Kond Mosque: A Historic Shiite Mosque in Yerevan, Armenia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Armenia
- Primary era
- Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Russian, Safavid
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Mosque
On this page5 sections
History
Kond Mosque is a historic Shiite mosque in Yerevan, Armenia, founded in 1687 during the Erivan Khanate. It was built in the Safavid architectural style, a tradition associated with Safavid Iran that extended across the South Caucasus. The mosque is also known as Tapabashi Mosque and Abbas Quli Khan Mosque, names connected with the former name of the Kond district and with Abbas Quli, who later supervised its rebuilding.
Foundation and rebuilding
When the mosque was founded, the Kond district was known as Tapabashi, meaning “hilltop.” It may have occupied the site of an older Armenian church that existed before the earthquake of 1679. The possibility is linked to the rebuilding of churches destroyed in that earthquake during the same period, but the earlier building’s relationship to the mosque remains uncertain.
The mosque was rebuilt during the second half of the nineteenth century. Abbas Quli, an employee of the city administration and a descendant of the Yerevan khans, was one of the commissioners of this work. During his involvement, the mosque reached its modern scale. His house stood in the same quarter, reinforcing his connection with the building and its neighborhood.
Later use and decline
At the end of the 1920s, the mosque building was used as an archive. It later became housing for 17 families who had arrived from Turkey after the 1915 genocide. Their descendants continue to live in the building, giving the ruined monument a continuing residential history.
The large dome was lost during the 1960s, although another dating places its collapse in the 1980s. The ruins are included on Armenia’s list of historical heritage, preserving the site’s recognition as part of the country’s historic built environment.
Remains
Kond Mosque stands in the southern part of Yerevan’s Kond district, at the intersection of present-day Kondi, Rustaveli, and Simeon Yerevantsi streets. Built in the Safavid style, it originally consisted of a principal large dome, a smaller dome, and a single minaret. Sections of the walls and roof survive, with the remaining walls measuring approximately 1.5 metres in thickness.
Domes and ornament
The smaller dome remains, while the large dome has been lost. Persian ornamentation survives on the mosque and is noted for its aesthetic quality. Together with the surviving wall sections and roof fragments, these elements preserve evidence of the building’s original form and its connection with the architectural traditions of the Erivan Khanate.
