SharePoint in the Middle East

I'm so jazzed about my upcoming trip. I wanted to share just a bit of my travel plans, and give a shout out to the user groups as well as call out the sessions I'll be speaking at. Hope you enjoy some points of interest on my upcoming trip. Hope to see you there. I'll be hanging out with Todd Klindt, Eray Chou, and Jerome Thiebaud and look forward to meeting the other speakers, MVPs, and customers.

Let me know if you're going to be there, and don't be afraid to stop me and say hi, shalom, Es salaam aleikom, Salaam, Ahlan or other local greetings!

Jordan SharePoint User Group

Muhanad convinced me with his 7 reasons Joel should visit Jordan.

Current plans are casual Q&A SharePoint Night out with Joel with Arabian food. I'm looking forward to the lamb and coos coos and steamed carrots and those soft pillows.

Meeting Details

Date: March 31, 2008
Time: 7 PM – 10 PM
Location: Reem Al Bawadi (near Amman Mall)
Description: Dinner and Q&A SharePoint Night with Joel Oleson

More details on the Jordan SharePoint User Group site

Israel Office System User Group

It was Avi (MOSS is my middle name) who convinced me to come visit the holy land and spend some time with MS and HP customers and meet up with the Office System User Group there in Israel. If TechEd Israel wasn't on Sunday and conflicting with the Dubai SharePoint conference I'd totally be there. Next year... put me in your list. Love to speak. Contrary to Bill Gates, I do need invitations to know I'm invited to speak. (Inside joke with Avi.) Would be nice to assume I can speak at any conference I'd like to. I hope to be getting to that level, but no guarantees :)

SharePoint Conference Dubai April 7-8

My sessions:

April 7

10:15 - 11:15 SharePoint Server 2007 Administration Fundamentals

11:30 - 12:30 Chaos No More: SharePoint Governance and Adoption

April 8

9:00 - 10:00 SharePoint 2007 Advanced

SharePoint Conference Istanbul April 10-11

My sessions:

April 10

10:15 - 11:15 SharePoint Server 2007 Administration Fundamentals

11:30 - 12:30 Chaos No More: SharePoint Governance and Adoption

April 11

9:00 - 10:00 SharePoint 2007 Advanced

Things to do in Petra, Jordan.

Treasury

The name "Treasury" came about because of a local myth that pirates hoarded their treasure inside the urn on top of the facade. In fact you can still see the bullet marks where the local bedoins tried to crack open the urn with their rifles. Inside the Treasury you won't find the Holy Grail, as was depicted in Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark

The Siq

The 1.5 Kilometer passage to Petra of what use to be a water channel dammed up by the Nabateans. Go early in the morning for the best viewing and for silence.

The Monastary

The biggest most impressive carved building in Petra. Expect a bit of a climb and a lot of steps. You might consider a donkey on this one (don't pay 35 JD, local guides can get them for 2). Donkeys and camels get cheaper as the day goes on.

High Place of Sacrifice and Tombs

View of the tombs from the high place of sacrifice. If you think you've seen it all with the Treasury and monastery there's more.

Dubai

You'll find the ski area in the Emirates Mall. Don't forget your gloves and hat, you rent everything else. 2 hours for 28 euros. Also Burj Al Arab hotel, you have to check it out. Of course, there's also sand bashing one of the more common things to do. If you want to see the city from a different view consider the helicopter tour.

Istanbul

Hagia Sophia