In the news now is that there is an expedition being planned to Mt. Ararat in Turkey to find the remains of Noah’s Ark. I think the whole idea is interesting, and pretty cool, but I’m of the belief that they won’t find anything. The most interesting theory I’ve heard about Noah’s Ark was explained by “Maverick” archeologist Bob Cornuke. Using the Bible as a guide, he noted that Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains (pl) of Ararat, east of the plains of Shinar (a.k.a. Babylon/Iraq). Mt. Ararat is north of Iraq, and is only one mountain, not a chain of mountains. It is also likely that Mt. Ararat got it’s name when people who had moved from one area to another named the mountain after what they knew back home, much like we name cities after places our ancestors came from in Europe (New Amsterdam/New York for example). The mountains of Ararat mentioned in the Bible are more likely in modern Iran.
A good commentary of Mr. Cornuke’s theory, as well as a very interesting story about the real Mt. Sinai in Saudi Arabia not Egypt with Bob and Chuck Missler can be found here.
I find Bob Cornuke very interesting and very compelling. He doesn’t get a lot of repect in archeological circles though. I brought up his trip to Mt. Sinai in Saudi Arabia to the archeologist I was digging with in Israel in 2002, and he passed Mr. Cornuke off as a guy who didn’t know what he was talking about. I’ve read Cornuke’s book and seen the pictures he documents in that book of his Mt. Sinai, and it seems to fit the Biblical discription from Exodus much, much better than does the traditional site on the Sinai peninsula in Egypt. It’s also iteresting that the Saudi Government doesn’t want anyone near that mountain, and will shoot anyone on site.