redundant supercat |
→Names and etymology: RV of etymology -- the Jewish Virtual Library CLEARLY says that the designation of the mountain as "Masis" predates its designation as "Ararat" very UNambiguously |
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*'''''Ararat''''', the current name in English, is derived from {{lang|he|[[אררט]]}}, a term used to refer to "the Land of Ararat" or "the Mountains of Ararat" in the Bible.<ref name="JVLib">{{cite web |title=Ararat |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01234.html |date=2008 |work=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] |publisher= |accessdate=27 July 2009}}</ref> "Ararat" is the Hebrew equivalent of [[Urartu]], the [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]] name for ''[[Biainili]]'', the [[Iron Age]] kingdom centered around [[Lake Van]] in Armenia.<ref name="JVLib"/>, which was succeeded by the Armenian people. The Bible does not refer to any specific mountain, but rather a mountain range.<ref name="JVLib"/> Nonetheless, one particular tradition identifies the mountain as '''Mount Masis''', the highest peak in the [[Armenian Highland]], which is therefore called Mount Ararat.<ref name="JVLib"/> Influenced by Biblical tradition, ''Ararat'' is also used in many other languages, including {{lang-hy|Արարատ}}<ref>L'Harmattan Publishers, Paris, 1999, p.36, ISBN 2738476228.</ref>. According to Thomson, the mountain came to be called Ararat by confusion with [[Ayrarat]], the name of the historical Armenian province.<ref name="Thomson-91"/> According to the medieval Armenian historian [[Moses of Khoren]] in his ''[[History of Armenia (Movses Khorenatsi)|History of Armenia]]'', the plain of '''Ayrarat''' (directly north of the mountain) got its name after [[Ara the Beautiful|King Ara the Handsome]]<ref name="Thomson-98">Thomson, p. 98.{{ref|Thomson 1978|Thomson 1978}}</ref> (the great grandson of Amasya). Here the Assyrian [[Semiramis|Queen Semiramis]] is said to have lingered for a few days after the death of Ara.<ref name="Thomson-98"/> |
*'''''Ararat''''', the current name in English, is derived from {{lang|he|[[אררט]]}}, a term used to refer to "the Land of Ararat" or "the Mountains of Ararat" in the Bible.<ref name="JVLib">{{cite web |title=Ararat |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01234.html |date=2008 |work=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] |publisher= |accessdate=27 July 2009}}</ref> "Ararat" is the Hebrew equivalent of [[Urartu]], the [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]] name for ''[[Biainili]]'', the [[Iron Age]] kingdom centered around [[Lake Van]] in Armenia.<ref name="JVLib"/>, which was succeeded by the Armenian people. The Bible does not refer to any specific mountain, but rather a mountain range.<ref name="JVLib"/> Nonetheless, one particular tradition identifies the mountain as '''Mount Masis''', the highest peak in the [[Armenian Highland]], which is therefore called Mount Ararat.<ref name="JVLib"/> Influenced by Biblical tradition, ''Ararat'' is also used in many other languages, including {{lang-hy|Արարատ}}<ref>L'Harmattan Publishers, Paris, 1999, p.36, ISBN 2738476228.</ref>. According to Thomson, the mountain came to be called Ararat by confusion with [[Ayrarat]], the name of the historical Armenian province.<ref name="Thomson-91"/> According to the medieval Armenian historian [[Moses of Khoren]] in his ''[[History of Armenia (Movses Khorenatsi)|History of Armenia]]'', the plain of '''Ayrarat''' (directly north of the mountain) got its name after [[Ara the Beautiful|King Ara the Handsome]]<ref name="Thomson-98">Thomson, p. 98.{{ref|Thomson 1978|Thomson 1978}}</ref> (the great grandson of Amasya). Here the Assyrian [[Semiramis|Queen Semiramis]] is said to have lingered for a few days after the death of Ara.<ref name="Thomson-98"/> |
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⚫ | *'''''Massis''''' (or '''''Masis'''''<ref name="Thomson-91">Thomson, p. 91.{{ref|Thomson 1978|Thomson 1978}}</ref>) is the historical name for the highest peak of the Armenian Highland that predates the designation "Ararat" for the mountain.{{dubious}}<ref name="JVLib"/> Masis ({{lang-hy|Մասիս}}) is the Armenian name for the mountain south of the [[Araxes river]] now called Ararat.<ref name="Thomson-91"/> According to the Moses of Khoren, King Amasya (the great-grandson of the Armenian patriarch [[Hayk]]) called the mountain ''Masis'' after his own name.<ref>Thomson, pp. 90-91.{{ref|Thomson 1978|Thomson 1978}}</ref> |
