Great Mosque of Samarra
This landmark is the Great Mosque of Samarra. Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil commissioned the project in 848. He and his workers constructed the mosque using brick octagon piers and marble columns. They finished the building in 851. However, the mosque was destroyed in 1278 during the Hulagu Khan’s invasion. The State Organization of Antiquities began a restoration in 1956. The current minaret is 171 feet (52 meters high).