Respect for Mount Ararat and a Symposium

Dear Readers,

My wife and I were invited to the conference titled “INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRACES OF NOAH'S FLOOD ON MOUNT ARARAT,” organized jointly by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (I would like to both emphasize and appreciate the contribution of Mr. Asım Keser, who serves as an Advisor in the Ministry) and Mr. Ahmet Ertuğrul, originally from Doğubayazıt, who has gained worldwide fame in the tourism sector for promoting Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark.

Ahmet Ertuğrul, known by his nickname "Parachute Ahmet"

The symposium, which began on May 5, 2022, and lasted three days, was held at the Noah’s Ark Village facility, located near the Gürbulak Border Gate. Scientists, experts, academics, journalists from all over the world, and especially prominent figures and personalities from the provinces of Ağrı and Iğdır, were present.

(From left to right) Mehmet Hanifi Alır, 23rd Term Ağrı Deputy; Yıldız Acar, Mayor of Doğubayazıt; Asım Keser, Advisor at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Prof. Dr. Selahattin Çelebi, Vice Rector of Iğdır University

During the first day's meeting, I was also given the opportunity to speak. An interesting development occurred: simultaneous translation of the speeches was planned. Probably due to a technical error, the speech given in Turkish by veteran journalist Mr. Coşkun Aral was not translated into English. I felt that this situation, though not very obvious, might have caused some discomfort among the non-Turkish-speaking participants.

After Mr. Coşkun, I was invited to the podium. I had planned to give my speech in Turkish, but to maintain the "psychological" balance in the hall, I gave an impromptu speech in English. In fact, at the beginning of my speech, I made a jocular remark in Turkish: "Our esteemed Coşkun spoke in Turkish, punishing the non-Turkish-speaking guests; I will speak in English and punish the non-English-speaking guests."

(From left to right) Our esteemed mentor Akay Aktaş, Advisor Asım Keser, Mücahit Özden Hun, and Lecturer Alaaddin Yanardağ

I had to keep my English presentation short due to time constraints. My speech consisted of two parts.

Below, I present the Turkish text of my two-part speech given in English at the symposium for your attention:

MY FIRST SPEECH TITLE: THE SPIRIT OF MOUNT ARARAT

Dear Guests!

Welcome! First, I want to state this: I was born in Iğdır, located on the northern slope of Mount Ararat. So, in a sense, I am a child of Mount Ararat, or Ararat. Since I am a researcher and writer, my presentation will be a little different. While other speakers will probably present on archaeology, history of religions, art history, anthropology, mineralogy, etc., I will try to draw your attention to a different topic.

My speech consists of two parts: In the first part, I will share a segment of the reckoning between my inner world and Mount Ararat; in the second part, I will remind you of an important forgotten name and inform you about his life.

I want to start my speech with a question: Have you ever had a nightmare in your life? I can almost hear you saying, "Of course!" I want to change my question this time: Have you ever had the same nightmare repeatedly for three days, five days, a week, or a month? I predict that as the number of days increases, the number of hands raised will decrease. I want to continue my question without exaggeration: Has anyone seen the same nightmare for two months? I am 100% sure that no one else's hand will go up to answer this question but mine. Yes, once upon a time, I had the same nightmare repeatedly for two months.

The year was 1988. It was spring. I was working for a French company in Paris. I was 30 years old, single. Suddenly, for no reason, I started having nightmares. The nightmares turned my inner world upside down; sometimes I woke up with an extraordinary feeling of joy (!) and sometimes with fear, racing against my death.

In both cases, I didn't want to get out of bed. But life and reality outside were calling me. I don't remember how I got out of bed, how I showered, how I got on the metro. I would arrive at work, reluctantly sit at my computer, withdraw into myself with an antisocial personality disorder, not hearing what was being said or spoken. Life, for me, was as if it had died.

My French friends, at first, assumed it was a temporary situation and were tolerant. After more than a month passed and they saw no change in my behavior, they gave me a nickname among themselves: "Somnambule" (sleepwalker).

