Noah's Ark and Mount Ararat

During the summer holidays, I read the book by Frank Westerman, named Ararat, The name struck me. On the one hand, because of the beginning of the book, where the author starts with: Stack the syllables of Ararat and you get a mountain. On the other hand, there were the childhood memories of Sunday school, in which the story of Noah was told, how he got stuck on Mount Ararat with the ark after the flood. What exactly happened again? Noah's Ark According to the Bible (Genesis 6), Noah, at God's command, built an ark of gopher wood, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. We see this command reflected on the tab of an Israeli postage stamp. Assuming that a cubit is 45 cm, this amounts to a vessel 135 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13 meters high. After the ark was finished, Noah was instructed to place seven pairs of all clean animals and one pair (male and female) of all unclean animals in the ark. Afterward, Noah and his family went into the ark themselves, and it was closed by God. Then it rained continuously for 40 days. So much water fell that even the mountains were submerged, and everything and everyone (people and animals) drowned. Only Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark survived, because the ark remained afloat. After having drifted for 150 days, the ark became stuck on the mountains of Ararat, (Genesis 8). Noah and the animals came out, and as a sign, God caused the first rainbow to appear in the sky. Noah became a gardener and planted a vineyard. The story does not say whether this was on Mount Ararat. In any case, an apricot orchard has been sighted there, according to the accompanying stamp. What exactly did Noah's Ark look like? This is unknown. Children have let their imaginations run wild about this, but painters also regarded Noah and his ark as a rewarding subject, as can be seen, among others, in a painting by the Italian artist Rafael. In the Netherlands, the contractor had Johan Huibers to build a 70-meter replica. This ship is called Johan's Ark. By Ararat Mount Ararat, at over 5100 meters, is the highest mountain in Turkey and is covered in eternal snow. As a result, the mountain is difficult to access. The mountain is located in the border region of Turkey with Armenia and Iran. In addition to the highest peak, the mountain also has a lower peak of nearly 3900 meters. These two peaks are beautifully visible from Armenia. When Armenia was still part of the Soviet Union, the Soviets considered this mountain an ideal lookout post for NATO. They therefore kept a close watch on Mount Ararat. The Armenian people have looked up to Mount Ararat with reverence as a holy mountain since ancient times. The mountain is a national symbol of Armenia and also appears on the country's coat of arms. Willem Hogendoorn focuses on the themes of Leiden and the police and is chairman of the Leiden Association of Stamp Collectors