastern district of Ararat, named Arnoiodn, means “at Noah’s foot.” The town name Kargakonmaz means “the raven won’t land.” The town named Temanin means “the eight.” The name Ahora (Arghuri) means “he planted the willow (or vine),” which is where Noah allegedly planted a vineyard and where a glacier-fed stream continues down the mountain to the fertile Aras River Valley. One of the meanings of the town name Nakhechivan is “the place of descent” (Corbin 1999). 2001 Mount Ararat Survey Summary and Future Plans Finally, the pottery discoveries, tombs and graves, rock dwellings and corridors found by the 2001 Mount Ararat Archaeological Surface Survey and other pre-classical surveys in the same region clearly manifest that Mount Ararat and its surrounding area have seen uninterrupted settlement by various cultures from at least the Late Chalcolithic to modern times. Estimates of the time periods of these Chalcolithic sites Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
include the Amuq E/Early Amuq F of the early to middle fourth millennium BC (Marro and Özfirat 2003), which is obviously close to the timeframe of the Flood. Archaeological evidence has been found around Mount Ararat for the Late Chalcolithic, Early/Middle/Late Bronze Ages, Iron Age, Urartian Kingdom, Byzantine/Armenian Christian Period, Bagratide Kingdom, Arab Period, Akkoyunlu State/Karakoyunlu State, and the Ottoman Period. At this date, ancient textual evidence is lacking from the region around Mount Ararat. Particularly for the time periods until Urartu and its cuneiform writing, there is no known textual evidence. This emphasizes the need for more archaeological research in the numerous cemeteries on the slopes of Mount Ararat that are typically flanked by fortresses, as well as along the Aras River Valley. Atatürk University in Erzurum and ArcImaging have already signed and notarized contracts to continue with more surveys of the region. In future archaeological surveys, plans are being made to focus on the Mount Ararat Chalcolithic sites and Early Bronze Age sites (dated around 3400–2200 BC), including Iğdir and Ağrı Province höyüks (Kuftin 1944; Barnett 1963). In addition, plans are being made to study the ruins and caves at Korhan Pasture, Korhan Castle, Ahora Cemetery and Ahora Valley, as well as performing a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the Mount Ararat ice cap.
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Rex Geissler
Fossil sand dollars and marine animals or plants in limestone or sandstone sediments of the Ararat Valley plain. Rex Geissler
An inside view of the Meteor Crater on the Iranian border, with the sun providing the lighting. Great Ararat and little Ararat in the background.
Rex Geissler
Detailed view of the salt in the Tuzluca salt layer. 90
Bill Crouse
Petrified wood relic that Armenian bishops at Echmiadzin claim was a portion of Noah’s Ark. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Tuzluca salt layer along the Aras (Araxes) River Valley.
Rex Geissler
Rex Geissler
Looking up the valley to the Toklucak rock cliff dwellings. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
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Rex Geissler
Diyadin Geyser shooting hot limestone-based water into the air, with the background showing the highlands’ mountains and the Murat River, which is a principle source of the Euphrates River.
Rex Geissler
Diyadin Geyser spitting hot limestone-based water into the air, with a hot spring in the background. 92
Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
Rex Geissler
Mount Ararat survey team checking in the pottery and finds to Atatürk University Archaeology Department in Erzurum for storage by the Turkish Ministry of Culture at Erzurum Museum. (L-R) Dr. Vedat Keleş, Professor Dr. Cevat Başaran, Rex Geissler and Peter Aletter.
Notes In Turkish, Mount Ararat is named Ağrı Dagı meaning “Painful Mountain,” which those who attempt to climb it understand very well. 2 Due to the nature of the Turkish language and character set, Mount Judi is spelled Mount Cudi although the pronunciation is the same with a “j” sound as in “June.” 3 While Great Ararat (Büyük Ağrı Dagı) and Little Ararat (Küçük Ağrı Dagı) are surrounded by lower elevations, making them “stick out” from the surrounding terrain, and their weight may have contributed to the plain’s sinking, the two mountains are actually part of a volcanic chain that extends from the northwest to the southeast and is named in the Turkish plural version, “Ağrı Dagılar.” There is also a chain of volcanos that extend southwest to northeast in a line along the north part of Lake Van and further, including Nemrut Dagı, Süphan Dagı, Girekol, Tendürek Dagı, and Ağrı Dagı (Mount Ararat). These volcanoes are described as basaltic and/or andesitic, with obsidian in some locations like Meydan Mevkii. The volcano chain cuts across a structural pattern in which Permian overlies Paleozoic metamorphics south of Lake Van, but Cretaceous and later rocks overlie metamorphics of unknown age and on Ararat, Devonian and Permian sediments with the Upper Cretaceous includes ophiolites (Altinli 1964). The Ararat region is considered to include overthrusting and crustal thickening marked by shallow earthquakes without subduction (McKenzie 1972) with lavas predominantly being hypersthene andesite (Blumenthal 1958:182–86). 4 The archaeological surface survey methodology was developed with the assistance of Dr. David Livingston of the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR), Professor Dr. David Merling of Andrews University, and Dr. Bryant Wood of ABR. 5 Greater Mount Ararat is bisected by the border of two Turkish Provinces, Ağrı Province whose southern border is shared with the international border of Iran and Iğdır Province whose northern border is shared with the international border of Armenia. Turkish federal permission for archaeological research was granted in 2001 for the Ağrı Province, including the ice cap region, but not for the Iğdır Province, which includes the Korhan Pasture and the Ahora Valley. 1
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A cursory look at the geographical boundaries of the nations surrounding Mt. Ararat clearly shows the challenges confronting the archaeological researcher. First, the archaeological sites are spread throughout the provinces of four separate nations, Turkey, Azerbaijan/Nakhechivan, Iran, and Armenia, preventing a homogenous study of the sites in territories, as it would be nearly impossible to coordinate permission in multiple nations at the same time. Second, as with other areas of Near East archaeological literature, the languages that detail the known archaeological sites in the region surrounding Mt. Ararat are difficult to correlate homogeneously, as they are in eight different languages, including Turkish, Azerbaijani (also called Azeri), Persian (also called Farsi), Russian, Armenian, French, German and English. Third, the borders for some of the nations are not open, preventing even the possibility of crossing directly into the other nation to communicate with authorities and archaeologists, let alone working through the archaeological procedures at the federal, provincial, and local levels in order to conduct legal research. 7 There have been numerous spellings for the province and town of Azerbaijani Nakhechivan that may cause the reader some angst. They include Nakhechivan, Nakhchivan, Naxçivan, etc. but they all refer to the same town and region southeast of Mount Ararat along the Aras (Araxes) River. 8 Why are there hole stone anchors not only at Arzap but also at Toklucak, Ahora, Carahunge, etc.? Did Noah take hundreds of anchors along with him to drop in various locations during the Flood? Why would the Ark need anchors to begin with during the Flood? The Bible never mentions the Ark needing anchor stones, or Noah being told to procure stones for anchors. Without any navigational abilities, when the Ark floated over Arzap, why would Noah drop the anchors when he could not steer the Ark and it would not land for another 13 mi (20 km)? How would a single rope hold such an anchor stone of several tons in weight for months in a salty sea, without the rope wearing and breaking along the edges of the stone’s hole due to the wave action of the water and the weathering of the rope in the elements, resulting in the rope dropping the stone anchor to the depths of the Flood before ever arriving anywhere near Arzap, let alone multiple ropes tied to multiple anchor stones? How would such an unbelievably strong rope be constructed or woven at the time of the Flood? How would the eight 6
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Bibliography people on board (Ge 6-8) cut all the anchor stone ropes at the same time, to drop them on the same location at Arzap, when the Ark was floating around without navigational abilities? Lastly, there is no evidence connecting the hole stones with the Ark whatsoever, or even that a rope was ever even put through the holes. 9 Dr. David Merling of Andrews University suggested in his paper on Durupınar and the Hole Stones of Arzap that there is another scientific way to determine whether these standing hole stones were originally anchors or local megalithic observation monuments, or at least to determine where the stones originated: Chemical and isotopic analyses and mineralogical tests could determine the origin of the stone from which they were carved, or they could say whether or not they are unique to the area they are found today. If these stones were crafted by Noah instead of people indigenous to this region, one would expect that the stone anchors would be composed of rock similar to where the Ark started from, not where it stopped. All of the hole stones appear to be made of basalt (Crouse 1988), a stone common to volcanic regions. Not only do all of the hole stones appear to be made of basalt, but the other stones at the site without holes appear to be made of the same composition. Since the entire region of the Tendurek mountains and Mount Ararat is volcanic, basalt is common to this area. Since the hole stones are made of a rock commonly found around Mount Ararat, the most likely conclusion is that these stones originated in this region, and the holes were created by the local people rather than by the family who built and rode on the Ark during the Flood. 10 Here is a list of other places with astronomical megalith monuments: England (Avebury, Stonehenge, Wayland’s Smithy, Kents Cavern), Wales, Scotland (Clava Cairns), Ireland (Newgrange, Knowth, Tara), Germany (Externsteine, Nebra, Gollenstein, Felsenmeer), Benelux (Weris), France (Carnac, Lascaux, Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc), Italy (La Spezia), Malta temples (Tarxien, Hypogeum),
