Building a New City?, or Living in a Construction Site

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Okay, I'm cheating on this blog because I live here.

Ashrafieh has converted from a posh district of the city to a large construction site. Literally, it's nearly every block that has a new apartment building coming up. What's happening?

At about 6am, small groups of Syrian construction workers start walking up the hill from Sodeco to various construction sites around the district. Each one in almost business-suit long pants, carrying his lunch in a plastic bag, heads for the buildings. By 7am, pumps are pumping, engines are humming, hammers are pounding, metal is clanging, dirt is flying. My once quiet apartment on a cul-de-sac away from the honking horns is now 2.5 meters away from a new building going up. All this continues through until 5-6pm, depending on which construction site it is.

For me, I wake up at 7am to the sound of hammers, metals, concrete being poured, and Syrian workers yelling. By 830am, I am at work, a building which is surrounded by three construction sites on three sides of the building. Something is grinding, hammering, humming, pumping, or otherwise making loud noise to mix with the honking horns below.

Yesterday, I was reading a magazine which said that most of downtown Cairo was built in the 1850s and 1860s. I instantly wondered if Cairo in those days was filled with loud banging and noises of construction, just like Ashrafieh today. I wonder if its residents were annoyed by the dust and disruption as we are today.

Are there that many Lebanese waiting for apartments who can pay ridiculously high prices for these huge apartments?

What will Ashrafieh be when all these apartments will be built?

Where all these people park who will move into the luxury apartments?

With the streets already packed at rush hour, what will another 1,000 or so apartments do to the traffic in this neighborhood?

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Photos

Construction site at my house
Just outside my living room window......which begins work at 7am every morning, including weekends.

Construction 2
Just to the south of my balcony. Though they are a few blocks away, the noise is still audible in my living room.

Construction Site 3
This is Place Sassine, where the cafe goers at Starbucks, Chase, and Colombiano can all sip their drinks and listen to the noise.

Construction Site 4
A luxury building coming up near Sodeco. Church goers at the church next door listen to their sermon with the clanking in the background.

Construction Site 5
A new luxury building coming up in Sodeco

Construction Site 6
Rumor has it that a 55 story tower will rise from this lot where once a small gas station stood. For the occupants of the office building next door, they listen to the clanking from this site all day while at work.

Construction Sites
These buildings are coming up near the edge with downtown and Gemmazyeh

More construction sites
Buildings coming up around Monot Street

Construction Site 8
Where the 55 story tower will one day go

Cranes and construction
Buildings going up around Monot Street and area

More buildings
Buildings coming up near downtown

Another building
Another building coming up near downtown and Monot Street