Mount Ararat

Mount Ararat (from Hebrew, originated from Assyrian Urartu), also Great Ararat (Turkish Büyük Ağrı Dağı, Armenian Մասիս Masis or Արարատ Ararat, Kurdish Çiyayê Agirî / Shaxi, also traditionally Persian كوه نوح, DMG Kūh-e Nūḥ, 'Mount Noah'), is a dormant volcano in the Ararat highlands in eastern Anatolia near the border with Armenia, Iran, and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan. At 5137 m, it is the highest mountain on the territory of Turkey. The Kurdish name, Çiyayê Agirî, means 'the fiery mountain' (agir 'fire', çiya 'mountain').

The smaller neighbouring mountain, Small Ararat (Turkish Küçük Ağrı Dağı, Armenian Սիս Sis), is 3896 m high. In 2004, both Ararat mountains became part of a national park.

Geology and eruption history

The last eruption of the volcano took place in 1840. It destroyed the village of Ahora on the northeast side.

Coat of Arms Controversy

Even though Ararat is located in Turkey today, it is the national symbol of the Armenians, most of whom had their settlement area around Ararat in the six Armenian Eastern Provinces in the Ottoman Empire until the Armenian Genocide in 1915. It was on the national coat of arms of the Armenian SSR and is also on the coat of arms of Armenia. Turkey protested, saying that the mountain was on Turkish territory and therefore should not be appropriated by Armenia or the Soviet Union. Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko later countered by pointing out that, in contrast, Turkey flies the moon as a crescent in its flag, although neither the moon nor any part of it belongs to Turkey.