Zebras in Egypt

Zebras in Egypt

It was a most pleasant invitation.

Sam (Samir) Metaini, a classmate and now a history professor at the University of Nevada was visiting Egypt and invited me to a roundtable discussion. The get-together included friends as well as a group of young university graduates from Egypt and the US.

Sam’s a special friend, so I made the extra effort.

Planning for Cairo traffic, I arrived downtown on time at four pm at the Diplomatic Club. The event was hosted by another dear friend, retired Ambassador Ahmed Soliman, a geopolitical veteran, having served in both the East and the West.

A significant crowd — more than thirty — had assembled before I entered the large, well-appointed conference room on the third floor. I circled a large square table with an eye-catching floral centrepiece looking for Sam and Ahmed, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was another classmate, Aly Shakankiri with his wife, Mona. She had been with us at university, but two years younger.

A happy surprise, Aly had been living in the UK for more than fifteen years and, I knew, had an established global business there.

An early investor in Amazon in 1996 when he visited Bellevue, Washington, Aly had urged many