History

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

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

Selective Justice in Armenia: What the DW Analysis Shows, and What It Means for the Government and the Country

Analysis. Information current as of 13 November 2026. On 7 November, Germany's DW published a…

5 hours ago

Kozern: The Hill, the Cemetery and the Gardens That Are No More

The story of one of Yerevan's oldest burial grounds, erased in the 1930s Show Image…

1 day ago

Hayasa-Azzi: The First Armenia in Written History

How the cuneiform archives of the Hittite capital came to record a powerful mountain kingdom…

2 days ago

Stone Houses of the Ice Age: What We Know About the New Paleolithic Settlement Near Yerevan

Excavations on the northwestern edge of the Armenian capital have uncovered an open-air Upper Paleolithic…

3 days ago

Who Is Buried in the Women’s Tomb of the Royal Family of Commagene

Karakuş ("Black Bird") — a hierothesion of the Orontid dynasty in the Nymphaios valley Introduction…

4 days ago

St. Sargis Church in Bjni (7th Century): History, Route and Practical Travel Guide

A tiny cross-domed church on a rocky outcrop above one of Armenia’s oldest villages —…

5 days ago