TNT History Travel Log: From Istanbul to the Altay Mountains (1911)/Part I

//Ed. note: Halim Sabit (Şibay) was a theology teacher at
a high school in Istanbul run by the Gelembevi religious 
group, which had originated in Manisa in the 1700s.  He
set out in the summer of 1911 to visit the Altay Mountain
region, the ancient Turkic homeland, and to revisit his 
childhood home near Kazan, Tataristan.  

Herewith, TNT presents the transcription-translation of 
Halim Sabit's travel log in a multi-part, somewhat 
summarized fashion, given its overwhelming length and 
detail.

The story begins with an introduction by the editors of 
the magazine 'Türk Yurdu', which serialized the travel
log.//



         Halim Sabit (Şibay)

The Journey

Last summer (1911), Halim Sabit Efendi, one of our friends and a
teacher at the Gelembevi high school, went to the high and fresh
Altay Mountain locales of  our most pure and healthiest Turkish
brethren, whom the Chinese and Russian empires want to separate,
along the important border there.  Halim Sabit Efendi would like to tell
our 'Türk Yurdu' readers about what he saw and experienced on the
slopes of  Altın Mountain.

So our readers will accompany Halim Efendi across the Black Sea and
on a fast train through European Russia to meet our Siberian Turk and
Turkistani Kazakh brothers.  Ultimately, in the midst of the pure and
bright environs of Altın Dağ we will listen to the epics of ancient
Turkish heroes and hear about the simple and beautiful life our
brethren lead out there.  We are sure that our readers will not tire from
the trip and be quite pleased.


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Toward the Altay Mountains

It was Thursday, the thirtieth of June, when I said farewell to my
friends at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon and boarded the Austrian
ferry 'Carlsbad'.  Since we were headed for Russia, where they are very
careful about travelers, an interpreter helped the aged Captain examine
my passport and ticket quite thoroughly, and interrogate me at the same
time. Waiting for the ferry to depart, I took in the view of the Bosphorus
traffic and noticed a Russian ferry, also heading for Odessa, on which
there were a couple of friends of mine.  

It wasn't until about 9 at night when the ferry departed.  We progressed
up the Bosphorus and passed into the Black Sea at about 11 o'clock.  In
the morning, I went up on the deck and looked out upon the quiet sea.
Whereas the Russian ferry was full, besides me, there were only 10 or
12 other passengers on board our Austrian ship. 



Dolphins raced alongside as I thought about having first seen the Black
Sea seven years ago when I first came to Istanbul to fulfill my dreams
of accomplishing something meaninful, leaving my family and friends
behind (in Kazan).   Now, returning, our ferry approached Odessa and
the activity on board accelerated.  The buildings of the city came into
view, as Russian health officials boarded and inspected first the
passengers and then every portion of the ferry. 

Next, customs officers came aboard and had all of our belongings
arrayed on the deck, lining up all the passengers and crew, as well. 
They locked the cabins and depots and had us all open our suitcases
and empty our pockets.  The beads and clothes I'd brought as presents
were taken away and I was only able to get back some of them by
paying 90% of their value as customs duty.  As for my books, they
insisted on sending them to the censor so I gave up any hope of ever
getting them back.

Finally, our ferry came to the dock, where Gendarmerie soldiers
manned the exit and called us one by one to check our passports.
After some questions we were permitted to leave the ship.

//END of PART I//