The Armenian church in Malatya has been demolished

2026-11-11

The Armenian Church of the Holy Mother of God, built in the 1830s and located in the centre of Malatya, Turkey, has been demolished. It was commonly known as the “Market Church.”

As early as 1950, the Malatya municipality had decided to demolish the church. However, part of the structure survived and was subsequently used as a storage facility. In 1968, the church was converted into a mosque. The authorities made another attempt to demolish it in the 1990s, declaring the building structurally unsafe. Subsequent renovation works altered the architectural features of the structure, while the earthquakes of 2020 and 2023 caused further damage.

Eventually, a decision was made to demolish the church, and it was carried out. Yet another important testament to Malatya's Armenian historical and cultural heritage has thus been erased in Turkey.

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