TURKEY - First Dig at Mount Ararat
A California research collective known as Noah’s Ark Scan says it will begin the first controlled excavation of the Durupınar Site on Mount Ararat’s southern flank once a preservation framework is in place with local universities.
The Durupınar hill first drew attention in May 1948, after earthquakes and torrential rains stripped away overburden. Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupınar re-examined the site in 1959 while mapping the region for NATO and forwarded his photographs to Ankara, giving the outcrop its current name.
Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano topping 5,137 m, dominates a border zone shared by Turkey, Iran and Armenia. A small visitor center stands a few hundred meters from the site, but guides advise foreign travelers to use caution in the politically sensitive area.
Excavation permits are still pending. Noah’s Ark Scan says fieldwork will not begin until protective measures are agreed with Turkish authorities and regional universities.
-www.jpost.com, 25 April 2025
Arno's Commentary
Many unsubstantiated rumors have been circulating for decades, but nothing based on scientific criteria has been discovered. That can also be said for the quest for the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, pieces of the “True Cross,” and innumerable other religious relics that never result in indisputable facts on the ground.
Our interest lies in Jesus’ reference to Noah and His return: “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
