Big and Little Ararat as seen from outer space.
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Great Flood and Noah’s Ark

Hwaa Irfan
06 October, 2019

Floods have always been a part of human existence. Seasonal floods increase soil fertility bringing nutrients as they also gave birth to the agricultural revolution and the first permanent human settlements on the riverbanks of Africa and Asia (NASA p.1-3). There is one flood, however, that continues to intrigue adventurers and scientists alike.

Story Narrated by Many Civilizations

The story of the Great Flood has passed on orally from generation to generation in 272 countries. “And We perpetuated to him (praise) among the later generations“, as mentioned in the Qur’an: (The Qur’an, 37:78). Common to all stories are the torrential rains and walls of destructive water bursting into valleys destroying everything en route (Handwerk p.1).

The accounts most similar to those of the Bible and the Qur’an are from Mesopotamia and China. In Hawaii Prophet Nuh was ‘Nu-u’ and in China ‘Nu-wah’. All stories agree that The Flood came when the world had reached a dangerous point requiring the need to rid the world of evil (Xenohistorian p.5, 8).

Recent findings indicate that The Flood was indeed universal. Last year, explorer Robert Ballard found evidence that The Flood inundated the Black Sea in N. Turkey approximately 5500 years B.C with a local account of Prophet Nuh (Krouse p.2). Archaeological evidence confirms the same for the Tigris-Euphrates region. Other evidence revealed by sonar technology includes the unusual formation of 1900- 2500 geometric blocks and crests in the deep waters of Cuba that remain unexplained.

The oral history of Mayans and native Yucatans of South America speak of their ancestors vanishing beneath the sea. Similar structures have been found on the corresponding South American coastline. Off the coast of South India, local oral history refers to seven temples, six of which were swallowed by the sea. The seventh remains on the shores of Tamil Nadu. Local fishermen point to the location of the ruins consisting of foundation walls, broken pillars, steps and scattered blocks (Handwerk p1).

Many deem it impossible for our environment to create enough water to submerge even the highest mountain let alone survival under such conditions. But Allah said in the Qur’an: “And the heavens we raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample. And the earth, We have made it a wide extent; how well We have then spread (it) out” (The Qur’an, 51:47-48).

Scientists have indeed shown that two hundred million cubic miles of water are stored beneath the ocean’s floor (xenohistorian p.2). Biblical and Qu’ranic accounts tell of torrential rains that began The Flood. Followed by the opening of the earth, it is believed the speed at which this volume of water was released caused the splitting of the continents into east and west triggered by a polar magnetic shift (xenohistorian p.2). Mountains submerged in water would explain the fish and animal fossils found in every mountainous region (Zahid p.1).

Search for Lost Ark

Great Flood and Noah’s Ark - About Islam

The search for the location of Noah’s Ark is meant to be the final proof for those who need it. The Biblical reference for the final resting place of the Ark is cited as Mount Ararat. The CIA state Mount Ararat in Turkey as the “legendary landing place of Noah’s Ark” (CIA p.2).

‘Ararat’ comes from the Sumerian ‘Arrata’ who referred to The Flood in their poems as the place of rebirth, after the deluge that fell upon Mesopotamia and ‘The Fertile Crescent’ (Nazaryan p.1). Mount Ararat, however, is a mountain range, not a mountain, extending from the Armenian plateau to South Kurdistan. To add to the intrigue, there is also a mountain called Mount Ararat (Zahid p.1).

Mount Ararat consists of two peaks, Big and Little Ararat. Big Ararat is an inactive volcano 17,020 feet high (Siegle p.9). The peak is permanently snow-capped and covered in clouds and is the main source of the Euphrates headwaters (cci.org p.3).

“And it was said: O earth, swallow down your water, and O cloud, clear away; and the water was made to abate and the affair was decided, and the ark rested on The Judi, and it was said: Away with the unjust people” (The Qur’an, 11:44). There is a Mount Judi in Southern Arabia and Judi was also the name of the high ridge on Mount Ararat for 200 years (Noahsarksearch p.1). The Mount Judi referred to here is 200 miles south of Mount Ararat.

