Letters from Turkey (Moltke)

But while in Istanbul, he was requested by the Ottoman government to enter the Turkish service, and being authorized from his headquarters, he accepted the offer.

Moltke travelled to Istanbul following the route Ruse, Shumen (both in modern Bulgaria) and Edirne.

In 1837 spring, he accompanied the sultan Mahmut II in his visit to European provinces of the empire, like Varna, Tırnova (Veliko Tarnovo) and Silistra (all in Bulgaria).

He then travelled to Malatya in East Anatolia where he collaborated with the governor of Diyarbakır and Sivas, Hafız Mehmed Pasha, the Circassian, who was trying to defeat Kurdish rebel warlords in Eastern Anatolia and Northern Iraq.

In 1838 Autumn, he paid a short visit to Central Anatolia over Kayseri, Nevşehir and Aksaray.