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| A wild stretch of Turkey's Black Sea coast. Photo by Simon Raven |
According to the Black Sea deluge hypothesis rising sea levels approximately 7,000 years ago caused water to burst through Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait rapidly swelling a lake and becoming the basis for the Noah story. During a quest to drive full circle around the Black Sea, The Raven Brothers, drop by Sinop in northern Turkey.
Extract from the book: BLACK SEA CIRCUIT
By The Raven Brothers
Chris parks the Volvo in the shadow of the Kumkapi “Sand Gate”; a later addition to a once grand fortified wall around the city of Sinop. According to archaeological evidence, the Hittities first built a fortification here in 2000 BC, which had gradually been replaced over the many centuries by the Pontics, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks and Ottomans. Each warring Empire toppling the next in an eternal cycle of power hungry humans.
Reaching the waterfront, we sit outside a bustling restaurant on the quayside and watch luxury sailboats and yachts bobbing up and down in the marina. In 1999, maritime explorer Bob Ballard led an expedition off the coast of Sinop. His mission was to search the floor of the Black Sea in the hope of finding the remains of ancient settlements, and discover evidence that would support an exciting new theory known as the Black Sea Deluge Hypothesis. Published in 1997 by geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman, the Black Sea deluge hypothesis proposed that a cataclysmic flood had struck this region around 7,000 years ago, swelling the sea and ultimately becoming the basis of the Noah story. The result of Ballard’s awe-inspiring expedition to the bottom of the seabed revealed that an ancient untouched shoreline was indeed submerged underwater. If this discovery alone wasn’t intriguing enough, the specimens of shells from freshwater and saltwater mollusk species, collected by the team from the sea floor, had shown through radiocarbon dating that a freshwater lake had indeed been overwhelmed by the Black Sea. A National Geographic article on Ballard’s expedition reveals that, “Almost every culture on Earth includes an ancient flood story. Details vary, but the basic plot is the same: Deluge kills all but a lucky few.” The story most known to people today is the biblical account of Noah and the Ark, but earlier than Genesis is the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, about a king who set off on a quest to find the answer to immortality. During his odyssey, he met Utnapishtim, survivor of a great flood sent by the gods. Utnapishtim had been forewarned by the god of water, Enki, and had escaped death by building a boat. His actions had saved his family, friends, along with animals, artisans and precious metals. Fascinated to discover evidence of legends and folklore that pre-date the New Testament, the article also reveals that in Ancient Greek and Roman folklore the story of Deucalion and Pyhrra also existed, about a family and a group of animals who survived a flood in a box shaped ship. The thought that a monstrous flood could have occurred here on the Black Sea 7,000 years ago, has both myself and Chris grinning at the possibility that there may have been some truth in the stories and legends born in this region.
After the last Ice Age, the planet experienced a rapidly changing landscape. It is known that events such as the “Big Freeze” had taken place between approximately 10800-9500 BC; a period of cold climatic conditions and drought, which is thought to have been caused by the collapse of the North American ice sheets. According to the Black Sea deluge hypothesis, changes in world-wide hydrology around 5600 BC caused overall sea levels to rise, and may have been responsible for the Mediterranean finally spilling over a rocky sill at the Bosphorus. According to Ryan and Pitman, a volume of water 200 times the flow of the Niagara Falls, would have surged into the Black Sea for at least three hundred days. This catastrophic event would have significantly expanded the Black Sea shoreline (which was a glacial lake at the time) to the north and west. I glance across the calm surface of the water with new vision, and try to imagine the ancient farmland, settlements and thriving rural communities that are now located deep underwater.
Continuing our stroll along the waterfront, we pass a row of tourist excursion boats and check out the Sehitler Çesmesi “Martyrs' Fountain”. This simple stone block fountain was built in memory of the Turkish soldiers who died when the Russian Black Sea Fleet, under the command of Admiral Nakhimov, destroyed an Ottoman frigate squadron in 1853. This surprise attack on Sinop sparked the beginning of the Crimean War. Discovering the fountain was built using money recovered from the soldiers' pockets, I look in the direction of Crimea where our journey had first begun. In the distant past, the Greeks had referred to these waters as “Pontos Axinos” (Inhospitable Sea). Having learnt about the countless wars and massacres in this region during our journey, this description begins to resonate. Whether the Black Sea formed suddenly in a deluge 7,000 years ago, or, as some scientists believe, occurred slowly over time, the fact remains that the existence of this huge inland sea had caused hosts of civilisations over thousands of years to gather around its shores. Watching a small sailboat drift out of the harbour, Chris is reminded of Greek mythological tales warning sailors of mermaids luring their ships onto the rocks. These stories suddenly have new meaning. Seduced by this sea’s promise of rich fishing grounds, fertile steppes and rivers of gold, the Black “Inhospitable” Sea exists at the crossroads of migrating civilisations, where those who establish empires here, discover only too late the dangers of others inhabiting this region at the central point of humanity. Sterile below the surface, with virtually no life existing below the depths of 150-200 metres, we begin to realise this sea isn’t blue or black – its blood red.
The legends of Jason and the Argonauts, Noah’s Ark and a tribe of fierce female warriors known as the Amazons all originate from the Black Sea. Gripped by curiosity, Simon and Chris fire up their twenty year old Volvo that looks, as rustic and weather-beaten as a Cold War tank and embark on a quest to drive full circle around this ancient body of water at the birthplace of civilization.
In the shadow of rising tension in Ukraine, the brothers get up close and personal with the fascinating people who inhabit the six nations that surround these colourful shores. Living on the road like the nomadic horse bowmen who once ruled the steppe grasslands, they explore Crimea, the Caucasus region of southern Russia’s “Wild West”, the Georgian kingdom of Colchis, Turkey’s Pontic coast, the megacity of Istanbul and complete their journey in Romania at the outfall of the mighty River Danube.
