Sidon Lebanon صيدا - لبنان

Sidon or Saida, is the third largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate on the Mediterranean coast about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. It is a city of 200,000 inhabitants. Sidon has been inhabited since 4000 BC and perhaps as early as Neolithic times (4000 - 6000 BC). It was one of the most important Phoenician cities and may have been the oldest. From here and other ports a great Mediterranean commercial empire was founded. Homer praised the skill of its craftsmen in producing glass, purple dyes and the art of embroidery. Sidon until 1900 was a small fishing town of 10,000 inhabitants. Studies in 2000 showed a population of 65,000 in the city and around 200,000 in the metropolitan area. The little level land around the city is used for cultivation of wheat, vegetables and fruits, especially citrus, bananas and other Mediterranean fruits.

I spent an afternoon walking around the old part of the city, the old market place and the seaside accompanied by my little Canon G10 camera.

Text from wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidon

http://www.saidon.com/

 

Al-Hamra Tower ... Kuwait

The Al Hamra Tower is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in downtown Kuwait City, Kuwait. Designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the tower will become the tallest building in Kuwait on completion in 2010 at 412 m (1,352 ft). It will also be the tallest sculpted tower in the world.

Owner :AL-JAL Real Estate Services Co
Location : Al-Magwa’a Al-Shargi,Kuwait City
Floors/Hight : 77F / 412M
Construction Start : late 2005
Construction End : 2010

Al Hamra Project is an integrated mix use development
of shopping center and office tower situated in the heart of
Kuwait City.

Location:
Al Hamra Center is located on the Al Hamra & Firdous Cinema land in
Al-Magwa’a Al-Shargi of Kuwait City, on the intersection of Al-Shuhada’a
(Al-Hilali previously) and Jaber Al-Mubarak streets .The land's gross area
10.978 Sqm, in addition to 7.000 Sqm which will be used to erect a
multi-story car parking structure .

Lifestyle Shopping Center:
Al Hamra Lifestyle Shopping Center is a unique mixture of high end quality
retail shops, cafes, restaurants, food court, cinemas and entertainment areas,
spread over four floors on Level 1, 2, 3 and Basement-1.

Premiere Class A Office Tower:
Reaching 70 stories with a net office leasable area of 77000 Sqm , divided
between the different levels into 195 offices (Apprx) ranging from 200 to 1500
square meters. The offices will be “Smart & Hi Tech offices” in multinational
standards equipped with fiber optic cabling, advanced security systems and
IP telephony system.

Plaza Area:

6000 Sqm landscaped plaza is Located in front of the mall at the intersection
of Al-Shuhada'a & Jaber Al-Mubarak streets. This will be a central gathering
point since it is uniquely designed with soft landscaping, marble & unique
water features.

Multi-story Car Park:
Building will consist of 7 stories and basement Level 2 of car park at a 1,800
parking stall capacity, and a built up area of 53,976 Sqm.
Bridges connecting the mall with the parking structure are located at multiple
levels to facilitate the movements of customers.

*Text from various internet sites.

Al Hamra Tower Website: http://www.alhamra.com.kw/ 

*Many thanks to Mr. Khalid Al-Othman, Vice Chairman / CEO AL-JAL Real Estate Services Co. and his staff for their hospitality and support.

Thanks to dear friend Mr. Abdulmajeed Alshatti who made this possible.

*This is not meant to be a documentation of the project. It's no more than a personal visual impression of the great landmark.