the king leaves england for the east of europe. on his way he finds it necessary to stay in berlin to undergo an operation for tonsillitis. while in germany he is presented by the german government with a specially upholstered junkers aeroplane, and discusses with professor junkers the subject of an airline between afghanistan and persia. from berlin the king and queen proceed to warsaw (april 29), and thence two days later to moscow, where they receive a royal welcome in spite of the anti-royalist professions of their hosts. while in russia they pay a visit to leningrad, where they witness the baltic fleet manoeuvres at kronstadt. the next country to be visited is turkey, which king amanullah regards with peculiar affection. at a banquet given in his honour at angora on may 20, president mustafa kemal pasha lays stress on the close ties between the afghan and turkish peoples, and king amanullah replies with a speech expressing admiration of the work accomplished by the president. from angora the royal party proceeds to constantinople, and after spending a few days there sail in a turkish steamer to batum, with an escort of turkish and russian warships. on june 9 they arrive at tehran, where they are greeted by the shah and his son the valiahd in the presence of large crowds. on june 16 they leave tehran for meshed by motor car, and thence journey via herat, farah, kandahar, mukur, and ghazni partly by car and partly by aeroplane to kabul, where they arrive on july 1, after an absence of nearly seven months. a huge crowd has gathered from all parts of the country to welcome them, and their return is made the occasion for great festivities.