Mosul

View of Mosul in 2003, along the river Tigris.

Mosul (Arabic: الموصل‎ al-Mawṣil, Maṣlawī Arabic: al-Mōṣul, Assyrian: ܢܝܢܘܐ Ninaweh, Kurdish: Mosul/Ninawa, Turkish: Musul) is a city in Iraq's Northwestern region, and is the country's second largest city by population. Its religious makeup is one of the most diverse in the country.

Districts

West Mosul West of the Tigris

East Mosul East of the Tigris

Understand

Mosul is Iraqs second largest city and the major economic hub in northern Iraq. Located along the fertile lands of river Tigris the city's history dates back to the at least 6,000 BC. On the eastern banks lies the ancient city of Nineveh, which was the world's largest city around 700 BC. Mosul has since thrived under different rulers, empowered by its strategic position and fertile lands.

In recent history Mosul is mainly known for being the last stand of the Islamic State (ISIS). The fierce battle which took place during 2017 left large parts of the old city in ruins. While much of the city's heritage is destroyed, Maslawis are slowly rebuilding the city.

Get in

By bus

From Baghdad: shared taxis are available from Allawi North garage in Baghdad. Cost is 25,000 IQD for a seat (likely 5,000 IQD extra for the front seat); the driver will usually cram in 4 passengers before leaving. The journey takes 4-5 hours.

From Erbil: shared taxis are available at 10,000 IQD per seat. Journey takes 2-3 hours.

• 1 Garage Baghdad. Garage where shared taxis to/from Baghdad depart and arrive. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Mosul North Garage. Garage for northbound shared taxi departures, i.e. Erbil. (updated Oct 2022)

By train

As of 2023 there's no rail service to Mosul, rehabilitation is however ongoing and the government has promised to bring back passenger trains from Baghdad.

• 3 Mosul railway station (محطة قطار الموصل). (updated Jun 2023)

By air

As of 2023, the airport is closed and not expected to reopen within the next few years. The nearest international airport is in Erbil, 75 km east of Mosul.

• 4 Mosul International Airport (OSM  ^IATA). Closed as of 2021. (updated Feb 2020)

Get around

Travelling by car is the safest option for getting around in the city. Several bridges over the river Tigris have now been repaired, making the east-west journey much easier.

There's no public transport system within the city, apart from mini buses and shared taxis. Extensive knowledge of Arabic is needed to use these.

See

	Note: Substantial damage has been done to UNESCO-listed heritage and historic sites throughout the Nineveh province by Daesh extremists; much has been looted or destroyed. While some reconstruction have commenced, many of the historical treasures listed below are in a state of ruin (November 2020).

Mosul was rich in old historical places and ancient buildings: mosques, castles, churches, monasteries, synagogues, and schools, many of which have architectural features and decorative work of significance. The town centre was dominated by a maze of streets and attractive 19th-century houses. There were old houses here of beauty. Markets were particularly interesting for the mixture of people who jostle there, such as Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Turcoman, Armenians, Yazidi, Mandeans, Roma and Shabaks. Mosul also had a sizable Jewish population.

Mosques and shrines

Mosul is a treasure trove for those interested in historic Islamic religious architecture with dozens of mosques dating back hundreds of years. However many are in a state of disrepair or damaged by the war. Also some mosques might be off limit to visit for non-Muslims.

• 1 Great Mosque of al-Nuri (جامع النوري). Tradition holds that Nur ad-Din Zangi, a Turkoman atabeg of the Great Seljuk Empire and sultan of its Syrian province, built the mosque in 1172–1173, shortly before his death. the remarkably elaborate brickwork 52-m high minaret that leans like the Tower of Pisa, called Al-Hadba ("the hunchback"). It was destroyed during the last days of the Battle of Mosul in 2017. As of 2020, reconstruction efforts are ongoing. (updated Feb 2020)
• 2 Mujahidi Mosque. Dates back to 12th century AD, and is distinguished for its shen dome and elaborately wrought mihrab. Large parts of it was destroyed by ISIS in 2015. (updated Mar 2019)
• 3 Mosul Grand Mosque (جامع الموصل الكبير). A modern mosque still under construction on the right side of Tigris. (updated Jan 2020)
• 4 Mausoleum of Yahya Abu al-Qasim. On the right bank of the Tigris, known for its conical dome, decorative brickwork and calligraphy engraved in Mosul blue marble, built in the 13th century. Largely destroyed by ISIS in 2014. (updated Jan 2020)
• 5 Mosque of the Prophet Yunus. A site with a shared Jewish, Christian and Islamic heritage, this is the supposed burial place of Prophet Jonah. Located on n prominent mound just south of the Nineveh, the site formerly housed both the palace of King Esarhaddon (681-669 BCE) and an Assyrian church. However, a mosque was constructed on the site in the 12th century. The mosque was largely destroyed by ISIS in 2014, but parts of it remains. (updated Feb 2020)
• 6 Al-Raabiya Mosque. Built in 1766 with an impressive decorated dome. The site was damaged during the war but it being rebuild in 2021. (updated Jun 2021)

Churches and monasteries

View over the partly ruined Our Lady of the Hour Church in 2019. The image is indicative of the current state of many sights in Mosul.

