October 2000, Tour to Noah's Ark
Sponsored by Anchorstone.com

Standing in the Valley of Eight, we are along the road heading to Iran 6 miles behind us.  The government sign points to our left where you drive up a gravel road leading to the ark on a mountain at about 6,524' elevation.

Our Journey Begins:

Meeting at the JFK airport to begin our journey.

Aboard our Turkish Airlines Airbus.

33 minutes until we arrive in Istanbul.

Buying Turkish Lira, one U.S. Dollar = 665,000 TL

Driving to our hotel in Istanbul.

One of the many mosques in the city.

View from hotel room.  Sea of Marmara in distance.

Some shops in Istanbul.  Note carpets are sold everywhere!

Preparing to leave for the airport to fly to eastern Turkey the next morning.
Our hotel was the Best Western Obelisk, near the tourist areas.

Leaving Istanbul as we take off.

Euphrates river below us as we fly over eastern Turkey.

Lake Van below us as we descend to the Van airport.

Streets of Van.  Beginning our 3 1/2 hour drive to Noah's Ark.

Driving around the northeast end of lake Van.

Turning north toward Dogubayazit.

60 km or 36 miles to reach the nearest town to Noah's ark.

Locals thumbing a ride.

Lava flow extending miles from former volcano in the distance.

Border marker with Iran seen from our vehicle.

Tour Continues - Part II