Ashrafieh
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Ashrafieh (ashrafié),"the high place",in Turkish and Arabic.
A very important zone in Beirut,the capital of Lebanon.
Ashrafieh like most other areas in Beirut and Lebanon in general,is build partly on a hill, and its well known steep rolling roads and boulevards make it very distinctive.
Ashrafieh,is a rich area,where luxurios modern residential appartements and office buildings rize along with conventionnal 19th century red roof homes and villas or the 1920th 3 or 6 stories architectures.
This combination of old and new makes the distinctive flavor of Ashrafieh,that is unfortunately fading away in favor of modern constructions.
The geographical limits of Ashrafieh are vague since the area was build little by little from the 17th century,beginning from the quarters of the Port of Beirut up to the hill.
In the 18th century,Ashrafieh was considered as a summer village ressort by the people living near the port of Beirut and its surroundings, like Gemayzeh, and only few families could afford having two homes in the city.
Ashrafieh hill,mostly held farms and culture lands that were owned by the rich families of Beirut.
Land owners built very big villas and castles,and soon the blocs and streets were becoming very classy and rich.
The Sursock Family wich had the most number of villas and castles due to its fortune, had its own block and streets surrounded by walls and covering a huge surface of Ashrafieh.The domain and roads were closed to circulation by big portals every night at 10.
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