In view are the Iraqi and Syrian borders while the River Tigris flows 25 miles from its base. Ancient references call it Cudi Dagh, Mount Quardu, Gordyene Mountains, Karduchian Mountains, mountains of the Kurds, and Mount Nipur. Not identified on modern maps, it is 7,000 feet high. Nestorian Christians built monasteries on Mount Judi and in 766 A.D, Muslims built a mosque there.

Explorer Gertrude Bell in 1910 reported a stone structure in the shape of a ship at the summit that was locally known as ‘Sefinet Nabi Nuh’ – ‘The Ship of Prophet Noah’. Every September 14th, Christians, Jews, Muslims and Yezidis gathered to commemorate Noah’s sacrifice. Mount Judi was also once called Mount Ararat (Crouse p.3, 8).

How Big Was Prophet Noah’s Ark

Great Flood and Noah’s Ark - About Islam

The Bible states the measurement of the Ark to be 300 x 50 x 30 cubits. The Babylonian cubit is equal to 19.8 inches, the Egyptian short cubit is 17.6 inches while the long cubit is 20.65 inches, the Hebrew cubit is 17.5 inches and 20.4 inches and the American Biblical cubit is 18 inches making the ark somewhere about 450x75x45 feet with three decks (xenohistorian p.3). The search for Noah’s Ark has been unabated since the 1950s despite the strong possibility that it has disintegrated with time or has moved due to the forces of the elements (Crouse p.1).

Renewed attempts to locate the Ark had transpired from the CIA collection of satellite images of Mount Ararat. George Carver, a top CIA official had stated at a Florida gathering, “that there were clear indications that there was something up on Mount Ararat which was rather strange.”

For 20 years, U.S reconnaissance had routinely photographed the ‘Ararat Anomaly’, and was so intrigued that it led to a CIA study by the National Photographic Interpretation Center in the 1970s. The U-2 photographs were released but the high-resolution KH-9 spy satellite images were not (News p.1, 3, 4, 5).

A replica of Noah's Ark built by Greenpeace on Mount Ararat, in order to protest global warming.

A replica of Noah’s Ark built by Greenpeace on Mount Ararat, in order to protest global warming.

The character of Indiana Jones of the film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ was based on the life of archaeologist Vendyl Jones, a specialist in the Middle East who had said that it was “between maybe and probably” that they have found Noah’s Ark (Wroe p.1). Many claims have been made. The Turkish government in 1987 declared the site a national park and began work on a modern highway leading to ‘Nuh’un Gemisi’ – Noah’s Ark (News p.6).

In 1994, a claim was made, with the Ark sited 32 km from Mount Ararat, on the Turkish-Iranian border (Wroe p.1). Being in a politically sensitive area, Mount Ararat was declared a military zone (Siegle p.10).

This had slowed any further exploration, but in 2000, Robert Ballard’s team sponsored by the National Geographic Society identified a wooden structure off the coast of Northern Turkey submerged between two ancient riverbeds. “It consists of a single building with a hewn beam and wooden branches that formed the walls and roof of a structure most likely like a house.

We have also found and photographed stone tools, possibly a chisel or an axe, and ceramic storage vessels, all untouched since the flooding of the Black Sea.” Using remotely operated vehicles, Ballard’s team identified a rectangular feature measuring 12 x 4 meters. Situated in deep oxygen-free waters it seemed well preserved.

They used carbon dating and samples from shells and sediments to estimate a time period of 7,500 B.C. They received permission from the Turkish government to remove samples of wood for more accurate dating (Krouse p.1, 3, 6). This year, the Turkish government has denied all foreigners access to Mount Ararat. The reason given pertains to theborders with Iran. (noahsarksearch p.1).

Referring to Robert Ballard’s recent possible discovery, expedition archaeologist Frederik Hiebert stated, “This is a major discovery that will rewrite the history of civilizations in this key area between Europe, Asia and the Middle East” (Krouse p.2). The significance then surely begs the question as to the development of civilization before The Flood. Have we done it all before and if so are we only repeating past mistakes?

“Do you then see of them one remaining? And Pharoah and those before him and the overthrown cities continuously committed sins. And they disobeyed the Apostle of their Lord, so He punished them with a vehement punishment. Surely We bore you up in the ship when the water rose high. So that We may make it a reminder to you, and that the retaining ear might retain it.” (Surat Al-Haqqah 69:8-12).

This article is from Science’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.

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