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.

About the Author
Rick Antonson is the former president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver and past chair of the board for the Destination Marketing Association International, based in Washington, D.C. Antonson is the author of several books, including the travel memoirs Route 66 Still Kicks and To Timbuktu for a Haircut. He lives in Vancouver, Canada, and Cairns, Australia.