Ararat

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relative to the surrounding countryside - it rises almost 5,200m/17,000ft above the Igdir basin to the north and 3,500m/11,500ft above the Ararat highland - the visual impact of the mountain is immense. There is some dispute about its name: the Turkish Agri Dagi (Mountain of Pain, a reference to its steepness and roughness), only accurately describes parts of the upper slopes; another school of thought accordingly claims it was known in earlier times as "Egri Dagi" (Lop-sided Mountain). The Armenians called it "Mother of Earth" and the Kurds "Mountain of Evil".

Physical geography

Great and Little Ararat are stratified volcanoes with alternating layers of ash/tuff and trachyte/lava; both have concave truncated cones with central craters. On their flanks are a number of secondary vents as well as hot sulfurous springs and fumaroles. The most recent eruption was on June sixth 1840. The outpouring of lava and subsequent landslide destroyed a nearby monastery on the mountain's east flank and buried the village of Ahira together with 2,000 of its inhabitants. The monastery is said to have had in its possession a piece of wood from Noah's Ark. A huge nevé field and ice cap cover the main summit. The permanent snow line today is at about 4,000m/13,100ft, leaving an area of almost 13sq.km/5sq.mi under perpetual snow and ice.

Importance

Since the 19th century Ararat has been cast in a strategic role as a mountain barrier. In 1828 it was ceded to Russia by the Persians and for almost a century the Turko-Russian frontier ran over the top. Little Ararat marked the point at which Persia, the former Soviet Union (now the Armenian Republic) and Turkey all met. In 1920, as a result of the peace of Gümrü, Ararat passed in its entirety to Turkey. The present Turkish-Armenian frontier follows the line of the Aras Nehri and Arpa Çayi while the old frontier forms the provincial boundary between Agri and Kars.

Ascent

The first person to climb Ararat was Pitton de Tournefort in 1707. The ascent takes three to four days, with at least one further day required for the descent (both ascent and descent take 8 hours from the second overnight camp). The climb can be attempted either from Dogubayazit (southwest) or from Aralik near Igdir (northwest); guides can be hired in Dogubayazit or Igdir. Anyone embarking on the climb will need a special permit from the Interior Ministry in Ankara.