More books by The Raven Brothers
by The Raven Brothers
Out of shape and unprepared, The Raven Brothers return to the road in a collection of ten quests to travel to their dream destinations against all odds! After two decades pioneering new routes across the globe, you would expect the authors of 'Driving the Trans-Siberian' to be hotshot explorers, with a sixth sense and an ability to survive in almost any situation. Think again! With virtually zero knowledge of the workings of the internal combustion engine and very limited skills of wilderness survival, Simon and Chris struggle into their hiking boots and power across three continents by river, tarmac and trail.
Venture to the top of Norway, cruise the road to Damascus, hike the Camino trail into Spain’s Wild West, row the Ganges, explore Frida Kahlo’s world in Mexico City, hangout with the dead in Sicily’s eerie catacombs, crawl deep inside Bolivia’s notorious silver mine, seek lions in Gujarat, wellness in Berlin and journey into the Naga Hills where tribal kings still rule.
Noted by Lonely Planet for their talent to portray an “accurate view of what to expect”, 'Hike, Drive, Stayin’ Alive!' signals a return to the duo writing “buttock clenching” travel comedy with the first in a series of candid stories of adventure by The Raven Brothers.
by The Raven Brothers
On Amazon >
Ever had the desire to jump in your car and keep driving; to wave goodbye to routine and commitment, to drive into the unknown hungry for adventure? Well, that is precisely what overland travel writers, Chris Raven and Simon Raven, decided to do whilst stacking boxes of frozen oven chips in a -30 degrees freezer. Not being petrol heads and having zero knowledge of the internal combustion engine, the brothers fired up their rusty Ford Sierra Sapphire and headed east.
After clocking up over 11,000 miles, quite literally living in the car, the pioneering duo miraculously arrived in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in Siberia on the Sea of Japan. What they had in fact done was to drive the entire length of the new Amur Highway before it was finished, which crosses Russia and the notorious Zilov Gap in a 6,200 mile swath of cracked tarmac and potholes. Along the way our trusty heroes drink vodka with Chechen criminals, escape highway robbery, trade banana flavoured condoms with Russian cops, meet the eccentric and plain weird at truck stops in darkest Siberia, endure torturous road conditions and have a race to the finish with the Germans. Surviving this insane journey by the skin of their teeth the brothers are forced to confront their worst fears in this toe-curling comedy of extreme road trip adventure.
Ever had the desire to jump in your car and keep driving; to wave goodbye to routine and commitment, to drive into the unknown hungry for adventure? Well, that is precisely what overland travel writers, Chris Raven and Simon Raven, decided to do whilst stacking boxes of frozen oven chips in a -30 degrees freezer. Not being petrol heads and having zero knowledge of the internal combustion engine, the brothers fired up their rusty Ford Sierra Sapphire and headed east.
After clocking up over 11,000 miles, quite literally living in the car, the pioneering duo miraculously arrived in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok in Siberia on the Sea of Japan. What they had in fact done was to drive the entire length of the new Amur Highway before it was finished, which crosses Russia and the notorious Zilov Gap in a 6,200 mile swath of cracked tarmac and potholes. Along the way our trusty heroes drink vodka with Chechen criminals, escape highway robbery, trade banana flavoured condoms with Russian cops, meet the eccentric and plain weird at truck stops in darkest Siberia, endure torturous road conditions and have a race to the finish with the Germans. Surviving this insane journey by the skin of their teeth the brothers are forced to confront their worst fears in this toe-curling comedy of extreme road trip adventure.
by The Raven Brothers
Overland travel writers, Chris Raven and Simon Raven, embark on a new comedy adventure that leads them to the wild and colourful continent of South America. From bull's testicles in Buenos Aires to bums and boobs on the beaches of Brazil, the Raven brothers put their dream plans into action and traverse the Trans-oceanic highway from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast of South America.
Pioneering a new frontier over the Andes and through the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, the bizarre and the beautiful cross their dusty path as they seek inspiration for a new book and go in search of the ultimate carnival. Not always getting it right, Simon and Chris tango through the Argentinean vineyards, cycle to the Moon in Chile, lose themselves in the mysterious world of the Inca Empire, swim with caiman in the Madre de Dios, experience panic in the Pantanal, The Rolling Stones in Rio and conclude their journey in Olinda at the carnival of the soul.
Living the Linger
by The Raven Brothers
On Amazon >
The sudden break-up with Emily Willow finds Simon Raven, ex-amateur rock god and bored internet producer, on a Boeing 747 bound for Seattle. Led by his twin brother, Chris, who is more than happy to exchange a career in fashion photography for the open road, they embark on a buttock-clenching journey of paranoia and self-doubt, as they traverse Interstate 15 across backcountry America.
The sudden break-up with Emily Willow finds Simon Raven, ex-amateur rock god and bored internet producer, on a Boeing 747 bound for Seattle. Led by his twin brother, Chris, who is more than happy to exchange a career in fashion photography for the open road, they embark on a buttock-clenching journey of paranoia and self-doubt, as they traverse Interstate 15 across backcountry America.
Along the way the hapless duo bumble through bear infested wilderness, meet the eccentric and plain weird on the American freeway, escape a bullwhip wielding maniac in Missoula and survive the evils of Las Vegas. Testing their friendship to the limit as they battle to reach their nirvana, which exists in the form of the bikini beaches of California, the brothers find inspiration on a journey that exposes the stark truth about work and relationships and which asks the question - what do you really want to do with your life?