A Turkish academic who says Noah called his son using a cell phone has insisted on his claim, saying he has “proof.”

Speaking on state-run channel TRT 1 on Jan. 6, Yavuz Örnek, a lecturer at the Marine Sciences Faculty of Istanbul University, said Noah communicated with his son via cell phone shortly before the famous flood, the story of which appears in both the Quran and the Old Testament.

Örnek also said his university had asked him to stop promoting his outlandish theory.

“The university said: ‘Don’t talk about this now, you can continue to prove your claims once things have calmed down’” he said.

Örnek also said there was not enough time to explain his claims during the TV show.

“They made me angry during the TV show. I could have explained this claim properly. When I suddenly said ‘cell phone,’ everyone spoke out against my words. If they left me alone, I could prove myself,” he said.

Örnek added that he had gained a significant support by television viewers following his claims.

“I said the truth but I felt ashamed to appear as a guest on the TV show. Nonetheless, I gained significant support. They even offered to translate my book into English,” he added.

The prophet Noah figures in the Bible’s Book of Genesis as a pious man who built a boat to save his family and various animals from a great flood. He is revered by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. An entire chapter in the Quran is devoted to him and his story.

Scientists and adventurers have been searching for Noah’s lost ark for many years.

A team of evangelical Christian explorers claimed to have found the remains of Noah’s ark buried beneath snow and volcanic debris on Turkey’s Mount Ağrı in the eastern province of Ağrı, the National Geographic reported on April 30, 2010.

source: hurriyetdailynews.com