Liberation Mosque

Liberation Mosque
Liberation Mosque
Kurtuluş Camii
	Liberation Mosque in May 2009
Religion
Affiliation	Islam, originally Christianity
Location
Location	Şahinbey, Gaziantep Province, Turkey
Architecture
Architect(s)	Sarkis Balyan
Type	mosque
Date established	1986 (as mosque)
Groundbreaking	1892
Completed	1893

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]

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]