Mount Ararat focus of the searches for Noah's Ark. Augustin Calmet wrote in his 1722 biblical dictionary, "It is affirmed, but without proof, that there are still remains of Noah's ark on the top of this mountain; but M. de Tournefort, who visited this spot, has assured us there was nothing like it; that the top of mount Ararat is inaccessible, both by reason of its great height, and of the snow which perpetually covers it." Archaeological expeditions, sometimes supported by evangelical and millenarian churches, have been conducted since the 19th century in search of the ark. According to a 1974 book
Mount Ararat Ararat are known as Büyük Ağrı and Küçük Ağrı, respectively. The traditional Persian name is , , , literally the "mountain of Noah". The Kurdish name of the mountain is çiyayê Agirî , which translates to "fiery mountain". Mount Ararat is located in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey between the provinces of Ağrı and Iğdır, near the border with Iran, Armenia and Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between the Aras and Murat rivers. Its summit is located some west of the Turkey-Iran border and south of the Turco-Armenian border. The Ararat plain runs along its northwest to western side. An