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
Ararat, Armenia including an indoor sports hall, indoor swimming pool, billiards saloon, mini-football ground and other facilities. The retired Olympic cyclist Arsen Ghazaryan is a native of Ararat. Ararat is twinned with Ararat, Armenia Ararat (), is a town and urban municipal community in the Ararat Province of Armenia, located on the Yerevan-Nakhchivan highway, southeast of the capital Yerevan and south of the provincial centre Artashat. In the 2011 census, the population of the town was 20,235. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population is around 20,300. The town was officially named Ararat in 1947 after the nearby biblical Mountains of