Latest news with #MountArarat
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
A mother's terrifying premonition... and the riddle of the Bible-obsessed Scots adventurer who went in search of Noah's Ark and was never seen again
When she stares out of her living room window, frail pensioner Maggie Jean Mackenzie rarely takes in the old, weathered landscape and low-rise townscape beyond her Hebridean home. Her mind's eye drifts instead, as it has for so long, to a far-off place of eternal wonder – a mythical mountain picked out in tourist brochures against skies of purest blue or sunsets of sherbet orange. When Mrs Mackenzie returns day after day to the snow-capped slopes of Mount Ararat in Turkey, however, it is not to cherish treasured holiday memories but to pick through her troubled thoughts in search of answers. It is here, 15 years ago, that her beloved son Donald vanished as he pursued an obsessive search to identify the last resting place of Noah's Ark. Alongside the allure of the Holy Grail, the quest for Noah's Ark ranks as the great chimera in the history of religion. The Genesis story, shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, has it that God, angry at human wickedness, flooded the earth. He saved just Noah and his family, along with all living species, by advising him to build a survival ark. According to the story, when the waters subsided, Noah's ark came to rest somewhere on the vast expanse of Mount Ararat. It has long been assumed by scriptural literalists that its remains really are to be found somewhere on the rubble-strewn mountainside. One such was Donald Mackenzie. Each summer, this self-styled Scots missionary would set off alone to the same hazardous region on the fringes of Iran to track down the final resting place of the fabled vessel. Each autumn, he would beat a reluctant retreat before the first snowfalls brought a temporary halt to his efforts to prove the truth of the great Bible story. Except, in 2010, he failed to return home to his native Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. Like the object of his obsession, he simply disappeared into the heavy mists that swirled around the summit of Turkey's most famous peak. The only tangible evidence that he had even been in the area was his white Vauxhall Combo van, parked in a village at the bottom of the mountain. Of its owner, there has been no sign and the silence surrounding this most perplexing of mysteries has pushed Mrs Mackenzie beyond despair. In the absence of news, her thoughts churn with the scant theories of what may have befallen her son, none particularly cheering – murder, kidnap or a climbing accident seem to be the unpleasant choices. With the passage of time, the picture has been complicated by layers of intrigue – suggestions of army corruption, unlikely hoaxes, bitter religious politics, civil war, and toothless international diplomacy. For the Mackenzie family, trapped between hope and grief, only one question really matters – the truth. Privately, Mrs Mackenzie fears that her son will be forgotten about long before they find it. 'In the last 15 years, we have heard absolutely nothing – it's as if Donald never existed,' she told the Mail. 'That is what I find so difficult. But he did exist and we have to make sure to remind people of that. Keeping his memory alive is made all the harder, because we still don't know what happened. We don't know if anyone is to blame for his disappearance or if it was an accident. We need answers. And if Donald is forgotten, we may never find out what happened to him.' In order to fill the void and revive awareness in Donald's story, the Mackenzies plan to hold a church service this autumn for their missing relative. Meantime, they fall back on their font of stories about a man as tough and complex as Lewisian gneiss. They recall a boyhood full of mischief, a headstrong child drawn to danger who never backed away from confrontation. Yet, they also describe a youngster left bereft by an absent father, who only found a purpose as a born-again Christian. Despite being brought up in the cradle of Free Presbyterianism in the Western Isles, Donald Mackenzie had resisted any real interest in religion until he found God much later in life. Once converted, however, the 47-year-old seized his new faith with alacrity – it drew this newly-evangelised missionary back time and again on his pilgrimage to a politically unstable corner of the Muslim world. It now seems increasingly likely it led him directly to his doom. It was only due to the catastrophic break-up of his mother's marriage to Fleet Street journalist, Ken Mackenzie, that Donald and his three brothers, Ross, Derick and Kenneth, grew up in a council house in Stornoway rather than a large family house in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow. 'My father had a really good, well-paid job and he got sucked into gambling,' said Kenneth. 'We had a big house in a nice part of Glasgow but my mother told me stories later about people telling her how they saw him put a £25 bet down on the turn of a card and lost. Now £25 in those days was like £1,000 now; it was a ridiculous amount. 'He was so addicted he lost everything; his job, the house, everything. He was even pinching stuff from my mother and selling it for gambling. He never even owned up, he just kind of disappeared.' Mrs Mackenzie, a noted Gaelic singer, returned to her native Stornoway to stay with her mother for two years until they got back on their feet. Single-handedly raising four pre-school age sons was always going to be hard work, but Derick and Donald soon earned a reputation as tearaways. 'They were pretty wild, into drink and women and getting involved in fights and riding motorcycles,' said Kenneth. 