In April 2016, the author set off on a multi-week journey through the eastern part of Turkey. Driven by the fascination of the numerous sites of past high cultures, she was aware that this trip would also be heavily influenced by the current domestic political peculiarities of the host country. This book tells the story of a journey in a constant balancing act between curiosity, interest, caution, and travel restrictions in a region that seems to be more affected than any other in Europe by internal and external conflicts, ethnic tensions, and armed confrontations.