Mount Ararat from the air

Ararat is a volcanic massif now located in eastern Turkey, near the borders with Armenia and Iran. It consists of two dormant volcanic cones joined at their bases: Greater Ararat (5,165 m) and Lesser Ararat (3,896 m). Although the mountain lies outside present-day Armenia, it is Armenia’s main national symbol and the sacred mountain of the Armenians. In the Bible, Ararat is mentioned as the place where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the Flood. Its snowy peaks can be seen from Yerevan.

Historically Ararat lay in the Armenian Highlands. According to the source, until 1921 it was part of the Russian Empire, and after the Turkish–Armenian war it passed to Turkey under the Treaty of Kars of 1921. The USSR officially renounced its claims to the mountain.

The aerial photograph shows snow-covered Greater Ararat, with Lesser Ararat behind it and a plain all around.