'Donald would never back down from a fight. In a way, I think he quite enjoyed the element of danger. He ran to danger when others, like me, run a mile from it.' Often Donald's impulsiveness landed him in serious bother. He was 19 when he was riding pillion on a friend's bike which crashed at 100mph and almost cost him his life. After months in hospital, he studied to be a draughtsman, but drifted between jobs, frequently returning to live with his mother. A dab hand with engines, he joined the Territorial Army, where he proved a crack shot and learned the survival skills he would later rely on during his trips to Ararat. Kenneth, now 59, who works in the pharmaceutical industry in London, believes his brother was particularly affected by the loss of a father figure. 'Donald needed that kind of stability and guidance. I think he would have turned out a more rounded, better person if our father had been around,' he said. 'I wouldn't say he was a bad person – he was what he was – but he might have had a good job, he would have had a stable career, and stable relationships.' Years later, Donald did meet his father, who died in 2003, and Kenneth was surprised how accepting his brother was: 'It just seemed all plastic and false to me because there was only one question at the top of my head, which was: 'Why did you leave? Where did you go?' 'But Donald was happy to make small talk and I thought, 'Really? You miss him that much, you're not going to give him a row? You're just going to accept him back?' But I wasn't happy at all.' Then, in his late twenties, Donald found God. A heavenly father would give his life the purpose and direction which his earthly one could not. Unsurprisingly, it happened when he was badly beaten up in a fight. He took it as a sign and when his Army chaplain brother Derick, another convert, visited him in hospital with a Bible, it marked a shift in outlook. If there was any doubt about his commitment, his Facebook social media page was titled 'Donald Proddy'. Having found God, he embarked on his greatest adventure – a bid to prove the existence of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat. 'I'm not sure how much he truly believed in the Ark's existence, you know, but it was his excuse to go over there and have some thrills,' said Kenneth. 'I think he pictured himself as a kind of Indiana Jones with two lives – the Turkish life was the exciting life.' Unlike Dr Jones, Donald was also a preacher. Kenneth said that although Donald made many friends in Turkey and even started a business there buying and selling motorbikes, 'he had a thing about Islam being the wrong faith and he was pushing Christianity which did not go down well at all'. Kenneth added: 'And I think that's where he made some real enemies. We used to have conversations about how much danger he was putting himself in. But I think he thought if he changed one person from Islam to Christianity, that's his job done.' At four times the height of Ben Nevis, Mount Ararat's imposing bulk has always been dangerous for visitors. For decades the highly militarised frontline between Nato and the Soviet bloc, it only opened up to tourism again in 2001. Armed militants from the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, roamed its 16,854ft peak, drawing support for their fight for an independent Kurdistan from residents of the impoverished hamlets which cling to the inhospitable slopes of this dormant volcano. Donald's 2010 trip, his fifth, was driven by an astonishing claim the Ark had been found. A shadowy organisation called Noah's Ark Ministries International – based in Hong Kong but with links to Turkish officials – insisted it had uncovered a 'wooden construction' on Ararat's northern side. Within months it had been denounced as a hoax, but Donald was determined to see for himself, pressing ahead despite the obvious danger and without sorting the necessary government permits and mandatory local guide required to set foot on Ararat. 'Everyone told him not to go. My mother had a premonition and pleaded with him, but he wouldn't listen and got quite angry with me when I spoke to him about it,' said Kenneth. He loaded up his van and drove to the town of Dogubayazit at the foot of Ararat. His last contact with his family was a call that September to his brother Ross, now 64, an IT analyst living in Luxembourg, as he tried to make food at 12,000ft in a thunderstorm. He said the storm was dying down and he should get some sleep. By October 14, he had been reported overdue by a friend. Since then, nothing. No bank account or mobile phone activity. The family have accused the Turkish authorities of failing to take Donald's case seriously and of delaying their initial search. That has made it harder to fathom the chain of events leading up to his disappearance. When Derick went over with a film crew in 2012, they were intercepted by Turkish authorities at the airport and warned off climbing Ararat. After recovering Donald's van and some of his possessions, they encountered a wall of silence. One thing Kenneth Mackenzie is clear on, however, is that his brother will never be coming home. 'I have no doubt that Donald is dead. I believe the Turkish Army are to blame, because somebody came down the mountain the day he disappeared and said, 'I hope there's nobody else up there because the Army means business up there. Anybody else up there is in trouble.' 'They are hiding something. Why would they say to Derick at the airport, 'Don't you dare come near Mount Ararat' unless they had something to hide?' While he accepts his brother is gone, things are harder for his mother, who struggles with failing health and crippling despair. 'She still clings to the hope that, maybe, he's in jail over there and might come home. Every so often, she just bursts into tears. It is as if time stood still from that moment for her.' The same could be said of her son. Fifteen years on, what befell Donald Mackenzie remains every bit as mysterious as the ancient ark he searched for in vain.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Bombshell discovery in soil at 'site of Noah's Ark' that has convinced me Bible story is TRUE
A mysterious geological formation perched high in the mountains of Turkey could be the site where Noah's Ark landed around 4,300 years ago. That is the view of researchers who uncovered what they believe are man-made structures beneath the Durupinar Formation near Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano in eastern Turkey.
