Ani's cathedral, renamed the Fethiye Camii (Victory Mosque) by the Seljuk conquerors, is the largest and most impressive building. Ani was once the seat of the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate; the three doorways served as separate entrances for the patriarch, the king and the people. The building was transformed into a mosque whenever Muslims held Ani, but reverted to a church when the Christians took it back again. The spacious dome, once supported by four massive columns, fell down centuries ago.
Seen from a distance, the building looks quite featureless, but a closer inspection reveals eye-catching decorative elements, including several porthole windows, slender windows surrounded by elegant fretwork, several triangular niches, inscriptions in Armenian near the main entrance, and a blind arcade with slim columns running around the structure.
Continuing towards the Menüçer Camii, you'll pass an excavated area, supposed to be a former street lined with shops. Further north are the ruins of a toppled minaret, thought to have belonged to the Ebul Muhammeran Camii.
