Liberation Mosque (Turkish: Kurtuluş Camii), formerly the St. Mary's Cathedral or Holy Mother of God Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստուածածին Եկեղեցի, romanized: Surp Asdvazdadzin Egeghetsʿi), is located in the Tepebaşı district of Şahinbey, Gaziantep in Turkey.[1][2] Initially built as an Armenian Apostolic church, it was converted into a stable after the Armenian genocide; and later, into a jail.[2]Sarkis Balyan—the Ottoman-Armenian architect serving Sultan Abdul Hamid II—designed the church. The building was constructed between 1892 and 1893, undertaken by the stonemason Sarkis Taşçıyan.[1][3] The church was part of a complex which also contained a school and the administrative buildings of the dioceses of the kaza of Antep.[4]
Holy Mother of God Armenian Church as depicted in a photograph in 1920.
In 1915, almost all of the Gaziantep Armenians were deported to the Syrian desert during the genocide.[5] The church was sealed on 22 August 1915; and its sacramentals and furnishings were put in a large stable, then they were bought and sold at an auction.[1] For over three years the cathedral was used by government for military purposes.[1] Next, it was turned into a prison in the early 1920s; and served as such until the 1970s.[1][6]
The building was converted into a mosque in 1986.[2] The top half of the bell tower was demolished, the remainder converted into a single-balcony minaret. The bell, which was cast in the 19th century in South America, was taken to Gaziantep Museum.[citation needed]
After renovation, the mosque reopened on 17 June 2017.[1]