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⚫ | *Mountain of '''''[[Ağrı]]''''': {{lang-tr|Ağrı Dağı}}<ref>http://www.wan-press.org/article3057.html "...Mount Ararat, or Ağrı Dağı as it is known in Turkish"</ref><ref>(see [[List of replaced loanwords in Turkish|meaning of Ağrı]])</ref> (Mountain of Pain): ''Ağrı'' literally means ''pain'' in Turkic languages such as Azeri and Turkish.<ref name=Shockey>Shockey, Don, 1986. Agri-Dagh, Mount Ararat: The Painful Mountain, Fresno, CA: Pioneer Publishing, ISBN 1572584122.</ref><ref name=Arksearch>http://www.arksearch.com/nadanger.htm "...see why the Turkish word for Mount Ararat is Agri Dagh or the 'Mountain of Pain!'"</ref> {{lang-az|Ağrı Dagı}} (Mountain of [[Ağrı]]). Ağrı is also a city and province in the Eastern Anatolian Region of Turkey, near Mt. Ararat. During the Ottoman Empire era the Ağrı provincial area was originally called [[Ağrı Province|Şorbulak]]. [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]: ''Çîyaye Agirî'' (Fiery Mountain)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/ararat/ararat.html |title=Ararat/Ağri Daği |publisher=Livius.org |date= |accessdate=2008-11-11}}</ref> |
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⚫ | *'''''Massis''''' (or '''''Masis''''' |
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*Mountain of '''[[Noah]]''': [[Persian language|Persian]]: ''Koh-i-Nuh''<ref>[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557821/Ararat_(mountain).html MSN Encarta: Ararat (mountain]</ref><ref name=GreatAdventures>[http://www.great-adventures.com/know/deals/turkey-mtararat.html Great Adventures: Mount Ararat Expedition]</ref>, also influenced by the flood story, this time via the [[Islamic view of Noah]]. |
*Mountain of '''[[Noah]]''': [[Persian language|Persian]]: ''Koh-i-Nuh''<ref>[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557821/Ararat_(mountain).html MSN Encarta: Ararat (mountain]</ref><ref name=GreatAdventures>[http://www.great-adventures.com/know/deals/turkey-mtararat.html Great Adventures: Mount Ararat Expedition]</ref>, also influenced by the flood story, this time via the [[Islamic view of Noah]]. |
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⚫ | *Mountain of '''''[[Ağrı]]''''': {{lang-tr|Ağrı Dağı}}<ref>http://www.wan-press.org/article3057.html "...Mount Ararat, or Ağrı Dağı as it is known in Turkish"</ref><ref>(see [[List of replaced loanwords in Turkish|meaning of Ağrı]])</ref> (Mountain of Pain): ''Ağrı'' literally means ''pain'' in Turkic languages such as Azeri and Turkish.<ref name=Shockey>Shockey, Don, 1986. Agri-Dagh, Mount Ararat: The Painful Mountain, Fresno, CA: Pioneer Publishing, ISBN 1572584122.</ref><ref name=Arksearch>http://www.arksearch.com/nadanger.htm "...see why the Turkish word for Mount Ararat is Agri Dagh or the 'Mountain of Pain!'"</ref> {{lang-az|Ağrı Dagı}} (Mountain of [[Ağrı]]). Ağrı is also a city and province in the Eastern Anatolian Region of Turkey, near Mt. Ararat. During the Ottoman Empire era the Ağrı provincial area was originally called [[Ağrı Province|Şorbulak]]. [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]: ''Çîyaye Agirî'' (Fiery Mountain)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/ararat/ararat.html |title=Ararat/Ağri Daği |publisher=Livius.org |date= |accessdate=2008-11-11}}</ref> |
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==Location== |
==Location== |
Revision as of 09:12, 28 July 2009
Mount Ararat | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 5,137 m (16,854 ft) ![]() |
Prominence | 3,611 m (11,847 ft) ![]() |
Isolation | 379.29 km (235.68 mi) ![]() |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/MountArarat.jpg/300px-MountArarat.jpg)
Mount Ararat (see below for its names in the languages of the region) is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Anatolia. Its summit, at an elevation of 5,165 m (16,946 ft)[1][2] is the tallest peak in Turkey, and the entire Armenian Highland plateau.
