Nissen - Noahs Ark Ancient Accounts and New Discoveries (unabridged)

It was 2:30 am on June 2008 when Clara Wei was awakened by the familiar bip-bip of her mobile phone. She wondered who would be texting her in the middle of the night and had to check. It turned out to be a text message from Ahmet Ertugrul in Turkey who had apparently forgotten all about the six hour time difference, as it was still daytime in Turkey. When she read the message, she was suddenly wide awake. It said: We have found Noahs Ark. I am standing right next to it on Mt. Ararat. What are we to do?

Clara Wei quickly brushed back her long dark hair from her face while reading the message over and over again. She was indeed surprised, but at the same time, she had no doubt that the message should be taken seriously. It was neither April 1 nor New Years Eve. And Parasut, as she called him, wouldnt make jokes about something like this. She had met him several times in Turkey, and they had worked together on the project over the last five years. She knew quite well that he had a reputation of sometimes drinking a little too much, but he wouldnt lie about a thing like this.

The journalist Clara Wei got an incredible text message on her cell phone in the middle of the night. It was from the Kurdish monutain guide Parasut.

Ahmet Ertugrul knew how many hours Clara Wei and the others in the Sparkling Sun documentary film company had spent on investigating Noahs Ark.

Take a lot of photos and stay in touch! Clara answered. And Parasut did so, but he didnt send any photos. He only hurried down the mountain as it was getting dark in the easternmost part of Turkey.

When Clara got to work the next morning at Sparkling Sun after having spent a restless night, the first thing she did was to tell her boss Wing Cheung Yeung about the unbelievable text message she had received. The NAMI team was informed at once to investigate the great news. They did not doubt it either.

Experts had already confirmed our theory that there would be no kind of human habitation so high up the mountain. So when we found the wood, the only satisfactory explanation was that it must be the Ark of Noah, Clara tells. But the important thing now was to investigate the find and have all details confirmed before releasing the big news to the whole world.

Together with Parasut, Clara Wei was charged with the task of arranging the trip for the Chinese team to travel to Turkey. This took place in late August 2008. Although the weather was bad, the team managed to examine two other locations that might also be connected with the Ark. But the weather situation prevented them from going up to the new place found by Parasut. They had to content themselves with the photos he had taken on the mountain. But could they be trusted? The photos could have been taken somewhere else

Andrew Yuen got interested in Noahs Ark Ark after reading about it in the news in the 1970s. As an adult he founded Noahs Ark Ministries International (NAMI).

Without getting any proof from visiting the location themselves, the NAMI team eventually had to go back home again. It was very frustrating. All agreed to keep the secret to themselves. They had to know for sure before proclaiming to the whole world that the Ark had been found. Over the years many had claimed to have seen the Ark, but it was usually at a distance or on a satellite photo, and when it came to prove it, their assertations couldnt hold.

This time they had to be sure.

The Hong Kong Chinese had been making expeditions on Mt. Ararat in Turkey since 2002 due to Andrew Yuen (or Man-fai Yuen which is his official name). What first made him interested in the account about Noahs Ark was reading a news article in the 1970s reporting that a satellite photo taken of Mt. Ararat allegedly showed a shadow that could be Noahs Ark. Stories like this have been frequent.

But since then Andrew Yuen has been researching as much information as possible regarding the Ark, and he has climbed Mt. Ararat several times in order to find the Ark that he strongly believes must be there somewhere.

Andrew Yuen is one of the founders of Noahs Ark Ministries or NAMI as the organisation in Hong Kong is called.

NAMI is an international, non-profit organisation comprised of those who have a natural interest in Biblical archaeology. Andrew Yuen is the general secretary. Fiona Leung, the only female participant of the NAMI team on the expedition in 2010, is a fund-raiser for NAMI. The organisation has also been involved in the building of a Noahs Ark in Hong Kong, a large centre for schools, organisations and individuals to visit for inspiration. In 2004 NAMI decided that a film should be made to document the search for the mysterious Ark, both NAMIs own expeditions and those carried out by others.

It is a very fascinating story spreading over thousands of years. Therefore, NAMI joined forces with Sparkling Sun, a professional documentary film company on Cheung Shun Street in Hong Kong. The manager, Mr. Wing Cheung Yeung, is a media veteran who has been awarded several prizes for his popular documentary series. He has also participated in NAMIs expeditions. But the big job of researching all about Noahs Ark was left to his creative director, the journalist Clara Wei, who had to travel to Turkey quite a lot of times over the following years. She herself has never climbed the mountain, but has directed the projects from her hotel room in Dogubayazit, the town lying at the foot of the mighty mountain. This is where the ark hunters always stay.

When Wing Cheung Yeung became involved in shooting the film, he found that it was an extremely interesting project. But did he really expect the team to find the Ark?

Certainly! he exclaims.

I was quite sure that it must be there. Therefore, we first did the research work. Afterwards, we searched for the Ark on location.

But many others have searched for the Ark for hundreds of years without finding it, so why you? I asked.

We had noticed that most ark hunters were focusing on research through satellite pictures. Others went to Mt. Ararat for a short period of time to climb the mountain over and over again but with no results.

But your team got in touch with a Kurdish-Turkish guide?

Yes, we contacted the people living on the mountain. Our guide in Turkey was also working with the rescue team rescuing those who got in danger on the mountain. He was, therefore, very familiar with the mountain. He knew the locations that Westerners had been searching for years, and he also had an extensive knowledge based on what he had heard from locals, Wing Cheung Yeung explained. He himself and two of his camera men were among the six people who climbed the Mt. Ararat in 2009 together with the Turkish guide.