Mosul celebrates traditional spring festival
MOSUL, Iraq - Iraq is reviving the Mosul Spring Festival which used to once be the symbol of the city, known as the city of two springs.
The festival began in 1969 and was held annually to welcome the spring but was interrupted by different waves of conflict that impacted the city.
Iraq’s ministry of culture is seeking to highlight the activities that existed before the city’s security was deteriorated.
“The efforts of Nineveh people are visibly clear, reconstruction efforts are visibly clear”, Speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi told Rudaw’s Lamia Rasul on Sunday.
Halbousi was present at the event in Mosul and praised the city’s people of working towards its reconstruction and restoration, adding that the event was the “best proof” showcasing this.
“The size and magnitude of the damage and destruction that befell its city is massive,” the parliament speaker added.
The Islamic State (ISIS) first swept through Iraq in 2014, capturing cities across northern and central Iraq, including Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of Nineveh province, where the group declared its so-called caliphate.
Mosul was severely damaged and some neighborhoods were all but demolished during an offensive by Iraqi, Kurdish, and global coalition forces to retake the city. Control was finally taken from the terrorist group in the summer of 2017.
The Mosul Spring Festival will last for two days and will include various artistic and cultural activities.
The festival began in 1969 and was held annually to welcome the spring but was interrupted by different waves of conflict that impacted the city.
Iraq’s ministry of culture is seeking to highlight the activities that existed before the city’s security was deteriorated.
“The efforts of Nineveh people are visibly clear, reconstruction efforts are visibly clear”, Speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi told Rudaw’s Lamia Rasul on Sunday.
Halbousi was present at the event in Mosul and praised the city’s people of working towards its reconstruction and restoration, adding that the event was the “best proof” showcasing this.
“The size and magnitude of the damage and destruction that befell its city is massive,” the parliament speaker added.
The Islamic State (ISIS) first swept through Iraq in 2014, capturing cities across northern and central Iraq, including Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of Nineveh province, where the group declared its so-called caliphate.
Mosul was severely damaged and some neighborhoods were all but demolished during an offensive by Iraqi, Kurdish, and global coalition forces to retake the city. Control was finally taken from the terrorist group in the summer of 2017.
The Mosul Spring Festival will last for two days and will include various artistic and cultural activities.