Climate change, Biblical style

I'd wager that Amsterdam Schipol Airport is the only place on earth where an aeroplane altimeter reading -6m below sea level can be a good thing. So you live in a country where most of the land is below sea level, and at a time when climate change suggests that sea levels are rising. You're also a devout follower of the Bible. So what do you do? Well, for the Dutch people I saw 'An Inconvenient Truth' with, the answer seemed to be to act rather unfazed. But for one man, the answer was rather more obvious and proactive. He built an Ark.




These are the truly astounding sites that lie in the town of Schagen. I read about the work of one Johan Huibers on the BBC News website, and I knew instantly that I had to go and see it for myself. Fortunately Schagen was only a ten minute train journey from Alkmaar, so yesterday, after I was done with cheese I went to see the Ark first hand.

I don't think I can do the scale of the thing justice. It literally looms on the side of the marina and makes yachts that I'd otherwise consider quite sizeable, look puny. And the Ark itself is only half the size it should be according to the Bible, so in short, this is a Big thing. But if outside is impressive, then the inside is no less interesting for it's been turned into a museum/information centre/coffee bar.


There are displays chronicling the building of the Ark (which cost a seemingly small €1m), and numerous exhibits on the story of Noah and other parts of the Bible. It even had one explaining how the dinosaurs would have fitted into the Ark, which I think might be out by several millennia and a couple of ice-ages. There was plenty for children as well with a couple of small cinemas showing cartoons and of course, the animals were represented by life-size models.

The actual workmanship is impressive, and I don't think it can ever have been quite such a spur-of-the-moment thing as the BBC report suggests as they has clearly been some major planning, but is a fun idea and it's great that there are still people with enough belief and the dedication to do 'crazy' things like this.



No wonder after all that work Noah felt the need to have a little well earned rest.


Apparently he plans to sail it around Europe to promote awareness of climate change and the Bible and I wish him the best of luck - it all looked a little too top heavy to me! It is slightly ironic though that the port where the Ark's location is only really accessible by car. I walked, and had to cross a busy highway with no proper crossing to get there - so with the climate change message, a change in location might be a good thing!

In some respects, Schagen was a perfect choice for the place to build, as it's everything you wouldn't expect from the location of such a tourist attraction. Doubtless that's because it's so new, but (shock) it's a Dutch town that's not like the others (obligatory huge Church aside)!


Perhaps it's because it has no canals, or perhaps it's to do with it's grid like layout, but Schagen didn't feel like the rest of the Netherlands, and having just come from the very-Dutch Alkmaar and cheese market, that probably made the whole thing all the more surreal.