Friendship truck that set off on August 4^thto meet 2016 Turkish Summer School students and that had its first stop in Samsun, was in Izmir.

After its programs in Ankara and Denizli, the Friendship Truck that travels from city to city as a part of Turkish Summer School’s Culture Nights festival, brought together 80 students from 25 countries with the people of İzmir at the city’s Gündoğdu Square.

The event organised with the contributions of the Governor and Mayor of İzmir as well as the Izmir Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, started with Yunus Emre Institute’s students welcoming the Friendship Truck at the Gündoğdu Square. These students have been taking training courses and attending cultural activities at Izmir Dokuz Eylül, Aydın Adnan Menderes, Balıkesir and Afyon Kocatepe in Turkey.

Following the opening speeches by Izmir Deputy Governor Fatih Damatlar and Yunus Emre Institute’s Vice President Dr. Şaban Çobanoğlu, promotional videos of Yunus Emre Institute, the Turkish Summer School programs, and activities in Ankara, Samsun and Denizli were shown.

Izmir Culture and Tourism Director Murat Karaçanta presented Summer School students with bags full of souvenirs about Izmir's cultural heritage. Subsequently, each student greeted the people of Izmir locals and expressed their support to Turkey.

Before moving onto the competition called “I Compete in Turkish”, program host Mert Talat Dilekçioğlu organised various activities for the people of İzmir and distributed many gifts to the crowd. The most exciting event in the Culture Nights program was the “I Compete in Turkish” contest.

Mesoud Resouli from Iran, Maja Bursac from Serbia, Fidan Tahirzade and Royana Alieva from Azerbaijan and Hasan Mansour from Egypt competed in “I Compete in Turkish” which was broadcast live on the Radio Channel, Sound of Turkish. The competition gave the students a chance to both have fun and learn new things. Mesoud Resouli and Royana Alieva gave correct answers to 9 out of 10 questions on Turkish culture, history, art and Turkish grammar thus they shared the first place. Prizes of contestants were presented by the Institute’s Vice President Dr. Şaban Çobanoğlu. The event ended with a family photo.

The Culture Nights which received a lot of attention from the local İzmir people continued with a boat trip and dinner.