Mosul

Worth seeing in and around Mosul

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Library of Ashurbanipal

   The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian Empire, is a collection of more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds and in various languages from the 7th century BCE. Among its holdings was the famous Epic of Gilgamesh. Ashurbanipal's Library gives modern historians information regarding people of the ancient Near East.

   2.9 km · library · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Great Mosque of al-Nuri

   The Great Mosque of al-Nuri, also known as the Nouri Mosque, is a Sunni mosque in Mosul, in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq, famous for its leaning minaret, which gave the city its nickname "the hunchback". Tradition holds that the mosque was built in the late 12th century, although it underwent many renovations over the years.

   300 m · mosque in Iraq · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Dair Mar Elia

   The Monastery of Saint Elijah, or Dair Mar Elia, was located in Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. Established in the late 6th century, it was one of Iraq's oldest monasteries.

   5.5 km · abandoned Christian monastery in Iraq · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Mosul Museum

   The Mosul Museum is the second largest museum in Iraq after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. It was heavily looted during the 2003 Iraq War.

   1 km · archaeological museum in Mosul, Iraq · Wikipedia
5. 05
   University of Mosul

   The University of Mosul is a public university located in Mosul. It is one of the largest educational and research centers in the Middle East, and the second largest in Iraq, behind the University of Baghdad.

   4 km · Public university in Iraq · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Bash Tapia Castle

   Bash Tapia Castle, also known as Bashtabiya Castle or Pashtabia Castle, is a ruined 12th-century castle located on the western bank of the Tigris river, forming part of the city wall of Mosul, Iraq. It was partially destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in April 2015.

   1.7 km · castle in Iraq · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Mosque of the Prophet Yunus

   Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque, also known as the Mosque of the Prophet Jonah, and the Shrine of Nabi Yunis, was a historic Sunni congregational mosque and shrine, partially destroyed in 2014, that was located in Mosul, in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq. It contained a tomb believed to be that of the Abrahamic prophet Jonah, known as Yunus by Muslims.

   2.8 km · mosque in Nineveh, Mosul · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Saint George Mosque

   The Al-Nabi Jirjis Mosque is a mosque located in Mosul, Iraq. It is named after Saint George, known in Islamic tradition as Jirjis, who is believed by locals to be buried in the mausoleum attached to the mosque.

   300 m · Mosque in Mosul, Iraq · Wikipedia
9. 09
   Tarbisu

   Tarbiṣu was an ancient city about 3 miles north of Nineveh.

   4.8 km · archaeological site in Iraq · Wikipedia
10. 10
    Mosul Grand Mosque

    The Mosul Grand Mosque is an incomplete Sunni mosque located in Mosul, in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq. It is situated in the Taqafah district, bordering the Tigris river near the Nineveh archeological site.

    2.1 km · mosque in Iraq · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

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.

1. 01
   Great Mosque

   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.

2. 02
   Mujahidi Mosque

   Dates back to 12th century AD, and is distinguished for its shen dome and elaborately wrought mihrab.

3. 03
   Mosul Grand Mosque

   A modern mosque still under construction on the right side of Tigris.

4. 04
   Mausoleum of Yahya Abu

   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.

5. 05
   Mosque of the Prophet Yunus

   A site with a shared Jewish, Christian and Islamic heritage, this is the supposed burial place of Prophet Jonah.

6. 06
   Al-Raabiya Mosque

   Built in 1766 with an impressive decorated dome.

From Wikivoyage: Mosul, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

1. 01
   Spring Theater

   Partly restored in 2021, this theater and music venue is home to several performances.

2. 02
   Baytna

   Housed in a historic house, this cultural centre houses exhibitions and live concerts.

3. 03
   Mosul Forest

   Established as a nursery to produce seeds in the early 1950s, this urban forest is a popular for picnics and hiking.

From Wikivoyage: Mosul, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

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

From Wikivoyage: Mosul, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Mosul

Airports

Erbil (EBL), 74 km · Kirkuk (KIK), 147 km

Stations

Mosul International Airport, 4.3 km

• Arbil → Mosul

  81 km · quickest by road, 2h 23m · $7–10
  GuideToday
• Kirkuk → Mosul

  150 km · quickest by road, 2h 47m · $14–19
  GuideToday
• Baghdad → Mosul

  353 km · quickest by road, 6h · $32–44
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Mosul

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Mosul. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Mosul – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.