Mount Ararat is located in the Iğdır Province,[3] the easternmost province of Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region. Its summit is located some 16 km (10 mi) west of the Iranian and 32 km (20 mi) south of the Armenian border. The Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan is also in close proximity to the mountain. The Ararat plain runs along its northwest to western side.
Ararat is notable for appearing in the book of Genesis, as the place where Noah's ark came to rest. It also plays a significant role in Armenian nationalism and irredentism.
Names and etymology
- Ararat, the current name in English, is derived from אררט, a term used to refer to "the Land of Ararat" or "the Mountains of Ararat" in the Bible.[6] "Ararat" is the Hebrew equivalent of Urartu, the Assyrian name for Biainili, the Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in Armenia.[6], which was succeeded by the Armenian people. The Bible does not refer to any specific mountain, but rather a mountain range.[6] Nonetheless, one particular tradition identifies the mountain as Mount Masis, the highest peak in the Armenian Highland, which is therefore called Mount Ararat.[6] Influenced by Biblical tradition, Ararat is also used in many other languages, including Armenian: Արարատ[7]. According to Thomson, the mountain came to be called Ararat by confusion with Ayrarat, the name of the historical Armenian province.[8] According to the medieval Armenian historian Moses of Khoren in his History of Armenia, the plain of Ayrarat (directly north of the mountain) got its name after King Ara the Handsome[9] (the great grandson of Amasya). Here the Assyrian Queen Semiramis is said to have lingered for a few days after the death of Ara.[9]
- Massis (or Masis[8]) is the historical name for the highest peak of the Armenian Highland that predates the designation "Ararat" for the mountain.[dubious – discuss][6] Masis (Armenian: Մասիս) is the Armenian name for the mountain south of the Araxes river now called Ararat.[8] According to the Moses of Khoren, King Amasya (the great-grandson of the Armenian patriarch Hayk) called the mountain Masis after his own name.[10]
- Mountain of Noah: Persian: Koh-i-Nuh[11][12], also influenced by the flood story, this time via the Islamic view of Noah.
- Mountain of Ağrı: Turkish: Ağrı Dağı[13][14] (Mountain of Pain): Ağrı literally means pain in Turkic languages such as Azeri and Turkish.[15][16] Azerbaijani: Ağrı Dagı (Mountain of Ağrı). Ağrı is also a city and province in the Eastern Anatolian Region of Turkey, near Mt. Ararat. During the Ottoman Empire era the Ağrı provincial area was originally called Şorbulak. Kurdish: Çîyaye Agirî (Fiery Mountain)[17]
Location
Mount Ararat is divided between two Turkish provinces: Around 65% of the mountain is located in the Iğdır Province, while the remaining 35% is located in the Ağrı Province of Turkey.[3]
Geology
Ararat is a stratovolcano, formed of lava flows and pyroclastic ejecta, with no volcanic crater. Above the height of 4,200 m (13,780 ft), the mountain mostly consists of igneous rocks covered by an ice cap.[citation needed]
A smaller 3,896 m (12,782 ft) cone, Little Ararat, rises from the same base, southeast of the main peak. The lava plateau stretches out between the two pinnacles. The bases of these two mountains is approximately 1,000 km2 (386 sq mi).[citation needed]
The formation of Ararat is hard to retrieve geologically, but the type of vulcanism and the position of the volcano raise the idea that subduction relation vulcanism occurred when the Tethys Ocean closed during the Neogene, as recently occurred along the borders of the Eurasian, African and Arabian plates from Cabo de Gata to the Caucasus.[citation needed]
Elevation
An elevation of 5,165 m (16,946 ft) for Mount Ararat is given by a number of authorities including NASA[1] and Encyclopædia Britannica.[2] However, a number of other sources, such as public domain and verifiable SRTM data[18] and a 2007 GPS measurement[19] show that the alternatively widespread figure of 5,137 m (16,854 ft) is probably more accurate, and that the true elevation may be even lower due to the thick layer of snow-covered ice cap which permanently remains on the top of the mountain. 5,137 m is also supported by numerous topographic maps.[20]
