Slept through Adrianople on my way to Turkey. Passed through the
customs.
Country: Mountainous; little developed; no trees, but now and then
villages, with a few little houses, thatched with straw, and
scattered. For little stretches the country is covered with bushes.
Most of the country is uncultivated, but here and there you see a corn
or potato field.
The railroad is a one-track affair, with very few sidings. Service
very poor now, due to the war; long waits at the stations.
The people are poorly clothed, with gaudy sashes and queer headpieces.
Just at present they are celebrating some fast days.
The women work like the men, but always have a cloth wrapped around
their heads. We met a military transport; the men are brown and
healthy looking. Their whole equipment seemed German in origin.
Near the ocean, the farming is carried on on a large scale.
At the Bay of Kutshuk, I saw camels grazing, for the first time.
The ocean itself seemed brown, green, violet--all colors. At the shore
people were swimming, and there were two anti-aircraft guns mounted.
St. Stefano is an Oriental town in every sense of the word. At the
shore there are neat little European houses. Here, there is a wireless
station, etc., just as in Johannistal.
Then came Constantinople. From the train, you cannot see much; mostly
old, dirty houses, that look as if they were ready to topple over at
the first puff of wind.
At the station, I was met by several German aviators, and taken to the
hotel.
The evening, I spent with some officers and a number of gentlemen from
the German Embassy.
[Illustration: READY FOR THE START]
[Illustration: BÖLCKE AND HIS BROTHER MAX IN FRANCE (AUGUST, 1916)]