One day, when I heard the word "Somnambule," I decided I needed to do something and went to a general practitioner. I told him I was having nightmares and wanted to get rid of my sleep disorder.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do! I'll refer you to a psychiatrist friend."

I knocked on the psychiatrist's door on the second floor of the same hospital and entered. A young female doctor with black eyes and hair, her facial features bearing the typical traces of South Caucasian peoples, was sitting in her chair, writing something. She asked me to sit down. It was my first time in the presence of a psychiatrist:

"How can I help you?"

"I'm having nightmares. I've been suffering from this for almost two months. It's negatively affecting my work and daily life."

"What kind of nightmares?"

"I don't know, have you ever heard the name Mount Ararat? My nightmares are about Mount Ararat. There's a city called Iğdır on the northern slope of Mount Ararat. It's very close to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia! I was born and raised in that city. My nightmares are always about this region."

"Can you elaborate a bit?"

It was a warm spring day. The window was open. I could see the huge trees in the hospital garden in the distance. I turned my head towards the window and started talking, looking at the trees.

"Sometimes in my dream, I find myself walking towards Mount Ararat. Everywhere is green and full of colorful flowers... Animals are happily running around... I have an indescribable joy inside me. Mount Ararat seems to smile like a mother joyfully welcoming her long-missed child. I jump with big strides over huge volcanic rocks, running quickly towards the summit... I find myself on the snow-white summit. This time I sprout wings and fly...

First, I circle over Iğdır. I take a bird's-eye view of the house where I was born, the streets of the city. I cross the Aras River and this time fly over Yerevan. Believe me, Doctor, I have never been to Yerevan, but if you take me to Yerevan today, I can easily tell you how the streets intersect with each other. As I joyfully glide like an eagle in the sky over and around the summit of Mount Ararat, suddenly the alarm clock wakes me up. A feeling of anger fills me because it interrupted my happiness. I don't want to get out of bed. I want to return to my deep dream and continue sleeping. But I know I have to wake up. This anger and disappointment stay with me all day.

Doctor, the next day, this time I find myself in another dream. I bid farewell to Mount Ararat and move away... Mount Ararat is angry... Sad... It cries shakingly, meaning there's an earthquake... I'm scared, I want to run away. This time, Mount Ararat erupts, gases, smoke, ashes fill the air. I continue to run away in fear. Mount Ararat erupts with a great noise, hot yellow lava flows down the slopes like a river... It burns and destroys plants and flowers... Animals run around frantically for their lives. I also continue to run in fear... The lava is about to catch me... Just then, the alarm clock rings. I wake up with great fear inside me."

Mount Ararat erupting in my dreams

Doctor, whether I wake up with joy or fear, nothing changes. I don't want to return to the life waiting for me outside. I force myself to leave the house."

I detailed my dreams at length, still recounting the dream I had the night before down to the smallest detail, lost in thought.

After completing my speech, I turned my eyes to the Doctor. I was surprised. The Doctor was silently crying, wiping away her tears. Of course, I couldn't make sense of this situation. In fact, a feeling of regret arose within me that I had upset the Doctor with what I had told her.

Suddenly, our eyes met. To my utter astonishment, the Doctor made a sudden movement, rested her elbows on the table, and began to sob uncontrollably. I was already in a "sleepwalking" state of mind. I couldn't decide what to do. It didn't occur to me to ask for help. It didn't last long. The Doctor lifted her head, and as she wiped her eyes, she apologized:

"Now let me tell my own story: My grandmother was Armenian. She was born and raised in Yerevan. At the age of 13-14, her family moved to France, and in later years, she married a French gentleman and settled in Paris. My grandmother raised me. She would make the most delicious meals for me, sing the most beautiful lullabies, and tell the most wonderful stories. I would sleep hugging my grandmother.

I must have been three or four years old. I vaguely remember waking up in the middle of the night and my grandmother sobbing. When I was 6-7, one day I asked:

"Grandma, why are you crying?"

