The events unfold in 1919–1920, after the First World War, on a journey from Batumi through Constantinople to Smyrna. The traveler observes Armenian communities marked by war, displacement, and loss, while becoming acquainted with their daily life, culture, and social world. Against the setting of port cities and the postwar East, the text reflects on national memory, human character, literature, and the place of Armenians among neighboring peoples.