Noahs Ark on the way to Israel

A Dutch carpenter who built his own replica of Noah's Ark announced his intention to sail the 2,500-ton ship in Israel (minus the animals).

The builder of the arch, Johan Huibers, 60, a convinced Christian from the Netherlands, said that he looked like the original: "I created a faithful replica of the Original arch described in Genesis ".

This life-size replica of Noah's Ark built by Johan Huibers (Photo: EPA)

The ship took more than four years to build. Huibers began work on the construction of the arch in 2008, with the help of seven badistants. The cost of construction was $ 1.6 million, which is entirely covered by donations.

Huibers says he built the ship according to the ancient dimensions detailed in the book of Genesis: "three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits" (Genesis 6).

(Photo: Gettyimages)

The final product is 125 meters long, 29 meters wide and 23 meters high. Weighing about 2,500 tons, the boat even contains life-sized animals.

Currently anchored in the port city of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, the arch has immediately become a tourist attraction. "We want to talk about God to people," said the Dutchman, who worked with a team of 50 employees, during construction. "We wanted to build something that could help explain the Bible in real terms."

In an interview with the Jewish news agency JTA, the Christian pious announced his intention to sail the ship in Israel.

Life-size animals in Noah's ark (Photo: Gettyimages)

"My favorite destination for the ark is Israel … it's a copy of God's ship. It only makes sense to take it to the land of God, "he said, holding a copy of the Bible in Dutch, because the boat has no engine, it will have to be towed, the total cost of which is estimated at $ 1.3 million, but the designer thinks that he would be able to raise everything.

"I love the county, I love people. They do not obey, they do what they want, they drive like crazy, they jostle each other in line without listening to anyone. Just like me, "joked Huibers.