ANKARA, May 31 (Xinhua)-- A Noah's Ark was reconstructed in model form on
Turkey's highest mountain Ararat by the Greenpeace activists as a warning to the
mankind to take urgent action in prevention of global warming, the semi-official
Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.
An inaugural ceremony took place on Thursday with the participation of more
than 40 members of the environment organization as well as Turkey's Igdir
Governor Saim Saffet Karahisarli and local residents, according to Anatolia.
During the ceremony, Okan Bayulgen, a famous Turkish showman, read out the
"Mount Ararat Declaration" written by the Greenpeace in the languages of
Turkish, English, German, Russian, Flemish and Arabic.
Then, 194 pigeons representing all countries in the world, were released
from the ark just like Noah sent a dove out from his ark to see if the flood had
subsided.
The declaration noted that the global warming would lead to drought,
famine, mass migration, rise of sea level and massive floods by jeopardizing the
future of the earth.
"Climate change will disturb lives of billions of people and cause
irreversible changes in wild life. World leaders are primarily responsible for
taking action to prevent such a calamity," it stressed.
The 10-meter long and 4-meter high ark was built by a joint team of Turkish
and German carpenters in the green foothills of the snow-capped Mount Ararat.
According to a Biblical story, Noah's Ark was a vessel built at God's
command to save Noah, his family and a core stock of the world's animals from
the Great Flood.