Museum to be opened at Noah’s Ark site in eastern Türkiye

By Abdullah Soylemez

AGRI, Türkiye (AA) - A museum will be opened in eastern Türkiye, where the legendary Noah's Ark is believed to have come to rest after the great flood.

Dosso Dossi Holding, a Turkish company, and the Agri Governorship collaborated to build a complex, including a museum, in the Telceker village.

The complex will include halls, a cafeteria, a gift shop, open and closed viewing terraces, and a private park area.

The museum, which will mainly feature digital artworks, is expected to contribute to the tourism potential of the region.

“With such digital arts and museums, we will show our people that tourism is a great commercial return. Some countries in Europe, in particular, derive all their income from tourism,” said Hikmet Eraslan, chairman of the board of Dosso Dossi Holding.

He said they aim to lay the foundations of the museum in July and put it into operation in a year.

Governor Osman Varol said the museum will provide additional value to the city.

Discovered in 1959 in Dogubayazit in the Agri province by Ilhan Durupinar, an expert cartographer, the legendary vessel – whose story is told in the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran ­– remains a source of fascination.

The region around Mount Agri – also known as Mount Ararat in English – where the boat is said to have run aground as the flood receded attracts thousands of local and foreign tourists every year and continues to attract the attention of foreign researchers and documentary filmmakers.

The story of the great flood and Noah’s Ark is told in the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three Abrahamic religions.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar