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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03100649\/PicMonkey-Collage.jpg\")
\nMany years ago, according to the Bible, Noah built an ark to save his family and two of each animal from a flood sent by God. Now, some scientists believe they have made an interesting discovery to find the craft they traveled in.
\nMore than one version of the story has come to light over the years, and each one talks about a different era. Whichever era the ark came from, there are people out there who believe they can find it, and some scientists even claim they have already found it – and took photos from inside.
\n[post_page_title]Where the arc laid anchor for the last time[\/post_page_title]
\nThe ark floated on the water for 150 days before it came to a stop at the peak of a mountain, said to be the mountain of Ararat. According to the Bible, the ark was a huge vessel that was capable of holding many animals so it would make sense that it would have made some sort of impact on the land when it came to rest.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03100212\/1.jpg\")
\nNow, thousands of years after the biblical flood, scientists believe some new evidence has been uncovered in the search for the ark.
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\n[post_page_title]Noah’s ark in a nutshell[\/post_page_title]
\nThe biblical tale of Noah\u2019s ark is one often told, regardless of the believability. The story is from Genesis and tells the tale of a righteous man, Noah, who has not been swayed by people\u2019s wicked ways. People had been corrupted, and according to the story, God was disappointed of how they had turned out.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03100256\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.02.44.jpg\")
\nHe set to rid the world of them – but spared Noah because of his righteous ways. Noah was tasked to build the ark and save pairs of animals, then the flood came.
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\n[post_page_title]Does it still exist today?[\/post_page_title]
\nMany people who are familiar with the Genesis story would tell you that the ark came to a standstill at the top of the mountain Ararat. A biblical location, sure, but does that mountain exist today though?
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03100823\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.08.07.jpg\")
\nThe mountain of Ararat can be found in Turkey, near to the Iranian and Armenian borders. So many people, therefore, believe that there should be some evidence of the ark\u2019s existence in that region, potentially at the peak of the mound.
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\n[post_page_title]The possible real location[\/post_page_title]
\nHaving the same name as the biblical mountain, Mount Ararat is considered to be the location of the ark thanks to its name. The mountain is the tallest in Turkey, with the top measuring 16,854 ft, and it is currently a dormant volcano.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03101126\/2.jpg\")
\nDue to the importance placed on the mountain, Armenia\u2019s coat of arms depicts the mountain, despite it being in Turkey. The coat of arms has the ark sat atop of the mountain, such is the Armenian belief that the ark is located there.
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\n[post_page_title]Banning visitors[\/post_page_title]
\nMarco Polo reportedly climbed Ararat in the Middle Ages, but another traveler, Dr. Friedrich Parrot scaled the mountain much more recently. In 1829, Parrot visited the location and remarked on how the locals felt about the area and their association with Noah\u2019s ark.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03101247\/3.jpg\")
\nHe noted that the Armenian people were all firmly of the belief that the remains of Noah\u2019s ark were on Ararat\u2019s peak. In fact, they had said that they believed it with such conviction that they would not allow another human to approach the peak.
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\n[post_page_title]Weeks of digging[\/post_page_title]
\nOver the years there have been numerous attempts to excavate the land in the hope of finding some evidence of the ark\u2019s existence. There is one evangelical group who believes they made a breakthrough.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03101309\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.12.56.jpg\")
\nThe group, Noah\u2019s Ark Ministries International (NAMI), are from China and Turkey and spent weeks digging and searching. After some time they believe they found artifacts made of wood that confirms the location of the biblical ship. It would appear a breakthrough had been achieved.
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\n[post_page_title]Proceeding with caution[\/post_page_title]
\nWhile NAMI made claims of discovery, it was worth remembering that there had been previous false claims. Explorer, Fernand Navarra, allegedly found a beam from the ark on Mount Ararat – but a Spanish research facility confirmed the wood was about 5,000 years old.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164443\/eddavis.jpg\")
\nIt was later announced that he had carried the wood up the mountain after buying it at a nearby village. Helicopter pilot George Greene claimed he saw the ark when flying over the mountain, although this was dismissed as many figured he had just seen a chunk of basalt.
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\n[post_page_title]Strange claims[\/post_page_title]
\nOne man has spent his life claiming he and his uncle have seen the ark, even climbing onto its roof. Armenian, George Hagopian, made the claims, but there are questions about the authenticity of the tale as each time he told it the dates changed.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03101334\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.13.24.jpg\")
\nSeemingly there was a drought which uncovered the ark, then he and his uncle scaled the mountain. It is a nice story, but it raises the question of how it was so easy for him and his uncle, but others have not found a trace.
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\n[post_page_title]Why it’s so hard to find[\/post_page_title]
\nGenesis tells the story of Noah and his construction of an ark to save his family. This is not believed to have been the origin of the story as there are several tales from the ancient Mesopotamian region that also involved floods.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03101916\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.19.05.jpg\")
\nIn fact, there are several tales of floods from that period. Since there are so many tales of great floods, perhaps the biblical tale is not the origin of the story, and because of this, it is not easy to find the location of the ark.
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\n[post_page_title]Even Marco Polo tried to find it[\/post_page_title]
\nFamous explorer, Marco Polo, took a swing by the mountain range notarized for the ark’s location. Famous for his travels across Asia, he stopped by Mount Ararat to see if he could spot the legendary vessel.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03102028\/4.jpg\")
\nHe noted that the mountain was cube-shaped, but the snow on the top never melted so he couldn’t get a chance to have a good look. Polo said the mountain took two days to navigate, so possibly abandoned the search after days of failure.
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\n[post_page_title]It’s told in many religions[\/post_page_title]
\nNoah\u2019s ark is told by many faiths, including Baha\u2019i, Christian, Islam, and Jewish religions. Baha\u2019i faith teaches about the unity and equality of all people, they believe in the worth of all world religions. All four of these religions tell similar tales, but there are a few differences.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03102118\/5.jpg\")
\nIslam believes the ark was a traditional ship, but Christians believe Noah\u2019s tale is similar to the ritual of baptism. The Baha\u2019i faith considers the ark is purely symbolic and did not physically exist.
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\n[post_page_title]Similar stories[\/post_page_title]
\nThere is a tale of another man who suffered through a biblical flood. The tale is from ancient Mesopotamia and is known as the Epic of Gilgamesh, it follows the story of a man searching for eternal life.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03102220\/6.jpg\")
\nGilgamesh visits a man called Utnapishtim, who was said to have survived the great flood. The great flood tales are told to be so similar that there is a chance that both tales were derived from ancient Mesopotamia.
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\n[post_page_title]Could it be the same story?[\/post_page_title]
\nWe established that Mesopotamia had developed several great flood stories, but the oldest and best known is the tale of King Ziusudra. Otherwise known as the Sumerian Flood Story, the tale involves Ziusudra building a boat trying to rescue as many people as possible after the gods decided to destroy the world.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03102659\/7.jpg\")
\nKnown as the Sumerian Flood Story because it was inscribed in the city of Nippur in 1600 BCE, in the ancient country known as Sumer.
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\n[post_page_title]The Geoscience Research Institute[\/post_page_title]
\nWe now know there are several versions of the great flood story, and because of this, we cannot be sure where exactly the ark beached. There is a group of people not willing to let the dream end and are determined to find the ark.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164454\/mountararat_060407_fjenkins-22sm-e1516008341674.jpg\")
\nThe group is called the Geoscience Research Institute, and they believe in creationism. A symposium was arranged in Turkey, with over 100 researchers speaking and combining their knowledge, with one of their number claiming to have the answer.
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\n[post_page_title]Not all creationists agree[\/post_page_title]
\nMuch like the rest of the world, the creationist group cannot agree on the ark\u2019s final location. While many believe it was grounded on the top of Mount Ararat, others think the mountain itself didn’t exist before the flood so it couldn’t have landed there.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03102736\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.27.25.jpg\")
\nDr. Andrew Snelling, a young-Earth creationist, and Ph.D. from the University of Sydney feels that Mount Ararat is not the place they need to be looking in. Young-Earth creationists believe the Earth was created by God less than 10,000 years ago.
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\n[post_page_title]Another possible place[\/post_page_title]
\nMany historians do agree on the general location of the ark, but Syrian tales offer a different conclusion to the theories put forward by Josephus. Early Syrians believed Mount Judi was the final resting place of Noah\u2019s ark.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03103026\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.30.15.jpg\")
\nJosephus said that the remains of the ark were shown at the \u2018place of descent\u2019 and Ararat was not know by that name. The Armenians were shown the ark\u2019s remains, and so they believed Noah\u2019s ark rested there for centuries. Funnily enough, this mountain isn’t far off from Ararat.
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\n[post_page_title]Why it’s important to know what happened[\/post_page_title]
\nSometimes it is more important to establish why something happens, rather than how it occurred. The tale of the great flood is no different, and while scientists like to prove everything to the smallest degree, religious followers also seek answers to their questions.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03103435\/8.jpg\")
\nThe Bible seeks answers on a deeper level and wants to understand what the purpose of the universe is and why it came to be. Religious scholars have been seeking these answers since the dawn of man.
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\n[post_page_title]Who’s right and who’s wrong?[\/post_page_title]
\nThat being said, everyone is certain their own way of thinking is best. Dr. Snelling, the young-Earth creationist, has always believed his research is correct and his fellow creationists have been barking up the wrong tree.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03104432\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.44.16.jpg\")
\nHe says the flood was a catastrophe on a global scale and the land is still reshaping as a result of the flood. Thanks to this opinion he questions whether people should even be looking at Mount Ararat as the site of the ark.
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\n[post_page_title]Searching for answers[\/post_page_title]
\nBack to the digging done by Noah\u2019s Ark Ministries International (NAMI). The group has excavated several times and now believe they have uncovered some evidence which may well lead to a discovery of the ark\u2019s location.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03105157\/10.jpg\")
\nNot everyone agrees with the work NAMI have been doing, but others believe there is merit in their endeavors. Plowing ahead regardless of opinion, one of their ranks believes the answer to where the ark lies is just around the corner.
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\n[post_page_title]Don\u2019t give up just yet[\/post_page_title]
\nOne American researcher truly believes they have found the key to finding the ark and are so close to its discovery on Mount Ararat. Raul Esperante, a professor from California, is working with the Geoscience Research Institute, (the creationists Dr. Snelling disagrees with), and has no problem tackling the unsolvable.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03105518\/9.jpg\")
\nHis purpose is to dig near the sites and uncover any possible clues there may be regarding historical catastrophes. Professor Esperante has faced significant backlash for his theories.
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\n[post_page_title]Have NAMI actually found it?[\/post_page_title]
\nNAMI (Noah\u2019s Ark Ministries International) believe they made a significant breakthrough, claiming they have discovered the ark on Mount Ararat. One of the researchers for the team, Man-Fai Yuen, claimed they had not only found a wooden structure but actually entered it.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03105615\/11.jpg\")
\nHe claimed that there were partitions inside the structure with different spaces mapped out. They had the wood put through carbon dating testing, which aged the wood at 4,800 years old.
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\n[post_page_title]Very possibly the answer[\/post_page_title]
\nNoah\u2019s Ark Ministries International (NAMI) are standing by their claims, which are that they cannot say with 100% certainty, but they are 99.9% sure what they have found is Noah\u2019s ark. Their claims have been met with skepticism though.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03105812\/12.jpg\")
\nPaul Zimansky, an archaeologist, specializing in the Middle-East, commented that everyone who goes looking for the ark believes they have found it. Clearly, a nod to the several incidences of hoax claims that have been made throughout history.
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\n[post_page_title]Under examination[\/post_page_title]
\nNot to be dissuaded, Esperante is tenacious in his efforts to prove the findings NAMI have made are accurate. He believes that if some serious and meticulous scientific work is carried out in the area, they will confirm the identity of the wooden structure.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164507\/Mount-Ararat-6-1024x768.jpg\")
\nEsperante\u2019s findings are set to be published in a book, but at the moment he believes it is too early to say for sure what it is they will find. Once the ark is confirmed, it will be unveiled to the general public.
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\n[post_page_title]The truth will come out eventually[\/post_page_title]
\nEsperante has not released his findings but is seeking funding. It is concerning that there is no evidence, yet they are asking for funding. Hopefully, it is just a tactic to dissuade others from digging there for the time being.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03105835\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-13.58.24.jpg\")
\nIf the claims are true, then it could be one of the greatest historical discoveries ever made. While the scientific community is moving to try to debunk the claims, NAMI is planning to go ahead and continue their digging and maybe uncover the famous ark that survived the great flood. But will it ever really be believed by the scientific community?
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\n[post_page_title]Some scientists don’t agree it happened[\/post_page_title]
\nMany biblical stories involve certain miracles or events that cannot be explained by science, and the flood is not exempt from scientific criticism. Scientists believe one piece of evidence, or lack of evidence, disproves any great flood that may have ever occurred on the planet.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03110318\/13.jpg\")
\nThey say the soil would tell the tale of the flood and the water levels in the soil would depict this. According to some scientists, there is no such evidence to prove a flood ever took place of the biblical proportion Noah had to deal with.
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\n[post_page_title]The DNA issue[\/post_page_title]
\nAccording to the tale, Noah and his family were the only survivors of the flood, apart from the animals. So in that sense, we would all be related to Noah as no other humans survived, barring those on that boat.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03110347\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-14.03.36.jpg\")
\nScientists argue that should this be the case, we would be able to track our DNA genealogy back to the family that was tasked with repopulating the planet. Since they cannot, they do not believe the story is true. Another explanation offered, is that more than one family survived the flood thanks to Noah’s ark, and perhaps many.
