The historic Armenian Cathedral of Ani, also known as Surp Asdvadzadzin (Holy Mother of God), will be converted into a mosque, Turkish state-run media reports. The cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Kars Province, represents one of the most significant examples of medieval Armenian architecture and the spiritual heart of the former Armenian Kingdom of Ani.
In July 2025, Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the cathedral would reopen as a mosque after completion of its three-phase restoration project. The restoration is being conducted jointly by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the World Monuments Fund, with the second phase expected to be completed in 2025.
Muhammet Arslan, head of excavations at the Ani archaeological site, confirmed that the building would function as a mosque upon completion of restoration work. Turkish officials have consistently referred to the cathedral as the “Fethiye Mosque” (Conquest Mosque), emphasizing its brief conversion to a mosque by Sultan Alp Arslan in 1064 following the Seljuk conquest. Notably, Turkish reports entirely omit the cathedral’s Armenian origins, referring only to its architect Trdat without mentioning his Armenian heritage[4].
The cathedral was constructed between 987-1010 under Armenian King Smbat II and Queen Katramida, with Trdat—the same architect who restored Hagia Sophia’s dome—as its designer. Following the Seljuk conquest in 1064, the cathedral was briefly converted to a mosque but returned to Christian use in 1199 under Georgian-Armenian Zakarid rule. The structure suffered major damage in earthquakes in 1319 and 1988, leading to its current ruined state.
The conversion plan represents part of a broader pattern under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration of converting historic Christian sites to mosques, following similar conversions of Hagia Sophia in 2020 and the Chora Church in 2024. Critics argue this represents cultural erasure of Armenia’s Christian heritage, with Turkish sources systematically omitting references to the site’s Armenian origins.
George Aslan, an Assyrian (Syriac) Member of Parliament for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), submitted a formal parliamentary question to Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy in July 2025, AsiaNews reported. Aslan questioned whether the conversion reports were true and what justification existed for such a decision, asking whether changing the religious identity of this historic structure would contradict Turkey’s multi-religious and multicultural character.
Turkey’s Armenian community has expressed deep concern about the potential conversion, viewing it as the loss of a key symbol of their cultural heritage. The Armenian Report characterized the conversion as “cultural erasure” and part of an ongoing effort to erase Armenian identity from Western Armenia. Armenian news outlets widely reported the conversion plans with alarm, emphasizing the deliberate omission of Armenian references in Turkish coverage.
Christian leaders have framed these conversions as threats to religious freedom and interfaith dialogue. The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA characterized the Hagia Sophia conversion as reflecting “disregard for religious tolerance”. International Christian organizations have repeatedly called for Turkey to maintain these historic sites as museums accessible to all faiths rather than exclusive religious facilities.
The Ani archaeological site was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2016, with the organization emphasizing the site’s “exceptional testimony to the Armenian cultural, artistic, architectural and urban design development”. The Ani Cathedral conversion plans remain officially unconfirmed by Turkish authorities, with some sources suggesting the reports may be based on misinterpretation of Turkish historical terminology. However, the pattern of similar conversions under the Erdogan administration has heightened concerns among Christian communities worldwide about the systematic erasure of Christian heritage in Turkey.
The controversy reflects broader tensions between Turkey’s increasingly assertive Islamic nationalism and its commitments to religious pluralism and heritage preservation, with Christian leaders viewing these conversions as part of a deliberate policy to marginalize Turkey’s Christian heritage.