After Ron Wyatt 's first taste of archaeology field work near the Turkish-Iranian border, he left his equipment, camping gear, car keys and most of his field samples at his hotel. It was either that or negotiate with a band of Turkish thieves raging outside his hotel room with knives and cudgels.

``Spooky`` is how he describes the first of many trips to Turkey in search of the Biblical Noah's Ark.

``I didn't speak any Turkish. I hired the wrong taxi driver and guide. The hotel was even in on it. They turned the lights out. My two sons and I had to climb out the hotel window with sheets tied to the bed,`` he recalls.

Undeterred, the amateur archaeologist ignored the dangers apparently inherent with the search for the ark. He returned to the site 23 times.

His persistence paid off.

In 1987, the Turkish government credited Wyatt, a nurse anesthetist from Nashville, Tenn., with the discovery of Noah's Ark. A national park, complete with a visitors center and highway to the site of the artifact, has been created and is open to tourists.

Physical evidence found by Wyatt in the Mount Ararat region of Turkey, including stone anchors and grave markers, have been reported by various news media in the continuing quest to find Noah's Ark.

On Sunday, Wyatt will recount his search for Noah's Ark at the 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. worship services at God's News Behind the News Television and Radio headquarters, 6550 Mango Ave. S in west St. Petersburg, just east of Pasadena Avenue. Wyatt also will appear on God's News Behind the News on WCLF-Ch. 22. The broadcast date has not been set.

Wyatt's visit to the Tampa Bay area comes on the heels of his first book, Discovered: Noah's Ark!, which describes how his Christian faith has become intertwined with his quest. However, he said that he has difficulties describing his faith.

``My object was not to prove the Bible but to see what had happened,`` he said. ``My faith came as a result of the search. I believed that I believed, but there's a difference between belief by proof and philosophical rationale.``

He emphasizes that his exposure to a variety of religions and ethnic groups has taught him ``to have respect for every human being regardless of where they are.``

Wyatt's fascination with the ark was triggered after reading an article in Life magazine in 1959 about a curious boat-shaped formation near Mount Ararat in Turkey. The Biblical account has it that the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat after a flood inundated Earth.

In 1977, armed with a map and a Turkish guide who spoke no English, the explorer scoured Mount Ararat and the surrounding area. His only lead was that a boat-shaped formation lay somewhere within six miles of the Turkey-Iran border. At one point, Wyatt, who was accompanied by his two sons, unwittingly crossed over the Iranian border.

After a week of wandering, the team found the site on the southwest side of the mountain at 6,300 feet.

``I got goose bumps from head to toe when I saw it sitting there,`` he said. ``Here was this 500-foot boat with timbers that were protruding that were massive.``

Scientific analysis of the 515-foot boat-shaped object by the Los Alamos National Geophysics Laboratories of New Mexico and Galbraith Laboratories of Knoxville, Tenn., indicated substantial portions of fossilized wood and large quantities of metal.  Wyatt, who was entrusted with several artifacts from the site by the Turkish government, said he hopes the artifacts and the results of new analyses will be made accessible to the public by the end of this year.