Mosul had the largest proportion of Assyrian Christians of all the Iraqi cities, and contains several interesting old churches, some of which originally date back to the early centuries of Christianity. Its ancient Assyrian churches are often hidden and their entrances in thick walls are not easy to find. Many churches were partly or completely destroyed by ISIS during their rule and as of 2020 many are in ruins. Also, dotted around Mosul are ancient monasteries, some in ruins while others are still active.

• 7 Shamoun Al-Safa (St. Peter, Mar Petros). Oldest church in Mosul, it dates from the 13th century and named after Shamoun Al-Safa or St. Peter. Early, it had the name of the two Apostles, Peter and Paul, and had early been inhabited by the nuns of the Sacred Hearts. (updated Nov 2020)
• 8 Church of St. Thomas (Mar Touma). One of the oldest historical churches, named after St. Thomas the Apostle who preached the Gospel in the East, including India. (updated May 2018)
• 9 Our Lady of the Hour Church (كنيسة اللاتين). Also known as the Latin Church by locals. Built in the 1870s with an impressive clock tower, this large Latin church was partially destroyed by ISIS in 2015. The church has however been faithfully restored to much of its former glory. (updated Jan 2022)
• 10 Al-Tahera Church. A Syriac Catholic church completed in 1862, it was severely damaged in 2017 but has since then been restored. The church was built on top the Ancient al-Tahera Church, dating back to the 7th century but last reconstructed in 1743. The old church can still be visited, located three metres below ground level (updated Nov 2020)
• 11 Mart Meskinta Chaldean Church. Chaldean Catholic church dating back to the 12th century, latest major remodeling was in 1851. (updated Jan 2024)
• Mar Petion Church. Mar Petion, educated by his cousin in a monastery, was martyred in 446 AD. It is the first Chaldean Catholic church in Mosul, after the union of many Assyrians with Rome in the 17th century. It dates back to the 10th century, and lies 3 m below street level. This church suffered destruction, and it has been reconstructed many times. (updated Jan 2020)
• Mar Hudeni Church. Named after Mar Ahudemmeh (Hudeni) Maphrian of Tikrit who martyred in 575 AD. Mar Hudeni is an old church of the Tikritans in Mosul. It dates back to the 10th century, lies 7 metres below street and was first reconstructed in 1970. People can get mineral water from the well in its yard. The chain, fixed in the wall, is thought to cure epileptics. (updated Jan 2020)
• 12 St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis). One of the oldest churches in Mosul, named after St. George, was probably built late in the 17th century. Pilgrims from different parts of the North visit it yearly in the spring, when many people also go out to its whereabouts on holiday. It is about 6 metres below street. A modern church was built over the old one in 1931, abolishing much of its archeological significance. The only monuments left are a marble door-frame decorated with a carved Estrangelo (Syriac) inscription, and two niches, which date back to the 13th or 14th century. (updated Jan 2022)
• 13 Anglican Church. One of very few Anglican churches in Iraq. Badly damaged during the war but has since been rebuilt. Parts of the intricate ornaments remains. (updated Jan 2024)
• 14 Mar Mattai Monastery. Famous monastery is situated about 20 km east of Mosul on the top of a high mountain (Mount Maqloub). It was built by Mar Matte, a monk who fled with several other monks in 362 AD from the Monastery of Zuknin near the City of Amid (Diyarbakir) in the southern part of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the north of Iraq during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361–363 AD). It has a precious library containing Syrianic scriptures. (updated Jan 2020)
• 15 Monastery of Mar Behnam. Also called Deir Al-Jubb (the Cistern Monastery) and built in the 12th or 13th century, it lies in the Nineveh Plain near Nimrud about 32 kilometres southwest of Mosul. The monastery, a great fort-like building, rises next to the tomb of Mar Behnam, a prince who was killed by the Sassanians, perhaps during the 4th century AD. (updated Jan 2020)
• 16 Monastery of Saint Elijah (Dair Mar Elia). Ruins of the oldest Christian Monastery in Iraq, it dates from the 6th century. Severely damaged by ISIS in 2014. (updated Jan 2020)

Other sites

View of Mosul museum.

