The Governor’s Decision

The Governor finally gave in. A representative of the British Government, who had been pretending to be just a tourist, could not be allowed to walk while his escort was on horseback. He quickly arranged for a man who owned horses, and within ten minutes, a deal was made. The horse owner was very nervous and afraid. He worried about the brigands capturing him and his horses, especially the Bulgarian revolutionaries.

Journey Across the Land

We traveled through a rough, barren landscape, with small, twisted oak trees everywhere. The ground dipped and rose, and although the view changed, it always looked the same. It was as though a powerful heat had burned everything away, leaving nothing behind. We crossed dry riverbeds, with no water in sight. The only signs of life were large tortoises moving slowly along the ground. We crossed a wide, dry river, the Koyundara Natural History Museum.

Different Villages

We came across peasants wearing black fezzes. These were Turks of Bulgarian origin, and they spoke a mix of Greek—a leftover from the time of Byzantine rule. All the Bulgarians in this area spoke Greek. Some villages in the region were Bulgarian and Christian, while others were Turkish and Muslim. The Christian villages were generally cleaner than the Muslim ones.