They took my mosquito spray

Blue mosque

Just as I thought that my trip would end uneventfully, it didn't.

On my way home, I had to spend the night in Istanbul because my flight was the following day. I didn't mind. I always love coming back to Istanbul, it's such a lovely city. I was lucky that I arrived during the tulip blooming season. It's fitting since tulips were originally cultivated in Turkey and I finally got to see the city in bloom.

I showed up at the airport the next morning, luggage correctly packed. I know very well that dangerous items such as my pocket knife and my bottle of shampoo must go into the large backpack as checked luggage. I remembered to drink the last of my bottled water before entering the airport, confident that after all the flights I took on this journey, I shouldn't have any hassle.

For some reason, they X-ray all pieces of luggage upon entering the Istanbul airport. My small backpack that would go as hand luggage passed inspection but my large backpack was flagged and an airport official wanted me to open it. I wondered what that was all about. The same backpack with the same stuff in it had gone successfully on fourteen previous flights. What were they looking for?

I almost felt sorry for the guy who went through the contents of my backpack. I was returning from six months in Asia and my stuff mainly consisted of dirty and smelly clothes and shoes. The guy examined my flashlight, ignored my pocket knife, was suspicious of my lock. Finally, he found the culprit. It was my mosquito spray. Apparently it might explode.

Funny, I bought the spray back home before I left on my trip. It went with me on all my flights without exploding. And now, on my very last flight home, they confiscate it.

I just smiled. Yes, you can have my mosquito spray. I won't need it in the near future, I'm done with jungles for a while.