Mount Ararat

Mount Ararat, Turkey

The snow-capped peak of Mount Ararat illuminated by the first light of sunrise over the Turkish plains.

A snow-capped, dormant volcano on the Turkey–Armenia–Iran border, and the highest peak in Turkey, visible for miles across the plains.

The place

Mount Ararat, known in Turkey as Ağrı Dağı, is a snow-capped, dormant compound volcano in the far east of the country. Its massif has two main cones. Greater Ararat rises to 5,137 m and is the highest peak in Turkey, while Little Ararat is a lower neighbour at 3,896 m. The two are separated by the Serdarbulak lava plateau, which sits at about 2,600 m. The mountain rises from a broad base roughly 35 km across, in the Eastern Anatolia region between the provinces of Ağrı and Iğdır. Its slopes lie near the meeting point of Turkey, Iran, Armenia and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between the Aras and Murat rivers. The Ararat plain stretches along the northwest side toward Armenia, and the summit sits west of the Turkey–Iran border and south of the Turkey–Armenia border. Most of the land around the mountain is farmland and grazing, and the nearest town on the Turkish side is Doğubayazıt. From Yerevan, the Armenian capital, the peak is a white cone that dominates the southern horizon. Its snow cover is a striking part of the view from both countries, and the summit can be hidden by cloud for much of a day.

Its story

Efforts to reach the summit of Mount Ararat are recorded from the Middle Ages, but the first documented ascent came in 1829, when Friedrich Parrot, Khachatur Abovian and four others reached the top. Europeans had been calling the mountain Ararat since the Middle Ages, linking it with the mountains named in the Bible as the place where Noah's Ark came to rest. That link has stayed with the peak ever since. Armenians have long regarded the mountain as sacred, and it appears often in Armenian literature and art. It lies outside the borders of modern Armenia, yet it is the country's principal national symbol and sits on its coat of arms beside the ark. Jean Chardin's 1686 engraving shows the mountain with the ark above and a church at its foot, an image that shaped how many Europeans pictured the place. The mountain's ice is changing as well. In the late 1950s, observers counted eleven outlet glaciers flowing from a summit snow mass of about 10 km². Later studies, using aerial imagery and satellite data, have traced the ice cap shrinking over the decades. Even the height is debated. Some reference works give 5,165 m, but the US Geological Survey and numerous topographic maps favour 5,137 m, and the current figure may be a little lower again.

What to see

Culture

Mount Ararat is a national symbol for Armenians, though the mountain lies inside Turkey, and visitors meet this in conversation, art and monuments on both sides of the border. Memories of the mountain differ between the two countries, so the subject can be sensitive. Listen more than you argue, and let locals raise history first. Mosques and churches around the plain ask for covered shoulders and knees, and women are often offered a headscarf at the door of a mosque. Border areas around Ararat are restricted in places, with military posts near roads and the Iranian frontier, so keep cameras away from checkpoints and soldiers. Ask before photographing people, particularly women and anyone at prayer. Take off your shoes before stepping onto carpets in mosques and churches.

What to wear

Traditional dress around Mount Ararat has long been built from practical materials: hand-woven wool for coats and waistcoats, cotton for shirts, and silk or fine cotton for embroidered headscarves and sashes. Embroidery, often in red, blue and green thread, marks women's dress in many villages, and men wore wool hats and belted coats suited to the cold plateau. Some of these garments still appear at weddings, festivals and religious holidays, though most people now wear modern clothes day to day. In Doğubayazıt and Yerevan, people wear jeans, jackets and sneakers, and the look is much the same as in any European or Indian city. For a visit, dress in layers. Summer days on the plain are hot and dry, mornings and evenings are cool, and the high ground near the mountain can be cold even in July. Pack a warm fleece, a sun hat and a scarf that covers your shoulders for churches and mosques. Sturdy walking shoes with good grip suit the rough tracks and lava fields far better than sandals.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. June to September, when the lower slopes are clear and the roads are open; winter brings deep snow, cold winds and avalanche risk, and the spring melt makes tracks unstable.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly into Kars or Erzurum, then take a long road south-east to Doğubayazıt, the town at the foot of the mountain. From Yerevan, Zvartnots airport is the nearest airport for the Armenian side, and Khor Virap is a day trip from the city.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources