Blue Mosque, Persian mosque in Kentron District, Armenia
The Blue Mosque is a house of prayer in Kentron District, Yerevan, with a tall minaret and dome visible from a distance. Well-kept gardens with fountains surround the main structure and form a quiet courtyard lined with arcaded walkways.
Hoseyn Ali Khan, ruler of the Erivan Khanate, commissioned the mosque in 1765–1766 as the city's main Friday mosque. It was redecorated with tiles around 1887–88 and rebuilt in 1907–1910. Secularized in the 1920s, it housed the Yerevan History Museum and later a planetarium in the main prayer hall. Renovated with Iranian funding in the 1990s, it reopened as a mosque in 1996.
The building takes its name from the blue glazed tiles arranged in traditional Persian patterns that decorate both exterior and interior surfaces. Visitors can see calligraphic works and manuscripts in the adjoining rooms that show the long cultural connections between Persian and Armenian communities.
The grounds open daily during daylight hours for visitors who can explore the courtyard and garden areas. Modest dress is expected as the building still serves as an active place of worship.
The mosque's library, named after the poet Hafez, opened in October 2014 and holds more than 8,000 items. It sits in the northern part of the complex, which also contains 28 pavilions around a courtyard measuring 71 by 47 metres.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,756 contributors worldwide.
