My Trip to Egypt
by Eman
When you think of Egypt you probably think of the Pyramids and the Sphinx.
But I am not like a lot of people!
When I think of Egypt I think of CCIEs. Really! I don’t lie about CCIEs, maybe the fish I have caught or the girls I have kissed but not CCIEs.
I was excited about going to Egypt but then I realized I would have no time for site seeing. I was scheduled to arrive in Cairo on March 17th and then spend the 18th at the Cisco HR Talent Forum there. I was scheduled to speak to Channel Partners about CCIEs Care and Feeding and Retention and then with the Network Academy student to discuss their career decision to become network engineers and the impact on the economy on their career decision.
So I was really surprised when Sam my old friend and co-worker from Bridge in London offered to be my guide to see the Pyramids. I was truly blessed by her call and her offer. Then the Egyptian Networkers contacted me and asked if they could see me to my hotel from the airport. It seemed I was experiencing some great karma or my luck was just very good.
So Tuesday I was met at the airport by Mohammed Moustafa and Wael Osama. Wael has an article in the March issue of the CCIE Flyer and Mohammed has been contacting me about their new group called Egyptian Networkers. So I had to tell the driver setup by Cisco that I would not need him and hopped a ride with Mohammed. He is real excited about this new group. There are only 66 recorded CCIEs in Egypt (according to the Feb numbers from Cisco) so for them to organize is a good idea.
So after being dropped at the hotel I was then whisked away by cab to meet Sam and her gentleman friend Mo, at the Pyramids. I have never been in traffic like Old Cairo and as I was driven along I was introduced to the sights by my driver Mohamed. He pointed out an interesting area off the main road he called, “The City of the Dead”. I was intrigued and I saw many very old structures and castle looking buildings there as well.
I had a fabulous afternoon at the pyramids and a once in a lifetime adventure, care of Sam and Mo. The trip was a real treat and one I will never forget. Of all the places in the world I could imagine recruiting I never once expected being in the shadow of the pyramids and in the lap of history.
On the ride back to the hotel I asked the driver to make a detour through the City of the Dead. I could not help but wonder about what I would find in a neighborhood which was basically a graveyard. The custom is that some families that can afford it build a structure as part of the gravesite. The structure is basically like a small one room apartment where the family can spend a prolonged time with the deceased. These structures are guarded by a padlock on their doors and when one looks as if it has not been visited for a long period of time, poor families would break the locks and move in. Some of the structures were elaborate and others were considered sacred, yet there were a large number of these apartments turned into homes. I was told by my driver that not many Westerners ask to see this place. I really surprised him when I got out and wandered around with Sam and Mo!
So it was back to the hotel where I was picked up again by Mohammed and Wael then taken to a mountain top restaurant overlooking Cairo with a vista that included the palace of Mohammed Ali. It was night so I was not able to see the pyramids but I could feel their presence. Sounds nuts but I knew where they were and I swear I could feel their presence out there in the distance. I get emotional about a lot of things but mostly those feelings are reserved for family and friends, yet the networker community I have become a part of on my journey has brought with it personal relationships. These relationships have been a blessing and recruiting is not normally done like this. The evening was filled with laughter and food. I was surprised to find over 30 CCIEs and network engineers waiting for my arrival that night. I was seated on a raised area facing a long table that sat 20 of the great folks that had come. There were two other tables also filled with Egyptian Networkers.
The evening was used to launch a new group called Egyptian Networkers and hosting me as their special guest was the beginning of what I think will be a great organization. So even though my ego could quench itself for a decade on the thought that they had gathered to meet me, I know Wael, Mohammed and Munir had been planning the creation and launching of this group for a long time. So I am dedicating a page in future CCIE Flyers for announcements from the group as they gather and share details. I have begun sending future CCIEs to the group to become a part of it from the Network Academy. This will help the upstarts with their careers, I am certain.
That night I slept like a baby after 12 hours of flying and a day of adventure!
The next morning it was off to the Cisco HR Talent Forum at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport. This is also the home of the Cisco Network Academy in Cairo. The venue this day had Cisco Channel Partners and the Network Academy students with various speakers and presenters. I was fortunate enough to have a chance to speak to both groups. The day went long and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and speaking with many of the 100 Network Academy students one-on-one. I was asked many questions about various career concerns and the economic impact on networkers. There was also a career fair with interviews held by many of the attending partners.
Very notable for me was the meeting I had with a pair of Libyan Cisco Channel Partners. Libya is a country that is rich in revenues but poor in technology. After 25 years of embargos from the United States and other countries, Libya is in need of technological support. So after the lifting of sanctions Libya has emerged as a country unaffected by the economic down turn for the most part. The need for technology resources has created a great opportunity for members of my CCIE network to locate some very good roles. History is being made with the effort to bring this country on-line and into the data age. I was asked by several Cisco Channels to help provide CCIEs and other resources to help in this historic cause. How often will a CCIE get to build the infrastructure of an entire country and connect it to the world? This will look good on a few of my networks members’ resumes!
I think flying to Tripoli is in my future!
After the sessions I was pleased to find myself once again outside of the hotel and away from any responsibilities. I went shopping in a bazaar in old Cairo. The shopping trip there was memorable.
I left the bazaar for the Nile River and yet another truly great experience. I went to the Blue Nile a large ship that contains several restaurants and clubs floating in the Nile River. We ate great Egyptian food and listened to live music. I received a call from my friends from Libya who had a chance to rest up and wanted to meet with me to discuss CCIEs who want to work in their country. So I invited them to join me and my party at the Blue Nile. When they arrived I was in the Club Morocco, a disco onboard.
WOW! Let me check off my bucket list here. Pyramids, Sphinx, Cairo, the Nile River, the City of the Dead, a Disco, and nearly half the population of CCIEs in a country meeting me for diner! (I guess the disco was pushing it, but disco with Libyans? Who’d a thunk it?) I guess I can just throw dirt over myself now and just die.
There was still more to my night. I was treated to a cab ride with a driver who I could not communicate with. This ride took me face to face with automatic weapon toting gents with road block duty meant to scare the be-Jesus out of a hapless tourist like me. But somehow I survived to tell the tale.
Get back to work damn it!
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