MOSUL, Iraq - Financially supported by the Iraqi and Emirati governments, as well as UNESCO, the process of the reconstruction of Mosul's landmarks which saw massive destruction at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) during their takeover of the city eight years ago is ongoing. The reconstruction is currently focused on the city's landmarks, including al-Tahira Church, the al-Nuri Mosque, and al-Hadba minaret - all located in the Old City. Built in 1862, Mosul’s al-Tahira church, one of the oldest and largest churches in the Old City, was destroyed by airstrikes during the war with ISIS. During the city’s occupation, the extremists used the church as a court. “The church is an integral part of the infrastructure of old Mosul, so it is natural if we renovate the church we will be breathing a little soul into the infrastructure,” Mark Yard from the UNESCO told Rudaw on Wednesday. UNESCO started rebuilding the church in June 2020, as part of the “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” initiative that is seeing places of worship in the Old City destroyed during the war with ISIS being brought back to life. Thousands of tons of rubble and dozens of IEDs have been removed from this site. The other landmarks are the al-Nuri mosque, and its leaning al-Hadba minaret, which stood 45 meters tall. They were built in 1172 and became iconic Mosul landmarks. Both were destroyed during the battle of Mosul in 2017, two of more than 40 historically valuable buildings were either destroyed or completely torn down during ISIS rule and the war that followed. The first stage of the reconstruction of al-Nuri mosque began in February 2019, with around 5,600 tons of rubble removed from the site. More than a million people from East and West Mosul were displaced by August 2017, and about 138,000 houses were damaged or destroyed during the conflict. Nearly four years after the city’s liberation, more than 300,000 people remain displaced, according to UN data from 2020.
