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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Along the eastern borders of Turkey is Ağrı, one of the important cities of the region.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Along the eastern borders of Turkey is Ağrı, one of the important cities of the region.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Set on a 1650m-high plateau, it takes its name from the mountain which looms over it.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Mount Ağrı is Turkey's highest mountain and one of the country's most challenging peaks.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

According to the legend of the Great Flood, Noah's Ark ran aground on Mt Ağrı and when the flood waters receded Noah and his family descended from the mountain towards the fertile Iğdır Plain.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Thereafter, their descendants moved west and southwest along the Fırat (Euphrates) and Dicle (Tigris) rivers, thus establishing the second generation of humankind.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Mt Ağrı is capped with snow all year round; however, climbing up this mountain is most enjoyable during July to September.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

The pleasant Balık Gölü (Fish Lake) to the northeast of the city not surprisingly has plenty of fish restaurants serving local delicacies.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Don't miss the spectacular İshakpaşa Palace, lying silent 5km from Doğubayazıt county and 95km east from Ağrı.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

İshak Pasha, Ottoman governor of the province, and Çolak Abdi Pasha constructed the palace between 1685 and 1784 combining Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk architectural styles.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

The palace contains 366 rooms, a mosque, a courtroom, a kitchen, a bakery, barns and baths.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

Nearby you can see a bas-relief of an Urartian king and a rock tomb from the ninth century BC.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

The village of Üzengili, 25km east of Doğubayazıt, is a great place to taste the local dessert aşure (Noah's Pudding), believed to have been first made by Noah's wife from the last bits of the food in the Ark.

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Ağrı: The land where humankind expanded from descendants of Noah

A 35km wide and 60m deep meteor crater, formed in the early 1900s somewhere between Sarıçevuş Village and the Turkish-Iranian border post of Gürbulak, awaits to bedazzle visitors with its hypnotizing appearance.