04.11.2026 19:12
The National Intelligence Organization published an intelligence report dated August 7, 1933, in the Special Collection section of its website. According to the report of the Erzurum B Branch Directorate, officials accompanying two foreign botanists conducting research on the Trabzon-Gümüşhane line in 1930 returned because they could not keep up with the pace of the researchers, who walked 30 kilometers a day and climbed mountains. The report recommended that the two British individuals, who worked in Zigana for months, be monitored with the accompaniment of experts.
In the intelligence report dated August 7, 1933, published by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the activities of two botanists conducting research in the Eastern Black Sea region and Erzurum were included.
In the "Special Collection/Documents" section of the National Intelligence Organization's official website, an intelligence report dated August 7, 1933, concerning the tracking of foreigners' travels and research in the Eastern Black Sea region and Erzurum, was published. In the report sent from the Erzurum B Directorate to the National Security Service Directorate, MİT's predecessor, attention was drawn especially to foreign botanists conducting examinations along the Trabzon-Gümüşhane route and around Zigana.
THEY WALKED 30 KILOMETERS A DAY AND CLIMBED THE MOUNTAINS
The document stated that two foreign botanists who came to the region in 1930 were accompanied by an intelligence officer and the province's director of agriculture, but the officials returned because they could not keep up with the researchers' pace. The report used the expressions, "They traveled 30 kilometers a day and climbed the mountains. In short, it was not possible to scientifically reveal what they were and what they were doing."
EXPERT SUPERVISION WAS RECOMMENDED FOR THE TWO ENGLISHMEN
The report, which included the assessment that surveillance of foreigners' activities remained superficial, recommended that the work of two Englishmen who conducted research in Zigana for months be supervised accompanied by experts to be assigned by the relevant ministries. It also requested that information held by the relevant units about foreign travelers and researchers be shared with the intelligence service.