Turkish authorities to convert historic Armenian cathedral into a mosque
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\nTurkey plans to convert the historic Armenian Cathedral of Ani, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Kars Province, into a mosque after completing a restoration project, Anglican Ink reported. The cathedral, built between 987-1010 by Armenian King Smbat II and architect Trdat, briefly served as a mosque after the 1064 Seljuk conquest but later returned to Christian use. Turkish officials refer to it as the \u201cFethiye Mosque,\u201d omitting its Armenian origins.<\/p>\n
This conversion follows similar actions under President Erdogan\u2019s administration, including the Hagia Sophia and Chora Church, raising concerns about cultural erasure of Armenia\u2019s Christian heritage. Turkey\u2019s Armenian community and Christian leaders condemn the move as a threat to religious freedom and cultural identity.<\/p>\n
The Ani site, inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 for its Armenian cultural significance, remains officially unconfirmed for conversion, but the pattern fuels fears of marginalizing Christian heritage amid rising Islamic nationalism in Turkey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Turkish authorities to convert historic Armenian cathedral into a mosque ————————– Turkey plans to convert the historic Armenian Cathedral of Ani, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Kars Province, into a mosque after completing a restoration project, Anglican Ink reported. The cathedral, built between 987-1010 by Armenian King Smbat II and architect Trdat, briefly served …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-azerbaijan"],"yoast_head":"\n