Video .. Beginning of the reconstruction of the Nuri mosque gives hope to the residents of Mosul

The residents of Mosul in northern Iraq hope that the project to rebuild its large mosque, "Al-Jami al-Nuri", will restore life to their city.

The project is running a joint effort between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, and the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.

It will take at least five years to rebuild the archaeological mosque and its famous humpback minaret (sloping) minaret, the first of which will be to raise the rubble.

The project also includes rebuilding other sites, including historic gardens, and the erection of a memorial and museum.

The head of the project implementation committee, Musab Muhammad, said that the mosque is distinguished by its great status among the people of Mosul, in addition to the wonderful architecture and decorative architecture it contains, whether on the lighthouse or on the columns that decorate the chapel from the inside.

"The ISIS gangs destroyed everything, not just the mosque, but the mosque is considered a symbol of the city, as is the case of other archaeological facilities in the city," said Maher Taher, representative of the Sunni Endowment Office in Mosul.

Construction began last April, and the UAE announced that it would finance the project with $ 50.4 million last year.

For his part, the archaeologist in Nineveh Abdul Rahman Imad said, "The humpback lighthouse will be rebuilt with the same inscriptions and architectural motifs that previously existed, after taking the exact details and measurements of these pieces, as we have an archive in Mosul documenting the accurate measurements of all the inscriptions."

The Iraqi government estimates that the city of Mosul needs at least $ 2 billion in aid for reconstruction, which will include reopening the streets, building destroyed and damaged homes, and other things.