Heritage houses

"Revive the spirit of Mosul" also means bringing the old city back to life by allowing residents to return in their homes that were destroyed during the war.

UNESCO restores parts of its historic urban landscape by rebuilding 124 historic houses, with the generous support of the European Union. This intervention is global: reconstruction concerns houses, as well as upgrading of electrical network, septic tanks, drainage, road surfacing and public lighting.

Before rebuilding, the neighborhood had to be cleared: the removal of 2107 tons of rubble and 21 unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the areas of intervention so far.

UNESCO
“We have 67 families included in the first phase of rebuilding houses to benefit 305 people. Thirty families were in displacement in camps while the others were staying with relatives or in a rented house”... "In the second phase we will have 75 houses rebuilt to shelter 113 families that consist of 437 people"
Bahaa Hussain Ali UNESCO social organizer
Mosul_EU houses Mosul
UNESCO/Moyasser

The reconstruction of 44 heritage houses in the old city is nearly complete, including infrastructure upgrading. The rehabilitation and reconstruction of 80 additional heritage houses have started in September 2021 and progressing well. All these works are done using traditional techniques and materials, to preserve the identity of the old town.

This project is accompanied by numerous job creations, in accordance with UNESCO's decision to employ local professionals. The Organization launched an apprenticeship programme to encourage youth employment in the fields of bricklaying, concrete, electrical installation and carpentry. So far 587 young men and women have been provided on the job training during the reconstructions of houses.

In addition, an apprenticeship programme for marble, stone and alabaster carvers was launched in July 2020 to support seven small to medium enterprises in Mosul under the supervision of the Department of Labour and Social Affairs.

"During the war, the destruction was very frightening. All the rooms of my house had collapsed. Moreover, basic things, as electricity and water, were vanished from the area. There were only hills of rubbles and destroyed houses"
Ahmad Waad 35 years, is one of the beneficiaries who has just moved into his newly rebuilt house. He is a father to a child, his wife, his brother and mother live with him.
He remembers: "We fled to the Hulaila IDPs camp. We stayed there for two months then we were hosted by my uncle in al-Yarmok neighborhood. I couldn’t stay at my uncle’s for a long time so I rented a house in Hirmat quarter and stayed there for three years. Mosul was liberated in 2017, but I couldn't come back, the city was destroyed and there was no work here. But one day, in 2019, I got a call from my neighbor saying that my house will be rebuilt by UNESCO. I couldn’t believe my ears"
Ahmad Waad
"Thanks to UNESCO, they started working on it among many others. My house was rebuilt in almost one year. I received it in September 2021. It's a new life that begins. There is nowhere better than the scent of my neighborhood"
Ahmad Waad

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