Hellas Dam
The Hellas Dam is a dam on the Tiger River in Sayaffallah.
History and concept
After the revolution of 1900 the newly coronated Sultan began an ambitious slate of civil construction projects as a way of providing employment to the vast number of homeless and poverty stricken citizens across the country of Sayaffallah. One of the areas of particular concern was Lake Sayaff in which homes were raised on stilts to avoid the regular flooding that occurred as large amounts of water cascaded down the Tiger River from glaciers at its source into the lake below. In an effort to reduce the inevitable flooding that came from the river the Sultan ordered that the government look into methods of controlling the flooding and reducing it so that it would no longer be problematic for those living within the area of the lake itself.
The main proposal the came forward was to create a system of levies and canals that would send the water from the lake into farming fields several hundred kilomteres away with outflow from the canals possible for fields along its route. This plan however failed to address the alleviation of the flooding in the lake itself.By creating a series of canals it would simply lower the water level altogether of the lake and negatively impact the ability of the residents to hunt for fish and make their livelihood by the water. The Sultan however pushed forwards with the idea and proposed it directly to the people living around the lake but he outcry was too much and the people emphatically rejected the idea.
In response the Sultan ordered the construction a large scale dam to be put in place across the Tiger River to prevent excessive flow into the Sayaff Lake so as to ensure that the livelihoods of the people would be preserved and that they would be able to continue to enjoy the fresh glacial water from the lake without worrying about it being diverted away to other areas. To accomplish this the Sultan ordered that 10,000 laborers be assembled and transported to the area to begin knocking down trees for the project. In addition to this a team of 500 engineers were employed and began working to find ways of constructing the dam in an efficient manner that respected the resources provided.
Construction begins
Construction of the dam finished in 1930 nearly 20 years after the initial construction had begun originally and the dam towered over the surrounding countryside at a height of 55 ft (16m) and a restaurant and observation deck created at the top. In addition to this the Sultan had a large tourist lodge created along with infrastructure to support the creation of the tourist lodge. The project in total had cost an excess of $37.5M to complete and had resulted in over 10,550 laborers being employed in the project. Ultimately in the end the wooden frames were removed from the dam and cement was placed over steel beams so as to solidify the structure itself. On the outside a polycarbon coating was placed to ensure that the dam was able to withstand the dynamic pressure and regular volumetric pressure of the water itself as it pressed against the other side of the dam.
The lodge itself was built with an occupancy of 2500 people at any given time and the infrastructure built allowed for an annual staff of 300 to care for guests as needed within the complex. The lodge also included the creation and implementation of large hiking trails around the outside perimeter of the lake and an intricate system of boats to ferry people to points of interest along the lake. However all of this infrastructure meant a diversion of resources typically spent and allocated to the poor rural areas outside of the dam as had been the case for many decades prior to the dam construction. This diversion of resources eliminated direct accountability on a regional level and instead kicked the issued directly to a national level in a way that disenfranchised local residents. Many local residents left the region and instead traveled to other areas having seen the lodge as a breach of trust between the residents and their government on the national level.
Reconcilliation project
Mistrust between government and citizens is not a problem limited exclusively to Sayaffallah despite what some crackpot dictators around the world may claim to be otherwise. However within Sayaffallah mistrust is something that is taken very seriously by the government and after the hard feelings began to become apparent to those on the national level of government in Sayaffallah many began to wonder what could be done to repair the relationship between those who used to be residents along the lake shore and the government itself. It was decided to work to build affordable housing for them however during the preliminary study and commission that was assembled to explore the idea many who used to live in that area had found comfortable occupations and lodgings away from their old home and thus had no real interest in returning to the life they had previously.
For several decades nothing was done with the land surrounding the lake and may residents continued to leave. Within a 20 year time span alone over 62% of the residents left the area leaving the population smaller and dwindling in size and many of the younger residents were leaving at a rate of 80% each year to pursue careers and education outside of the lake zone. The government decided that with a substantial segment of the population leaving each year that something must be done to restore the land to a pristine condition for the sake of conservation and future enjoyment. The Sultan launched a nationwide campaign known as the "Preservation Plan" which among other things aimed to turn areas with populations that were on a downtrend into conservation zones still accessible to residents but aimed at preserving the natural look of the area being restored. Many of these areas were former industrial zones that saw businesses leaving for more urbanized areas and thus an economic downtrend started in the areas it used to exist in. These areas saw the creation of tourist infrastructure namely large parks and hotels within the parks and viewing areas from where families could rent for the day and watch the migration of animal herds through land that once cleared no longer resembled the blighted wasteland it once used to be.
The Hellas Dam in particular recieved significant funding to beautify the immediate area around the dam. The Ministry of Energy commissioned a study of land use for the acreage they claimed along the lake shores and soon began work on the beautification of the land. The total amount of land eventually included all of the land around the lake shore with grand resort communities planned and a monorail system connecting the outer periphery to the dam itself. The top of the dam project called for the creation of a shopping plaza that extended out over the surface of the water above the dam with a sort of resort chic atmosphere projected. And in the summer of 1979 construction began in earnest with large avenues built 12 miles out from the lake connecting planned communities with the large resort complex being built on the top of the Hellas dam. Construction figures ran easily into the billions as the Sultan called for private investment into the project.
By 1982 over 65% of the project was complete with homes springing up along the lakeshore in each of the resort communities. The resort communities each have a specific theme that dictates the style of housing and the overall atmosphere of the community. For example one community has a tropical theme and has seen large white sandy beaches created along the lakeshore for water recreation and hybrid palm trees planted that can survive in cold weather as well as the typical hot and humid summers in the lake district while another resort community was focused on an alpine theme with gigantic chalets built and an artificial mountain constructed out of boulders and steel framework to project the sense of an alpine setting. These resort communities all came at various price points with the price rising the farthest away from the dam as well as the closest to the dam with the most reasonable average price being for those homes nearest to the middle and central parts of the lake. In 1985 the resort communities were finished and the final construction for the resort complex on top of Hellas Dam was ongoing.
On June 1, 1991 the official opening ceremonies of the lake were held and fireworks could be seen ringing across the lake every evening for a solid month as each resort community held its own celebration to welcome residents in. Each of these resort communities are considered all inclusive meaning house keeping staff will wash and provide linens to each household at the beginning of each week and pick up dirty laundry and linens at the end of the week. In addition some homes have chefs that will cook one meal each day typically in the evenings so as to provide comfort and ease for the residents of these communities. A central elementary through high school educational facility was also built for the ease of educating the children of the residents of these resort communities.
