Ok. These may be stupid questions about things that are common knowledge to everyone but me...but, I certainly haven't been able to find any definitive reference to them on the internet. I was looking at a map of the "fertile crescent" area of Western Asia and a caption underneath the map which mentioned silt deposits at it's Eastern end. This caused me to wonder several things. So, I will ask several questions at once. whether or not a question deserves an answer will depend on the answer to the question before it. So, please bear with me.
1) From the map it appears that the Mediterranian Sea and the Persian Gulf were once connected via the "fertile crescent" and that the entire area was once under water...is this correct? Is this a scientific fact?
2) Is this what caused the "fertile crescent" to be so fertile?
3) Does the accumulation of silt at the Eastern end mean that the water receded to the East or vice versa?
4) If the above is true then would we be talking about the region being covered for a long period of time or more of a short-term catastrophic event?
5) what could cause such an event? Specifically, could volcanic activity or a rise in temperature do it or what? Could it happen again?
6) Could this event be the basis for the Sumerian flood legend (Gilgamesh) and the Hebrew flood legend (Noah)? I know that there are other flood legends world-wide...could they all be related (such as a world-wide rise in water levels)?
7) Where is Mt. Ararat located? I understand that it's in Turkey, but is that within the "fertile crescent" or not? I can't find it on a map (although I can tell that the mountain chain it belongs to is very close).
Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer my questions. I apologize for asking so much at once.
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