September 28, 2009 - 21:03 AMT
Turkey, Estonia mark first ascent to Mount Ararat
On October 4-6, Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Paet will be in Turkey on an official visit. On October 5-6, he is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davudoglu in Ankara and State Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis. Parties will conduct talks over Estonian-Turkish bilateral ties, as well as EU-Turkey relations.

On October 4, FM del Paet and Turkey's Minister of Culture Ertogrul Gunay will participate in the opening of exhibition in "Ishak-Pasha" castle in Bayazet. The exhibition is dedicated to the 180th anniversary of first ascent to Mount Ararat by Estonian scholar, Professor of Physics and President of Tartusk University Johann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot and writer Khachatur Abovyan, his apprentice.

Early in the morning on October 5, a group of Estonian and Turkish alpinists will symbolically repeat Parrot's route. Ascent to mountain peak is scheduled for October 9, Estonian Foreign Ministry reports.