A Sign from Above

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I flew to Cairo to visit the new IH school that my friend Colin Davies had just opened in Heliopolis.

When I got into a taxi at Cairo airport, I realized that I had left the school’s address at home. I wasn’t too worried. I knew the school was called ILI and that it was in the suburb of Heliopolis. So how difficult could it be to find?

Cairo is quite big

It was difficult. Very difficult. We drove around Heliopolis for two and half hours without finding either the school or anyone who had even heard of the school.

I decided the best thing was to have the taxi driver take me to the British Embassy, way over on the other side of the city. Somebody there was sure to know about the school. Or so I hoped.

I’d just told the taxi driver to take me to the embassy when I noticed a sign on top of a building right in front of us. It was a huge sign, and it had a blue circle containing the letters ILI in white. I couldn’t imagine how we’d missed seeing it on our several drives along this and nearby streets.

We drove to the building, I paid the driver (a hefty sum, I may add), and I walked into the building. Colin was standing in the entrance way. “Hello, mate,” he said. “Excuse my dirty hands. I’ve been putting up a sign on the roof. Just finished.”