Bringing the Mudhif to Houston

Johnny Hanson, Judy Sultan, Rice University president Reggie DesRoches, Hatem Alfayez, Becky Lao, Jared Skok, and Necole Irving joined more than 130 other guests in the home of Reggie and Paula Gilmer DesRoches to celebrate the grand opening of the Mudhif on the Rice campus. The Mudhif, which stands next to the Moody Center for the Arts, is a replica of a 5,000-year-old reed building that served as a town hall, court, and gathering place in ancient Iraqi villages, and is the focal point of the Senan Shaibani Marsh Arabs project which includes community events throughout the fall. Upcoming programs include a culinary event on Nov. 5 in which a meal from a 5,000-year-old tavern discovered at excavations in Iraq will be replicated and a Family Day with free hands-on activities on Nov. 19.  Guests learned about the project and its significance from speakers Dr. Aziz Shaibani, father of the late Senan Shaibani for whom the project is named; Becky Lao, executive director of Archaeology Now, the project organizer; Azzam Alwash, and President DesRoches. 

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