The Dutch carpenter, frightened by his nightmare, created a real "Noah's Ark": the man carefully studied the Bible in order to comply with all dimensions of the ship to the last elbow.
In 1992, Johan Hubers had a nightmare: a carpenter saw streams of water washing the Netherlands off the face of the earth. It is noteworthy that throughout its history, this country has been constantly exposed to floods. And on the eve of the next "end of the world", expected in 2000, this topic was repeatedly discussed by the Dutch, which, apparently, influenced Hubers' dreams.
The man began to carefully study the Old Testament, in particular Genesis 6: 9, which indicated the dimensions of the ark that Noah was to build. Johan translated the elbows into feet and received the dimensions of his future product.
As a result of years of work, Hubers created a real "Noah's Ark": using pine planks, a carpenter built a ship 427 feet (130 meters) long, 95 feet (29 meters) in diameter and 75 feet (23 meters) high. The weight of the huge ship is about 3 tons.
The Johan's Ark, moored in the city of Dordrecht, is clearly visible from the nearby highways, so the owner of the ship receives crowds of curious visitors every day.
To make the ark fit its purpose, the carpenter placed stuffed plastic animals such as buffaloes, zebras, gorillas, lions, tigers and bears in the hold of the ship. But in the other wing of the ark there is a zoo with live and less dangerous specimens: dogs, sheep, rabbits and ponies. The plumage of exotic birds in spacious cages is also pleasing to the eye.
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“This boat is just an amazing place, because being in it is an incredible experience. We have come here for a reason,”says a Dutchman who has arrived on an excursion with his wife.
Not only adults are delighted with the Johan's Ark: little visitors are happy to turn the water pumps and levers that lift bales of hay.
On the upper deck of the unique ship, there is a restaurant and a cinema that can accommodate 50 people. The comfortable vessel was liked by many tourists wishing to see the real ark.
“We are all familiar with the story of Noah, but no one has seen how it actually worked. Imagine, there are tanks for collecting rainwater and hatches in which food supplies can be stored. I'm impressed with the level of detail,”one visitor enthuses.
Anna Romantseva
