NOAH'S ARK- The Action Years

by Mary Nell Wyatt

(First published in newsletter # 9 in 1994)

March 1985

Ron and Dave Fasold arrived in Turkey on March 20, 1985. Meeting them in Ankara was Samran Al Moteri, the Saudi Arabian prince who had come to visit Ron earlier in Madison, Tennessee. He had heard about Ron's claim that Mt. Sinai was in his region of Saudi by some of Ron's captors in '84, and he wanted Ron to show him the mountain. Perhaps to check out Ron's veracity, he wanted to see this so-called "Noah's Ark", and then he would arrange for Ron and Dave to enter his country. But Samran was quite ill when they arrive, so the men couldn't leave for Dogubeyazit right away.

Turkey's Leading Archaeologist, Ekrem Akurgal

While they waited in Ankara, Mine Unler, one of Ron's liaisons with the Turkish government, arranged for a meeting with Dr. Ekrem Akurgal, Turkey's leading archaeologist, world famous for his work on the Hittite excavations throughout Turkey. In Oct. of 1984, the Turks had sent their own archaeologists to investigate the "boat-shaped object" and Dr. Akurgal had carefully studied their reports. Ron had loaned the Turkish scientists one of the White's ferro-magnetic metal detectors and their expedition had yielded very positive results, as one of them showed Ron their field notes. They had retrieved several 4 foot long metal "spikes" which were still intact, but which Ron never got to actually see, as he was told they were taken to the Museum of Mines and Minerals in Ankara. They had also gotten the same pattern of metal readings that Ron had gotten.

"It is, at any rate, a ship..."

When Ron spoke with Dr. Akurgal, in a conversation which Dave videoed, he stated that "it is, at any rate, a ship". A ship for which there was no earthly explanation for, which was of a size not known until recent history, and which was many miles from any body of water. A professed atheist, Dr. Akurgal would later state in an interview with the Turkish media that it was Noah's Ark. When asked why, he simply replied, "because there is no other explanation."

Things were going incredibly well, Ron thought! When Dr. Akurgal presented him with a copy of his book, "Ancient Ruins of Turkey", he wrote, "To Mr. Ron Wyatt, Congratulations for the successful discoveries". With his strong endorsement of the discovery, Mine Unler set about arranging a meeting for Ron later in Ankara in which he would meet with all of the pertinent ministries at one time, explaining his research.

Things had come a long way in the last 7 months, thanks to Jim Irwin. Jim had introduced him to the Guleks, at whose house he had met both Orhan Baser and Mine Unler, and he had referred Dave Fasold to him. And although he had just met Dave, he could already tell that Dave meant business, whatever he did. And Dave was already excited about the site, even though he hadn't seen it yet.

Heading to the Site

Finally Samran recovered from his illness and they flew to Erzurum where they hired a young taxi driver to take them to Dogubeyazit- Dilaver Avci, who would become a trusted friend and ally to both Ron and Dave. When they arrived at the ark site, the excitement of both Dave and Samran was evident. Since there was still snow on the ground, it was covered to a great extent, which accentuated the "boat-shape".

Dave had brought both a pulse-induction metal detector, as well as his molecular frequency generator (MFG), which he demonstrated by picking up the metal readings from great distances. The conventional metal detectors were only effective when within a few feet at the most. Samran stood on the ark and spoke in Arabic while Dave videoed him for his friends back home.

Then Ron took them to see the anchor stones and the village. Dave could not contain his excitement- while Ron was a believer in the ark of the Bible, Dave was a believer in the ark of the Gilgamesh epic, and he was familiar with the Babylonian connections evident on some of the stones. One example was the ziggurat carved on one of the stones.

A Sad Discovery

Everyone was happy, that is, until Ron took them to see the tombstones and house he believed was Noah's and his wife's. When they got there, the house was now reduced to a pile of loose rock, and the tombstones were gone! And right where they once had stood was a partially filled hole- the grave had been robbed! Ron was heartsick. All that remained were small pieces of the huge stones with petroglyphs of Noah, his family, the ship perched on a wave, and a rainbow.

After examining these things, and the anchor stones in the village, they left. Samran was convinced that Ron wasn't a kook, and arranged for all 3 of them to fly to Saudi Arabia. Ron was thrilled. Things were looking bright not only for Noah's Ark, but he got to actually return to Mt. Sinai legally! He finally had someone to work with on the ark who believed in it as much as he did, and who was in a business that required him to be familiar with the electronic equipment that was so vital to the research.

Back in Ankara- Ron's Meeting with the Turkish Ministries

When they returned to Turkey from Saudi, Dave was anxious to get home and left as soon as he could. Ron arranged to stay 4 more days so he could attend the meetings Mine Unler had arranged. He met with all the ministries and presented his case for serious research on Noah's Ark. Their response was very positive and he was assured that they would cooperate with him as much as they could. Dave wanted to bring over sub-surface interface radar and scan the site and Ron was assured he would receive the proper permits.

Sub-Surface Interface Radar

This radar system would reveal any structure beneath the surface, much like a cat scan. The radar can be tuned to various frequencies which reflect various depths. Therefore, by scanning the same area numerous times, each time using a different frequency, a 3-dimensional picture can be constructed. However, the radar and an operator are very expensive to rent, and the idea of purchasing a system was out of the question. But, it had to be the next step. Excavation was still denied.

Red Tape, even in Turkey

A little less than a month later, Ron returned alone to Ankara for more meetings, arranging for permits. Even employing the metal detectors required a permit, and once the permit was issued in Ankara, it had to then be taken to Agri, the capital of the eastern region, where it was then processed. And this is where many problems come up. Ankara is the head of the government, but the regional governments like to think that they are, in fact, the final word. Ankara is a very long way from Agri and Dogubeyazit- if any problems arise with a permit in Agri, it could mean many days of costly waiting and travel back to Ankara, even then, without the assurance that the problem would be solved. So Ron spent a lot of time in Ankara. He didn't want any problems to arise- not now. Next...