Mount Ararat, Turkish Ağrı Dağı, volcanic massif in extreme eastern Turkey overlooking the point at which the frontiers of Turkey, Iran, and Armenia converge. It was revered by the people of ancient Urartu (13th to 7th centuries BC), who gave their name (Urartu = Ararat) to the mountain. Ararat consists of two peaks, their summits about 7 miles (11 km) apart. Great Ararat which reaches an elevation of 16,945 feet (5,165 metres) above sea level, is the highest peak in Turkey. Ararat traditionally is associated with the mountain on which Noah’s Ark came to rest at the end of the Flood. Local tradition maintained that the Ark still lay on the summit but that God had declared that no one should see it. In September 1829, Johann Jacob von Parrot, a German, made the first recorded successful ascent. Since then Ararat has been scaled by several explorers, some of whom claim to have sighted the remains of the Ark.
The nearest town to the mountain is Doğubayazıt. When permits are granted for climbs up the mountain, the treks depart from this town.
