Mosul - Al-Forat
In Mosul’s Old City, 300 families have returned to their homes in the alleys after the reconstruction of heritage houses and water and electricity networks was completed in several of its quarters, amid joyful scenes among old neighbours, in one of the largest waves of return to the city’s right bank since military operations there ended.
Al-Forat’s correspondent in Nineveh said the families returned to the Maidan, Qlei’at, Bab Lakash and Ras Al-Kour quarters, where homes were rebuilt in their original architectural style with stone, Mosul marble and carved wooden doors, while the narrow alleys that characterise the old city were preserved. The rebuilt houses include inner courtyards and traditional cellars.
Homes brought back to life
The director of Mosul municipality told Al-Forat that the reconstruction was carried out jointly by the local government and international organisations, most notably UNESCO’s “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” initiative, in addition to grants from compensation programmes for owners of damaged homes, adding that priority was given to houses classified as heritage buildings.
He added that the municipality had laid new water and sewage networks under the alleys, repaved them with stone and installed heritage-style street lamps, while the electricity directorate replaced exposed cables with underground networks to preserve the visual character of the old city.
“We left here not knowing whether we would ever come back. Today I open the same door my father and grandfather opened before me”Abu Omar, who has returned to the Maidan quarter
Challenges of return
Despite the returns, parts of the Old City are still awaiting reconstruction. Specialists estimate that thousands of homes have yet to be restored because of a lack of funding, ownership disputes or the emigration of their owners, while returnees are calling for schools, health centres and bakeries in their quarters to reopen so that the essentials of daily life are in place.
The local government is working on a plan to bring life back to the markets next to the inhabited alleys and to encourage traditional craftsmen to return to their workshops, as part of a vision to make the Old City a place to live, work and visit at the same time, rather than heritage façades empty of residents.
