It was a war against the country's long history: In 2014, the terrorist militia known as the "Islamic State" (IS) began destroying memorials, monuments, churches and even mosques in conquered areas in Iraq and Syria.

This area, the heart of former Northern Mesopotamia, is considered to be the cradle of human civilization that was once the region's intellectual and cultural center.

Many buildings and cultural sites from that period time are listed UNESCO World Heritage Sites. But this was of little interest to IS fighters. Just as they devastated the ancient cities of Hatra and Nineveh, they attacked the northern Iraqi metropolis of Mosul, destroying places of worship and cultural sites. Rare books and manuscripts, as well as artifacts from libraries, museums and collections were destroyed or looted, while thousands of people were displaced. When the Iraqi army recaptured the city of Mosul in 2017, there was not much left of the city. Famous monuments lay in ruins and more than 130,000 homes had been destroyed. According to UNESCO, over 80% of the Old City was destroyed.

A costly reconstruction

Since 2018, UNESCO, together with the Iraqi government, the United Arab Emirates,United Arab Emirates, the EU and other partners, has been helping to rebuild the city's cultural monuments via a project titled "Revive the Spirit of Mosul." The goal is to restore the cultural and religious diversity of the Iraqi city and revive its spirit. The project is rebuilding the famous Great Mosque of Al-Nouri with its leaning Al-Hadba minaret, the Al-Saa'a Convent and the Syrian Al-Tahira Catholic Church, 124 listed houses, the Al Aghawat Mosque and the Al-Ekhlass school in the old city. Over 140 million euros ($144 million) were invested in the project.

To rebuild Al-Tahira church, each day, 30 construction workers who were recruited from the neighborhood come to work on the project, stated site engineer Anas Zeyad Abdulmalek on the UNESCO website. He is often asked why churches and mosques are being built faster than residential buildings and hospitals. They are "houses of peace" he said, that "revive the spirit of Mosul," explains Abdulmalek. "People were used to gathering and praying at that church or mosque. So we bring back the memory, the heritage to Mosul after being destroyed by IS."

According to Abdulmalek, it's especially important that Christians and Muslims work together, regardless of whether they are rebuilding a church or a mosque. "The primary goal of the project is to foster reconciliation and social cohesion in Mosul, with all its diversity between Christians, Jews or Muslims, who have lived together in Mosul for centuries," he said.

Meeting places and landmarks

The Al-Saa'a convent in the center of the city was also an important religious, cultural and social meeting place. Its characteristic feature was its bell tower — the first ever bell tower in the country. It was a gift from Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo, to the Dominicans who ran the monastery. The tower clock, installed in 1880, chimed every hour and gave rhythm to the lives of the inhabitants.

After IS looted and destroyed the monastery, an elaborate restoration plan had to be drawn up in collaboration with local experts. After just 11 months, the monastery was restored. And there are three new bells too — again from France, made in a foundry in Normandy.

The identity of an entire country

The restoration of the Al-Hadba minaret, which is part of the Al-Nouri mosque, was especially challenging. The leaning tower, which had never collapsed, had watched over the city for many centuries and was part of the city's identity. The destruction of the main part of the minaret was a national tragedy. During the battles to liberate Mosul in 2017, residents formed a human chain to prevent the minaret from being completely destroyed.

In the run-up to the reconstruction, citizens were asked whether the ruins of the minaret should stay as they were, while a kind of copy of the structure would be built next to it. "94% of respondents said they wanted the minaret back, exactly where it stood and exactly as it looked: With the same decorations, with the same inclination," stated the minaret's construction manager Omar Yasir Adil Taqa on the UNESCO website. The decision was made to rebuild the minaret on the base, which was still standing but badly damaged. Now the tower stands again after being painstakingly reassembled from the original stones that the construction team salvaged from tons of rubble.

Cultural monuments or infrastructure?

According to UNESCO, the restoration work has created 6,000 new jobs in Mosul. Over 1,300 young people have been trained in traditional trades such as carpentry, stonemasonry and painting.

On February 5, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay will travel to Mosul to visit the restored buildings at the end of the construction period. The official inauguration ceremony by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani will take place at a later date.

Yet the project is not over yet. A lot of time, money and manpower is still needed before Mosul's infrastructure is fully restored. There are still plans to create meeting places such as parks and large squares and the largest hospital in the region: the Ibn Sina Hospital. While this is still in the planning stages, Mosul International Airport is expected to reopen this year.

This article was originally written in German.