Friendship truck that set off on August 4^th to meet with 2016 Turkish Summer School students with its first stop at Samsun, was in Izmir.

Travelling from city to city as part of Turkish Summer School Culture Nights, Friendship Truck brought together 80 students from 25 countries in Izmir Gündoğdu Square with Izmir locals following the programs in Ankara and Denizli.

Event organised by contribution of Izmir Governorship, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Izmir Directorate of Culture and Tourism, took start as Yunus Emre Enstitüsü students who receive trainings in Izmir Dokuz Eylül, Aydın Adnan Menderes, Balıkesir and Afyon Kocatepe universities and participate in cultural events, welcomed Friendship Truck in Gündoğdu Square.

Following the opening speeches by Izmir Deputy Governor Fatih Damatlar and Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Vice President Dr. Şaban Çobanoğlu, the promotional videos of Yunus Emre Enstitüsü and Turkish Summer School and videos of Ankara, Samsun and Denizli programs were screened.

Izmir Culture and Tourism Director Murat Karaçanta presented Summer School students with bags featuring souvenirs from Izmir's cultural heritage, and each student greeted Izmir locals and gave messages to support Turkey.

Before the competition “I Compete in Turkish”, host Mert Talat Dilekçioğlu held activities with Izmir locals and presents were handed to the people. The most exciting moment of Culture Nights program took place during “I Compete in Turkish” activity.

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” broadcast live on Sound of Turkish Radio which students both enjoyed and learned. Mesoud Resouli and Royana Alieva answered 9 out of 10 questions on Turkish culture, history, art and Turkish grammar right and shared the first place. Prizes of competitors were presented by Enstitü Vice President Dr. Şaban Çobanoğlu, and event ended with a group photo shoot.

Widely attended by Izmir locals, Culture Nights continued with a boat tour and dinner after the competition.