Mosul's historic heritage is staggering even in its damaged state. The city sits on the ruins of ancient Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire, and centuries of Islamic and Christian civilisation have left a dense layering of mosques, churches, shrines, caravanserais, and markets in the narrow lanes of the Old City on the west bank of the Tigris. Much was damaged or destroyed during the ISIS occupation and the battle to retake the city between 2016 and 2017, but reconstruction is moving fast and many key sites are already accessible.
The Old City is the main destination. A walk through its alleys takes you past surviving Ottoman houses with their elaborate mashrabiya screens, the rebuilt Great Mosque of al-Nuri, half-standing churches, and the heritage marketplace along the riverbank. East of the Tigris, the Mosul Museum is reopening its halls after an international restoration effort.