Bibliography Abich, O.W. Herman von 1851 Hauteurs absolues du systèm de l’Ararat et des pays envionnants. Bulletin de la Société de Géographie 1: 66–73. Altinli, I. Enver 1964 Explanatory Text of the Geological Map of Turkey: Van: 41–90. Ankara: Mineral Exploration and Research Institute. Amiran, Ruth 1965 Yanik Tepe, Shengavit, and the Khirbet Kerak Ware. Anatolian Studies 15: 165–67. Atalay, �brahim 1982 Türkiye Jeomorfolojisine Giri�. Izmir: Ege. Üniv. Sosyal Bilimler Fak. Yay. Avci, Murat 2005 The Formation and Mechanisms of the Great Telçeker Earthflow Which Also Crept Noah’s Ark at Mount Ararat, Eastern Turkey. Mount Ararat and Noah’s Ark Symposium. Dogubeyazit, Turkey. Avetisyan, P.; Hellwag, U.; Kroll S.; and Melkonyan, S. 2000 Survey in Southern Armenia. Munich: Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie, University of Munich. Bailey, Lloyd R. 1989 Noah: The Person and the Story in History and Tradition. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. Ballard, Robert D. 2001 Deep Black Sea. National Geographic, May: 52–69. Barnett, Richard D. 1963 The Urartian Cemetery at Igdyr. Anatolian Studies 13: 153–98. Ba�çmkj, E. 2000 Çi�demli Höyük. Erzurum Atatürk Üniversitesi Fen—Edebiyat Fakültesi Yaynlanmam� Lisans Tezi. 49. 2005 Çi�demli Höyük. Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Yaynlanmam�. Yüksek Lisans Tezi. Erzurum. Ba�gelen, Nezih, and Özfirat, Aynur 1996 Erzurum’da Bir Demir Ça� Merkezi, Topakkale. Anadolu Ara�trmalar 14: 143–59. Bell, Gertrude 1911 Amurath to Amurath. London: William Heinemann. Belli, Oktay 1986 The Capital of Urartu: Van, Eastern Anatolia. Istanbul: NET Turistik Yayýnlar. 1998 Anzaf Kaleleri ve Urartu Tanrlar. Galatasaray, Istanbul: Arkeoloji 94 ve Sanat Yaynlar. 2003 Excavations at Van—Lower and Upper Anzaf Urartian Fortresses:
Abich, O.W. Herman von and 1851 Scandinavia (Tanum) (Thom 1971;de Kaulins an orientation Hauteurs absolues du systèm l’Ararat2003). et des From pays envionnants. analysis of Bulletin all the surveyed megalithic sites that Thom found, as de la Société de Géographie 1: Alexander 66–73. did G.S.I.Hawkins Altinli, Enver at Stonehenge, stones were accurately aligned in too many incidences to be accidental. ThomMap discovered megalithic stones 1964 Explanatory Text ofWhenever the Geological of Turkey: Van: 41–90. aligned, he Ankara: found they had been set up with precisionInstitute. accuracy (the stones at Mineral Exploration and Research Callanish were within one tenth of one degree, and on Avebury the accuracy Amiran, Ruth 1965 Yanik Tepe, Shengavit, and the Khirbet Kerak Ware. Anatolian approached 1 in 1000). 11 15: 165–67. Professor Studies G. S. Hawkins wrote in May 18 and Jun 28, 1999 letters to Dr. Atalay, �brahim Herouni, 1982 Türkiye Jeomorfolojisine Giri�. Izmir: Ege. Üniv. Sosyal Bilimler Yay. with the careful work you have done...The menhir-lined I am mostFak. impressed Avci, Murat Avenue leading from the stone circle (of Carahunge, P.H.) is similar to the 2005 atThe Formationand andthe Mechanisms of the Great Telçeker Avenue Stonehenge, Avenue at Callanish. The formerEarthflow points to the Which Also and Crept Ark Mount Ararat, Eastern Turkey. midsummer sunrise, theNoah’s latter to theat extreme point of the setting of the Mount and Noah’s Ark Symposium. Dogubeyazit, Turkey. moon. Both dateArarat to the third millennium B.C. At Carahunge, the arrangement Avetisyan, Hellwag, Kroll S.; and Melkonyan, is similar.P.; The Avenue U.; from the stone circle points to S. the extreme northerly 2000 Survey in Southern Armenia. Munich: Institut für Vorderasiatische rising of the moon in the third millennium B.C. As with Stonehenge and Archäologie, University of Munich. Callanish, the Avenue is the most distinctive architectural feature of the Bailey, Lloyd R. monument. 1989 Noah: The Person and the Story in History and Tradition.
Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. Dr. Paris Herouni Ballard, Robert D. has 21 patents, 346 published scientific works, is the President Founder Radiophysics Research Institute in Yerevan and the 2001 and Deep Black of Sea. National Geographic, May: 52–69. Head of “Antenna chair in the State Engineering University, Yerevan. Barnett, Richard Systems” D. Dr. 1963 HerouniThe hasUrartian also wonCemetery the following awards: Lomonosov’s Gold Medal of at Igdyr. Anatolian Studies 13: 153–98. IAELPS; Medal of France Foreign Ministry; Antenna Prize of IEEBa�çmkj,Bronze E. URSI (GB) Çi�demli for the work “TheErzurum First Radio-Optical Telescope”; and State Prize of Höyük. Atatürk Üniversitesi Fen—Edebiyat 2000 USSR in theFakültesi field of Science. Yaynlanmam� Lisans Tezi. 49. 13 This angleÇi�demli (which isHöyük. now equal to 23.44º) 7000 years was equal to about 2005 Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyalago Bilimler Enstitüsü Yaynlanmam�. Yüksek Lisansand Tezi. Erzurum. 30º (so at that time it was colder in winter hotter in summer than now). 14 Ba�gelen, Nezih, andis Özfirat, Aynur Interestingly, there another large meteorite crater near the Korhan Pasture Bir Demir Ça�Ararat. Merkezi, Topakkale. Anadolu that 1996 is on theErzurum’da northwest side of Mount Ara�trmalar 14: 143–59. Bell, Gertrude 1911 Amurath to Amurath. London: William Heinemann. Belli, Oktay 1986 The Capital of Urartu: Van, Eastern Anatolia. Istanbul: NET Turistik Yayýnlar. 1998 Anzaf Kaleleri ve Urartu Tanrlar. Galatasaray, Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yaynlar. 2003 Excavations at Van—Lower and Upper Anzaf Urartian Fortresses: An Intermediatery Evaluation (1991–2002). Colloquium Anatolicum 2: 1–49. Anadolu Tanrçalar. Istanbul: Istanbul University. Bender, Friedrich 1956 Down the Tigris on a Raft. Kosmos 52/4: 149–55. 4th Edition. Stuttgart, Germany. 2006 Wood Remains from the “Landing Site of Noah's Ark” Nearly 6500 Years Old. Bible and Spade 19: 112–13. Blumenthal, M. M. 1958 Der Vulkan Ararat und die Berge seiner Sedimentumrandung. Review Faculty Sc University of Istanbul. B/23: 1–137. Istanbul: Istanbul University. Borisenko, Alice Y., and Khudyakov, Y. (Julius) S. 1998 Orta Yenisey’de Eski Türklerin, Antlar. Uluslararas Sibirya Sempozyumu. Pp. 51–53. Braidwood, Robert J. 1937 Mounds in the Plain of Antioch, an Archaeological Survey. Oriental Institute Publications 48. Chicago. Braidwood, Robert J., and Braidwood, Linda S. 1960 Excavations in the Plain of Antioch 1: The Earlier Assemblages: Phases A–J. Oriental Institute Publications 61. Chicago: University of Chicago. Bratton, Fred G. 1999 Yakn Do�u Mitolojisi. Istanbul: M.Ü. Ilahiyat Fak. Vakfi Yayinlar. Bright, John 1942 Has Archaeology Found Evidence of the Flood? The Biblical Archaeologist 5: 55–62, 72. Bright, Richard C. 1989 The Ark, A Reality? Guilderland, NY: Ranger Associates. Brown, Walt 2008 In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, seventh ed. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Scientific Creation. Bryce, James B. 1877 Transcaucasia and Ararat. 4th ed. London: MacMillan. Burdick, Clifford 1967 Ararat—The Mother of Mountains. Creation Research Society Quarterly 4: 5–12. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008) Burney, Charles A. 1957 Urartian Fortresses and Towns in the Van Region. Anatolian Studies 7: 37–53. 12
Brown, Walt 2008 In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, seventh ed. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Scientific Creation. Bryce, James B. 1877 Transcaucasia and Ararat. 4th ed. London: MacMillan. Burdick, Clifford 1967 Ararat—The Mother of Mountains. Creation Research Society Quarterly 4: 5–12. Burney, Charles A. 1957 Urartian Fortresses and Towns in the Van Region. Anatolian Studies 7: 37–53. 1958 Eastern Anatolia in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze. Anatolian Studies 8: 157–209. 1971 The People of the Hills: Ancient Ararat and Caucasus. London: Praeger. Carahunge.am 2004 Overview of the Megalithic Astronomic Observatory Monument Detailing the Hole Stones at Carahunge. Çay, Abdulhalûk 1983 Anadolu’da Türk Damgas. Ankara: Turkish Cultural Institute Studies. Ceylan, Alpaslan 2000 1999 Yl Erzincan ve Erzurum Yüzey Ara�trmalar. Anatolian Studies 18: 71–83. 2001 2000 Yl Erzincan ve Erzurum Yüzey Ara�trmalar. Anatolian Studies 19: 165–79. Collins, L. D., and Fasold, David 1996 Bogus “Noah's Ark” from Turkey Exposed as a Common Geologic Structure. Journal of Geoscience Education 44: 439–44. Corbin, B. J. 1999 The Explorers of Ararat: And the Search for Noah’s Ark, 2nd ed. Highlands Ranch, CO: GCI. Crouse, Bill 1988 Ron Wyatt: Are His Claims Bonafide? Ararat Report 17: 1–7. Crouse, Bill, and Franz, Gordon 2006 Mount Cudi: The True Mountain of Noah's Ark. Bible and Spade 19: 99–112. Cummings, Violet M. 1973 Noah’s Ark: Fable or Fact? San Diego: Creation-Science Research Center. Dennell, Robin, and Roebroeks, Wil 2005 An Asian Perspective on Early Human Dispersal from Africa. Nature 438: 1099–1104. Der�n, Zafer 1994 The Urartian Cremation Jars in Van—Elaz� Museum. Anatolian Iron Ages 3: 49–62. Erzen, Afif 1976 Anadolu Ara�trmalar 4: 167. 