The Cathedral of Kars, also known as the Holy Apostles Church

The Cathedral of Kars, also known as the Holy Apostles Church is a former Armenian Apostolic church in Kars, eastern Turkey.

Built-in the mid-10th century by the Armenian Bagratid King Abas I, it was converted into a mosque in 1579. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was converted into a Russian Orthodox and later Armenian cathedral.

In 1993 it was again converted into a mosque and is called Kümbet Mosque, literally “domed mosque”). It currently comprises part of a larger Islamic complex that includes the Evliya Mosque, the biggest mosque in Kars.

In a 2005 interview, Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoğlu (tur) stated about plans to restore the cathedral and added that after renovation a “cultural center or museum would be much more appropriate.”

by Mano Chil