Kond is one of the oldest quarters of Yerevan. Kond was also populated by indigenous Armenians and during Persian rule. During this time, the area was presided over by the Geghamian family of meliks. The population of Kond soon became multiethnic, when approximately one hundred Armenian Boshas (Roma) moved to the hill.
Because of the influence of its prior residents, several structures may still be seen that were once Ottoman/Persian/Muslim houses, a mosque, and other buildings that still exhibit such architectural characteristics. The Tepebaşı or Thapha Bashi Mosque was likely built in 1687 during the Safavid dynasty. Today, only the 1.5 meter-thick walls and sections of its outer perimeter roof still stand. The main dome collapsed in the 1960s.
After the Armenian Genocide of 1915, many refugees fleeing their homeland came to make Kond their new home. The mosque served as a place of refuge for seventeen of the families, some of whose descendants (five families) still live there to this day.
Many of Kond's narrow winding streets and alleyways are only three to four feet wide with irrigation ditches to either side. Walls of houses were originally constructed of clay and small stones, which were often built on top of one another without utilities. Today, older homes are being replaced by modern ones, leaving one of Yerevan's only relatively intact older neighborhoods in jeopardy.
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