RUSSIA/TURKEY: Russian team of explorers renews search for the site of noah's ark on mount Ararat

Record ID: 834562

  • Title: RUSSIA/TURKEY: Russian team of explorers renews search for the site of noah's ark on mount Ararat
  • Date: 13th October 2003
  • Summary: (L!2) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (OCTOBER 13, 2003) (REUTERS) WIDE OF (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ANDREI POLYAKOV, EXPEDITION LEADER, SAYING: "It is certain that the ark is there. We found many things that confirm that people lived there in ancient times and that it was Noah and eight people who descended with him. We brought back some video which will be in our film that proves this. We a
  • Embargoed: 28th October 2003 12:00
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  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA + MT ARARAT, TURKEY
  • City:
  • Country: Russian Federation Turkey
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,History
  • Reuters ID: LVA23BGNMYOQYUS5RHWT7F99HER3
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  • Story Text: A Russian team has renewed the search for Noah's Ark A group of Russians has just returned from an expedition to Mt. Ararat, renewing the quest to find Noah's Ark. Expedition leaders say that they plan to continue their trips in the coming years and find scientific proof that the Ark exists or does not exist in this region of present-day Turkey.
    Noah's Ark is mentioned in the Torah, Bible and the Koran as a large boat that was built to save humans and animals from destruction during a great flood that covered the earth.
    It's power as a religious artefact and symbolic metaphor has inspired the Russian team to mount its expedition.
    "To the people who know about the Bible, this is a kind of legendary symbol of the past of humankind. For other people, they could regard it as a symbol of the salvation of humankind. And this is a really interesting and really important story for the whole of humankind," said Andrei Matrynov, producer of the documentary film about the expedition set to premier on Russian television this November.
    The Russian expedition, led by Andrei Polyakov set out this September to explore key areas that were long believed to possibly be the resting site of Noah's Ark. The team began by exploring artefacts and the boat-shaped mound site just south of Mt. Ararat known as Durupinar.
    This formation is one of three boat-like structures along Mt. Ararat that has stirred debate over the past decades with some proponents arguing that it is the remains of Noah's Ark or the impression left by Noah's Ark and others saying that it is only a natural formation.
    "It is certain that the ark is there. We found many things that confirm that people lived there in ancient times and that it was Noah and eight people who descended with him. We brought back some video which will be in our film that proves this. We also have video of a boat which had been believed to have been Noah's Ark. We have no doubt that this is a boat. Nobody in our expedition doubts this. We will let scientists determine whether or not it is Noah's Ark. But this is absolutely some type of ancient boat," said Polyakov.
    Polyakov and his team say that a final analysis can be made only after more extensive research and explorations of other areas. For this reason they plan to launch future expeditions with a large scientific entourage.
    They are not the first expedition to the region, but the most recent. During the Cold War, the region was closed because it was right on the border between the Soviet Union and NATO-member Turkey. Now the region remains a politically sensitive area with Kurdish population along the border with Armenia and Iran and for this reason access is limited.
    A planned U.S-led expedition was denied permission in 2002. Polyakov and his team were granted a rare chance for their six-day mission and the Russian team believes that much of its success was due to good relations with Turkish authorities and the local population which guided them through the region.
    "As far as I understood, the locals seem to divide people into two categories. They don't show everyone what is there. In order for them to show you, you have to have a key to their hearts. And I think this is what made our expedition successful. We were able to communicate with the locals well. They were wary of us at first and didn't show us anything at the beginning. There were times when we arrived at a location and knew what we wanted to film there and were standing practically 5 metres from the object, but they would tell us that there wasn't anything there. So we would leave, but we would talk with them and explain some things to them and then we would return after two days to that same location and they would show us immediately what was only 5 metres away," said Polyakov.
    The expedition hopes in the coming years to extensively explore Mt Ararat with an international team of scientists and researchers.
    But they say that if indeed they do find Noah's Ark, they hope that the historic artefact can remain on Mt.
    Ararat, explored, discovered--but undisturbed by commercial ventures or waves of religious pilgrims.
    "I think that it [the ark] should remain there, where it is. I don't think that there will be so many pilgrims coming to the area to see it because, after all, it is physically demanding and difficult to get there. Maybe some commerce will develop around the area, but that area is a mountain after all. It's a living mountain. It's a volcano and we heard how it moved, how it is alive. So we shouldn't disturb it. Remember, all these ancient legends said that you shouldn't disturb the ark. We can watch documentaries and see the proof, but we shouldn't disturb it," said Polyakov.
    Currently, winter weather makes any expeditions impossible. The team is waiting until late spring when they hope to return to the area and continue their explorations.
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