“We are sitting with a German friend, a professor at a Russian university on a scientific trip, in some cafe in Constantinople. The boredom is terrible; voiceless singers, hoarse "dizezki", ladies' orchestra aus Wien, some in the forest, some for firewood. In Constantinople in the evenings, a tourist has nowhere to go: the day is very interesting - at least for a hunter of antiquity, Byzantine and Asian history, and at night, if you are spoiled by pleasures, sleep better - you still won’t find anything worthwhile...”