"Mount Ararat and Yerevan enter my dreams."

My grandmother's explanation did not satisfy my child's mind. My grandmother passed away with a longing for Mount Ararat and Yerevan. When I researched the events that took place in Yerevan in the past while I was a university student, only then could I make sense of my grandmother's nightmares and her sobbing. Your narration reminded me of my beloved grandmother."

After completing her speech, the Doctor stood up, extended her hand, and said her final words:

"Monsieur, it is impossible for me to help my grandmother, you, or others who carry the pain of Mount Ararat in their hearts, because your soul and the soul of Mount Ararat have intertwined to emerge as a new soul... It is impossible for me to separate your soul from the soul of Mount Ararat. There is nothing I can do! I am very sorry!"

As I walked out of the room and down the corridor, I said to myself: "If this is the problem, then welcome to my soul, the sublime spirit of Mount Ararat!"

From that day on, my nightmares ended.

MY SECOND SPEECH TITLE: RESPECT FOR THE MASTER

The year 2011. Mid-December... I was invited to an energy conference in St. Petersburg. After the conference, I had 3-4 days of free time. I arrived in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, after an 8-hour train journey.

While walking in the streets, I saw a poster. It read: "Reise zum Ararat / Journey to Ararat." That is, "Journey to Ararat."

German Edition of Friedrich Parrot's Book

English Edition of Friedrich Parrot's Book

A documentary about Mount Ararat, prepared by a young Estonian director named Riho Vastrik, was being screened. I watched the film with curiosity. Riho Vastrik had prepared a documentary by following in the footsteps of Friedrich Parrot, the first person to climb to the summit of Mount Ararat (1829) according to recorded history, and his "MASTER," who was also from Dorpat (Tartu).

After watching the documentary, I began to struggle with feelings of anger, jealousy, and self-blame. I was a true child of Ararat, but I didn't know who first set foot on the summit of Ararat, the mountain I loved so much and had nightmares about for months. In the city of Tallinn, 3500 km away from Iğdır, a young Estonian director was honoring the first person to reach the summit, his "MASTER," by making and screening a documentary.

(After watching the documentary, my first task was to return to the hotel, sit at my computer, and start writing the book that I would later name ARARAT ARARAT. I completed this book in two weeks. As soon as I returned to Ankara, I published it in January 2012. It was my second book and first novel after the book IĞDIR SEVDASI, published in 2002.)

WHO IS FRIEDRICH PARROT?

Friedrich Parrot (fridrih parrıt) was born in 1792 in Karlsruhe, Germany. He was of German origin. His father, a physics professor at the university, for some reason, moved to the city of Dorpat (today Tartu) (present-day Estonia), which was within the borders of Tsarist Russia at that time. The entire family became citizens of Tsarist Russia.

Parrot began studying medicine. He was interested in scientific discoveries. In 1811/12, he embarked on an exploratory journey to the Crimea and the Caucasus Mountains with his friend Moritz, who studied mineralogy. He even tried to climb Mount Kazbek but failed. He had a barometer invented by the Italian scientist Torricelli. He measured the water level difference between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea using the barometer.

He longed to climb Mount Ararat, but in those years, the northern slope of Mount Ararat and the Yerevan region were under the control of Iranian Khanates, and the southern slope was under Ottoman control. Obtaining permission for expeditions was almost impossible. He returned to Dorpat.

In 1828, he learned that the northern part of Mount Ararat and the city of Yerevan had been incorporated into the borders of Tsarist Russia. Finally, an opportunity to climb Mount Ararat had arisen!

Parrot held professorships in four fields at that time: Physiology, Pathology, Semiology, and Physics. Therefore, he first obtained permission from the university senate. Since he would be exploring the newly incorporated region within the imperial borders, he then applied to the Tsar to go to the South Caucasus. The Tsar was a supporter of scientific discoveries. He even assigned two Cossack soldiers as guards.

