Telescope? Did I order a telescope? Oh yes...

Ah yes...now I remember! I ordered a telescope in December of last year.
Have I received it?
Nope. The customs put me through hell. So I was forced to forfeit it.
Why?
Because they believe a telescope is associated with explosives, weapons and ammunition.
What the hell?
Yes, its true. They offered me a choice though. Which was very good of them :).
I could either go ahead with the transaction and pay taxes equal in amount to the price of the telescope and then pay a further pricey fee for a metaphysical test on the telescope which would then dictate whether or not this type of telescope was banned.
The other option was to disown it and donate it to the government. The last option which I initially decided to go with, was to reship it out. I though of shipping it to my family in the UK...but NOOO!!! It has to be shipped to the same country from which it came from or otherwise they will think I was trading telescopes. Then I discovered that to reship it out to the US alone would cost a considerable sum, let alone shipping it later to the UK.

It seems there is a lack of understanding. Everybody told us something different. A guy in customs told us to ship it to the US and on the way instruct the courier service to change destination at Heathrow airport and then ship it to a location in UK. This was complete bullocks. The courier service said to just leave the telescope at customs and forget about it. It would go to the government in the end. The official responsible for weapons and ammunition told us that the government will not leave it alone. They will charge us money for the space the telescope is taking up in the warehouse.

Its a complex world it seems. I'm still trying to ask to give up the telescope and disown it altogether. I'm glad the ordeal is coming to an end...isA

It was an unwise decision to order that telescope. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to order something from abroad to Egypt.