UNESCO has completed its reconstruction of the Great Mosque of Al‑Nouri, Al-Tahera Church, and Al-Saa’a Convent in Iraq, as part of its Revive the Spirit of Mosul program. The $115 million initiative, called Revive the Spirit of Mosul, was launched in 2018 in response to the widespread destruction inflicted on cultural heritage by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.
Erected in the 12th century, the Al-Nouri mosque was known for its famous leaning 131-foot-tall minaret, from which it received its nickname “the hunchback”. In 2017, however, the signature feature was destroyed during the extremist group’s rule of Iraq. With the help of experts on the leaning Tower of Pisa, UNESCO was able to restore the structure, including the minaret with its interior double helix staircase and decorative carved brick exterior. As part of the clean up, UNESCO removed landmines and other explosives that had been left behind in the rubble. The destruction also allowed for the archaeological discovery of four rooms, likely used for ablutions.
The Al-Tahera Syriac-Catholic church, also badly damaged in 2017, saw the installation of two new bells from Italy, decorated with motifs of the image of the Virgin Mary, to whom the site is dedicated. The restoration included fixing the collapsed roof, as well as the arcades and vaults damaged inside the 1862 church.
Al-Saa’a Convent, a religious structure established in 1870 following the development of Eastern Christianity in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), also received three new bells from France. The structure has been used for a variety of functions, including as a church, school, and hospital. It held a trove of ancient religious manuscripts, which were saved before IS repurposed the building as a prison.
Additionally, hundreds of Ottoman houses in Mosul’s old city were restored.
In 2014, IS seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, occupying it for three years. The Iraqi military waged successive operations to regain control of Mosul, with thousands of civilians, as well as a slew of civilian infrastructure and archaeology, lost in the clash.
An ancient silk road locale, Mosul was historically home to various ethnic and religious groups, due in part to its incorporation into the Ottoman Empire in 1535. Unlike other Ottoman-era settlements, though, Mosul lacks walls intended to separate its Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities.
The restoration efforts carried out by UNESCO were primarily funded by the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and according to the agency, it purposefully employed members of the local community. Per UNESCO’s count, more than 1,300 people were trained to aid in the reconstruction.
A special event was slated to commemorate the occasion today, with a visit from director general Audrey Azoulay and representatives from Mosul’s religious communities. The official inauguration, however, is expected later this year.
“Here, we have demonstrated the power of heritage, culture and education to recover from a crisis that many thought insurmountable,” Azoulay said in a statement.
