PLACES OF WORSHIP

The Blue Mosque is the best Persian mosque in Transcaucasia. 1765-1766

The Blue Mosque, according to the inscription on the facade of the southern gate, was built by the Yerevan Sardar Hussein Ali Khan in 1766 (1179 AH). It was the largest and most notable of the mosques in Yerevan, built in the architectural style typical of Shia mosques. The site of the Blue Mosque was previously occupied by the Def Sultan Mosque, which was destroyed in a devastating earthquake in 1679.

The Blue Mosque has been described by many, including Prussian ethnographer August Hackshausen, the Italian traveler Luigi Villari, the Primate of the Yerevan Diocese, Hovhannes Shahkhatunyants. The English traveler Henry Lynch, who was in Armenia at the end of the 19th century, describes with admiration the architecture of the monument, the oriental patterns placed near the frames with colored glass, and also notes that the mosque had its own spiritual and elementary school.

During the Soviet era, during the mass demolition of religious buildings, the mosque building was preserved and taken under state control through the efforts of the great poet Yeghishe Charents and several other Armenian intellectuals. From 1937 to 1982, the Yerevan History and Natural History Museums operated here, and the small hall of the mosque was later used as a planetarium. In 1937, a door was installed between the two halls of the mosque (for the museum). In 1940 and 1972, renovation work was carried out. In 1991, after Armenia gained independence, at the request of the Iranian government, the mosque was handed over to the Embassy of the Republic of Iran as a place of prayer. In 1994-1998, it was reconstructed with the funds of the Iranian side. In 2006, the wide-sided dome was renovated. The mosque has become not only a place of prayer for Shiites, but also a spiritual and cultural center, where events, conferences, exhibitions, and courses are regularly held.

The complex has a rectangular (97.2 x 66.5 m) plan, an inner courtyard measuring 71 x 47 m, around which the buildings are grouped. There are three entrances. The southern and western gates are large, while the eastern gate is a small door leading to the courtyard. The courtyard is paved with tuff, with a stone pool with a fountain built in the center, surrounded by a wide and carefully paved square covered with shady trees. In the southwestern corner of the complex is a tall, circular minaret (20 m). In the northern and southern parts of the complex are prayer halls, and in the eastern and western parts are study cells. The cells are square, vaulted, with arched halls opening into the courtyard in front. The buildings of the complex are entirely built of brick. The domes and the minaret are adorned with glazed brick in blue, yellow, and green colors.

The mosque is located at 12th Mashtots Avenue.