Mudhif Reed Houses of the Marshes

The mudhif is a traditional guesthouse of the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq, a large arched hall built entirely from bundled reeds harvested in the wetlands. Its parabolic ribs are lashed together and covered with reed matting to form a soaring interior used for gatherings, hospitality, and settling community affairs. The technique reaches back thousands of years to the earliest Mesopotamian cultures, raised without nails or timber frames. Visitors to the marsh villages can enter these cool, cathedral-like halls of a living tradition.