1980 Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi 25: 47. Fasold, David 1988 The Ark of Noah. New York: Wynwood. Frangipane, Marcella, and Marro, Catherine 1998 From the Euphrates to the Caucasus: Chronologies for the 4th–3rd Millennium B.C. Varia Anatolica 11: Institute Français D’Etudes Anatoliennes, Istanbul: 73-93. Frazer, James G. 1916 Ancient Stories of a Great Flood. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological: Institute of Great Britian and Ireland: 46: 231–83. Godfrey, A. H. 1927 Further Light on the Flood Story. The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 43: 239–40. Güneri, S. 1992 Do�u Anadolu’da Yeni Gözlemler. Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi 30: 149– 85. Güneri, A. Semih; Erkmen, M.; Gönülta�, M.; and Korucu, B. 2002 Bulamaç Höyük Kazlar 2001 Yl Çal�malar. Kaz Sonuçlar Toplants 24: 249–59. 2003 Bulamaç Höyük Kazlar 2002 Yl Çal�malar. Kaz Sonuçlar Toplants 251: 208. Hawkins, Gerald S. 1974 Astronomical Alinements in Britain, Egypt and Peru. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences 276/1257: 157–67. Hawkins, Gerald S., and Herouni, Paris M. 1999 Private Correspondence. Yerevan-Washington-Yerevan. Boston University Archives. Special Collection. Boston, MA. FebruaryOctober. Hawkins, Gerald S., and White, J.B. 1965 Stonehenge Decoded. London: Fontana. Herouni, Paris M. 2004 Armenians and Old Armenia: Archaeoastronomy, Linguistics, Oldest History. Yerevan, Turkey: Tigran Mets. Hopkins, Liza
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Hawkins, Gerald S., and White, J.B. 1965 Stonehenge Decoded. London: Fontana. Herouni, Paris M. 2004 Armenians and Old Armenia: Archaeoastronomy, Linguistics, Oldest History. Yerevan, Turkey: Tigran Mets. Hopkins, Liza 2003 Archaeology at the North-East Anatolian Frontier 6. Ancient Near East Studies, Supplement 11. Louvain, Belgium: Peeters. Karama�ral, Beyhan 1993 Koç, Koyun ve At �eklindeki Mezar. Ta�lar. Anadolu’da Türk Mührü. 1998 Ani Kazlarna Toplu Bir Bak�. Arkeoloji-Sanat Tarihi Dergisi 9: 37–42. Karaosmano�lu, Mehmet; I�ikli, Mehmet; and Can, Birol 2002 2001 Yl Erzurum Ovas Yüzey. Ara�trma Sonuçlar Toplants 20: 345–56. Kaulins, Andis 2003 Stars, Stones and Scholars: The Decipherment of the Megaliths as an Ancient Survey of the Earth by Astronomy. Victoria, Canada: Trafford. Kelly-Buccelatti, Marilyn 1974 The Excavations at Korucutepe, Turkey: The Early Bronze Age Pottery and Its Affinities. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33: 44– 54. Kibaro�lu, M.; Satr, M.; and I�ikli, Mehmet 2007 The New Searches for Kura-Araxes Cultural Complex: The Petrographic and Geochemical Analysis of Sos Höyük Kura-Araxes Ceramics. Ninth European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary, 24–27 October. Khnkikian, Onik S. 1984 Stones of Sisian. Nature of Armenia 4 (Armenian). Yerevan. Koçhan, Nurettin, and Ba�aran, Cevat 1986 Diyadin Çevresinin Arkeolojik, Ara�trmas ve Toklucak Kaya. Dehlizleri. Atatürk Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Ara�trma Dergisi 14: 235–53. Kökten, Ismail K. 1943 Kars’n Tarih Öncesi Hakknda �lk Ksa Rapor. Belleten 7: 601–13. Korucu, Halim 2005 Kars �li Höyükleri.Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. Yaynlanmam� Yüksek Lisans Tezi. Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi. Kramer, Samuel N. 1999 Sümer Mitolojisi. Çev. H. Koyukan. Istanbul. Kuftin, Boris A. 1941 Archaeological excavations in Trialeti. Tbilisi, Georgia: Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk Gryzinzkoj SSR. 1944 Urartskij "Kolumbarij" y podosvy Ararata i Kyro-Arakskij eneolit. otd. ottisk iz Vestnika Gos. Museja Gruzii, To XIIIB. Tiblisi, Georgia: Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk Gryzinzkoj SSR. LaHaye, Tim, and Morris, John D. 1976 The Ark on Ararat. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. Lanser, Richard D. 2006 The Case for Ararat. Bible and Spade 19: 114–18. Lewis, Jack P. 1984 Noah and Flood in Jewish, Christian and Muslim Tradition. The Biblical Archaeologist 47: 224–39. Lisitsian, S. 1938 Megalithic Settlement in Sisian (Zangezour) (Russian). Proc. Of USSR Academy of Science 14: 709–12. Moscow. Mallowan, Max E.L. 1971 Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia. Cambridge Ancient History 1–2. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University. First Edition, 72 pages. Marro, Catherine, and Özfirat, Aynur 2003 Pre-classical Survey in Eastern Turkey, First Preliminary Report: The A�r Dag (Mount Ararat) Region. Anatolia Antiqua 11: 385– 422. Marro, Catherine, and Özfirat, Aynur 2004 Pre-Classical Survey in Eastern Turkey, Second Preliminary Report: The Erci� Region. Anatolia Antiqua 12: 227–65. Marro, Catherine 2004 Upper Mesopotamia and the Caucasus: An essay on the Evolution of Routes and Road Networks from the Old Assyrian Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire. Pp. 91–120 in A View from the Highlands: Archaeological Studies in Honour of Charles Burney, ed. Antonio G. Sagona. Leuven, Belgium : Peeters. Marro, Catherine, and Özfirat, Aynur 2005 Pre-classical Survey in Eastern Turkey, Third Preliminary Report: Do�ubeyazit and the Eastern Shore of Lake Van. Anatolia Antiqua 13: 319–56. McKenzie, Dan P. 1972 Active tectonics of the Mediterranean region. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 30: 109–85. Montgomery, John W. 1974 The Quest for Noah’s Ark, 2nd ed.. Minneapolis: Dimension. 95 NoahsArkSearch.com The search for Noah’s Ark with overviews of possible landing sites, expedition news, expedition photos, an overview presentation, and
Do�ubeyazit and the Eastern Shore of Lake Van. Anatolia Antiqua 13: 319–56. McKenzie, Dan P. 1972 Active tectonics of the Mediterranean region. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 30: 109–85. Montgomery, John W. 1974 The Quest for Noah’s Ark, 2nd ed.. Minneapolis: Dimension. NoahsArkSearch.com The search for Noah’s Ark with overviews of possible landing sites, expedition news, expedition photos, an overview presentation, and the book The Explorers of Ararat. Started by B.J. Corbin and maintained by Rex Geissler. Parker, Anna 1999 North Eastern Anatolian the Periphery of Empire. Anatolian Studies 49: 133–43. Parrot, J.J. Friedrich 1845 Journey to Ararat. Trans. W. D. Cooley, from German. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. Piotrovsky, Boris B. 1969 The Ancient Civilization of Urartu. Trans. James Hogarth, from Russian. New York: Cowles. Polo, Marco 1968 The Travels. Trans. Ronald Latham, from Italian. London: Folio Society. Rich, Claudius J. 1836 Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan. London: James Duncan. Russel, H. F. 1980 Pre-Classical Pottery of Eastern Anatolia. BAR International Series 85. Oxford, England: B.A.R. Sagona, Antonio G. 1984 The Caucasian Region in the Early Bronze Age. British Archaeological Reports International Series 214. Oxford, England: B.A.R. Sagona, Antonio G.; Erkmen, Mustafa; and Sagona, Claudia 1998 Excavation at Sos Höyük 1996. Kaz Sonuçlar Toplants 19: 245– 51. Sevin, Veli 1987 Elaz�-Bingöl illeri yüzey ara�trmas 1986. Ara�trma sonuçlar toplants 2: 1–44. Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanl�. Seyidov, Abbas 2000 Nahchivan in the Bronze Age. Elm. National Academy of Sciences. Republic: Azerbaijan State Economic University. About Baku, the Azerbaijan Authors Simeons-Vermeer, Ruth E. 1974 The Mesopotamian Flood Stories: A Comparison and Professor Dr. Cevat Başaran has been Interpretation. The Biblical Archaeologist 21: 17–34. the Head of theA.Archaeology Department Sinclair, Thomas 1987 Eastern Turkey: in An Erzurum, ArchitecturalTurkey and Archaeological Survey 1. at Atatürk University London : Pindar Press. received his from 1995–2008. Dr. Başaran 1990 Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey 4. Bachelor’s Degree in Press. Archaeology from London : Pindar Atatürk University in 1980, his Doctorate Snelling, Andrew 1992 inAmazing ‘Ark’ Exposé. Creation 14.4:in 26–38. (PhD) Archaeology specializing www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v14/i4/report.asp, accessed Classical November Archaeology in 1987, became an 24, 2007. Assistant Professor in 1991, Associate Professor in 1994, and Thom, Alexander Megalithic Lunar Observatories. London: Oxford Dr. University. Full1971 Professor (Professor Dr.) in 1999. Professor Başaran is Toumanian, Benik, and Petrosian, Souren also the Head of the Parion, Çanakkale Hellenistic Archaeology 1970 Astronomical Petrogliphs. Yerevan. (Russian). Excavations next toand theRassam, Dardanelles from 2005–2008, which Willcocks, Sir William, Hormuzd Mesopotamian Trade Flood: Garden ofhas Eden. The is a1910 Royal Necropolis. AtNoah’s Parion, Dr.The Başaran excavated Geographical Journal 35: 459–60. the aqueduct, necropolis with many different types of burials Woolley, Charles L. from simple pithoi andPast. urns to sandstone 1930 Digging Up the London: E. Benn. sarcophagi, terracotta 1938 Ur the Chaldees. New York: Penguin. figurines ofofdeities, unguentaria, terracotta lamps, glass and Yalçn, C. cups, bronzes, coins, charred fruits preserved in a terracotta 1998 Kavimlerin Helak ve Dinlerin Dejenerasyonu. Global Yaynclk. female grave, gold Yamauchi, Edwin M. coins in the mouths of parents and a daughter, a bronze mirror, earrings with Nike Eros, gold chain 1982 Foes fromgold the Northern Frontier. Grandand Rapids, MI: aBaker.
with animal protomes of goat and lion, a gold diadem with olive wreath, perfume jars, a bronze amphora, and three gold olive crowns.
