Traditionally it has been claimed that the Biblical Noah’s Ark came to rest on the slopes of Ağrı Dagı (Mt Ararat) near Doğubayazıt in Eastern Turkey. There have been many expeditions up the mountain in search of it. However, during the 1980s and ‘90s the tense political situation in the Kurdish areas of Turkey put the mountain off-limits to most foreign climbers whereupon suddenly it was “discovered” that the Ark had actually come to rest east of Doğubayazıt on the hillside high above Telçeker, reputedly the greenest village in the area.
Venture there and you’ll be shown (from a distance) a roughly oval shape on the ground which some believe is made not from rock but from petrified wood. There’s a small and dilapidated information centre, which records the claims made for the site. Frankly, it’s a bit of a non-event but no matter since the drive up takes you through some spectacular scenery.
It’s worth pointing out that the Kurds and the Syrian Orthodox believe the Ark came to rest far away from here on Cudi Dağı (Mt Cudi), near Cizre in the south-east.
Transport info
Without your own car you will have to hire a taxi in Doğubayazıt to visit the site.
The trip can be combined with a look at the meteor crater near the Iranian border. If there are several of you this may be a cost-effective idea. Alone, you may not think that what you see justified the taxi fare.
