The Secrets of the German War OfficeGraves, Armgaard Karl
History
The Secrets of the German War Office
Graves, Armgaard Karl
Germany -- Foreign relations -- 1871-1918
It may strike the reader as curious that I took Kim with me, but I
knew he could be of tremendous use to me in Constantinople. In
addition to speaking his _Kaffir_ dialects, he knew Arabic. Any negro
boy who could speak Arabic could learn almost anything in
Constantinople, which abounds in black men of all tribes and
nationalities. Among the servants of every household, Kim would find
many compatriots from whom he could get information, impossible for
any European to obtain.
After an uneventful trip to Constantinople, I took preliminary
quarters in the Brasserie Kor, a quiet, second-rate hostelry on the
Rue Osmanly. I went to an unpretentious place to avoid attracting any
particular attention. Had I put up at an expensive hotel there would
immediate]y bave been queries about me. Who is this stranger? He
seems to have money. If it isn't his money, whose money is he
spending? It is not well to invite a Turk's suspicion. As I was
totally unacquainted with Constantinople, I used the first week for
getting familiar with the geography of the city. It was necessary
that I learn the location of the various legations and the residences
of high court officials. The next week I found lodgings in the very
center of the district of court residences and began to seek out the
haunts and places of rendezvous of demi-mondaines, favorites and
hangers-on of the Turkish officials. On the second day of my arrival,
I had presented my credentials and letters at the German Pera
Hospital, and had my name entered as a visiting honorary surgeon.
Every day thereafter, rain or shine, I made it a point to spend some
time at these hospitals, and it was well that I did. Once a day and
often twice I would sign the book at the hospital and I believe that
the signature Dr. Franz von Graver appears on the record books of the
Pera and German Hospitals in Constantinople, at least one hundred
times. Was I not fulfilling my duties as a physician doing research
work?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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