The interesting thing is there is
evidence that the Babylonians as early as ca. 700 BC may have identified
Mt. Ararat as the landing place of the Ark of the Babylonian Noah,
who was called Utnapishtim (or Utanapishti). In the famous
Epic of Gilgamesh the hero of the story Gilgamesh goes
in search of eternal life. He seeks out the Noah
figure and arrives at the Paradise, Garden of Eden-like location, of the
Noah persona Utnapishtim.