Historic landmarks in Mosul, Iraq reopen as the city heals from ISIS disaster

Mosul, Iraq – For more than 850 years, the sloping minaret of the Grand Mosque of Al-Nuri has been an iconic landmark in the Iraqi city of Mosul until it was destroyed by the Islamic State group in 2017.

Nearly eight years after militants were driven out of the city, the Minaret has been rebuilt as part of a heavily funded reconstruction project in the historic city.

Saad Muhammed Jarjees, who lives in the old town of Mosul, remembers that he looked at the Al-Hadbaa Minaret from his window every day, and his heart. How to sink when falling.

“I looked at it every morning during the ISIS occupation and saw their flags flying over it,” he recalled. “We longed for the day when the flags came down – which meant we were liberated.”

“And then one morning we woke up and found the entire spire disappeared,” he said.

The UN Science, Education and Cultural Organization works with Iraq’s heritage and Sunni religious authorities to rebuild the minaret using traditional techniques and materials saved from rubble.

For residents of Mosul, the restoration is very personal.

“This mosque is considered the identity of the people of Mosul,” said Mohammed Khalil al-Assaf, an imam of the city. “When we came here today to see the Al-Hadbaa minaret, we remembered the wonderful memories of this sacred mosque.”

It is expected to officially reopen with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the coming weeks.

“The minaret of Alhadba Province is one of the most symbolic attractions of the people of Mosul, and today, this symbol has completely restored life,” Ruwaid Allayla, director of the State Antiquities and Heritage Committee, Ruwaid Allayla explain.

“The Heritage Authority ensures that original materials are reconstructed to preserve their special value and authenticity and include them on the UNESCO World Heritage List,” Allayla said.

Omar Taqa, a field engineer at Al-Hadbaa Minaret and Great-Nuri Mosque, detailed the difficulties of rebuilding a site seriously damaged by the war.

“Some of the biggest challenges in rebuilding Al-Hadbaa Minaret include removing the remnants of war mixed with rubble and separating artifacts from debris,” Taqa said.

He said the team also needed to do detailed engineering and historical research to design a website that could retain the original nature.

On Wednesday's visit to the city, UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay visited the Minaret and Al-Nuri Mosque and other restored sites, including Al-Hadbaa Minaret, Al-Tahira and Al-Sa'aa churches.

“This intervention in the post-conflict environment is unprecedented in its complexity,” she said. “80% of the old town was destroyed. When our first team arrived on site in 2018, they were facing a ruin .”

Azuri said UNESCO has mobilized $115 million in reconstruction projects, with large stocks coming from the United Arab Emirates and the European Union.

The driving force for reconstruction is also aimed at restoring the city’s Christian ruins. In 2003, the Christian population in Mosul was about 50,000. Many of them seized control of Mosul in 2014.

Today, less than 20 Christian families remain permanent residents of the city. Others who fled to Ilbir and other surrounding areas did not return to their homes in Mosul, but went to and from get off work to church on Sunday.

The Syrian Catholic Archbishop Mar Benedictus Younan Hanno, the Archbishop of Mosul, said in the Al-Tahira Church that reconstruction is more than just a building.

“The main goal of rebuilding the church today is to restore the history of our ancestors,” Hanno said. “When Mosul Christians came to this church, they remembered where they were educated and baptized, and where they prayed. This might have been Give them a motivation to return.”

Azuri said the sound of church bells and the church choir once again sent a powerful message in Mosul.

“It conveys the message that New York City is restoring its true identity, which is a diverse identity,” she said. “It is a very important sign that hopefully the church is made up of Iraqis (mostly Muslims) Reconstructed, they would be happy to restore it for this community.”

UNESCO's experience in Mosul will shape its approach to restoring other cultural sites in the war-torn region, including neighboring Syria, which now follows the fall of former President Bashar Assad It has begun to appear in the past 14 years.

“This initiative is also a legacy of UNESCO,” Azuri said. “Our organization has gained new expertise in post-conflict situations and it will be able to replicate in other crisis situations.”

Azuri declined to comment on UNESCO's specific plans for Syria. But she told the Associated Press that its work in supporting Mosul “is what we hope to do elsewhere, if political and security conditions are allowed.”

“The wounds in this city will take a long time to heal,” Azuri said. “But it's a beautiful start.”