Durupınar Site

The Durupinar Site is a natural but controversial rock formation in Turkey, just a few miles north of Iran, located near several unnamed mountain peaks in the Ağrı Province.

Locals claim that a nearby mountain is Mount Judi which is listed in the Qur’an as being the final resting place of Noah’s Ark, an interesting coincidence given that this rock formation is in the shape of a giant boat.

Locals say the huge boat-like formation was revealed in 1948, after many earthquakes and heavy rains. It was surveyed in 1960 and it was found that the ship-shaped rocks were not a man-made, but were likely formed by an upflow of lava or other natural occurrence. The site was then ignored by almost everyone for the next few decades, with the exception of amateur archeologist Ron Wyatt. Though he tried to get others interested in his claim that it was, in fact, Noah’s Ark, most people dismissed his theory completely.

However, Noah’s Ark still attracts believers. The scientific conclusions explaining the shape of the formation have not stopped a steady flow of pilgrims from visiting the site, nor the speculation. Official roadsigns posted for tourists in the area certainly claim it to be Noah’s Ark and so do many locals.