Assistant Professor Dr. Vedat Keleş received his Bachelor’s Degree in Archaeology and Art History from Atatürk University in Erzurum, Turkey in 1995, became a Research Assistant in the Atatürk University Archaeology and Art 96
1998
Excavation at Sos Höyük 1996. Kaz Sonuçlar Toplants 19: 245– 51. Sevin, Veli 1987 Elaz�-Bingöl illeri yüzey ara�trmas 1986. Ara�trma sonuçlar toplants 2: 1–44. Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanl�. Seyidov, Abbas 2000 Nahchivan in the Bronze Age. Elm. National Academy of Sciences. Baku, Azerbaijan Republic: Azerbaijan State Economic University. Simeons-Vermeer, Ruth E. 1974 The Mesopotamian Flood Stories: A Comparison and Interpretation. The Biblical Archaeologist 21: 17–34. Sinclair, Thomas A. 1987 Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey 1. London : Pindar Press. 1990 Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey 4. London : Pindar Press. Snelling, Andrew 1992 Amazing ‘Ark’ Exposé. Creation 14.4: 26–38. www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v14/i4/report.asp, accessed November 24, 2007. Thom, Alexander 1971 Megalithic Lunar Observatories. London: Oxford University. Toumanian, Benik, and Petrosian, Souren 1970 Astronomical Petrogliphs. Yerevan. (Russian). Willcocks, Sir William, and Rassam, Hormuzd 1910 Mesopotamian Trade Noah’s Flood: The Garden of Eden. The Geographical Journal 35: 459–60. Woolley, Charles L. 1930 Digging Up the Past. London: E. Benn. 1938 Ur of the Chaldees. New York: Penguin. Yalçn, C. 1998 Kavimlerin Helak ve Dinlerin Dejenerasyonu. Global Yaynclk. Yamauchi, Edwin M. 1982 Foes from the Northern Frontier. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
History Department in 1997, received his Doctorate (PhD) in Archaeology specializing in Numismatics in 2003, became an Assistant Professor in 2004, and is the Head Assistant of the Parion, Çanakkale Hellenistic Archaeology Excavations next to the Dardanelles from 2006–2008. Rex Geissler is the President of Archaeological Imaging Research Consortium (ArcImaging), which is focused on archaeological research around Mount Ararat in partnership with Atatürk University in Erzurum, Turkey. Rex graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1987 from Illinois State University with a 3.91 GPA in Computer Science and has worked for IBM, Walt Disney Studios, Edison Energy, Bankers Trust, and currently Sybase where he helps companies with Enterprise Architecture Modeling Software. Rex has published ten books, several on scientific evidences supporting the Bible. Rex co-authored and published the classic 482-page book on the subject, The Explorers of Ararat: And the Search for Noah’s Ark, which includes 265 photographs. Rex shares photos of historical sites and museum archaeological artifacts around the Near East including Cappadocia, Egypt and Sinai, Greece and the Apostle Paul’s Missionary Journeys, Hittite Capital Cities Alacahöyük and Hattusas/Bogazkale and Yazilikaya Rock Sanctuary, Israel and Jerusalem, Italy and Rome, Turkey and the Seven Churches of Revelation, and Urartu on his websites—www.greatcommission.com, www. noahsarksearch.com, and www.arcimaging.org. Bible and Spade 21.3 (2008)
An Armenian Perspective on the Search for Noah’s Ark Presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Near East Archaeological Society November 14-16, 2007 San Diego, California
Richard D. Lanser, Jr., M.Div. Associates for Biblical Research Copyright © 2008, Associates for Biblical Research. All Rights Reserved.
INTRODUCTION: WHY AN “ARMENIAN PERSPECTIVE”? The title of this paper, “An Armenian Perspective on the Search for Noah’s Ark,” was chosen because I believe that the case for Mount Cudi as the landing-place of the Ark is built upon data coming exclusively from a single Syro-Mesopotamian historical stream, and is thus self-authenticating. This is an invalid approach to determining truth. An independent perspective, a fundamentally Armenian one, offers a needed corrective to wrong conclusions that have been drawn from it. This need is brought home by the apparently irreconcilable clash between the eyewitness reports pointing to Mount Ararat on the one hand,1 and the historical data that points to Mount Cudi on the other.2 Attempts to deal with the two approaches have typically taken the form of searching for reasons to disparage one or the other, or finding creative ways to reinterpret otherwise self-explanatory information to force it, however awkwardly, into conformity with a particular model. Efforts were not being made to seek a framework that would allow both approaches to be taken basically at face value. I thought there was a possibility that BOTH approaches might be correct, the difference lying in how the data was being interpreted. I believe I have found a way to reconcile them, and lay out my case in the pages that follow. SETTING THE STAGE: IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES I want to begin by emphasizing the seriousness of the collision course these two approaches are on. If you have any familiarity at all with Ark research, you will probably recognize the name of George Hagopian. A native Armenian, he claimed to have twice, as a young boy in the early 1900s, climbed Mount Ararat with his uncle. He claimed to have actually climbed on top of the Ark. His testimony has been closely scrutinized by many researchers, and has stood up remarkably well.
[George Hagopian (left) with Elfred Lee.]
The first thing I wish to note is that there is absolutely NO doubt that the mountain he claimed to climb was Mount Ararat. Hagopian demonstrated this certainty in many ways,
including his use of the native Armenian name for Mount Ararat, Massis, and his intimate knowledge of things in the area of Lake Van. From journalist Rene Noorbergen’s interview with Hagopian, we glean the following: I first went there when I was about ten years old. It must have been around 1902. My grandfather was the minister of the big Armenian Orthodox Church in Van, and he always told me stories about the holy ship on the holy mountain. And then one day my uncle said, “Georgie, I’m going to take you to the holy mountain,” and he took me with him, packed his supplies on his donkey, and together we started our trek toward Mount Ararat. “Uncle, that’s the holy mountain,” I said, pointing to what seemed to be our destination up ahead of us. “That’s right, Georgie,” he said. “Massis is the holy mountain” (1960: 165). We can therefore immediately rule out the idea that he placed his Ark discovery on any mountain other than Ararat. I also believe we can trust Noorbergen’s reporting, as he was a professional journalist, foreign correspondent and photographer who handled magazine and newspaper assignments in more than 80 countries over a period of at least 22 years (1960: dust jacket back flap). Second, by claiming he actually climbed onto the Ark, his story leaves no room for a misidentification of the Ark itself. This might be claimed against sightings from the air, where rocks and shadows could play tricks on the eyes, but is not a factor here. Third, Hagopian’s story was consistent; he did not vary his story in retelling it. This greatly impressed Bill Crouse, who observed, Hagopian’s story is difficult to falsify. As he told and retold his story he never deviated from his original account (1993). Fourth, he was credible. In an interview about his experiences working with Hagopian and tape-recording his testimony, Elfred Lee noted: He was not one who would fabricate or lie. We checked him out as well. He had a very good reputation in town. We verified his bank accounts and income to make sure he was not making anything off of his statement. We also went to Lake Van in Turkey and specific sites he discussed to verify his authenticity (Corbin 1999: 69). Lee added, As to his integrity, he [Hagopian] had a PSE test, the lie detector test...and he passed the test. Also, his personal life, his reputation, his friends, and business acquaintances bore witness that he was an honest man who would not lie or fabricate. And he was not looking for any personal gain from it (Corbin 1999: 79).
Taking all of the above into account, one gets the impression that here we have someone worth listening to regarding Noah’s Ark. Bill Crouse admitted: His knowledge of the Ararat area as he describes it is accurate and detailed. Other aspects of his story given to researchers seem to substantiate his credibility (1993). We conclude that the story is quite believable in every way—EXCEPT for the subject matter! It seems to cry out for SOME reason to fault it. Bill Crouse gave it his best shot: The fact that he [Hagopian] is no longer with us makes it difficult to render any kind of judgement...The story itself is interesting, but it still provides no empirical evidence, and even if credible, is not helpful in the critical subject of location. Some things that trouble me are the fact that the testimony itself is secondhand...The George Hagopian story remains an interesting, but unverifiable story (1993). WHAT IS TRUSTWORTHY? Crouse’s comments merit discussion, because they go to a core issue: how we evaluate the trustworthiness of historical sources and eyewitness testimony. Why should Hagopian’s death make rendering a judgment about his testimony more difficult than when we evaluate historical documents? Since audio recordings of interviews with Hagopian exist,3 we are much closer to having firsthand testimony here than with virtually anything we have from ancient historians. The transcribed interviews of Noorbergen and Lee confirm and validate each other. These sources are independent witnesses to Hagopian’s story, and Deuteronomy 19:15 lays down the principle, reaffirmed by Christ in Matthew 18:16, that “on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed” (NASB). Thus, I am convinced that the real issue is not so much about VERIFYING the Hagopian story, as it is about BELIEVING it. We face this predicament—being able to only incompletely verify a story, and having to exercise a certain measure of faith that it is true—when we consider the writings of every dead historian of the ages. Yet, we don’t let the fact they are long dead stop us from using their data; we just try to make sound judgments about the sources, based largely on three factors: (1) their “reputation”; (2) their internal consistency; and (3) their external coherence with other known facts. The only essential difference between historical documents and eyewitness reports is the patina of antiquity possessed by the former. But that should have no bearing whatsoever on the trustworthiness of a source. If the historical accounts pointing to Mount Cudi are OBJECTIVELY TRUE, one inescapable fact follows: HAGOPIAN WAS A LIAR. There is no wiggle room here. Since no intimations exist that his sanity was ever questioned, if the Ark was on Mount Cudi or any other peak, there is only one conclusion we can draw: George Hagopian was a masterful liar. But given what was reported about the character of Hagopian, such a
conclusion does not fit him very well. So I decided to ask a question that no one else seems to have raised: are the Mount Cudi reports objectively true? BEROSSUS: WELLSPRING OF THE SYRO-MESOPOTAMIAN STREAM Turning now to the historical documents, the information Bill Crouse amassed is very helpful (Crouse 1992; Crouse and Franz 2006). There are clearly a number of ancient sources that can be referenced in support of the Mount Cudi tradition. Looking over the data, we can make a few general observations: 1. The case for Mount Cudi is predicated upon our respect for ancient sources. 2. This respect springs from a high regard for the sources’ reputation, which is partly built upon others referencing their works as authoritative. 3. None of the ancient sources claims personal direct observation of the Ark on Mount Cudi (or Ararat, for that matter), but depends on earlier histories and popular tradition. 4. The earliest mention of the Gordyene Mountains location of the Ark landing—also known as Kardu, Cordyaean, and a few similar variations—is found in Berossus. Since Berossus lies at the bottom of the pile of historical documents, we should review what we know about him. He provides the earliest mention of the Gordyene site, where Mount Cudi is located. As quoted in Josephus: Now all the writers of barbarian histories make mention of this flood, and of this ark; among whom is Berossus the Chaldean. For when he was describing the circumstances of the flood, he goes on thus: “It is said, there is still some part of this ship in Armenia, at the mountain of the Cordyaeans; and that some people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they take away, and use chiefly as amulets, for the averting of mischiefs” (Antiquities 1: 3: 6 [LCL 93]). That mention of Armenia above is somewhat ambiguous, but not important at the moment. Let us focus instead on Berossus. According to the very detailed Wikipedia article about him, Berossus’ Babyloniaca—History of Babylon—was written around 290–278 BC. The work survives only as fragments recorded in derivative citations in several classical writers, including Pliny, who seems to be a tertiary source dependent on Poseidonius of Apamea (135–50 BC). Christian and Jewish references to his work, such as Josephus, are likewise tertiary sources, relying on citations by Alexander Polyhistor (c. 65 BC) or Juba of Mauretania (c. 50 BC–20 AD), both of whose works are no longer extant. Citations in Eusebius’ Chronicon (c. 260–340 AD) and Syncellus’ Ecloga Chronigraphica (c. ca. 800–810 AD) are even less direct, and depend in part on citations from the lost works of Abydenus and Sextus Julius Africanus (Wikipedia, Berossus). I drew up a tree diagram to help us better visualize the main points in the transmission of the information ultimately derived Berossus. It does not include every detail—for example, for simplicity I have ignored Juba of Mauretania—but it includes the important main branches. The rose-colored labels indicate works for which we no longer have the originals.
