UNESCO is pleased to invite you to the premiere screening of the documentary "The Lady of the Hour in Mosul” by Frédéric Jacovlev. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the "Revive the Spirit of Mosul" project, which UNESCO has been leading since 2018 to rehabilitate one of Iraq's most iconic cities.
The city of Mosul, meaning “the linking point" in Arabic, is one of the oldest cities in the world. For millennia, it has been a strategic crossing and a bridge between north and south, east and west.
The Our Lady of the Hour Convent is located in Iraq, in the center of Mosul.
Built by the Dominicans in the 1870s, it is renowned for its bell tower and its famous four-faced clock. However, in 2014, Mosul was under the control of ISIS. The convent was vandalized and used as a prison and court.
After the fall of the Islamic State, it wasn't until 2021 that the first phase of restoration work began. This project is part of the broader reconstruction of a section of downtown Mosul initiated by UNESCO.
The restoration is also a journey back in time to an Iraq where Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived together. It holds symbolic significance as Christians and Muslims are now working together to restore not only the convent but also the nearby mosque, just a few streets away.
