Well I never.
Hidden away in a corner of The Times – I suspect it only made it because it’s a slow news day – is a 50 word piece about “Evengelical Chinese explorers” claiming to have found the remains of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey.
The mythical (possibly I should amend this to historical) boat was supposed to have grounded on Mount Ararat after the flood. Doves were involved. Having been watching my fan tailed doves recently, I wouldn’t trust them as a navigational aid, probably that’s why Noah (was he Jewish? Is Noah a Jewish name?) found himself in Turkey.
Wooden remains found at 4,000 meters above sea level are 4,800 years old, according to the statement made in Hong Kong to the AFP.
Mount Ararat is half Turkish, half Iranian, and all in all a dangerous place to be, by all accounts. However, the Chinese, friends to all, must have been granted special permits to go looking. Quite what Iran will say when they realise they’ve been duped into allowing Christians to go wandering all over their mountains in search of holy Christian remains, remains to be seen.