Activity
It is not known when the last eruption of Ararat occurred; there are no historic or recent observations of large-scale activity recorded. The last eruption will have occurred somewhere in the last 10000 years. It seems that Ararat was active in the 3rd millennium BC; under the pyroclastic flows, artifacts from the early Bronze Age and remains of human bodies have been found.[4]
However, it is known that Ararat was shaken by a large earthquake in July 1840, the effects of which were largest in the neighborhood of the Ahora Gorge (a northeast trending chasm that drops 1,825 metres (5,988 ft) from the top of the mountain). An unstable part of the northern slope collapsed and a chapel, a monastery, and a village were covered by rubble. According to some sources, Ararat erupted then as well, albeit under the ground water level.[citation needed]
Climbing Mount Ararat
First recorded ascent in modern times
Dr. Friedrich Parrot, with the help of Khachatur Abovian, was the first explorer in modern times to reach the summit of Mount Ararat, subsequent to the onset of Russian rule in 1829.[21] Abovian and Parrot crossed the Aras River and headed to the Armenian village of Agori situated on the northern slope of Ararat 4,000 feet above sea level. Following the advice of Harutiun Alamdarian of Tbilisi, they set up a base camp at the Monastery of Saint Jacob some 2,400 feet higher, at an elevation of 6,375 feet.[22] Abovian was one of the last travelers to visit Agori and the monastery before a disastrous earthquake completely buried both in May 1840.[22] Their first attempt to climb the mountain, using the northeastern slope, failed as a result of lack of warm clothing.
Six days later, on the advice of Stepan Khojiants, the village chief of Agori, the ascent was attempted from the northwestern side. After reaching an elevation of 16,028 feet they turned back because they did not reach the summit before sundown. They reached the summit on their third attempt at 3:15 p.m. on October 9, 1829.[22] Abovian dug a hole in the ice and erected a wooden cross facing north.[23] Abovian also picked up a chunk of ice from the summit and carried it down with him in a bottle, considering the water holy.[22] On November 8, Parrot and Abovian climbed up Lesser Ararat.[22] Impressed with Abovian's thirst for knowledge, Parrot arranged for a Russian state scholarship for Abovian to study at the University of Dorpat in 1830.[24]
Later ascents
Years later, in 1845, the German mineralogist Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich climbed Ararat with Abovian. Abovian's third and last ascent to Ararat was with the Englishman Henry Danby Seymour in 1846.[22]
In 1856 a group of five explorers led by Major Robert Stuart climbed Mt. Ararat.[citation needed]
Climbing routes
The climb is long, but there is a fairly easy route from the south in late summer for climbers who are familiar with the use of axe and crampons. Snow covers the last 400 m (¼ mile) year-round.[citation needed] There are two possible campsites on the mountain, and the glacier begins around 4,800 m (15,750 ft).[citation needed]
Climbing permits and guides
The Turkish government requires a climbing permit and use of a certified Turkish guide. Arrangements can take two months to complete.[citation needed].
Political boundaries
Mount Ararat forms a near-quadripoint between Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Its summit located some 16 km (10 mi) west of both the Iranian border and the border of the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, and 32 km (20 mi) south of the Armenian border
The Turkish-Armenian-Azerbaijani and Turkish-Iranian-Azerbaijani tripoints are actually some 8 km apart, separated by a narrow strip of Turkish territory containing the E99 road which enters Nakhchivan at 39°39′19″N 44°48′12″E / 39.6553°N 44.8034°E.
