UNESCO’s flagship initiative, Revive the Spirit of Mosul, has reached an important milestone towards the full restoration of Al Nouri Mosque and its historic minaret in Mosul, Iraq. Just a few days ago, work was completed on the stabilization of the mosque and the Al-Hadba minaret, both nearly destroyed by ISIL/Daesh in 2017.
UNESCO has undertaken the delicate task of reconstruction from amidst the ruins, while ensuring strict adherence to the historic integrity of the structures.
Here is what we did to reach the end of this phase:
In October 2019, UNESCO started working on removing landmines from the site and stabilizing the fragile remaining structure of the historic leaning 45-meter minaret, built more than 840 years ago.
By mid-November, the grounds around the minaret and the Al-Nouri Mosque had been completely cleared of rubble and the mosque’s dome stabilized with straps around the base of the dome and its pillars.
The process of clearing the grounds was more than just the removal of old stones. In fact, amidst the rubble were valuable pieces of the mosque and minaret that could be reused during reconstruction. This is another example of UNESCO’s commitment to restoring the structures with every effort taken to preserve their historic integrity.
Additional work reinforcing the arches of the Al-Nouri Mosque arcade was completed last month bringing this first phase of activity to a close.
The work at the Al-Nouri Mosque site is made possible with the generous support of the United Arab Emirates and coordinated work with the Government of Iraq, local partners and international experts. It is being undertaken as a major part of UNESCO’s flagship initiative to Revive the Spirit of Mosul, launched in February 2018. This initiative includes three main strategic areas: education, cultural life and heritage.
Find out more about Revive the Spirit of Mosul here.
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