About this item
Acclaimed travel writer Rick Antonson sets his adventurous compass on Mount Ararat, exploring the region's long history, religious mysteries, and complex politics.Mount Ararat is the most fabled mountain in the world. For millennia this massif in eastern Turkey has been rumored as the resting place of Noah's Ark following the Great Flood. But it also plays a significant role in the longstanding conflict between Turkey and Armenia.Author Rick Antonson joined a five-member expedition to the mountain's nearly 17,000-foot summit, trekking alongside a contingent of Armenians, for whom Mount Ararat is the stolen symbol of their country. Antonson weaves vivid historical anecdote with unexpected travel vignettes, whether tracing earlier mountaineering attempts on the peak, recounting the genocide of Armenians and its unresolved debate, or depicting the Kurds' ambitions for their own nation's borders, which some say should include Mount Ararat.What unfolds in Full Moon Over Noah's Ark is one man's odyssey, a tale told through many stories. Starting with the flooding of the Black Sea in 5600 BCE, through to the Epic of Gilgamesh and the contrasting narratives of the Great Flood known to followers of the Judaic, Christian and Islamic religions, Full Moon Over Noah's Ark takes readers along with Antonson through the shadows and broad landscapes of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Armenia, shedding light on a troubled but fascinating area of the world.
About the Author
Rick Antonson is the author of the travel narratives "To Timbuktu for a Haircut: A Journey Through West Africa," and "Route 66 Still Kicks; Driving America's Main Street," and "Full Moon Over Noah's Ark; An Odyssey to Mount Ararat and Beyond," and "Walking With Ghosts in Papua New Guinea; Crossing the Kokoda Trail in The Last Wild Place on Earth." He is the co-author of "Slumach's Gold; In Search of a Legend," and "Whistle Posts West; Railway Tales from British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon." Rick was president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, is past chair of the board for Destinations International based in Washington, DC, and served as deputy chair for the Pacific Asia Tourism Association based in Bangkok, Thailand. He speaks around the world about the multi-generational philosophy "Cathedral Thinking." Rick and his wife Janice make their home in the Okanagan Valley, Canada. You can find him online at www.rickantonson.com and www.cathedralthinking.com
