Things to Do in Blue Mosque

Armenia's only functioning mosque sits in Yerevan's old town. Blue Mosque is an impressive piece of 18th-century Ottoman architecture that feels almost out of place among Soviet-era buildings and ancient Armenian churches. Built in the 1760s. The mosque underwent careful restoration in the 1990s with Iranian funding and today is both an active place of worship and cultural center offering Persian language classes. You'll find it tucked away near the Hrazdan River, surrounded by narrow streets that give you a genuine sense of old Yerevan before the grand Soviet redesign.

The area has good local spots. You'll find small family-run restaurants serving traditional Armenian dishes like khorovats and dolma, plus a few places that nod to the area's multicultural history with Middle Eastern-influenced dishes. Nearby Saryan Street works well. The streets closer to the mosque have more casual spots—bakeries selling fresh lavash, small cafes, and neighborhood joints where you might be the only non-local.

Visit May through October. Late spring through early fall offers the most comfortable weather for walking around old town streets and spending time in the mosque's peaceful courtyard—summer can get quite hot though. Winter works but isn't ideal. The mosque is beautiful year-round, and visiting during light snowfall when the courtyard takes on an almost mystical quality has real appeal.