Shafaq News- Nineveh (Updated at 18:05)

Nineveh launched a plan to revive Mosul’s Bash Tapia Castle through a UNESCO-linked heritage park covering more than 9,000 square meters and reconstruction studies, the local government said on Wednesday.

The first initiative will establish a tourism, recreational, and heritage park around the castle to support the area’s urban and tourism landscape, while the second assigns the University of Mosul, its College of Archaeology, and the engineering consultancy office to prepare technical studies, data, designs, and bills of quantities needed to begin reconstructing the castle.

Dating back more than 1,200 years, Bash Tapia Castle is one of Mosul’s main heritage landmarks and historically served as a defensive fortress for the city. Its last major rehabilitation and restoration project dates back to the Ottoman era under Mosul governor Hussein Pasha Al-Jalili.

Ruwaid Muwaffaq Al-Laila, director of Nineveh’s Antiquities and Heritage Inspectorate, later told Shafaq News that the UNESCO contract covers a public heritage park next to Bash Tapia Castle within its historic boundaries, with implementation work expected to begin soon. An integrated engineering and technical study will also be prepared to rehabilitate and reconstruct the castle before work moves to the Qara Saray archaeological site.