Now we need to ask, what evidence do we have that the details attributed to Berossus are objectively true? Is he a reputable source? Let’s take a closer look at Berossus from this angle. BEROSSUS AND HIS ROOTS The Wikipedia article on Berossus also states, His account of the Flood (preserved in Syncellus) is extremely similar to versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh that we have today. However, in Gilgamesh, the main protagonist is Utnapishtim, while here, Xisouthros (sic) is likely a Greek transliteration of Ziusudra, the protagonist of the Sumerian version of the Flood. This is an extremely important point. Berossus draws much of his material from the Babylonian culture of his time, including their creation legends and Flood tradition. Bill Crouse noted this, but only in passing: Berossus’ account is basically a version of the Babylonian Flood account (1992). I believe that not looking closely at the implications of this fact is an important oversight. Not doing so gives us a significantly incomplete picture. When we look at it closely, we find that Berossus’ account draws upon legend here, not history. The main character is Xisuthros, a Hellenization of Ziusudra, hero of the Sumerian Flood myth. A pantheon of Greek gods is assumed, headed by Cronus, who can be identified with the Sumerian deity Enki. Unnamed friends of Xisuthros, including a pilot, go along for the trip; there is the Gordyene mountain landing; and the “rapture” of Xisuthros, his wife, a daughter, and the
boat pilot follow the offering of sacrifices at the end of the journey: With his wife, daughter and the pilot he quitted the ship and having bowed to the earth erected an altar and offered sacrifices. The group thereupon disappeared... (Lovett, worldwideflood.com). It is quite apparent that there are legendary accretions inextricably tied to this story. Its use as a source of objective truth is seriously compromised. With the above in view, we have to update our tree illustration to reflect what its roots go into:
The entire tree of Berossus thus draws deeply from the well of Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, which has an impact on the objective truth of what Berossus and those who followed him tell us in their histories. Also note, Berossus’ mention of the vessel of Xisuthros “in the mountains of the Gordyaeans” cannot be divorced from its context. It is an integral part of Berossus’ Flood story, and does not stand on its own. As should be clear now, that story is one that none would ever claim as being objectively true. I must ask why, then, should we assume his location for the Ark is any different? After all, it is part and parcel with the Babylonian Flood myth. The mythological baggage connected with Berossus’ version of the Flood story casts a pall of doubt over the validity of his Gordyene mountain location. THE LOCALIZATION PHENOMENON These doubts are confirmed when we consider an important “big picture” matter. Recall that at Babel, God confused the languages, fractured the fellowship of humanity, and caused people to scatter over the world. One major result was that the early memories of the Flood event became corrupted when people moved into new lands and broke contact
with others. This is very clear when we survey diverse Flood traditions from around the world. In The Doorway Papers, Arthur Custance noted that not only are Flood legends found worldwide, but, when a saving boat is part of the story and comes to rest on a mountain with the survivors, the landing-place is invariably local. In his online book we find: The “ark” grounds locally. With the exception of the biblical account, this is virtually universal. The Andaman Islanders say that Noah landed near a place called Wotaemi; the people of Sumatra say the ark landed on Mount Marapi; the Fijians on Mount Mbenga; the Greeks either on Mount Parnassus or Mount Othrys; the Tamanakis (a Carib tribe on the banks of the Orinoco) on Mount Tapanacu; the Mexicans on Mount Colhuacan; the Yuin (Australian aborigines) on Mount Dromedary; the northern Maidu (southwestern United States) on Keddie Peak in the Sacramento Valley; and so it goes (2001: ch. 2, 4–5). It is obvious that the tale of Berossus perfectly fits this pattern. When one follows the stream of transmission of the historical documentation favoring Mount Cudi back through the ages, we find Berossus at the wellspring. And what information do we find him giving out? A version of the LOCAL Babylonian Flood story that existed at his time! This has a major impact not only on how we interpret what Berossus tells us, but how we should view all of the derivative histories that build upon his foundation as well! BIRTH OF A LEGEND This leads us to a consideration of why such localized legends appeared in the first place. One would think that a huge boat on a mountain would be so unique, there would be no chance that it would ever be imagined at any location other than where it really was— rather like wondering where to find the Eiffel Tower. Yet, there is a logical explanation for why the landing-place did not remain clear-cut in everyone’s memory—but ONLY if we consider Mount Ararat, not Mount Cudi. For unlike Mount Cudi, Ararat was a volcano, an active one for the better part of its existence. We can see the evidence of magma flows very clearly in satellite views, and blocks of volcanic basalt litter its slopes.
This volcanic activity was most recently exhibited in a catastrophic, explosive eruption in 1840 that buried the Monastery of St. Jacob and wiped out the original village of Ahora on the northeastern flank of the mountain.
[Detailed sketch by Dr. Friedrich Parrot of St. Jacob Monastery at Ahora and Mount Ararat, 1829.]
When faced with a volcano in their back yard, people get as far from it as needed in order to feel safe! There is no reason to think Noah and his extended family would have done any differently. We are thus looking, at a very early point in human history, at the Ark being both entirely hidden from sight by volcanic debris, ice and snow, and in an area away from where people would want to live. The story of the Ark and its location would logically have quickly entered the realm of legend, because none would have been able to simply climb the peak and check it out. The power of the legend, however, would have sufficed to ensure its survival, with the story being passed down from one generation to another, while the location eventually morphed in the retelling to other sites after Babel. If the Ark was on Mount Cudi, though, where are the factors that would have tended to make the landing-place a legendary thing? It is not a volcano, nor particularly high at under 7000 feet, with relatively little permanent snow. It would not have been terribly difficult to get to by any with sufficient determination. This does not favor the development of legends. There is also a psychological angle to consider relative to Mount Cudi. Why is there no memorial to the Ark there? Humanity has an innate tendency to memorialize significant happenings. We build shrines and celebrate holidays to commemorate them. But in the case of Mount Cudi, we are expected to believe that the Ark was gradually dismantled by generations of talisman seekers and timber scavengers, and all that remains of it is some bitumen and charcoal. I have trouble swallowing this idea. It makes better sense that the Sumerians or those who followed them, such as the powerful, nationalistic Assyrians, would have promoted the place as a point of national pride, or at least built a lasting stone
memorial on the spot. But they did not, despite every logical reason to have done so. Why not? Because there was actually nothing there! All they had was a local, fictional Flood tradition with no objective truth behind it, which arose because mankind’s communications got garbled by God at Babel, and because the real Ark was buried far away in the volcanic ejecta and snow on Massis, where no one would find it for many generations. These considerations allow us to make a reasonable conjecture as to how an Ark tradition became attached to Mount Cudi. Since no clear-cut Ark landing-place could be demonstrated anywhere, each culture was free to develop its own way of memorializing the event. With the establishment of civilization in Shinar, it is no real stretch to say that just as Gilgamesh replaced Noah in the Sumerian version, so Mount Cudi replaced the inaccessible Mount Ararat as the site of the Ark. Mount Cudi is, after all, directly north of the plain of Shinar, and would have provided a convenient nearby locale to connect with the tradition. Following is a Google Earth picture that helps us see this:
[Mount Cudi, looking north. Notice its proximity to the northern edge of the Mesopotamian valley, with the Tigris River flowing on the right.]
INTRODUCING FRIEDRICH MURAD It is now time to discuss some insights provided by a valuable reference that many modern scholars are unfamiliar with: Friedrich Murad’s Ararat und Masis.4
This little-known German work presents the most complete single compilation of information I have yet found that focuses on the historical data from an Armenian perspective. In his review (in English) of this book, Frederick C. Conybeare remarked: This book, written soberly and with learning, explores the origin and literary history of that part of the Noachian legend which relates to Mount Ararat. Incidentally is given a good resume of all we know both from the cuneiform inscriptions and from ancient writers of the earliest history of the Armenian race (1901: 335). He also observes that Murad demonstrated a “complete mastery of the old Armenian literature.” Conybeare’s qualifications to make this judgment are worth noting: he was a Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford. An authority on the Armenian Church, he wrote several books covering Armenian history and theology (Wikipedia, Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare). MURAD ON THE SYRO-MESOPOTAMIAN STREAM Murad has a great deal to say about the idea of a distinctive Syro-Mesopotamian stream of tradition. For brevity, I will simply summarize some key points: 1. Though the etymology of the name Ararat is unclear, it is certain that the term describes the region occupied by the Armenians from the beginning of their history (1901: chap. 1). 2. He observes that Josephus, Eustathius of Antioch, Eusebius, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Hieronymus, and Theodoritus all identify Ararat with Armenia. He terms this the Christian tradition (1901: chap. 3). 3. In contrast, a later Jewish tradition from the second century onward equates— though not unanimously—Ararat with Kardu, also known as Cordayene or Kurdistan (1901: chap. 4). a. Syrian Christians adopted the Kardu interpretation. b. The Muslims in turn received the Kardu Mountains tradition, transferred it to the Bohtan mountain range south of Lake Van and west of the Tigris, and recorded the location in the Koran as Jebel Cudi. c. The exact location of this Mount Cudi, however, is not clear to Muslim chroniclers. Though they mention a small town, Kariet Themanin (near the modern city of Cizre), which reportedly was founded by Noah, several other landing-site locations also circulated among the residents of the Kurdish mountains. 4. Murad agrees with Dillmann (1892: 147), who suggested that this late Jewish exegesis arose by their interpreting the biblical Ararat as the land of Kardu; and the specific Mount Cudi location was the result of familiarity with the Babylonian flood epic, which, according to the version transmitted by Berossus, places the landing site of its hero Xisuthros explicitly into the region of Kardu (1901: 42, emphasis mine).
There you have it, my friends: a scholar well versed in all of the pertinent literature, explicitly connecting the Mount Cudi tradition with Berossus and his version of the Babylonian Flood epic! Murad has much more to say on this subject, but for now, we will simply present Conybeare’s succinct summary of Murad’s detailed observations: The Syrians of the east Tigris had floating among them, independently of the Jewish legend, a native story of a flood and of an ark which rested on the Djudi mountain in the land of Kardu. Under the influence of this Syrian form of the legend, especially in the second and later centuries, Armenia and Ararat, Djudi and the land of Kardu (i.e., Gordyene), were all confused together; and this confusion is met with in Josephus, in Berosus (as cited in the Armenian form of Eusebius’ Chronicon), and in the Jewish Aramaic Targums. The confusion, however, is relatively late, and does not represent the earlier form of the biblical myth, which clearly centered around a peak in Ararat and not in Gordyene, which lies far away to the southeast (1901: 336). One last direct quote from Murad should be noted: Even the form of the name Ararat [in Genesis]...is clearly an Armenian spelling and pronunciation. The specific designation of the mountains of Ararat as the landing place of the ark, as well as the point of departure of the new population of the earth, which is also contained in the Berossus version, suggests that the Armenian region of Ayrarat [a specific area within which Mount Ararat is found] is the original source of the flood story, as well as the locale of the events themselves (1901: 42). Altogether, Murad shows us that Berossus is the ultimate source of the historically documented Syro-Mesopotamian tradition that points to Mount Cudi, and Mount Cudi is the local peak in Berossus’ version of the Babylonian Flood tradition. In other words, Berossus is passing along legend, not objective truth. This applies to the landing-place of his Ark as well. It cannot be considered on its own merits, divorced from its context as an integral part of a larger Flood story. We also observe that Berossus is the fountainhead from which all the written histories draw that are considered evidence for the Mount Cudi location. The Syro-Mesopotamian stream courses through the ages and is tapped into by Josephus, Eusebius, the Targums and the Moslems, etc., and all of these historical sources trace back to Berossus for their support for the Kardu Mountains—that is, to Mount Cudi. Thus, when we examine the historical documents that support the Gordyene mountains where Mount Cudi is found, we wind up staying within the narrow confines of a single Syro-Mesopotamian stream of tradition. It began with Berossus, was picked up by the early, influential Syrian church, and was in turn picked up and promulgated by the Moslems. It is a uniquely Syro-Mesopotamian perspective, rather consistent internally
and having a certain reputation in scholarly circles (particularly in the West). But it is only one of many streams of tradition concerning the Flood and its survivors. To summarize, the well Berossus drew from was polluted at the source, using a localized Flood story that reflected many corruptions and legendary accretions. It logically follows that all that depended on him downstream were likewise tainted, and no matter where you jump into the stream, you are going to get dirty. To use my earlier metaphor, I believe that the Mount Cudi advocates have been so concerned with finding all of the interrelationships among the branches of the tree of historical documentation, it has completely escaped their notice that the roots are drawing from a polluted well. THE SILENCE OF THE ARMENIAN HISTORIES To escape the stream tainted by Berossus, we need to jump into a different stream that originates from a different fountainhead—an Armenian one. But is this possible? The earliest Armenian records are apparently silent on anything connected with Mount Ararat. References tying Mount Ararat to Flood traditions are hard to come by until Thomas Artsruni arrived on the scene in the 10th century (Thomson 1985: 81). Thereafter, Mount Cudi appears to have been supplanted by Mount Ararat in the Armenian tradition. Two important questions need to be answered: If Mount Ararat is indeed the Mountain of the Ark, why are the Armenian historical records silent about it for centuries? And second, what finally prompted the change of the Armenian traditions to Mount Ararat? Part of the answer for the silence lies in what was discussed earlier—the Ark was out of sight and out of mind, in the ice, snow and ash of an angry volcano. But we would still expect SOME memory to be maintained, if only in the form of oral traditions, which hopefully at some point were transcribed into written histories. Fortunately, Murad was able to poke a small hole in this veil of silence. He observed: Is there an indigenous flood story among the Armenians? There is only a single example in the printed Armenian literature. Moses Chorenatsi, in his History of Armenia I, 6, tells of oral traditions containing stories of a flood, of Xisuthros and his voyage to, and landing in, Armenia, as well as the areas where his sons settled. At the end he adds (p. 39): “But the ancients mention these things of the descendants of Aram in songs of the lyre, dances, and festivals” (1901: 43). Moses Chorenatsi—also known as Moses of Chorene—lived in the 5th century AD, and is traditionally regarded as the author of the most significant mediaeval Armenian history.5 From this single brief passage, Murad had the insight to see that the ancient Armenians (which, as evidenced in other chapters of his History, is what Chorenatsi meant by the “descendants of Aram”), told and sang about the Flood and its hero. Murad explains that there are no other indigenous written sources because all pre-Christian monuments, books, etc. were thoroughly eradicated by Gregory, the founder of the Armenian Church, and his followers. In their zeal to purge the nation of all connections with its pagan past, they wiped out our means of better documenting this.
Murad concluded, It cannot be denied that the Armenians had an indigenous flood lore, connected with Masis, even though we do not know its details (1901: chap. 9, page not noted by translator). THE ARMENIAN TRADITION CHANGE What about the second question—why did the transfer of the Armenian tradition from Cudi to Ararat occur? In the absence of more complete ancient records there are no easy answers, but a reasonable hypothesis can be made. Since the Armenians were Christianized through missionaries from Edessa in Syria, they were trained in the traditions of their benefactors. This included the Gordyene location of the Ark. Conybeare, summarizing Murad, observed, The Armenians themselves never identified the mountain on which the ark of Noah rested with their own Masis before the eleventh century. They located it instead, no doubt under Syrian influence, in Gordyene. In their fifth-century writers we have many descriptions of the province of Ararat, but no allusion to Noah and his ark. A passage of Faustus, the historian (about 450 A. D.), relating that the ark rested on the mountain of Ararat in the land of Kardu, is an interpolation (1901: 336). Yet, beginning with the writings of Thomas Artsruni in the 10th century AD (Thomson 1985: 81), we find the Armenians dropping this remnant of the Syro-Mesopotamian stream and embracing their holy mountain, Massis, as the mountain of the Ark. What prompted this change? On this question Murad is not very helpful, but Conybeare fills the gap with a very reasonable explanation: Nor does he [Murad] suggest a reason which appears to me to be plausible why the Armenians, after they had been Christianized, abstained from the identification, hinted at in Josephus and accepted by Jerome, of Noah’s mountain with their own Masis. Their reason, I believe, was this, that Masis was already the scene of a similar and native Armenian legend, with which on religious grounds they scrupled to identify the story they now read in the Scriptures. Masis was anyhow a center and focus of pagan myths and cults, which the author enumerates; and it was only in the eleventh century, after these had vanished from the popular mind, that the Armenian theologians ventured to locate on its eternal snows the resting-place of Noah’s ark (1901: 337). Conybeare’s above comments are built upon Murad’s detailed discussion of the many early pagan stories that attached themselves to Massis, so that it was treated like the Greek Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. The Christianized Armenians’ hesitancy to identify Massis with the biblical mountain is thus understandable.
It is also interesting to consider that the Armenians’ readiness to receive the Gospel so early—they officially accepted Christianity in 301, even before the Roman Empire—had to be in part because their earlier traditions had already planted the seed. For the Armenians, the designation of Massis as the landing site of Noah was a natural conclusion from the Genesis account, helping them to immediately respond to it. NICHOLAS OF DAMASCUS AND THE BARIS PROBLEM We will now look at a few other indications of a distinct Armenian stream of tradition. One of these is the Baris problem. I believe Nicholas of Damascus, with his mention of Baris and Minni (also called Minyas), draws from the Armenian perspective as well. Josephus records the pertinent information: Nicholas of Damascus, in his ninety-sixth book, hath a particular relation about them; where he speaks thus: “There is a great mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called Baris, upon which it is reported, that many who fled at the time of the deluge were saved; and that one who was carried in an ark, came on shore upon the top of it; and that the remains of the timber were a great while preserved. This might be the man about whom Moses the legislator of the Jews wrote” (Antiquities 1: 3: 6 [LCL 94, 95]). Nicholas, who lived in the first century BC, identifies the mountain of the Ark with the rather obscure name “Baris,” which he places it in “Armenia.” The land of Urartu (another name for the land of Ararat, or Armenia) is, as Nicholas described it, “above” the land of Minni. But it is a stretch to consider the area where Mount Cudi is found as being “above” Minni, that is, north of it. It is more accurate to describe it as lying to the west. This can be seen in this map (Geissler, Ancient Kingdom of Urartu):
Murad also is helpful in understanding the significance of the mention of Baris:
According to Nicholas himself, mount Baris is in Armenia, above the region of Minyas (i.e. the land of the Mannai). This description fits the area of Ayrarat [a province of old Armenia that included Mount Ararat]: here we find the “big mountain called Baris.” It is clear that this refers to the highest mountain of the referenced country, i.e. Massis. Indeed, one of the various attributes with which the Armenians describe this mountain is bardsr (=high, height) which coincides with the meaning of bares (barez, height; barezant, high). From this we deduce that the Armenians’ neighbors knew the mountain only as Bardsr (Bares, Baris), the “high one,” which became known, most likely, through the Persians, for whom the name coincided with their divine mountain Hara-berezaiti, also called Bares. The principal indigenous name for the mountain, in contrast, did not catch on outside of Armenia. Even today Massis is known by foreign peoples with different names: the Persians say “Kuhi-Nuh,” the Turks “Agher Dagh,” the Tatars “Dagher-Dagh,” the Europeans, erroneously, “Ararat” (1901: 49). This indicates that “Baris” was simply a generic name in Nicholas’ time by which Mount Ararat was known to the surrounding nations. Only the Armenians used the name Massis; everyone else knew the peak as the “high one,” a quite appropriate description for it. (Incidentally, it takes a considerable stretch of the imagination to apply this label to humble Mount Cudi, some 10,000 feet lower than Mount Ararat.) Apparently with the above considerations in mind, a well-regarded cartographer from Columbia University, William R. Shepherd, did not hesitate to identify Baris with Mount Ararat in his Historical Atlas (1923: 20).
