The Qur'an was written down from sayings of Mohammed in the seventh century A.D. and states that the ark came to rest on Al Judi or Mount Cudi in Turkish. The Qur'an was written about 3,000-6,000 years after many biblical scholars believe the ark landed. Judi in Arabic can also mean "the heights" in which case it is not referring to a specific mountain name at all. Note that the written history of mankind only begins around 3000 BC. For more information on chronology considerations, please refer to the Links webpage.

A few ark researchers (Dr. Charles Willis' Ancient World Foundation primarily and Bill Crouse) are starting to seriously consider searching Mt. Cudi (pronounced "Judy"), which is approximately 175 miles south of Ararat. The 1909 Gertrude Bell Photo Album and the Quote from her book Amurath To Amurath is very helpful in understanding Judi Dagh. This mountain is just over 7000 feet high, but according to historic texts in the first and second millenia A.D., especially Muslem writers, is a more favorable landing site for Noah's Ark, and still within the "mountains of Ararat" region. For anyone interested in Mt. Cudi, we recommend reading NOAH: The Person and the Story in History and Tradition by Lloyd Bailey, and Bill Crouse's technical paper Noah's Ark: It's Final Berth. Dr. Charles Willis and Bill Crouse, both veterans of Mt. Ararat exploration in the 1980's, now believe that Mt. Cudi is the correct mountain for the ark's landfall. One big reason why Cudi has become more popular recently is that a geologist, Dr. Friedrich Bender of Germany, found bits of wood containing asphalt on the summit of Cudi under 0.8-1.0 meters in depth in 1953. These fragments were carbon-dated around 1971 to 6,500 years before the present time. The theory is that this wood was part of Noah's Ark. To learn more about the theory, see Bill Crouse's article in the Bible & Spade Vol. 19 No. 4. To see some concerns about the theory, see Rick Lanser's article in the same issue of Bible & Spade Vol. 19 No. 4 as well as Rex Geissler's presentation with quite a few points to consider about Cudi toward the end.

There is also a debate as to the location of the "real Mount Cudi." For at least the last couple hundred years, Cudi has been the name of a high peak or ridge on Mount Ararat. There is another Cudi Dagi in South Central Turkey near Sanli Urfa and Harran where the biblical patriarch Abraham lived. The people around Harran believe that their Cudi Dagi is the actual site where Noah's Ark landed. As well, there is another Al Judi in Saudi Arabia. Still others in the past fifteen years have claimed that the Durupinar site is located on Mount Cudi.

In summary, there are five sites that claim a history of Al Judi from the Quran:
1) Cudi Dagi in Southeastern Turkey next to Cizre and Sirnak - Longitude: 42.5 Latitude: 37.3833333
2) Cudi Dagi in South Central Turkey near Abraham's Harran and Sanli Urfa - Longitude: 38.8505556 Latitude: 36.9588889
3) Al Judi on Mount Ararat
4) Al Judi in Saudi Arabia
5) Durupinar hills (although this is a local tradition that has not been substantiated historically past about 1985)

Southeastern Turkey's Cudi Dagi by ArcImaging's Rex Geissler in 2000:
Cudi Dagi Photo #1
Cudi Dagi Photo #2
Cudi Dagi Photo #3
Cudi Dagi Photo #4
Cudi Dagi Photo #5
Cudi Dagi Photo #6
Cudi Dagi Photo #7
Cudi Dagi Photo #8
Cudi Dagi Photo #9
Cudi Dagi Corona Satellite 24 September 1968
Cudi Dagi Photo #10 by Dr. Charles Willis

South Central Turkey's Cudi Dagi by Rex Geissler 2000:
Cudi Dagi Photo #1
Cudi Dagi Photo #2
Cudi Dagi Photo #3

Mount Ararat is located in what would have been northern Urartu. Mt. Cudi is the most likely candidate for southern Urartu, since it maintains a traditional history of Noah in Muslim times although not back to Urartian times or before.