Engraving of St. Jacob Monastery by Friedrich Parrot's own drawing

Parrot arrived in Tiflis with two soldiers. There was a plague in Yerevan. He waited in Tiflis for three months. Parrot's biggest concern was finding someone who spoke Russian when he went to Yerevan. For this reason, he visited the Armenian school in Tiflis. He met an Armenian named Alemdaryan, who was both a writer and a teacher. Alemdaryan said, "Don't worry! I have a student named Abovyan who speaks Russian very well. It will be enough for you to give him the letter I will write."

Three months later, the plague epidemic ended. Parrot went to Yerevan. He found Abovyan and gave him the letter. The 20-year-old Abovyan agreed to be their guide. Parrot, Abovyan, and the two soldiers, the four of them together, crossed the Aras River and went to the Armenian village of Axuri, with a population of 1900, on the slopes of Mount Ararat (altitude 1240 m). A little above the village (altitude 1940 m) was the Monastery of St. Jacob.

The village headman, Xociyan, provided two guides who knew the region well. The six-person group set up camp at the site of St. Jacob Monastery.

They first began their ascent towards the summit of Mount Ararat from the northeast. Halfway, they realized that their clothes were not suitable for the cold weather and turned back. For the second time, they attempted to ascend from the northwest. When they reached an altitude of 4800 meters, the sun was about to set. They turned back. Finally, they succeeded on their third attempt, reaching the summit of Mount Ararat at 3:15 PM on October 9, 1829. This was the first recorded expedition to the summit of Mount Ararat.

Parrot measured the height of Mount Ararat with a barometer: 5265 meters. In my opinion, this was a perfect measurement. In our primary school years, we were taught that the height of Mount Ararat was 5165 m. In later years, due to global warming, this level was accepted as 5137 m. Currently, we know that the height of Mount Ararat is 5125 m, based on perfect satellite measurements.

The group returned to camp. Parrot then prepared to climb Little Mount Ararat. In those years, wild and predatory animals such as lions, tigers, lynxes, wolves, and bears were abundant in the Serdarbulak plateau, which separates Greater and Little Mount Ararat.

Parrot, taking the famous Armenian hunter Hako with him, set off towards Little Mount Ararat and climbed to its summit. He measured the summit of Little Mount Ararat as 3962 meters. Today, we know that the height of Little Mount Ararat is 3925 meters. Almost two centuries have passed. It is understandable that Little Mount Ararat has lost 37 meters in altitude due to erosion.

Parrot returned to Dorpat, taking Abovyan with him. He was appointed rector. He helped Abovyan get a scholarship to study Philosophy. Abovyan later gained fame as the founder of modern Armenian literature.

In 1837, Parrot went to Nordkapp, the northernmost point of Norway. Afterwards, he suffered a long period of illness. It was at such a moment that bad news arrived from the South Caucasus.

On June 2, 1840, Mount Ararat was shaken by a volcanic eruption. Parrot was deeply saddened to learn that St. Jacob Monastery, which he had drawn engravings of and loved very much, and the village of Axuri, were buried and destroyed by the landslide. He passed away on January 15, 1841.

(I would like to make a reminder: Some writers make erroneous statements such as 'a new village was built in place of the old Axuri village.' The First Axuri village, where Armenian inhabitants resided, was buried under a landslide during the 1840 earthquake. Years later, Azerbaijani inhabitants established a second village with the same name. However, while the altitude of the first Axuri village was around 1200 m, the altitude of the second Axuri village is around 1740 meters. The Azerbaijani inhabitants evacuated the village during the 1919 Kaça-Kaç (flight) and took refuge in Iranian Azerbaijan. Kurdish inhabitants settled in the village. The name of the second Axuri village was changed to Yenidoğan in 1965.)

From here, I want to make a call to all authorities, especially our Governor of Iğdır, and the people of Iğdır:

Let's erect a statue of the great explorer Friedrich Parrot, who made the first ascent to the summit of Mount Ararat from the Iğdır side, in the most magnificent place in our Iğdır, and leave a universal mark on our Iğdır, which is suffocated by ethnic conflict.

Thank you.