The skyscraper in the very center of the Venezuelan capital boasts a helipad, a spectacular view of the Avila mountain range and large balconies that are ideal for Sunday barbecues.
This 45-story building is not, however, a five-star hotel or a luxury apartment block: it is probably the tallest building in the world inhabited by the poor.
David's Tower was supposed to be the new financial center of Caracas, but it was abandoned in 1994 after the death of its builder - financier and horse breeder David Brilemburg - and the departure of foreign banks that had offices there.
Illegal immigration into this huge concrete skeleton began in 2007, which was turned a blind eye by the socialist government of Hugo Chávez, and now around 3.000 people call this tower their home, writes Reuters.
Work on the building was suspended in 1994, Photo: Reuters
Although many residents of Caracas consider it a den of thieves and a symbol of everything negative, the residents call David's Tower a refuge where they found salvation.
The tower - at least for now - seems to have escaped the violence and conflicts that have erupted over the past decade following the occupation of similar buildings in Caracas.
The common corridors are freshly cleaned, rules and a list of responsibilities are set at every step, and breaking the rules is punished by "community service" decided by floor representatives, who make up a mini-government.
"Without ethics and principles, nothing makes sense," reads one educational poster in the building.
By the time the tower was abandoned in 1994, the work was so far advanced that the first 28 floors were habitable, although the tenants had to fence off dangerous open spaces and install water and electricity themselves.
Families pay 200 bolivars (23 euros) monthly compensation for "condominium ownership". 24-hour patrols are financed from this money.
"It's safer inside than outside"
"There is more order here and there is far less crime than outside," says Tais Ruiz, a tenant on the 27th floor, with satisfaction, as she watches her children play from her armchair and her husband fulfills his weekly obligation to clean the corridors of the floor.
Like many tenants, 36-year-old Ruiz left her shack in the violent Petare slum in 2010 to make the four-bedroom apartment in the tower where she now lives with her husband and five children.
Teenagers chatting on the 10th floor, Photo: Reuters
The Ruiz's pay a small price for the space that was intended for a modern office with a beautiful view. At first they lived in a tent. Over the years, since the building has no elevators, they have carried bricks, furniture, water tanks - even barbecue equipment - up to the 27th floor, where they have made their home.
"I've never lived in an apartment before. It is very comfortable for us," she said. "We had to get away from Petara and the daily clashes between gangs. Once we found a corpse on the doorstep. Now we can leave the door wide open."
However, it is not always so safe.
A little girl died a few years ago when she fell through a hole in the wall. Police raided the building several times, looking for kidnapping victims, which made the building notorious.
However, the unique quality of the tower has attracted attention outside of Venezuela.
Documents and analyzes of this building have been presented at prestigious art festivals around the world: it even won an award at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012.
"Invasions"
Sentimental thinking about the tower might overlook the criminal activities associated with "invasions," which were common before Chávez but increased in the early years of his rule.
Venezuelan Commandant Manuit, who describes herself as a Chavista, led a wave of invasions in Caracas in 2003. She was arrested in 2004 on charges of inciting violence, resisting authorities and illegally carrying firearms. The rival leader of the "invasion" - who often clashed with Commander Manuit - was killed this year.
People who live near the tower have complained of frequent thefts, and drug sales take place under the noses of the police. Tenants admit that the tower has problems with crime, but insist that the criminals have been evicted and that the situation is under control.
The tower offers a spectacular view of the city and the Avila mountain range, Photo: Reuters
"Everyone thinks we are a bunch of thieves and robbers. We are not 'invaders', we just occupied an empty space," emphasizes 63-year-old resident Luis Raul Pinto. When he came to the tower four years ago, this former government official, now a taxi driver, was sleeping in a deck chair.
"Sometimes my customers look at the tower and say in disgust, 'Look at those criminals.' When I drive them to the desired location, I tell them 'Hey, I live in the Tower of David. I'm not a criminal. Stop by for a coffee sometime."
Jose Hernandes (30) said that he wants to move away one day. He sleeps with his wife and daughter in one bed under a net that protects him from mosquitoes.
From his apartment there is a view of the minaret of a mosque and of Petara, the slum where he grew up. The Hernandes now wear a tie and jacket when they go to work.
"They call me an invasionist and I work in the credit sector of the Bank of Venezuela," he said, and complained that "society hates us, the government doesn't know what to do with us."
Chavistas
Reuters reporters say the tenants act like fierce Chavistas.
The walls are decorated with posters of Chávez, above which is written "Eternal Commander". Some have his photos next to their beds. The former president, who died in 2013 as a result of cancer, has repeatedly spoken fondly of the tower's residents.
"Chávez's legacy is the values you see right in this tower," said Nicolas Alvarez, a 38-year-old filmmaker who entered the tower for the first time to teach a photography course. He eventually moved into the tower after getting married and having trouble finding a home.
"Chávez managed to preserve the feeling that we all have the same rights to live on this planet."
But the hierarchy exists.
Although it takes a lot of strength to get out, the top floors offer fresh air, without the smell of sewage that can be felt on the lowest floors of the building. And only those floors have large balconies where neighbors sit, listen to salsa or have a barbecue.
On the terrace on the 27th floor, a group of men play dominoes.
"Who needs 'Hilton'?", one of them joked.
Alexander El Niño Daza – from former prisoner to pastor
Most of the tenants are members of the evangelical church. Their pastor is Aleksandar Daza, a 35-year-old former gang member who became religious in prison. Daza, better known as El Niño (The Boy), led the occupation of the "Tower of David" in October 2007.
Daza carries the Bible with him and often quotes parts of it.
"We live well here. We don't listen to the sound of guns all the time. There are no bandits with guns here. It works here. Good people live here, hardworking people".
When asked how he became the "hefe" of the tower, Daza replied: "In the beginning, everyone wanted to be the boss." However, God got rid of those he wanted to get rid of and left those he wanted to leave".
In the first year of the "invasion" of the tower, there were frequent murders of rivals and some of those killed were thrown from high floors, like prisoners who were killed in clashes in Venezuelan prisons, where Daza spent many years.
From the dentist to the beauty salon
The tower also boasts shops, a dentist's office and a beauty salon.
Hulijet Tilano runs a shop in the tower, where she lives with her family, Photo: Reuters
Juliet Tilano lives in a small shop on the seventh floor, with her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law. They sell everything there - from bananas to Pepsi. Her husband, Umberto Hidalgo, charges the children 50 cents for half an hour of playing the "play station" on the four televisions in their living room.
"This tower offers various possibilities," said Hidalgo, who emigrated from Colombia a year earlier.
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