As sent from God, just in those days a well-known German priest with his wife came to Harunje, from there they were going to the soldiers' home in Constantinople, and I was very grateful to the Lord, who had arranged everything so well for me; for it is not okay to travel alone with a small child in Turkey, especially in time of war. It was then packed, baked and prepared in the best way possible; because you can't count on getting much to eat along the way at such times.
Just in those days, the smallest of von Dobbeler's children, a boy of 1½ years, became so ill, we almost thought it was diphtheria, because he had such a shortness of breath and the German doctor whom we called upon feared the same. We were in fear of him for a few days, but praise God, he got better, so it was probably only 3 days of sickness, and we were able to get ready for our journey with ease.
On May 10, we left by horse, followed along the way by dear friends and some of the flock of children. Little Fridtjof sat so confidently and firmly on my lap as I rode, he was only a little scared at first, later he had fun. After approx. two hours’ ride we reached the field lane and with it we drove down to Mamouré, from where the full lane begins. Along the way, we were lucky enough to meet a German General Counsel, who came from Baghdad, which was occupied by the English, and he had a four-bed sanitary wagon and was kind enough to offer us to travel with him as long as the full lane went. Like that God provided for us yet again so we could rest that night. A sister in the Mamouré soldiers' home was also so kind to send us warm supper to us in the carriage while we waited as we had no time to go there. The German doctor was pleased with little Fridtjof, who was kind and quiet at night, and found that Armenian children were just as good as German ones. The next morning, we cooked coffee on a stove, which we had brought with us and cooked up a nice breakfast from all the good stuff from our food basket. Along the way, unfortunately, the priest's wife became so ill from malaria; it was evidently from all the bumps and shakes we had from the railroad - for the Turkish servants had probably not learned how to treat rail cars fairly - that she was also suffering severe pain in the bowel. She and her husband then had stay behind with a German doctor at one of the stations along the way. Towards the evening we reached a soldiers' home, where we got food and shelter for the night. The little boy and I had to settle down in the large dining tent, where more people were staying. Fortunately, I had blankets and pillows, so we managed to get some sleep. Early the next morning in brilliant weather, we went on, followed down by 2 of our older boys, who were in the soldiers' home to help.
It was a wonderful trip that day. We drove the full lane over Taurus. It is one of the most beautiful and magnificent nature one can imagine. Gigantic high mountains partly covered with spruce and pine and then wild cliffs and canyons and deep down the beautiful valley. It was an interesting construction with many and long tunnels, the railroads meanders between all these high mountains and rises very high, you have the most beautiful views in many places. Little Fridtjof had probably gotten a cold, because he was not at all well the first two days and had such a hoarse sound when he breathed, so I was afraid that he would have a similar attack as the little von Dobbeler, but God be praised, he got better every day and was so kind and happy along the way. I don't know how I would have been if he had been grumpy. It helped that he had
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