• 17 Mosul Museum. Used to contain many interesting finds from the ancient sites of the old Assyrian capital cities Nineveh and Nimrud. Some of the collection was spared destruction and the museum reopened in late 2020. (updated May 2018)
• 18 Bash Tapia Castle. Mosul's old walls have disappeared, these imposing ruins rose high over the Tigris until they were largely destroyed by ISIS in 2016. (updated Nov 2018)
• 19 Qara Serai (Black Palace). Remnants of the 13th century palace of Sultan Badruddin Lu'lu'. (updated Jan 2020)
• 20 Barood Khana. Built in 1843 as the headquarters of the Ottoman military. (updated Jun 2021)
• 21 Beit al-Tutunji (قصر مصطفى اغا التوتنجي). An early nineteenth-century historic house in that represents a fine example of Ottoman vernacular architecture, the house was badly damaged during the ISIS occupation but is being rehabilitated as of late 2021. It is expected to reopen as a museum and cultural center. (updated Nov 2021)
• 22 Mosul War Cemetery. British war cemetery, with victims from both World Wars buried here. (updated Jan 2024)

Nineveh

Nineveh map of city walls and gates, before the destruction in 2016.

Just across the river and ever closer to expanding Mosul were the great ruins of Nineveh, an ancient Assyrian city and the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Once the largest city in the world and covering an area of some 750 ha, it was besieged, destroyed and left unpopulated after the 612 BC battle of Nineveh. There have been repeated archaeological projects and some half-finished attempts at reconstructions, but unfortunately the site suffers from rapid decay due to lack of protection from the elements, vandalism and looting. Large parts of the site, including its walls, was sacked by ISIS in 2016.

• 23 Kuyunjik Mound. Ruin mound that rises about 20 metres above the surrounding plain of the ancient city. Today, there is little evidence of these old excavations other than weathered pits and earth piles. (updated Jul 2021)
• Nebi Yunus. Second ruin mound at Nineveh (updated Jan 2020)

The ruins of Nineveh were surrounded by the remains of a massive stone and mudbrick wall dating from about 700 BC.

• 24 Mashki Gate (ماشکی دروازه). Also known as Gate of the Water Carriers, this gate was perhaps used to take livestock to water from the River Tigris which now flows about 1.5 km to the west. It has been reconstructed in fortified mudbrick to the height of the top of the vaulted passageway. (updated Jan 2020)
• 25 Nergal Gate. Named for the god Nergal, it may have been used for some ceremonial purpose, as it is the only known gate flanked by stone sculptures of winged bull-men (lamassu). It was reconstructed in the mid-20th century. (updated Jan 2020)
• 26 Adad Gate. Named after the god Adad. (updated Jan 2020)
• 27 Shamash Gate. named after the god Shamash, It is the only gate with such a significant projection. The mound of its remains towers above the surrounding terrain. Its size and design suggest it was the most important gate in Neo-Assyrian times. The mudbrick reconstruction in 1960s has deteriorated significantly. (updated Jan 2020)
• 28 Halzi Gate. (updated Jan 2020)

Do

• 1 Spring Theater (مسرح الربيع). Partly restored in 2021, this theater and music venue is home to several performances. (updated Apr 2021)
• 2 Baytna (مؤسسة بيتنا). Housed in a historic house, this cultural centre houses exhibitions and live concerts. (updated Jul 2021)
• 3 Mosul Forest. Established as a nursery to produce seeds in the early 1950s, this urban forest is a popular for picknicks and hiking. The park was severely damaged during the ISIS occupation, but are recovering. (updated Jan 2023)

Eat

A number of restaurants, mainly on the eastern side of the city, have reopened.

Drink

Alcohol is not widely available but in the aftermath of the liberation from Daesh a handful of bars have reopened.

Sleep

As of early 2020, major hotels chains have yet to reopen in Mosul, but there is a limited number of smaller hotels. The landmark Nineveh International Hotel was completely ruined in 2017.

• 1 Al Habda Tourist Hotel (فندق الحدباء السياحي في الموصل), ☏ +964 770 453 9305. Resort-style hotel along the river Tigris. (updated May 2018)
• 2 Al Sultan Palace Hotel (فندق قصر السلطان), ☏ +964 770 006 6027. One of few hotels that is open near the city centre. (updated Jan 2020)
• 3 Al Safir Hotel (فندق السفير), ☏ +964 772 900 9299 (WhatsApp). Hotel near the old city. 25K IQD per night as of October 2022. Fairly basic rooms with small bathrooms (squat toilet, no separate shower) but comfortable beds. At least one of the front desk staff speaks English, but some of them don't. Bookable via WhatsApp. (updated Oct 2022)

Nearby

Nimrud

Former 3,000-year-old Assyrian Empire city first excavated in the 1840s as an archaeological site on the eastern bank of the Tigris, 30 km (20 miles) south of Mosul. Overrun by ISIL (Daesh) in 2014, historic sites destroyed in 2015. The Iraqi Army reclaimed Nimrud in 2016. The site contained the palace of Ashurnasirpal, the king of Assyria. Many of the artefacts are in the British Museum, London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York City or Iraq’s national museum in Baghdad.