Estonia celebrates conquering of Mount Ararat

TALLINN- Estonian Ambassador to Turkey Aivo Orav, TartuU niversity rector Alar Karis, and Agrı County Governor Mehmet Çetin opened an exhibit in Ishak Pasha Palace at the foot of Mount Ararat in the region of Agri in Eastern Turkey to celebrate 180 years since the conquering of Mount Ararat. On October 9, 1829, the first person to reach the peak of the legendary Mount Ararat was Johann Jakob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot (1792 's 1841), Tartu University physics professor. 

Ambassador Aivo Orav expressed his satisfaction over the good relations between Estonia and Turkey, adding that the exhibit in Ishak PaÅŸa Palace brings a little piece of Estonia to Turkey and gives Estonians a good reason to discover Turkey's beautiful nature. Alar Karis highlighted the importance of Parrot's conquering of Ararat to academic European circles of the time. The county governor of AÄŸrı thanked the Estonian Embassy in Turkey as well as all of the institutions and individuals that helped with the creation of the exhibit.  

The exhibit was compiled by science historian Erki Tammiksaar of TartuUniversity, and help in preparing the exhibit was provided by the Foreign Ministry, the Tartu University History Museum, the Cultural and Tourism Directorate of AÄŸrı Province, and many others.  

The mountain climbers began their group ascent to the top of Ararat on 5 October. The group includes members of the Estonian Hiking League and Jaan Künnap's Alpinist Club. Participating alongside the Estonians are mountain climbers from Turkey, Iran, Greece, Poland and Russia, for a total of nearly 60 alpinists. The arrival at the peak is scheduled for 9 October, exactly 180 years since it was first conquered. A documentary film is being made about Parrot's historical ascent of the mountain.