The Flood is a catastrophe sent to people by God. All living things perished in it, except for one righteous person and his family. God told them to build a large ship and take on it a couple of representatives of each species of animals and birds. On this ship they escaped from the water element.
Interestingly, this legend does not exist only in the Bible (the book of Genesis). There are also many earlier legends in the mythology of different peoples of the world. Moreover, these peoples live in different parts of the world in Europe, Asia, America.
As for when exactly the flood occurred, researchers agree on a date of 810 thousand years ago. It was caused, most likely, by the melting of glaciers, as a result of which the sea level began to rise. However, such flood legends most often exist among coastal peoples, so some sources may tell about local disasters. For example, the Babylonian legend of Gilgamesh tells of a flood in Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is quite possible that as a result of some natural reasons the rivers could overflow and flood Mesopotamia. Local residents perceived this disaster as a worldwide flood.
As for Noah's ark of the ship, on which, according to the biblical tradition, Noah, his family and animals were saved from the flood, the book of Genesis gives its detailed description. Outwardly, the ship resembled a huge barge. It was built, most likely, of cypress, impregnated with some kind of sealing material. The ark had one window, one door, and three inner decks. The ship was 45 feet high, 450 feet long, 75 feet wide. Thus, the size of Noah's Ark can be compared to the sunken Titanic.
Scientists argue as to whether the ark could fit "a pair of each creature." Those who are inclined to believe the biblical legend declare that it was enough to take a couple of representatives of each genus or family, for example, cats, etc.
Undoubtedly, all disputes would be resolved if it was possible to find Noah's ark, or rather what was left of it. According to legend, the ark landed on Mount Ararat, more precisely, to its top, which was not flooded with water. This mountain is located on the territory of modern Turkey. Active searches for the remains of the ship have been going on since about the end of the 4th century AD. none of the expeditions, modern or older, were able to locate the fragments of the ship, although many claimed to have seen something that could be mistaken for an ark.
Many researchers, returning from expeditions, presented fragments of boards or fossilized objects resembling ship control devices as evidence of the finding of the ark. But each time it turned out to be either falsification, or the finds were of natural origin.
They also tried to look for Noah's Ark not on Mount Ararat itself, but in its vicinity. Photos of objects that look like the skeleton of a ship were taken in the area of the city of Dogubayazit, on a rocky hill. Another place of the alleged location of the ark is considered to be the Durupinar area, located south of Mount Ararat.
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Most controversial is the strange object that can be seen through the ice cap on the top of Mount Ararat. With its outlines, it resembles an oblong vessel. But the search for a ship in this area is difficult, since the mountain is located on the Turkish-Armenian border, where a tense interethnic situation has been reigning for many years.
