The Gülen Institute organized a cultural fact-finding field trip to Turkey in February 2010.
 

A group of faculty from the Rice University School of Social Sciences participated in this trip.

Historical sites and touristic attractions were visited along with Turkish Parliament, universities and social institutions. Turkey's biggest metropolitan city Istanbul, capital city of three big empires nearly two thousands year; Ankara, capital city of Turkey; Izmir where famous ancient cityof Ephesus is located and Cappadocia, one of its kind in the world were the destinations in this exciting trip.

The trip provided participants with an opportunity to meet with Turkish citizens of various backgrounds in their natural environments of work and living. Through unstructured conversation the visitors and the residents can learn about the ideas, perspectives and values of each other in a relaxed atmosphere often accompanied with various forms of hospitality.