Ararat, << AR uh rat, >> was the country where, according to the Bible, Noah’s ark landed after the Deluge. The Biblical story is told in Genesis 6-8. Ararat was the area surrounding Lake Van in ancient Armenia, now part of Turkey. Many people believe that Noah’s ark came to rest on Mount Massis, the tallest mountain in Ararat, known today as Mount Ararat. However, the Aramaic and Syriac translations of the story speak of the ark landing in the mountains of Kurdistan, southeast of Lake Van.
The land of Ararat is also mentioned in II Kings 19: 37 and Isaiah 37: 38. These passages tell that the sons of the Assyrian king Sennacherib fled to Ararat after they killed their father.
