The Great Mosque of Samarra's spiral Malwiya minaret - in pictures

The monument in Iraq has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2007

The spiral Malwiya minaret is a treasured Iraqi national monument, built in the mid-ninth century. All photos: AFP

Iraqis visit the spiral Malwiya minaret, a mid-ninth century treasured Iraqi national monument, within the Samarra Archaeological City, in Samarra, north of Baghdad, on July 26, 2022. - The 50m helicoidally tower of sun-dried and baked brick, modelled on ancient ziggurats that was built to symbolise the power of Islam during the Abbasid caliphate, was listed UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. (Photo by Ismael ADNAN / AFP)

The 50-metre tower of sun-dried and baked brick, modelled on ancient ziggurats, which was built to symbolise the power of Islam during the Abbasid caliphate, was listed as a Uneseco World Heritage Site in 2007.

It was built to symbolise the power of Islam during the Abbasid caliphate.

People visit the spiral Malwiya minaret.

The Mosque and its spiral minaret are among the numerous remarkable architectural monuments of the site, 80 per cent of which remain to be excavated, figures compiled by Unesco show.

The ancient city of Samarra is the only surviving Islamic capital that retains its original plan, architecture and arts, such as mosaics and carvings, Unesco says.

An aerial view shows the spiral Malwiya minaret.

Samarra was the second capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after Baghdad.

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