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\n[post_page_title]Better than the Titanic?[\/post_page_title]
\nThere’s one more issue scientists might bring up in the context of wether the events really happened. The ark needed to be huge to house all of the animals God requested on board, we’re talking Titanic proportions.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164447\/160624_ntl_noahs_ark_1253_16x9_992.jpg\")
\nIt does beg the question that if the Titanic couldn’t survive an iceberg, could a wooden ship survive a flood as great as described in the bible? God gave the blueprints for the ship to Noah, so he then had to spend a very long time constructing the craft with little help. This was an incredible feat of engineering for the time it was built, almost unbelievable.
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\n[post_page_title]There\u2019s something missing[\/post_page_title]
\nThe argument to support the flood is not one that Nicholas Purcell, a history lecturer at Oxford University, agrees with. He questions the flood itself, asking if the water was covering as much of the planet as claimed, how did the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies continue?
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03110426\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-14.04.13.jpg\")
\nThe water no doubt brought currents and torrents so surely the pyramids wouldn\u2019t have survived? Not to be deterred by negative comments, the group continue to search for the ark\u2019s location.
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\n[post_page_title]The ice age connection[\/post_page_title]
\nMany historians have come to the conclusion that the great flood occurred at the same time as the ice age. Surely if the planet was covered in ice, the ark wouldn’t have been able to sail anywhere?
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164500\/ark-6-1024x602.jpg\")
\nThere actually is no specific ice age, as it is used as a term to describe a period of time when the Earth\u2019s temperature is reduced and not completely covered in ice. The Earth has actually endured five ice ages, the most recent ice age lasted until about 11,000 years ago.
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\n[post_page_title]Next to a volcano[\/post_page_title]
\nDr. Snelling believes that because Mount Ararat is a volcano the ash and lava layers date to a time after the great flood. It seems as though he is suggesting that if the ark did indeed perch atop of the mountain, it may well have fallen into the volcano and is lost forever.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03110102\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-14.00.49.jpg\")
\nHe believes, as a biblical geologist, that they simply will not find the ark on that mountain, or that Ararat cannot be the place Noah and his family let all of the animals free from.
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\n[post_page_title]How all the animals were brought on board[\/post_page_title]
\nWe know that Noah was instructed to board his family and pairs of every animal. It was probably not difficult to get his family on the ark, but how did he set about getting the animals on? There is a common misconception that Noah rounded up the animals.
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![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164452\/noah-film-still-noahs-ark-darren-aronofsky1-1024x683.jpg\")
\nBut, in fact, the story says God had brought the pairs of animals to the ark himself. So Noah did not have to practice speaking tiger or elephant to ensure they would come on board.
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\n[post_page_title]What does an ark look like?[\/post_page_title]
\nIt is hard to imagine what the ark would look like, outside of religious retellings of the story. Many people would assume it is a huge wooden craft, and draw their own conclusions from that. Others can use their imagination, or the depiction of the vessel in Hollywood movies.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03110036\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-14.00.23.jpg\")
\nNo one really knows, but many scholars have had a go at replicating the image. Johannes Buteo wrote a detailed account of the ark in the 16th century, a description many scholars subscribe to.
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\n[post_page_title]A possible design[\/post_page_title]
\nBelieve it or not, there is a life-size ark in Kentucky that you can visit. The replica follows the instructions God left to Noah and is a full-scale remake of the ship, it measures in at 510 ft long.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/06164448\/noahs-ark-ejo-070613_1_d8e00c90758d72cda365f3cd00ca9fe2.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000-1024x682.jpg\")
\nInside the ark is a Christian theme park, featuring exhibits that teach you about the story plus there\u2019s even a zip line. Beside the ark is a zoo so you can get a sense of what it would have been like if they had all been inside the huge ship.
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\n[post_page_title]Noah’s cinematic depictions[\/post_page_title]
\nOf course, the tale of Noah and the great flood is such an interesting one there isn’t much surprise that people wanted to see it adapted into a cinema release. There have been several movies and TV dramas created following the story of the great flood and Noah\u2019s attempts to survive it.
\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/03105935\/111.jpg\")
\nPerhaps most famously, Russell Crowe starred in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah. While Noah was a serious adaptation, Steve Carell played a humorous interpretation of the devout man and his efforts to build an ark in Evan Almighty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many years ago, according to the Bible, Noah built an ark to save his family and two of each animal from a flood sent by God. Now, some scientists believe they have made an interesting discovery to find the craft they traveled in. More than one version of the story has come to light over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":91216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n