“FROM THE EAST” IN GENESIS 11:2 Now, let us consider something else. Mount Cudi is the highest point visible from the northern Mesopotamian plain, so if it was the Mountain of the Ark, we would expect Noah’s family to have headed due south and immediately entered the valley of Shinar.
But there is a problem. The clearest sense of Genesis 11:2 does not support this. In the KJV it reads, And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there [emphasis mine]. This translation of the Hebrew as “from the east” seems to be the most straightforward rendering, treating the Hebrew word miqqedem as a combination of the preposition min, “out of, away from,” with qedem, “front, east.” The ancient Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations likewise opt for the “from the east” translation, providing a historical precedent indicating it is accurate. Other grammatically acceptable ways of translating miqqedem do exist. The NIV renders it as “eastward,” making the migration into Shinar from the west. The NEB chooses an indefinite yet still possible alternative, “in the east,” painting a picture of people moving to and fro, with no definite direction, prior to entering Shinar. Emil Kraeling, however, considers this indeterminate “in the east” translation to be “inadmissible in 11.2 because wherever miqqedem is found in that sense a general localization is implied from which it is to be understood...” (1947: 162). Being directly north of the Mesopotamian plain, Mount Cudi demands a southward migration. It requires one to reject the Septuagint, Vulgate and KJV rendering, “from the east.” Normally, the support from ancient translations would suffice for interpreters to feel they correctly understood the passage, but this is an instance where I feel efforts have been made to seek alternative meanings of Scripture driven by a need to make it fit into a predetermined framework. Scripture itself thus indicates the Mount Cudi understanding is wrong. Mount Ararat, in contrast, presents no such problems, because the initial migration of the earliest descendants of Noah would have been south and east into the Araxes Valley, followed by a subsequent entry in Shinar “from the east.” STAYING NEAR THE WATER Such an initial migration into the Araxes Valley should be evident from a few considerations. One is that the vast majority of the alleged eyewitnesses place their Ark sightings on the northeast side of the mountain, just above the gaping Ahora Gorge. Even back in the 17th century, Sir John Chardin reported that the natives of the area told that the Ark was situated on the northeast side of the mountain. Chardin drew the following sketch, reproduced in Cummings’ book (1973: 44).
Even given the crudeness of the sketch and the fact that the Ahora Gorge had not yet blown open in Chardin’s time, the outline of the mountain clearly indicates that the sketch was drawn from the northeast. Compare it to the following photograph of the northeast side of Mount Ararat; the outlines of Chardin’s sketch readily match up with it.
Now, consider for a moment the situation Noah found himself in when he left the Ark. He had been drifting along for a year and has no clear idea where he now is, and besides, the topography has been radically reworked by the churning waters of the Flood. He and his family are pioneers, going out into unknown virgin territory, not knowing what they will find. Their supplies have dwindled to almost nothing from their year-long voyage, so they will need to live off the land. What will they do? I submit that, looking down from the northeastern slopes of the mountain and seeing the Araxes River valley spread out
below them, they would have instinctively followed that life-sustaining stream. The headwaters of the Euphrates arise some distance away, out of sight in the mountainous country west of Mount Ararat, so it is highly unlikely they would have first plunged into the unknown mountains, stumbled upon the headwaters of that river, and followed its gradually widening path into Mesopotamia, from whence they could have migrated “eastward,” per the NIV. No, the most likely route he and his family would have taken— as well as the animals, which would have immediately needed grazing land and water— would be down into the Araxes valley. It makes a lot of sense that this is what happened, and at least one Armenian artist came to this conclusion (Gallery.am).
[Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Descent of Noah from Mount Ararat, 1889. National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan.]
We would therefore expect the Araxes River valley to have become the immediate home of Noah and his family, their base to re-establish life and become familiar with the brave new world God had bid them take hold of. After all, Genesis 9:20 tells us that early on, Noah became a farmer and raised grapes. Pursuing agriculture is not compatible with either living in a rugged mountain area, or staying on the slopes of an active volcano while a whole new world beckoned. It makes perfect sense that Farmer Noah would have set up shop in the valley of the Araxes. Do we find any indications that this occurred? NEARBY PLACE NAMES AND TRADITIONS Absolutely. This is seen in the meanings attached to several place names in the immediate vicinity—in particular, the city of Nakhichevan. It lies some 60 miles southeast of Ararat down the Araxes River. Another Google Earth image helps us see the relationship of Nakhichevan to Mount Ararat.
Josephus refers to this place thus: Then the ark settled on a mountain-top in Armenia...Noah, thus learning that the earth was delivered from the flood, waited yet seven days, and then let the animals out of the ark, went forth himself with his family, sacrificed to God and feasted with his household. The Armenians call that spot the Landing-place [literally, Apobaterion], for it was there that the ark came safe to land, and they show the relics of it to this day (Antiquities 1: 3: 5). In a letter published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Constantinoplebased American missionary H.G.O. Dwight observed about Nakhichevan, In the Armenian, this name is composed of two words, nakh, first, and ichevan, descent, or resting-place, i.e. “the first descent” or “the first resting place,” which they say is the first place of abode built by Noah and his sons after the flood (1855: 190).7 Dwight goes to further pains to point out that other ancient authorities other than the Armenians attested to the significance of the name “Nakhichevan.” He makes it clear that it cannot be accounted for on the ground that the Armenians devised this name in order to give strength to their tradition about Mount Ararat and the ark; for it is proved by ancient historians of other nations, that both the name and the tradition existed hundreds of years before the Armenians embraced Christianity (1855: 190) ...and he mentions Josephus and Ptolemy as examples. Murad concurs. In chapter 9 of his book, he says Josephus’ declaration about the Apobaterion in Armenia clearly indicates that the spot—which in the Armenians’ own language means “Landing place”—is to be found in Armenia, and he asserts that it has nothing to do with the Kardu Mountains. The local tradition confirms this memory of the Apobaterion in the city of Nakhichevan. Here, it is said, Noah settled after the Flood and died, and from at least the 13th century, a monument marked his grave there. The
significance of the name is that it means the place where one first disembarks, or the First Settlement. Dwight elaborates, But the most singular of all these traditional etymologies is that of the well known town of Nakhchevan, or more properly Nakhichevan. In the Armenian, this name is composed of two words, nakh, first, and ichevan, descent, or resting-place, i.e. “the first descent” or “the first resting place,” which they say is the first place of abode built by Noah and his sons after the flood (1855: 190). I am aware that the nineteenth-century language scholar, Heinrich Hubschmann, while agreeing that the name “Nakhichevan” in Armenian literally means “the place of descent,” goes on to state that it was not known by that name in antiquity (Hubschmann, pp. 69–79). Instead, he claimed the present-day name evolved from “Naxcavan,” where the prefix “Naxc” was a name, and “avan” is Armenian for “town.” It may be that “Nakhichevan” thus reflects a renaming, similar to New Amsterdam becoming New York. But the fact remains: Josephus, as early as the first century, noted that the Armenians tied the Noah tradition to the site prior to any significant Jewish or Christian influences from outside. And noting the similarity of “Naxc” to”nakh,” if Dwight’s derivation of the etymology of “nakh” is correct, the original name may well have signified “First Town.” A 100-year-old photograph of the reputed Tomb of Noah in Nakhichevan (Aivazian 1990) exists. Indications are that it is no longer extant, having been destroyed by the Soviets.
Conybeare summarizes Murad’s information thus: The Armenians had their own native legend of a flood and of an ark which rested on Masis—this at least as early as the first century of our era, long centuries
before they adopted Christianity. Their neighbors equated this Armenian legend with the biblical one, and Josephus, Antiq. Jud., I, 90 ff. (1, 3, 5) even asserts that the Armenians themselves called the place where the navigator of their ark-whom he identifies with Noah-stepped out by the name apobaterion, a true rendering of Nachidschewan [Nakhichevan], Ptolemy’s Naxouava, which lies southeast of Masis, about sixty miles from the summit. Jewish influence cannot possibly have led the Armenians at so remote a date to invent such a place-name, and give such an interpretation of it (1901: 336). This point cannot be overemphasized: Noah-connected place-names existed in Armenia BEFORE there was a significant Jewish or Christian presence in country to attribute them to. They were native traditions going back to earliest times. Dwight discussed this thus: 1. ...it is a highly improbable thing that a comparatively small body of Jewish emigrants should have given an Armenian name to an Armenian town, where they happened to be living, in order to give currency to a mere tradition connected with their own religion, and that diametrically opposed to the religion of the country. Probably a parallel case cannot be found in the world. 2. It is still more improbable that the Armenians, while still heathens, should so generally have adopted this name, and connected with it a belief that it commemorated the event referred to, and that the remains of the ark were still preserved in the immediate neighborhood (as Josephus says they did), merely on the dictum of a band of stranger Jews that had come to settle among them. 3. And even if this very improbable supposition were true, then it very naturally follows that the Jews in question really believed that Mount Ararat was the mountain upon which the ark rested, which certainly must be regarded as a much earlier tradition than any that can be brought in favor of Mount Joodi [sic], in Koordistan, the only other locality which has any substantial claims (1855: 191). Another significant place name is the original village of Arghuri (also spelled Agouri or Ahora), which prior to its 1840 destruction was located at the foot of Ararat. The name is said to mean “where Noah planted the grapevine” (cf. Gn 9:20). Noorbergen documents the following about it: It is said that Agouri is the spot where Noah planted the first vineyards. Sahag Kaleidjan, librarian of the Gulbenkian Library [in the Jerusalem Armenian Convent], commented that he grew up with the knowledge that Agouri is a place worthy of special attention and veneration. He told me, “It was built on hallowed ground and became the starting point of all post-Deluge civilizations.” He also subscribes to the church-held tradition that the sanctuary of Agouri is built on the site where Noah erected his altar of burnt offering after disembarking from the ark (1980: 53).
