BLUE MOSQUE (GOY)

Located on the outskirts of the Hrazdan, south of Mesrop Machtos Avenue, opposite the covered market (Pak Chouga) built by the Soviets on the site of the former Persian bazaar, this beautiful 18th century Persian mosque, long hidden in a courtyard of buildings, was reopened in 2000 for Muslim worship after being restored by Iranian craftsmen mastering the technique of glazed earthenware tiles typical of mosques in Iran and Central Asia. The religious function of the "Goy Jami" or Masjed-e-Kaboud in Persian is, however, entirely theoretical and limited to the staff of the Iranian embassy and visitors of the Muslim faith passing through Armenia. As for Iranian tourists, many of whom come to Yerevan in the spring for Newroz, they don't rush there, preferring to party in the capital's bars. In any case, it attracts a growing number of tourists, welcomed in these places marked by a very oriental serenity from 9 am to 5 pm, provided they respect the customs in force in Muslim places of worship. Called Goy (blue) because of the earthenware tiles that enamel its dome and minaret, this mosque and the rectangular madrasa (Koranic school) whose arcades surround the central basin were the jewel of old Yerevan. During the Soviet period, the mosque, which had fallen into disuse, was home to the Yerevan Historical Museum, and the arcades of the madrasah were occupied by the departments of the University of Natural Sciences, which displayed their dinosaur models there. A rather surreal show! Without maintenance, the mosque threatened to collapse when Armenia gained independence. Armenia, which has almost no Muslims left, was able to save the mosque thanks to its good relations with Iran, which has undertaken a lengthy restoration using traditional Persian architectural methods. The surrounding brick wall has been completely rebuilt, the main dome and that of the minaret as well as the frames of the porches in Persian arches have been covered with polychrome ceramic tiles decorated with floral motifs in shades of yellow and blue, which for the moment shine a little too much of the brilliance of the new. If the surrounding buildings do not really constitute a decor worthy of the Thousand and One Nights, the Goy mosque has nevertheless regained its right of city and even has a gable on the street, more precisely on the avenue Machtots, where its polychrome porch gives a little bit of its oriental colors to Yerevan!