The Armenian Cathedral of Ani, located in Turkey’s Kars Province within the UNESCO-listed Ani archaeological site, is undergoing renovations that will see the sacred Armenian site reopened not as a church, but as a mosque — a move reported by the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.
The controversial “reconstruction project” is being carried out in three phases through a partnership between Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the World Monuments Fund. While the official narrative emphasizes restoration and accessibility for visitors, Anadolu Agency makes clear that the cathedral will function as a mosque upon completion — erasing its Armenian Christian identity in the process.
The site itself, a roughly 100-hectare expanse of ruins from the medieval city of Ani, was added to UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List in 2012 and fully registered as a Cultural Heritage site in 2016. It includes structures from various historical periods, including the Ebü’l Menüçehr Mosque (considered the first Turkish mosque built in Anatolia), a Seljuk cemetery and mausoleums, and numerous Christian monuments. Among these are the Church of the Redeemer, the Church of Tigran Honents, the Church of Abughamrents — and most prominently, the Armenian Cathedral of Ani.
Once the crown jewel of medieval Armenian architecture and the seat of the Armenian Catholicos, the cathedral is now being referred to only as the “Fethiye Mosque,” failing to mention its Armenian origins or its historic role in the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to historical records, construction of the cathedral began in 987 under Armenian King Smbat II and was completed in 1010 by Queen Katramide, the wife of King Gagik I. The cathedral’s architect, Trdat — who later famously repaired the dome of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople — is mentioned in the Turkish narrative, yet his Armenian heritage is entirely omitted.
Muhammet Arslan, head of excavations at Ani, confirmed that the restoration is proceeding in three phases, with the second phase expected to be completed this year. In comments to the press, he praised architect Trdat for his work on Hagia Sophia, noting that Trdat was invited from Ani to Constantinople to restore the dome and later returned to complete the cathedral. Yet even as Arslan highlights Trdat’s architectural legacy, the Armenian identity of the architect — and of the entire city — remains completely unacknowledged.
Historically, the Armenian cathedral was first converted into a mosque in 1064 after Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan conquered Ani and held his first Friday prayer there, renaming it the Fethiye Mosque. Now, in a modern echo of that erasure, the Turkish state is once again attempting to overwrite the site’s Armenian Christian legacy with a new Islamic identity.
Yet nowhere in the report is it acknowledged that the medieval city and its cathedral are fundamentally Armenian — an omission that speaks volumes.
Once known as the “City of 1,001 Churches,” Ani was a thriving cultural and spiritual capital of medieval Armenia, and its cathedral stands as one of the most powerful symbols of Armenian civilization. That legacy now faces the threat of erasure under the guise of “restoration.”
