Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration

Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration

The circular tiles on the minarets of Kurtuluş Mosque (Liberation Mosque) in Gaziantep were faithfully reproduced by İznik Mavi Çini in 2025 for the restoration that followed the 6 February 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes. The 72 tiles, 18 cm in diameter, are dark yellow and green. Kurtuluş Mosque was built in 1892 as the Surp Asdvadzadzin Church.

Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration Kurtuluş Mosque Gaziantep Minaret Tile Restoration

The building of Kurtuluş Mosque was constructed as a church for the Armenian community of Gaziantep, and its design is attributed to Sarkis Balyan. With its two-tone façade combining cut limestone and basalt, the building broadly reflects Gothic architecture.

Kurtuluş Mosque lost its function as a church after 1915, was used as a prison for about 50 years and was converted into a mosque in the 1980s. During this conversion, the upper half of the bell tower was demolished and the remaining part was turned into a single-balcony minaret, and a second minaret was added to the building.

The dome and both minarets of Kurtuluş Mosque collapsed in the 6 February 2023 earthquakes. Circular tiles were placed again on both rebuilt minarets, and the mosque reopened for worship on 8 May 2025.

“Using the circular tiles that survived from the minarets destroyed in the earthquake as models, we reproduced 72 tiles in the same diameter and colors.”

— İznik Mavi Çini, Senior Restoration Workshop Manager

Who made the colorful round tiles on the minarets of Kurtuluş Mosque?
The circular tiles on both minarets of Kurtuluş Mosque (Liberation Mosque) in Gaziantep were faithfully reproduced by İznik Mavi Çini in 2025.

Do the tiles on the minarets of Kurtuluş Mosque date from the church period?
No. The minarets and their circular tiles were added when the building was converted into a mosque in the 1980s; the remaining part of the church’s bell tower was turned into a minaret at that time.

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