Picture of the Ararat anomaly taken by the US Defense Intelligence Agency in 1949

The Ararat anomaly is an object appearing on photographs of the snowfields at the summit of Mount Ararat, Turkey, and advanced by some believers in Biblical literalism as the remains of Noah's Ark. Image File history File links Ararat_anomaly_1949. ... Image File history File links Ararat_anomaly_1949. ... Mount Ararat (Armenian Արարատ; Turkish Ağrı Dağı; Kurdish Agirî, Ararat; Persian آرارات Ararat; Hebrew אררט, Standard Hebrew Ararat, Tiberian Hebrew ), the tallest peak in modern Turkey, is a snow-capped dormant volcanic cone, located in the far northeast of Turkey, 16 km west of Iran and 32 km south of Armenia. ... Biblical inerrancy is the view that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is in every detail infallible and without error. ... A painting by the American Edward Hicks (1780–1849), showing the animals boarding Noahs Ark two by two. ...

Overview

The anomaly is located on the northwest corner of the Western Plateau of Mount Ararat (approximately 39°42′10″N, 44°16′30″E) at about 15,500 feet (4,724 meters), some 2.2 kilometers west of the 16,854 feet (5,137 metres) summit, on the edge of what appears from the photographs to be a steep downward slope. It was first filmed during a US Air Force aerial reconnaisance mission in 1949 - the Ararat massif sits on the Turkish/Soviet border, and was thus an area of military interest. The film was given a routine classification of "Secret" as were subsequent photographs taken in 1956, 1973, 1976, 1990 and 1992, by aircraft and satellites. Six frames from the 1949 footage were released under the Freedom of Information Act to Porcher Taylor, a scholar at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies specializing in satellite intelligence and diplomacy, in 1995. A typical classified document. ... The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a Washington, D.C.-based foreign policy think tank. ... Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... The United Nations, with its headquarters in New York City, is the largest international diplomatic organization. ...

A joint research project was later established between Insight Magazine and Space Imaging (now GeoEye), using the IKONOS satellite. IKONOS, on its maiden voyage, captured the anomaly on August 5 and September 13, 2000. The Mount Ararat area also has been imaged by France's SPOT satellite in September 1989, Landsat in the 1970s and NASA's Space shuttle in 1994, as well as military satellite images captured by the CIA's KH-9 (Keyhole 9) in 1973 and KH-11 (Keyhole 11) in 1976 and 1990–1992. The weekly newsmagazine Insight, now defunct, was published by The Washington Times Corporation. ... GeoEye is a space imaging firm based in Dulles, Virginia. ... IKONOS is a commercial earth observation satellite that collects high-resolution imagery at 1- and 4-meter resolution. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... SPOT (Satellite Pour lObservation de la Terre) refers to a series of commercial earth observation satellites launched by the French Space Agency CNES (Centre National dEtudes Spatiales). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acqusition of imagery of Earth from space. ... NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle vehicle. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Codenamed Hexagon, the KH-9 was a reconnaissance satellite used by the United States from June 1971 to April 1986. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... The KH-11, also referenced by the codenames Crystal and Kennan, also commonly known as Big Bird, was a type of reconnaissance satellite launched by the American National Reconnaissance Office from December 1976 to October 2005 and used until present. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... This article is about the year. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

In search of Biblical literalism

Picture of the Ararat anomaly taken by the US Central Intelligence Agency in 1973

Many members of the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths believe that the anomaly is in fact Noah's Ark, the discovery of which would help validate their belief in the literal truth of their holy texts. The anomaly has yet to be explored. An expedition which was to have been mounted to the summit in July 2004 by Honolulu businessman Daniel McGivern was called off when permission was refused by the Turkish authorities (the area is within a restricted military zone) [1]. The McGivern expedition was labelled a "stunt" by National Geographic News, which pointed out that the expedition leader, a Turkish academic named Ahmet Ali Arslan, had previously been accused of faking claimed photographs of the Ark (or anomaly) [2]. Image File history File links Ararat_anomaly_1973. ... Image File history File links Ararat_anomaly_1973. ...

The "Noah's Ark" claims are not taken seriously by secular archaeology. The Defence Intelligence Agency, which has custody of the images, has analysed the anomaly as showing "linear facades in the glacial ice underlying more recently accumulated ice and snow" [3].

While interviewing Dr. George A. Carver, Jr, the former Deputy for National Intelligence in the CIA , about the CIA boat report, Dr. Carver gave a startling reply about the anomaly and the Bible as history. He stated "Well, I don't recall the CIA working on Noah's Ark, but I do remember that at the time there were some pictures taken, and there were clear indications that there was something up on Mt. Ararat, which was rather strange. There were various archaeological expeditions that were mounted. The Turkish government was not too thrilled about supporting them, because it was getting into an area that was politically dicey from the Turk's point of view. But that is but one of the indications, you know, I haven't been up there, I don't think anyone has, but it certainly was eyebrow lifting and it was certainly another indication that despite its splendor as a work of poetry, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, might not be all that bad as history also."

Ararat anomaly and Durupinar site

The Ararat anomaly is frequently confused with the Durupinar site, a feature some 18 miles from the mountain claimed by adventurer Ron Wyatt and his associate David Fasold to be the genuine original Noah's Ark [4]. Formations similar to the Durupinar site are common in the Ararat area, and have been identified as being of geological origin [5]. From Noahs Ark: Adrift in Dark Waters - the Durupinar ark site with site promoter David Fasold in the foreground The Durupinar site is a boat-shaped mound site in the Tenderuk mountains named after Turkish Army Captain Ilhan Durupinar who identified the formation in a Turkish Air Force aerial... Ronald Eldon Wyatt (1933 - August 4, 1999) was a controversial self-styled archaeologist (he had no training in the discipline and held no professional position) who claimed to have found many significant biblical sites and artifacts. ... From Noahs Ark: Adrift in Dark Waters - David Fasold with the Durupinar ark site in the background Donald Fasold (?-1998) was a former merchant marine officer and salvage expert who is best known for his book The Ark of Noah, chronicling his early expeditions to the so-called Durupinar...

See also

• Pareidolia

Pareidolia (pronounced /pɛɹaɪˈdoliə/ or /pæraɪˈdəʊliə/) is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (usually an image) being mistakenly perceived as recognizable. ...

External links

• Satellite Sleuth Closes in on Noah’s Ark Mystery
• Satellite closes in on Noah's Ark mystery