a house made out of straw sitting on top of a lake

The Mesopotamian Marshlands in modern day Southern Iraq. These reed houses and tribal halls known as "Mudhifs" were invented by the Ancient Sumerians, dating back to 5,000 B.C. using the reed's from that grow along the banks of the Tigris & Euphrates river. The Sumerians are the indigenous inhabitants of the Mesopotamian Marshes and for the last 5,000 years they have been inhabited by the Iraqi Marsh Arab people, who are the direct descendant's of the Ancient Sumerians. Today, the Iraqi Marsh Arabs are the only people who know the ancient technique of building reed houses and Mudhifs.