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Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-01-26
CONTENTS
[01] Ararat, 'Ark' beckon tourists
[01] Ararat, 'Ark' beckon tourists
<!--ÔëòüìòñÞüìòWhereas Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis'
milestone visit to Turkey late this week may have dominated much of the
"weightier" news coming out of the closely watched EU candidate
country, a distinctly overlooked press conference -- replete with
Biblical connotations -- took place last week in a remote and
snow-covered far-east corner of Turkey that nevertheless offered
glimpses of modern Turkey's unrelenting desire for development and
international recognition.Located on a dry, elevated plain towered over
by imposing Mt. Ararat and Lesser Ararat, the dusty border town of
DoÄbeyazit played host to the off-beat press conference, where a
disparate panel of Hong Kong media executives-cum-Christian
evangelists, a handful of Turkish academics and scientists along with
officials of the host province (AÄi) enthusiastically unveiled
"material evidence" of the existence of the Biblical Noah's Ark. The
"evidence", resembling a small bolder of a greyish colour, was
reportedly tested by a Hong Kong lab and deemed to be petrified wood,
according to the two men behind Hong Kong-based Noah Ark Ministries
International, Media Evangelism Ltd. founder Andrew Yuen and HK
documentary maker Yeung Wing-Cheung.Both men, who joined local mountain
guides for a gruelling expedition atop Mt. Ararat last February, said
the object was taken from an 11.5-metre-long chunk of the same material
-- called a "large wooden structure" in press releases -- which was
found in a cave located at roughly 4,000 metres atop Mt. Ararat. The
fabled mountain dominates the landscape in the rugged triangle where
the modern states of Turkey, Iran and Armenia converge --
geographically, but certainly not politically. A military presence is
easily discernable in the area, as the town hosts a well-equipped army
garrison and there are gendarmerie checkpoints on all roads in the
province, although locals appear more-or-less unfazed by the
activity.Promises to give samples of the "object" to researchers and
labs around the world for independent testing, ahead of another "Noah's
Ark" summit in DoÄbeyazit in August, and access to the cave on the
northwest side of the mount were uttered and repeated, as Yuen casually
informed reporters that at least one piece of the material found in the
cave will be returned to Hong Kong for display in a future "Noah's Ark
theme park". He quickly clarified that "theme park" means a cultural
and "inspirational" centre on a Hong Kong waterfront, with construction
to come via local government funding and support by a major land
developer in the former British colony.Asked to calculate the costs for
his organisation's quest to find and prove that a wooden structure was
still somewhere atop Turkey's highest peak, Yuen said "several hundreds
of thousands of dollars" since 2004.For local residents, predominately
ethnic Kurds, and central government-appointed officials, Ararat's
potential as a draw for "Indiana Jones"-like pilgrims and adventurous
tourists wishing to step-off the "beaten path" appeared incalculable.
One of the leitmotifs stressed by the local and Hong Kong organisers of
the conference was that all three major monotheistic faiths cite the
story of Noah, the Flood and the Ark. The last time the area attracted
international attention it was of a decidedly negative light, namely, a
series of deaths in January 2006 attributed to the H5N1 virus during
the height of the "Bird Flu" scare around the world. The Agri area also
witnessed a major Turkish military operation in late 1994 against
Kurdish insurgents, whereas the mountain and the surrounding lands at
one time formed the medieval "Armenian heartland". A new three-star
hotel in DoÄbeyazit is testament to local hopes that venerated Ararat
will again lure travellers to the remote AÄi and IÄir provinces by the
thousands. The deep-pocketed Hong Kong Chinese executives also promised
to build a museum in DoÄbeyazit, a pronouncement that was met with
applause in the cold auditorium where the presentation was held."(The
discovery) supports the thesis of the Ark resting on Ararat," was the
way the city's governor, Cemalettin DemircioÄu, diplomatically opened
the press conference, with a trio of out-of-town Turkish professors
merely adding their belief that the Ark rests on Mt. Ararat, "but that
more substantiated evidence (of its existence) is necessary".
Indicative of the type of visitor local officials hope will help end
the isolation of this under-developed and often turbulent part of the
Near East, self-described "Ark researcher" Gerrit Aalten recounts
several stories related to his repeated visits to the area and
friendship with local people.Asked if he believes there are remains of
a wooden ark atop Ararat, the Dutchman responds, "yes, definitely."- H.
TzanisCaption: A view of Ararat Mountain in the background, as pictured
on Tuesday, 18 February 2003 from the Armenian side of the border with
Turkey. ANA-MPA/EPA /ANATOLY MALTSEV
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