| Travel to Anatolia |
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Dogubayazit is a three hour drive north from Van
on the shores of Lake Van, Turkey’s largest lake. Mount Ararat is visible
from Dogubayazit, and basecamp is only a one hour drive from town. |
| Welcome to Dogubayazit |
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Looking northwest from the Isfahan Hotel. |
| Welcome to Dogubayazit |
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You can also just see the Ishak Pasa Palace from the Isfahan
Hotel. It’s on the slope below the skyline saddle right of center. |
| First view of Ararat |
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At dawn, you can get this view of Ararat from the top of the
Isfahan Hotel. |
| Meteora |
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Visiting the Meteor Crater to the southeast of Ararat. From
this open area, you get a nice view of both Ararat and Little Ararat. |
| Noah’s Ark National Park |
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This ark-shaped rock formation is on a hillside at 8,000 feet
across the valley 30 miles to the southeast of Ararat. The site has been
studied by many teams looking for evidence that it might be the fossilized
remains of Noah’s Ark. There interesting findings are that the formation
is exactly 300 cubits long, which is the length of the ark as specified
in the Bible. A cubit is the distance from elbow to longest fingertip,
and is usually converted to 18 inches. Teams have also extracted petrified
wood from inside the rock walls, carbon dated the samples and determined
that they are 8,000 years old, which is the presumed date of the great
flood. Also, nearby is a large, round rock with a hole in it that is presumed
to be the Ark’s anchor stone. The government has found the evidence compelling
enough to protect the site in a National Park, and indeed, many fervently
believe that this site is the remains of Noah’s Ark. Whatever your belief,
this is a fascinating place to visit. |
| Your visit to the Ishak Pasa Palace |
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The dome from inside the first courtyard. |
| Inside the Ishak Pasa Palace |
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Classic, but crumbling architecture. |
| Inside the Ishak Pasa Palace |
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The palace is complete with its own mosque and minarete. |