The international boundaries as described have been in effect since the 1991 independence of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, but they have a longer history, having been drawn in 1923 after the conflicts of World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire that affected the region, in particular the Armenian–Azerbaijani War of 1918 to 1920, and the creation of the Republic of Turkey in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 regulating the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. From 1923 to 1991, the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan was an internal border within the Soviet Union, between the Armenian SSR and the Nakhichevan SSR, the tripoint between Turkey, Iran and the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1991 corresponding to the current Turkish-Iranian-Azerbaijani tripoint. Prior to World War I, the area had been part of the Ottoman Empire, deriving from the conquests of Suleiman the Magnificent from Safavid Persia in the 1540s to 1550s.
Because of the political instability in Turkish Kurdistan, Ararat has been a militarized zone for much of the 20th century and was opened for tourism only in 2001.
Significance in Armenian nationalism
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Yerevan-sunset.jpg/220px-Yerevan-sunset.jpg)
Ararat dominates the skyline of Armenia's capital, Yerevan.[25] Mount Ararat has been revered by the Armenians as symbolizing their national identity and their irredentistm. Ararat is the national symbol of the 1991 Republic of Armenia, being featured in the center of its coat of arms.[26] In 1937, a coat of arms was adopted. This coat of arms descends from that of the Armenian SSR, which featured Mount Ararat along with the Soviet hammer and sickle and red star behind it.[27] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a slightly modified version of the Democratic Republic of Armenia's coat of arms was adopted and has remained in place ever since.[28][29] The 2002 film Ararat by Armenian filmmaker Atom Egoyan features Mt. Ararat prominently in its symbolism.
See also
- Mountains of Ararat
- 96205 Ararat is an asteroid named in the mountain's honor
- Volcanic Seven Summits
- Searches for Noah's Ark
Notes
- ^ a b c NASA - Earth Observatory (2001). "Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı), Turkey". NASA. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ^ a b c Encyclopædia Britannica: Mount Ararat
- ^ a b c "Ağrı Dağı - Jeolojik Yapısı". Governorship of Iğdır Province, Turkey. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ a b "Ararat". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ http://www.haydproc.am/araratsar/index.php?page=history
- ^ a b c d e "Ararat". Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
- ^ L'Harmattan Publishers, Paris, 1999, p.36, ISBN 2738476228.
- ^ a b c Thomson, p. 91.Thomson 1978
- ^ a b Thomson, p. 98.Thomson 1978
- ^ Thomson, pp. 90-91.Thomson 1978
- ^ MSN Encarta: Ararat (mountain
- ^ Great Adventures: Mount Ararat Expedition
- ^ http://www.wan-press.org/article3057.html "...Mount Ararat, or Ağrı Dağı as it is known in Turkish"
- ^ (see meaning of Ağrı)
- ^ Shockey, Don, 1986. Agri-Dagh, Mount Ararat: The Painful Mountain, Fresno, CA: Pioneer Publishing, ISBN 1572584122.
- ^ http://www.arksearch.com/nadanger.htm "...see why the Turkish word for Mount Ararat is Agri Dagh or the 'Mountain of Pain!'"
- ^ "Ararat/Ağri Daği". Livius.org. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ SRTM data for Mount Ararat
- ^ 2007 GPS measurement for Mount Ararat
- ^ Detailed topographic maps of Mount Ararat
- ^ http://www.haydproc.am/araratsar/index.php?page=history
- ^ a b c d e f Ketchian, Philip K. (December 24, 2005), "Climbing Ararat: Then and Now", The Armenian Weekly, 71 (52), retrieved 2008-07-11
- ^ Guest, 188
- ^ Bardakjian, 255
- ^ "Ararat, Mount :: Mount Ararat — Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "Armenia: Coat of arms". Crwflags.com. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "Armenia in the Soviet Union". Flagspot.net. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "End of the Soviet Union". Soviethistory.org. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ "Government of Republic of Armenia - THE NATIONAL COAT OF ARMS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA". Gov.am. Retrieved 2008-11-11.