An area that still appears foreign, scarred by wars and disasters, begins east of Germany and stretches across Russia to the Orient. Navid Kermani has traveled along the trenches that are currently reopening in Europe: from his hometown of Cologne eastward to the Baltic region and from there southward over the Caucasus to Isfahan, the homeland of his parents. With an unerring sense for telling details, he recounts in his travel diary the forgotten regions where history is still being made today. Navid Kermani traveled on behalf of SPIEGEL from his hometown of Cologne through Eastern Europe to Isfahan, the homeland of his parents. The journey took him right through the Jewish settlement area of the Tsarist era, the Bloodlands of World War II, along the rift between East and West, where the Cold War is far from over.