Finally, mention must be made of the town of Marand, not far from Ararat and Nakhichevan in northern Iran. It is the Marunda of Ptolemy, where tradition has it that Noah’s wife died and her bones were buried under a mosque. The following photo is of Ark researcher Violet Cummings visiting that mosque.
Dwight observed, Farther to the East, towards Tabriz, is the town of Marant [Marand], a name which the Armenians derive from two words, mair, mother, and ant, there, i.e. “the mother is there,” the current tradition being that the wife of Noah was interred in that place (1855: 190). INTERDISCIPLINARY WITNESSES TO ARMENIAN ANTIQUITY One last consideration to very briefly mention is that, wherever the landing-place of the Ark was, in that area is where we would expect to find the earliest indications of human civilization. The bulk of the evidence indicates that the Armenian Highlands are the original cradle of humanity, NOT Mesopotamia. Some of the evidence includes: Agriculture The findings of Nikolai I. Vavilov, who according to the www.vir.nw.ru/history/vavilov.htm website is “recognized as the foremost plant geographer of contemporary times,” support the idea that the Armenian Highlands were the cradle of civilization. He writes: There is no doubt that Armenia is the chief home of cultivated wheat. Asia Minor and Trans-Caucasia gave origin to rye...the home of alfalfa, the world’s most important forage crop, is located in Trans-Caucasia and Iran.... (1937: 113).6
Ancient sites in the area Many very ancient sites have been documented in the area around Ararat. Map 9 in Hewsen’s Historical Atlas shows sites of early archaeological finds. In the notes written on the map, he observes that “skulls of the earliest human ancestors were found at Dmanisi in 2000” and, “Kavoukjian [an Armenian historian] identifies the large prehistoric complex at Metsamor with the important city of Aratta mentioned in Sumerian epics (c. 3000 B.C.).” Metsamor lies along the Araxes River to the northnortheast of Mount Ararat.
The above map shows that the Araxes River valley was home to a number of Fourth Millennium/Early Bronze sites. When we look to the area around Mount Cudi (just north of the Tigris River), however, we find but a single Early Transcaucasian site nearby. It seems clear that the Armenian Highlands, right around Mount Ararat, have a much greater claim to being the birthplace of civilization, in keeping with Ararat being the point from which the first post-Flood families scattered over the world. CONCLUSIONS The historical data the Mount Cudi case is built on, though having both antiquity and a large measure of internal consistency that makes it attractive to historians, is not objectively true. This is seen in the important role the Babylonian Flood story plays in Berossus’ writings. When we further appreciate the clear indications that Berossus influenced most historians in the Syro-Mesopotamian stream in their identification of Mount Cudi as the Ark landing-place, we see the case in favor of Mount Cudi is greatly, if not fatally, undermined. A strong case is made that the historical data amassed so far in favor of Mount Cudi, while superficially “true,” is incomplete on a deeper level, and has led many to wrong conclusions. When we get the more complete view of the histories that takes into account the influence of Berossus, the apparent conflicts with accepting the genuineness at least the
most well-attested testimonies, such as that of George Hagopian, fall away. The need to consider “mysterious” certain historical data that does not easily fit into the Mount Cudi framework likewise no longer exists, as is a sense that one must seek overly creative ways to reconcile certain Scriptures with the historical framework. Everything falls neatly into place—although the exact location of the Ark on Mount Ararat still remains an open question! Rather than being content with pruning branches of the Mount Cudi tree, I believe we need to lay an axe at its roots. It has been drawing sustenance from the polluted wellspring of Berossus, and needs to be cut down to allow the full sunlight to again shine on Mount Ararat and help us focus our limited resources on uncovering the Ark under its snows. By presenting this study, I hope I have helped to make this happen. NOTES 1. Rex Geissler, on his website at www.noahsarksearch.com/Eyewitnesses.htm, has compiled a lengthy list of eyewitness testimonies which almost unanimously point to Turkey’s Mount Ararat as the location of the Ark. 2. Bill Crouse has been a longtime advocate of Mount Cudi. Articles on it have been published in Archaeology and Biblical Research 5(3), pp. 66–77, and Bible and Spade 19(4), pp. 99–111. 3. Elfred Lee has extensive audiotapes of his interviews with Hagopian. John Warwick Montgomery also has an independent audiotaped interview in his possession. Although the Hagopian interview transcript in chapter 8 of Montgomery’s book bears every appearance of being derived from Lee, Montgomery states (personal correspondence) it came from someone else, now deceased. 4. I am indebted to Gordon Franz, on the ABR staff, for locating for me a microfilm copy of this work, and to Walter Pasedag, Associates for Biblical Research volunteer, for translating the bulk of it from the original German. 5. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_of_Chorene. The work is accessible to the English reader through Robert W. Thomson (ed.), The History of the Armenians / Moses Khorenatsi. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978. 6. See also his 1931 paper, The Problem of the Origin of the World’s Agriculture in the Light of the Latest Investigations. 7. Armenian words in the ancient script were also included in the original article, but for simplicity have been left out of the quotation in this paper. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aivazian, Argam 1990 Nakhijevan Book of Monuments. Yerevan: Anahit. Conybeare, Frederick C. 1901 Review of Ararat und Masis: Studien zur armenischen Altertumskunde und Litteratur, by Friedrich Murad. The American Journal of Theology 5(2): 335– 337.
Corbin, B.J., ed. 1999 The Explorers of Ararat, second ed. Long Beach, CA: Great Commission Illustrated Books. Creation Tips How Big was Noah’s Ark? www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/arksize.html (accessed November 8, 2007). Crouse, Bill 1992 Noah’s Ark: Its Final Berth. Archaeology and Biblical Research 5(3): 66–77. Also online at www.fishnet.us/cim/technicals/noah.txt (accessed November 8, 2007). 1993 Figment or Fact? The Incredible Discovery of Noah’s Ark. Ararat Report 32 (May 1993), www.fishnet.us/cim/reports/ar32.txt (accessed November 5, 2007). Crouse, Bill and Franz, Gordon 2006 Mount Cudi—True Mountain of Noah’s Ark. Bible and Spade, 19(4): 99–111. Cummings, Violet M. 1973 Noah’s Ark: Fact or Fable? San Diego: Creation-Science Research Center. Custance, Arthur 2001 The Flood: Local or Global? The Doorway Papers. 2nd online ed. Volume 9, Part II, www.custance.org/Library/Volume9/Part_II/Introduction.htm (accessed November 8, 2007). Dillmann, August 1892 Die Genesis. 6th ed. Leipzig: S. Herzel. Dwight, H.G.O. 1855 Armenian Traditions about Mount Ararat. Journal of the American Oriental Society 5 (1855–1856): 189–191. Fasold, David F. 1988 The Ark of Noah. New York: Knightsbridge Publishing. Gallery.am n.d. www.gallery.am/viewimage.php?iid=107&langid=1 (accessed November 4, 2007). Geissler, Rex n.d. Alleged Eyewitness Accounts Summary, www.noahsarksearch.com/Eyewitnesses.htm (accessed November 8, 2007). n.d. Ancient Kingdom of Urartu. Noah’s Ark Search - Mount Ararat, www.noahsarksearch.com/urartu.htm (accessed November 9, 2007). Hewsen, Robert H. 2001 Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hubschmann, Heinrich 1901 Armeniaca. Strassburger Festschrift zur XLVI Versammlung Deutscher Philolgen und Schulmanner. Strassburg: Karl Taubner. Josephus, Flavius 1999 Jewish Antiquities 1, 3, 5–6 in The New Complete Works of Josephus, trans. William Whiston. Grand Rapids: Kregel. Kraeling, Emil G. 1947 Miqqedem in Genesis XI: 2. Jewish Quarterly Review 38(2): 161–165.
Lanser, Richard D. 2004 Noah’s Ark in Iran? Weekly Article (Associates for Biblical Research), July 19, www.biblearchaeology.org/articles/article49.html (accessed November 9, 2006). Lovett, Tim n.d. Flood Legends. Worldwideflood.com, www.worldwideflood.com/flood/legends/flood_legends.htm (accessed November 7, 2007). Montgomery, John Warwick 1972 The Quest for Noah’s Ark. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship. Murad, Friedrich 1901 Ararat und Masis: Studien zur Armenischen Altertumskunde und Litteratur. Heidelberg: Carl Winter. Noorbergen, Rene 1960 The Ark File. Mountain View CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association. Sewell, Curt 1994 The Tablet Theory of Genesis Authorship. Bible and Spade 7(1): 23–26. Shepherd, William R. 1923 Reference Map of Asia Minor under the Greeks and Romans. P. 20 in Historical Atlas. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Thomson, Robert W. 1985 History of the House of the Artsrunik. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University. Vavilov, Nikolai I. 1931 Problem of the Origin of the World’s Agriculture in the Light of the Latest Investigations, www.marxists.org/subject/science/essays/vavilov.htm (accessed November 8, 2007). 1937 Asia: Source of Species. Asia (February 1937): 113. Wikipedia Berossus, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berossus (accessed November 6, 2007). Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Cornwallis_Conybeare (accessed November 6, 2007). Moses of Chorene, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_of_Chorene (accessed November 6, 2007).
