UNESCO to revive heritage houses in Basra

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Director of the Department of Investigation and Excavations, Ali Shalgham, revealed that UNESCO started the restoration of heritage houses in Basra governorate through ‘Revival of the Old Cities of Basra and Mosul’ project.

The UNESCO is also working on a project restoring the walls of the Al-Ashar Canal in the Al-Ashar District in Basra which passes through the heritage area.

Shalgham explained that a delegation from the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage met with specialists in Basra Inspectorate of Antiquities and Heritage to discuss the progress of the work supervised by Basra Antiquities and Heritage Inspectorate.

During their tour of these heritage houses, they were accompanied by the engineering unit of the Inspectorate of Antiquities and Heritage, the UNESCO architectural consultant, the coordinator of the reconstruction project, the representative of UNESCO in Basra and the director of the company carrying out the renovation works of the heritage houses.

Shalgham confirmed that the delegation was briefed on-site about the details of the works of the first phase of the heritage houses.

Shalgham expressed his hope that the maintenance and renovation project will be completed according to the required specifications and before the deadline in order to protect these houses from collapse and make the optimal use out of it.