Ark Found

Chapter 15

Carter and Jayden stood in the middle of a crowded, dirt street lined on both sides with ramshackle vendors and simple storefronts of all sorts, fruit stands, cell-phones, curios and trinkets, rugs, incense, candles, spices, fresh fish and clothing. Musicians played doumbek hand drums, sitars, and flutes, their middle-eastern rhythms permeating the air and mingling with pungent hookah smoke. After travelling for nearly twenty-four straight hours, Carter and Jayden were exhausted, having slept only on the plane and then on the long bus ride from the airport in Ankara to the country’s eastern border with Iran. The town of Doğubayazıt was the jumping-off point for expeditions to climb the mighty Mt. Ararat, which loomed in the distance like an otherworldly symbol of mystery and enchantment. The mountain was actually comprised of two distinct peaks, known as Greater and Lesser Ararat, with the Lesser having an elevation 12,782 feet, and Greater thrusting 16,854 feet into the heavens.

Despite the extraordinary view of a snow-capped volcano rising over three miles into the air only a few miles away, the place had an air of poverty about it characteristic of undeveloped nations. To Carter, it contrasted sharply with the majesty he associated with the region due to its rich and almost mythological history. Noah’s Ark was thought to be buried somewhere in this land.

It was cold, too, with a light snow falling, and dirty, sooty snow lining the ground. He and Jayden had picked up parkas, knit caps and wool pants at an outfitter store catering to mountaineers, so they weren’t uncomfortable, but the low temperatures only added to the austerity of the town.

“Think about how cold it is up there!” Jayden said, pointing to the snow covered peak in the distance.

“I’d rather think about finding out where Daedalus went. What do you say we do some leg work?”

Jayden nodded. They’d told everyone they’d encountered so far, on the day-long bus ride here, at the backpacker’s hostel where they booked a room, and to the shopkeeps where they purchased mountaineering gear, that they were tourists from America here to climb Mt. Ararat, as many thousands do each year. It wasn’t known for being a particularly difficult or technical climb, and was not high enough to require bottled oxygen for most people. Anyone capable of a strenuous hike a high altitudes for several days in a row could do it, like backpacking the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, or parts of the Rockies in Colorado. The upper portion was mired in snow 365 days a year, which made it cold, however, but so was any mountain over 10,000 feet.

“Seeing as the sit-on-our-butts work didn’t pan out, looks like we’ve got no choice.” Jayden was referring to their time the day before in the bustling, modern capital city of Ankara, where they’d sat in an Internet café for a couple of hours, searching for signs of archaeological permitting activity that might be associated with Daedalus. Naturally, they found none.

“It’s not like we were expecting Treasure, Inc. to file for a permit, but it can’t hurt to see if anyone has. It might draw Daedalus to them like flies to a jar of spilled honey.” But no recently applied for archaeological digs had turned up, and none of the ongoing operations were noted as having activity right now. Mt. Ararat — for the moment, at least — was free from diggers and those who would plunder its past.

But Carter was under no illusions that locating Noah’s Ark could be as simple as wandering up a single mountain — snow-covered or not — and digging it up. If it was, it would have been found by now. And there are those, he was aware, who claimed that it already has been. One of the more well-known cases occurred in 1959, when a private individual discovered an object that was roughly boat-shaped, with dimensions that could fit those of Noah’s Ark. The Turkish government at that time prevented his work from continuing and mounted their own investigation. It wasn’t until 1987 that Turkey officially recognized the discovery, and at that time credited the individual with the find. Still, it was not definitive and many historians claimed that that the fossilized timbers located could have come from numerous other sources besides Noah’s Ark, if in fact the ark was something other than a fictional creation in the first place.

Also, in 1978, an earthquake exposed rib timbers that were 515 feet in length, or 300 royal Egyptian cubits. The measurement units were a significant point, since the Egyptian cubit, rather than feet or meters, was used in the ancient world. Using these units made the timbers the approximate dimensions of the ark. Could they be from a petrified ship? But again, the world was not convinced. Still, Carter thought it a good bet that perhaps the map led to either this discovery or the previous one upheld by the Turkish government. He had made up his mind that, in the absence of more concrete leads, to head for these two sites first and see if anyone else might be hanging around.

It occurred to Carter that any time after the Bible was written, anyone could have built an ark of their own to recreate the story, and that, if found in modern times, could easily be confused with the “real” thing. He wasn’t sure what it would take, exactly, to convince the world that the authentic, biblical Ark of Noah had been found, but a wooden boat dated to the proper age and of the proper dimensions would be a start. And he knew of a map that supposedly led right to it.

