“The millenia-old civilisation must be preserved,” says Noura Al Kaabi.
It stood for more than 850 years before it was destroyed in 2017, but now, the Al Nouri Mosque is getting a second chance.
UNESCO have announced a deal with the UAE and Iraq which will see the Emirates donate US$50.4 million (Dhs185M) to the historic building’s restoration.
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The UAE’s Minister for Culture and Knowledge Development Noura Al Kaabi spoke on the funding at Baghdad’s National Museum, Gulf News reported.
“The five-year project is not just about rebuilding the mosque, the minaret and the infrastructure, but also about giving hope to young Iraqis,” the minister said.
“The millenia-old civilisation must be preserved.”
Here’s a shot of the mosque and its leaning minaret back in 1932:
“This is a historic partnership, the largest and unprecedented cooperation to rebuild cultural heritage in Iraq ever,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay told Gulf News.
“This is an ambitious, highly symbolic project for the resurrection of Mosul and Iraq,” UNESCO’s representative in Iraq, Louise Haxthausen, said.
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While there the restoration would be a long, complicated project, it was already in action.
“The work has already begun, the site is now protected we must first clear the site, remove the rubble [and] document, before we can begin reconstructing the mosque and its minaret,” Haxthausen told Gulf News.
The Al Nouri Mosque was built in the 12th century and stood in the north Iraq city of Mosul until it was destroyed by ISIL forces in July last year.
Images: Supplied, Wikimedia Commons
