Almost all of the Armenians from this area have disappeared. Entire villages are uninhabited. Some of the houses have been sealed, but they are completely empty. Furniture and similar objects were stored in depots, but seem to disappear from there.
The Armenian quarter in Ismid was burned down.
In individual villages only children, particularly girls, were left behind.
Adapazar is almost completely deserted; almost all the stores are closed. Craftsmen, shoemakers, tailors, etc., are missing.
Almost all the towns must do without doctors, pharmacists, etc.
The silk industry, particularly in the area around Geive, has been completely suspended; the spinning mills are closed; only a few Greeks are still working, but they are also being treated badly.
Farming was also mainly in the hands of the Armenians. The difference between Armenians and Turkish fields is unmistakable, i.e. almost nothing grows on the latter.
Bildjik is a clean, small town with large houses; now, it is inhabited by only a few Turks.
I saw no acts of violence, but it is obvious that the people are given nothing to eat on the journey.
The Armenians are sent by train to Konia and from there on foot, "in order," as a Kaymakam said, "to establish a kingdom for themselves in the desert".
The Turks themselves differ greatly in their judgement of this matter. The population is hardly involved.
Some people say that only a few revolvers and hunting rifles (30-60) were found and the Armenians had had no revolutionary ambitions whatsoever, and the opportunity was merely used to get rid of them now that no other power can become involved.
Apart from the Russians, the greatest blame is placed on the Americans, because they incite the Armenians and also support them financially. The hatred against the Americans appeared to me to be greater than against any one of the warring countries. Robert College is described as being the centre of the entire movement.
I actually saw some Americans on the train who were coming from Anatolia.
The inner circle around the Grand Vizier is extremely chauvinistic; every non-Muslim is described as a "sales gens" ["filthy person"]; it was admitted to me that the Armenians needed to be exterminated to the last child, but it appears as if they wish the same for all other Christians.
"Turkey for the Turks" is a slogan: the Turks should do everything now. People complained that Turkish was not the language of business at the Anatolian Railway Company and that no Turks were employed.
The Caucasus, with a somewhat imprecise definition of its borders, and Egypt are to become Turkish.
The military successes seem to have gone to people's heads: they think they are doing everything and that they are Germany's saviours. Even the ammunition is supposedly manufactured by the Turks.
However, a great many people frankly admit that the deportation of the Armenians is, and in particular will be, a tremendous disadvantage for the country, because all the work is carried out by the Armenians: silk, tobacco, fishing, all of the trades, hotels, restaurants, etc.; even Turkish officers asked me to do something to enable them to keep their Armenian soldiers, because the Turks do not work.
The Turk seems to be absolutely incapable of continuing to work where the Armenian has stopped. All of the fields lie uncultivated, hardly a store has been opened again, almost all of the villages appear to be dead.
Admiration for Germany is very great among the population. The people come together in the evenings and a Hodja reads from the newspaper; all of the German army leaders are well-known. I spoke a great deal with the people and also visited schools and hospitals and distributed books and illustrated magazines. It seems to me to be very important that Germans, especially officers, go everywhere and try to make friends with the population; the people are grateful for every word.
Would it not be possible to set up cinemas and show pictures of the war? Every village has a large hall. It would be a great success.
Economically, a great deal can be done with this country. Grain, tobacco, sheep farming, fruit as far as Ismid, from there onwards a great deal of silk.
Excellent forests near Adapazar and Boli, often also coal, e.g. near Boli.
The Geive basin is very fertile; for this reason, there is also a great deal of silkworm breeding there. There are rich ore deposits in the surrounding mountains: I have seen stones that contained a great deal of ore. Coal is also found there.
The Sakaria River can be used for shipping, transporting wood, etc., especially for mills. There is only one in Vesir-Han.