Daedalus … He felt the anger begin to seethe inside him and willed himself to redirect it by concentrating on the immediate task in front of him — hooking up with a local guide outfit that could inform him about recent expeditionary activity. He knew full well that Daedalus or anyone working on his behalf would skirt the established legal permitting channels for acceptable archaeological work. They would be posing as backpackers, like Carter himself was, and would attempt to follow the map to wherever it led under that guise.

Carter intended to find him. However, as he looked around, away from the mountain toward the vast expanses of rolling hills in either direction away from it, he was aware that Mt. Ararat itself need not be the resting place of the ark.

“Let’s go, Carter, before I decide to lay around in some hookah bar for the rest of the month.” As usual, Jayden was impatient to get moving even though he wasn’t exactly sure where they were going. Carter consulted a local guidebook he’d picked up at the airport and had studied some on the bus ride over. Around them, people passed by wheeling carts, guiding livestock such as goats and sheep, and riding all manner of wheeled vehicles from bicycles to small trucks.

“The largest guide company is Ararat Trekking, and they have an office in the center of town. I say we check in there and see if there’s anyone we can chat with. Then from there, see if we can arrange a guide to take us to the two sites associated already with Noah’s Ark finds.”

Jayden signified his agreement with a shrug and the two waited for a man pulling a cart laden with caged roosters to pass, and then set off on foot down the street. As they moved the snow stopped falling, the light wind died out and the sun shone a little through the clouds. Carter unzipped his parka and began to enjoy the experience. Although he and Jayden had been to the Middle East many times on deployment, Turkey was a first for both of them, and they soaked up the experience like any first-time traveler to the country.

“Here’s what I don’t get, though,” Jayden said as he walked, deliberately looking away from a woman approximately his same age. It was difficult for him, but he avoided eye contact with the women they passed, most of whom were covered from head to toe including face scarves. He knew that they had strict customs here and that he could not afford to ruffle any feathers on their current agenda.

“What don’t you get?” Carter asked.

“If this map was made back in the pre-Titanic days, then how could it point to the discoveries that were found in the 20th century?”

Carter shrugged. “Maybe they found them first and the modern people re-discovered them independently? I don’t know but I figure it’s worth a shot.”

The walked along in silence for a while. “You know, Carter,” Jayden said after a spell, “I’ve got to tell you, this is by far the best job I’ve ever had. Especially if I live through it.”

Carter smiled and shook his head. “Omega’s first official case is turning out to be a doozey, I’ll give you that. But hey, we go the extra mile for our clients.”

“Extra fifteen thousand miles or whatever it took to go halfway around the world.”

“Whatever it takes. If Noah’s Ark does exist, no one wants it to fall into the hands of a black market collector who only cares about himself.”

“No one except that black market collector and his obviously well-paid minions, you mean.”

“I stand corrected.” Carter held his guide book up to his nose, then looked down the street. An elderly man with a long white beard was walking by and he held the book up to him. The man stopped, smiled and looked at the open page. Carter knew not a lick of Turkish, so simply pointed to the photo of the tour company’s storefront, then looked around at the street and shrugged.

“Ah!” the man exclaimed before turning and pointing down the road.

“He says we take a left down there,” Jayden guessed. They both thanked the man by nodding and smiling before continuing down the street. They turned left onto a busier street that was paved, although the traffic seemed to be of the same chaotically mixed variety as the last street. Carter recognized the sign for the place from half a block away, since it was one of the few two-story buildings on the street. As they continued down the road, Carter made it a point to keep his situational awareness up, keeping his head on the proverbial swivel. He wasn’t looking for a repeat of being accosted as they were in Newfoundland, and certainly didn’t want to end up back in the clutches of Treasure, Inc., as they were aboard the ship.

“Hey, did you ever contact Maddy?” Jayden wanted to know. “Not that I don’t think you know what you’re doing, mind you, but you know—”

“Yeah, yeah she’s an archaeology expert, I get it. No offense taken. I sent her an email yesterday from our room. I’ll check it tonight. I doubt she’ll have anything at this stage for us, but once we get into a situation where we need more detail about something specific, she’ll come in handy.”

“Oh I bet she’ll come in handy all right,” Jayden said, a mischievous tone to his voice.

“Seriously, bro?”

“Seriously, when are you two going to tie the knot? Not that I’m looking forward to losing one of my drinking buddies, but you know, you two are good together.”

Carter moved along in silence, sidestepping a gaggle of running children until they were in the clear again. He saw the mountain tours outfit up ahead on their left and began gravitating toward it. “We’ll see. I asked her to officially join Omega, full time, but she declined, so… Getting her to consult with us is the next best thing.”

