CULTURE AND Traditions

Beyond tangible heritage, such as buildings and monuments, Mosul was also a centre for cultural heritage practices that relied on social relations forged in the city. These include festivals and celebrations, the development of trades and crafts, and food-related practices. These intangible heritage practices relied on key spaces in the city and its surroundings to sustain their development and repetition. Often, these practices were inter-related and reinforced each other such as the preparation of particular foods during religious holidays. 

Modernisation  and the expansion of capitalist practices and global trade has affected intangible heritage in Mosul since the 19th century. Particularly, the introduction of technology and foreign goods changed the local economy and communal practices that had relied sharing resources. Further, the religious diversity of Mosul changed dramatically over the past 70 years, through the expulsion of Jewish residents in the 1950s and later Christians during the ISIS occupation between 2014 and 2017. The latter also forced mass displacement among Muslims, threatening many cultural heritage practices in the city.  

Still, intangible heritage continues to be practiced in Mosul, however modified through the passage of globalisation and war.