After his presentation, Bill Crouse was interviewed by Turkish national television. His paper is also being translated into Turkish so more people in Turkey can understand the information about Noah’s Ark. This will help spread awareness about the topic across the country.
Linking Noah’s Story to Economic Growth
Faik Bugday, who leads the Sirnak Investment Support Office, gave a talk called “The Relationship Between Noah and Development.” I had dinner with him during the conference, and he shared his exciting plans to grow tourism and improve the local economy Short but Well-Organized Talks.
One of the key projects is a new airport, which opened just two months earlier (in summer 2013), west of the town of Cizre. Turkish Airlines calls it Sirnak Airport, and it currently offers three flights per week. As the area becomes safer and more popular with tourists, more flights are expected.
Future Plans Transportation and Tourism
There are several other big ideas being planned:
High-Speed Rail: A fast train is being proposed to connect Sirnak with nearby cities, many of which have historical ties to the story of Noah’s Ark. This will help tourists travel easily and affordably in the region Private Balkan Tours.
Cable Car to Cudi Dagh: A cable car (like a ski lift) is being planned to take visitors to the top of Cudi Dagh. This will make it much easier for people to see the possible site of Noah’s Ark once archaeologists begin serious excavations there.
A Vision for Biblical Tourism in Turkey
I can picture a future “Genesis to Revelation” tour for Christian visitors—lasting about 12 days. The trip would include both Old and New Testament sites, offering a deep, meaningful experience.
Here’s what such a tour could look like
Fly into Istanbul, then take a domestic flight to Sirnak.
Visit Eastern Turkey: See Cudi Dagh (the Ark’s landing site), Shah and Hassana (with ancient Assyrian inscriptions), the Tomb of Noah, and the museum in Cizre.
Also visit the Monastery of Milatya and the church in Nusaybin (ancient Nisibis), which holds the tomb of St. Jacob.
Then fly west to Izmir to explore the Seven Churches of Revelation and places where the Apostle Paul once visited.
A Local Expert Shares His Research
Abdullah Yasin, a local historian from Cizre, was originally scheduled to speak in a session that wasn’t being translated into English. Thankfully, he was moved to another session so English-speaking attendees could listen to him.
He spoke about evidence found near Cudi Dagh that may be connected to Noah’s Ark. His new book, titled Nuh Peygamber (a.s.) Tufani ve Cudi Dagi (ISBN: 978-605-5053-03-1), was just published. It includes many illustrations but is currently only available in Turkish. I hope it will be translated into English soon.
Abdullah Yasin also runs a small museum in Cizre, focused on the archaeology of Cudi Dagh and the Noah’s Ark story.
