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
Little Ararat peak. On , Baltic German explorer Friedrich Parrot and Armenian writer Khachatur Abovian climbed Little Ararat. Its peak and eastern flank were on the Iranian side of the border until the 1930s. During the Kurdish Ararat rebellion, the Kurdish rebels used the area "as a haven against the state in their uprising." Turkey crossed the border and militarily occupied the region, which Iran eventually agreed to cede to Ankara in a territorial exchange. Little Ararat Little Ararat, also known as Mount Sis or Lesser Ararat ( or Սիս, "Sis", Azerbaijani: "Küçük Ağrı," , ), is the sixth tallest peak in