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together with the proximity of Armenia , sworn enemy of Turkey , and the Iranian border make this frontier area one of the most troubled regions of the world , although safe for foreign visitors . This explains the presence of so many small military bunkers , checkpoints , and the armoured vehicles moving fast to avoid attacks . This long story seems nothing but the continuation of longstanding conflicts and biblical tales ; Assyria becomes Syria , Urartu becoming Ararat . Out story ends in the Kurdish city of Doğubeyazıt , at the bottom of the most important dormant volcano in the Turkish territory , sacred to all the main monotheistic religions .
The biblical tale says that Noah ’ s Ark became stranded around Ararat at the end of the Great Flood , bringing life again on the Earth . Despite our time ’ s materialism , the search for the Ark continues without relent , someone announces a great discovery on a regular basis . The last discovery dates to 2010 , when a Chinese-Turkish expedition said they ’ d found a sort of cave made by wood proven by Carbon-14 Dating to be 4800 years old . It ’ s probably an ancient shepherd ’ s shelter or farm , like the many others that have been found .
While we ’ re waiting for a denial from scientists , we can ’ t help asking ourselves what ’ s the reason of this research ? Faith ? Power ? Is it simple superstition or is it a pretext for nosing around one of the most controlled areas of the world ?
Every civilisation calls this mountain by a different name . For the Turkish it ’ s the Mountain of Pain , for Armenians is the Mountain of Sun . Flaming Mountain for Kurds and simply Noah ’ s Mountain for Iranians . Whatever it ’ s called , just looking at it you can understand the reason of all this stories ; everything looks small in comparison : shepherd ’ s shacks , fields , us . Even the wide rough roads of Turkey . AF
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