“That’s just work, though,” Jayden persisted. Most guys don’t work with their wives, it’s not necessary is it?”

“Nope. But we both do a lot of travelling for our careers. Okay, so here we are. Remember — I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but no mention of you know what.”

“Your future wife?”

“The A-R-K, Jayden.”

“Oh, thaaaat! Gotcha. Mum’s the word. I just want to climb that big ole volcano just for that fun of it, yep, that’s me!”

“Good.” Carter reached the front door of the place and found a set of dusty glass doors with pull bars. He pulled one open and they walked inside to a small, bare floor with only a stairway leading up, a sign next to it on a stand reading: “Mt. Ararat Climbing Tours Upstairs.”

They looked around for second, seeing absolutely nothing else of interest on this bottom floor except for a single closed door on the far wall. From upstairs they could hear the chatter of people conducting business, phones ringing, quiet music playing. Reaching the second floor, Carter was relieved to see a normal-looking place of business, with a help desk of some sort, a waiting area with a couple of chairs and then a cubicle area behind the desk staffed with half-a-dozen workers.

A middle-aged, bearded man eyed the two westerners with interest and walked out from around the counter to greet them. He introduced himself in English, saying his name was Ayaz. Carter and Jayden introduced themselves as well, using the same fake names they’d used to make the initial contact by calling from the hostel.

“Oh yes, I remember, you said you would be coming by. Welcome to Doğubayazıt. Are you enjoying your stay thus far?”

Both Americans nodded vigorously, aware that they were being watched by some of the other locals in the place, although they weren’t the only westerners here. A group of European tourists was seated in the adjacent room, planning their trip with an employee.

“Unbelievable!” Jayden said with over-the-top enthusiasm. “Never seen anything like it. So authentic!” Carter stepped on his foot.

“What my friend, here, means is that you have a unique way of living here, all in the shadow of Mt. Ararat, and that we look forward to our climb.”

The tour operator beamed. “Yes, well most of those who trek Ararat come away as a changed person. Our mountain is a special place indeed.”

Jayden helped himself to a cup of tea brewing in a pot meant for customers. “Indeed,” he echoed before taking a sip of the steaming aromatic liquid.

“So we have a group leaving tomorrow morning for a trek to the summit, would you like to join us?” Ayaz asked with enthusiasm that seemed genuine.

“While we would like to visit the summit someday,” Carter answered, “right now we’re trying to catch up with some friends of ours who we think may already be on the mountain. Can you tell me, do you know of any well-outfitted expeditions that have left recently — in the last couple of days?”

“Well-outfitted…” Ayaz pondered this while eyeing Carter and Jayden in turn before settling his gaze back on Carter. “As a matter of fact, one of our groups that left yesterday — we stay in contact via radio in order to provide a safe experience for all of our participants — did report passing a small group that was not known to be affiliated with any of our local trekking groups.”

Carter held up a finger. “Did this group, by chance, happen to be on a route that would take them to one of the known Noah’s Ark sites?”

At this Ayaz paused to watch Jayden slurp down the rest of his tea and refill his mug. “They were on a route that could lead to one of those sites, but they were still far from it. We also offer tours of the Noah’s Ark sites, as opposed to the summit treks. Is that something you would be interested in?” Naturally, the tour operator wanted to keep the focus on discovering whether these two Americans represented any potential business for his company. Carter recognized that once he found out they were not potential clients, the flow of information would be quickly shut off.

“We wouldn’t mind going up there with you, but we also want the flexibility to do our own thing. Is there a one-way option where we can go part way with your group, but then split off on our own?”

At this, Ayaz turned around and beckoned one of his co-workers, an older woman wearing a full-length dress and a head scarf. He spoke to her in rapid-fire Turkish while she gave the pair of Americans an appraising stare.

Jayden leaned in closer to Carter and said in a low voice, “Aren’t we raising a little suspicion here, Carter? Not exactly blending in by saying we want to go it on our own.”

Carter answered quickly in a low voice. “If we’re seen leaving with a group, that should help us blend in. But when we get to the first ark site, we’ll need to stay a while without prying eyes. I haven’t heard from Maddy yet, and so these people could lead us to those sites. Also, one of their groups saw another outfit that could be Treasure, Inc., so I’d like to stay with them if possible.”

Before Jayden could reply, the woman nodded and then Ayaz addressed the Americans. “I believe we have a group tour option that will meet your needs for flexibility. Are you able to leave tomorrow at first light?”