Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: @vm.cc.purdue.edu:XWUU@PURCCVM Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: No Biblical Mt Ararat [was:Noahs Ark] Message-ID: Date: 24 May 91 03:26:19 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Purdue University Lines: 34 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu re: the mountain(s) of Ararat. From a distance this "range" of mountains, in fact, looks like one peak. The largest peak of the approximately 65 peaks is called "Agri Dagh" in Turkish. It means "the mountain of agony" owing to its inhospitable conditions. It has been called Mt. Ararat for much longer than "the last few centuries" as the last poster has said. Rather, the Armenian people living in this area have recognized it as the place of Noah's Ark for several millenia! The current Mt Ararat (Agri Dagh) stands 17,000 feet, far above the next highest peak of about 11,000 feet. (this smaller peak, by the way, is known as "Little Ararat") It is reasonable to beleive that the largest peak would receive the most attention and would be the peak by which the rest of the range would was named. Ararat means "holy ground." The Persian name for the mountain is Koh-i-Nuh, or "Noah's Mountain." The most ancient name for the region surrounding this mo untain is "Terephaminin" or "region of the eight." The river that forms from the melting ice on the mountain and forms the border between Turkey and the Soviet Union is named the Araxes River and means "River of the Ark." These names have been around for as long as the Armenian people have been in the region - tradition says nearly 4000 years! The names refering to Noah and the Ark are not mere conventions that have sprung up in the last couple of generations. By the way, the earliest published account claiming the existence of the Ark (outside of the Old Testament) was an account by Berosus ( a babylonian priest) written about 275 B.C. About 2000 years ago, Josephus (a Jewish historian) mentions the Ark 3 times in his writings. He locates the Ark at Naxuana (= the place of Descent). Naxuana is still there - at the base of the mountain known today as "Ararat." Kirk A. Janowiak xwuu@purccvm