Dutch carpenter Johan Huibers spent nearly $5 million to complete his Noah's Ark. (Ark of Noah)
A Dutch carpenter intends to sail his rebuilt Noah’s Ark to Israel.
By Joseph Wolkin, World Israel News
This isn’t Noah, son of Lamech. It’s not even Evan Almighty from the Hollywood film.
But Dutch carpenter and master builder Johan Huibers plans to sail his life’s masterpiece, a replica Noah’s Ark, to Israel.
“I love the county, I love the people,” Huibers said. “They don’t obey, they do what they want, they drive like mad, shove while waiting in line and don’t listen to anyone. Just like me,” he said of Israelis.
Huibers didn’t reveal the exact date he plans to set sail for Israel. He still needs about about $1.3 million to make the trip from the Krimpen aan de Ijssel docks in the Netherlands to the Holy Land.
One problem: The ark doesn’t have an engine. So he’ll need to rent tugboats to bring it to Israel.
Huibers followed the instructions in the Torah in building his replica. The ship has five decks and is 410-feet long.
“I wanted children to come here and feel the texture of the wood, see the nails and see that what is written in the book is true,” he said.
The idea came to Huibers 25 years ago when he was reading the story of Noah and the flood to his children. But when he first tried to build the ark, it was only half the size of the Biblical measurements. That wasn’t due to a lack of effort, but rather Holland’s difficult canals.
“I wanted to spread God’s word in the Netherlands,” he said.
Huibers enlisted a teams of amateur carpenters, who didn’t have formal training, making his feat all the more remarkable.
The Ark was initially a huge tourist attraction. It had a petting zoo and could fit up to 5,000 people. However, the city where it is docked closed it down, claiming safety reasons.
Huibers disputes this, saying his creation is not only safe, but is insured and has modern fire extinguishing equipment.
The Ark “is meant to educate, a reminder that our world is changing, will continue to change, as we see now because of global warming, rising sea levels, fires,” Huibers said.
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