They
both draw the Ark near the top of Great Ararat, opposite side
of Little Ararat. (See photos 21-28-83-91 enclosed).
-
Beroso, priest, astronomer and Babylonian historian who
in 275 B.C. wrote on the habit of pilgrims climbing Ararat to
scrape away the pitch on the walls of the Ark to make
amulets, describes the Ark visible on Mount Ararat.
-
Flavius Josephus, Jewish historian of the first century,
wrote in his book: "The story of the Jews" the same
Beroso's statement.
-
Epifanio of Salamina in the 4 century A.D. used the
real existence of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat as a piece of
evidence in defense of the Christian faith, writing: "Do
you really believe that we are not able to prove our faith
even though up until our times the remains of Noah's Ark are
visible in the country of the Kurds?".
-
William of Rubruck 1253 EV in his book wrote:
" ...Near
this city are mountains in which they say that Noah's ark
rests; and there are two mountains, the one greater than the
other; and the Araxes flows at their base; and there is a town
there called Cemanum [=Thamanin ], which interpreted means
"eight," and they say that it was thus called from
the eight persons who came out of the ark, and who built it on
the greater mountain. Many have tried to climb it, but none
has been able. This bishop told me that there had been a monk
who was most desirous (of climbing it), but that an angel
appeared to him bearing a piece of the wood of the ark, and
told him to try no more. They had this piece of wood in his
church, they told me. This mountain did not seem to me so very
high, that men could not ascend it. An old man gave me quite a
good reason why one ought not to try to climb it. They call
the mountain Massis, and it is of the feminine gender in their
language. "No one," he said, "ought to climb up
Massis; it is the mother of the world."
-
Marco Polo, the famous Venetian
traveller, passing near Mount Ararat in 1269 wrote in his
book, "Il Milione" : "......and you should know
that in that far - off land of Armenia Noah's Ark still lies
there on top of a high mountain..."
|