The Sun
15-05-2025
- Science
- The Sun
Bible archaeologist delivers bombshell new analysis of Noah's Ark ‘site' as radar reveals ‘angular shapes and hallway'
A BREAKTHROUGH discovery which could prove the existence of Noah's Ark has been made at an "ark-shaped" formation in Turkey. Groundbreaking radar scans taken by American researchers at the Durupinar Formation unearthed game-changing evidence of "angular structures" and a deep void. 7 7 7 Noak's Ark Scans scientist Andrew Jones used ground-penetrating radar to detect what appears to be a 13-foot tunnel going through the centre of the formation - suggesting the ark did exist. The colossal ship saved humanity and two of every animal from extinction when a catastrophic flood hit more than 4,300 years ago, according to the Bible. The bombshell scans also showed three layers below the Earth - matching the biblical description of the huge vessel having three decks. This is explained in The Book of Genesis 6:16, which states: "Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. "Make it with lower, second, and third decks." The new data has also shown central and side corridors running through the boat's formation. Jones told Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday: "We're not expecting something that's fully preserved. "What's left is the chemical imprint, pieces of wood and in the ground, the shape of a hall." Just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat in Turkey, the Durupinar Formation has only been known to researchers for less than a century. Local media speculates that heavy rain and earthquakes in May 1948 washed away surrounding mud - which revealed the incredible yet mysterious formation. The Bible itself even states that Noah's Ark came to rest on the "mountains of Ararat" after a 150-day flood. The disaster drowned the Earth and every living creature not sheltered inside the wooden vessel. What's more - the the stunning formation sits near a mountain with a peak that matches the ark's shape and dimensions. Biblical measurements size the boat at "300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high". This is roughly the same as the dimensions of the peak - 515ft long, 86ft wide and 52ft tall. Jones also said that the structures revealed angular structures as deep as 20 feet below the surface - which could represent rooms below a deck-like platform. The Bible seemingly correlates with this construction, saying: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." 7 7 Jones explained: "This is not what you'd expect to see if the site were simply a solid block of rock or the result of random mudflow debris. "But it is exactly what you'd expect to find if this were a man-made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah's Ark." His team of boffins also performed soil testing which uncovered "interesting things" according to Jones. "We noticed that the grass growing within the boat-shaped formation is a different colour compared to the area just outside it," the researcher said. He suggested that this could point to a man-made origin rather than a natural one. Why is locating Noah's Ark important? FOR those involved in the research, the importance of the discovery is not just limited to its religious implications. While Noah's Ark is a key element in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, the story also speaks to larger human questions about survival, faith, and the fragility of life in the face of natural disasters. The team's findings, particularly the materials embedded in the formation's soil, suggest that the area may have been submerged in a vast body of water at some point. Could this be evidence of the Great Flood? While the theory remains highly speculative, the notion that ancient humans witnessed and survived such a cataclysm has captivated scholars and theologians alike for centuries. For scientists and archaeologists alike, the potential to link these scientific findings with one of history's most famous legends is as daunting as it is crucial. The story is also a key part of the Abrahamic religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and is often interpreted as a message of faith, obedience, and God's promise to never destroy the Earth with a flood again. According to the Book of Genesis, chapters 6 to 9, God decided to flood the Earth because of humanity's widespread wickedness. But he chose to spare Noah because of his righteousness and tasked him with building a large ark to save himself, his family, and a pair of every animal. Fellow scientist at Noah's Ark Scans William Crabtree said that a tunnel appeared to run from the tip of the formation and lead towards the middle. He added that it was large enough to walk through. Analysing the soil, he noted the elevated potassium, pH changes and doubled organic matter inside the formation. This suggested that "decaying organic material" - or wood - may have been responsible for these changes. The team plan to carry on their soil testing experiments beyond the 22 samples they have already collected. They also want to complete a core drilling survey and do additional ground-penetrating radar scans around the site. 7 7
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Bombshell discovery at 'site of Noah's Ark' which researchers say could prove Biblical story true
High in the mountains of Turkey sits a mysterious geological formation that some researchers believe could be the remains of Noah's Ark. According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved humanity and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood more than 4,300 years ago. Now, a team of American researchers working at Durupinar Formation near Mount Ararat has uncovered evidence of angular structures and a void deep within the mountain. Andrew Jones, an independent researcher with Noah's Ark Scans, used ground-penetrating radar to detect what appeared to be a 13-foot tunnel running through the center of the formation. The scans also captured three layers below the earth, matching the the Biblical description of the boat having three decks. The Book of Genesis 6:16 states: 'Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.' And a new analysis of the team's GPR data claims to have found central and side corridors or hallways running through the boat. 'We're not expecting something that's fully preserved. What's left is the chemical imprint, pieces of wood and in the ground, the shape of a hall,' Jones told The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). In Genesis 6:14, the Bible describes the ark: 'Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.' Pictured is a recreation of what the ark may have looked like Located just 18 miles south of Mount Ararat—Turkey's highest peak—the Durupınar Formation has only been known to the modern world for less than a century. According to local reports, heavy rains and earthquakes in May 1948 washed away surrounding mud, revealing the mysterious formation. It was then discovered by a Kurdish shepherd. The Bible states that Noah's Ark came to rest on the 'mountains of Ararat' after a 150-day flood that drowned the Earth and every living creature not sheltered inside the wooden vessel. What's intriguing is that the formation sits near a mountain with a peak that some believe matches the ark's shape and dimensions. According to biblical measurements, the ark was '300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high'—roughly 515 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 52 feet tall. The idea that the ark landed on Mount Ararat has long sparked debate. While many scientists argue that the formation is a naturally occurring geological feature, others are convinced it points to something far more extraordinary. The team at Noah's Ark Scans firmly believes the latter. Speaking to CBN News on Friday, Jones shared new details about the scans he and his team of independent researchers have conducted over the past few years at the Durupınar Formation. So far, the scans have revealed angular structures as deep as 20 feet beneath the surface—features that could represent rooms below a deck-like platform. In Genesis 6:14, the Bible describes the ark: 'Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.' 'This is not what you'd expect to see if the site were simply a solid block of rock or the result of random mudflow debris,' said Jones. 'But it is exactly what you'd expect to find if this were a man-made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah's Ark.' The team has also performed soil testing, uncovering what Jones described as 'some interesting things.' 'We noticed that the grass growing within the boat-shaped formation is a different color compared to the area just outside it,' he said, suggesting this could point to a man-made origin rather than a natural one. William Crabtree, another member of Noah's Ark Scans, added that a tunnel appears to run from the tip of the formation toward the middle, and it is large enough to walk through. He also discussed their soil analysis, noting that organic matter was found to be twice as high inside the formation compared to the surrounding soil. 'The potassium levels inside are also about 40 percent higher,' Crabtree said. 'If you know soil science—as I'm a soil scientist—you'll understand that potassium levels, organic matter, and pH can all be influenced by decaying organic material.' 'If this was a wooden boat and the wood had rotted over time, we would expect to see elevated levels of potassium, changes in pH, and higher organic content—and that's exactly what we're finding.' Jones and the team plan to expand their soil testing efforts beyond the 22 samples they have already collected. They also aim to complete a core drilling survey and conduct additional ground-penetrating radar scans around the site. 'We want to compare what's inside the formation to what's outside,' Jones said.
