In his pants pocket, the Rev. Steve Morgan carries an eyeglass lens. Although it started as simply a broken piece from his glasses while he was on a cultural dialogue trip to Turkey, it has become a symbol of something much bigger.

Or smaller, he might say.

“Everyone looks at life through a lens, and no one can look at life without the cultural and religious biases (of their own life),” said Morgan, who is pastor of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Seneca.

That’s not to say everyone is biased, rather that no one can know what the outside world and other cultures are like because they haven’t seen them through their own “lens.”

Morgan, his wife Phyllis, and eight other people saw Turkey through the lens of natives when the group visited there in June. They traveled around the country, seeing sights and enjoying the culture, but also eating in people’s homes and fellowshipping — something tourists would likely never have the chance to do.

“It was an amazing trip,” said Clemson professor Constancio Nakuma. “Just seeing hospitality from people who have no reason to, except for believing that meeting together is the only way to move forward.”

Organized by the nonprofit Istanbul Center in Atlanta and begun locally by a Clemson professor, the yearly trip is by invitation only and is meant to promote dialogue among people from different parts of the world. Each traveler buys his or her own plane ticket, but everything else is paid for. This summer’s group was the third from the Upstate.

“When you believe in something so strongly, you can become a fanatic,” Nakuma said. “(The Turkish group’s philosophy was), ‘Let’s sit down together and eat a meal, and as we talk, you’ll begin to understand how I reason.’ And that’s how you move forward.”

Looking through someone else’s lens.

The group visited Izmir, where the travelers saw the home of the Virgin Mary. They also went to Antalya and visited a museum where relics of Greek and Roman gods are housed. They drove to Cappadocia and walked through caves in lava-created rock where some of the early Christians took refuge. They toured a huge, historic mosque that was formerly a church. They went to schools and businesses and media outlets, learning something new at each and every stop.

In one hotel, Clemson professor Cecil Huey saw a sticker on the back of the door, pointing the way to Mecca. In a predominately Muslim country, people need to know where the Holy Land is so they can face the proper direction during their daily prayers.

Every Turk who hosted the group in their home or place of business said they did it because they truly believe that these seemingly small actions can one day bring peace to the world.

“If you get to know each other, be a friend, it’s very difficult to be an enemy,” said Mevlut Tascan, a Turk who began these trips in the Clemson area.

One site the group visited that displayed Turkey’s commitment to intercultural and interreligious dialogue was the Garden of Tolerance. In the center was a lush garden. Surrounding it were three buildings: a mosque; a church and a synagogue.

The imam’s, pastor’s and rabbi’s offices were located next to each other, along a hallway.

“There is no way any of them can be going into their offices and not speak,” said Nakuma, who is a Catholic originally from Ghana.

The garden was a concrete example of how tolerance can work.

“It’s so exciting. When it comes to the idea of living together — respect — (the Turkish people) have done very well,” Nakuma said. “Noticing that it is happening and very concrete, you begin to believe that if more people became aware (change could happen).”

Although it’s just a small step, each of the people who went on the trip in June have brought back change, within themselves.

“You just realize that no matter how some people practice their religion or what kind of house they live in, we all have these basic needs — food, shelter, happiness,” said Michelle Strange, Anderson County community relations manager.

Like others who went on the trip, Phyllis Morgan said the changes are subtle, lending to conversations and open dialogue among friends and strangers.

In the end, the dialogue trips are all about faith — faith of the Turkish people involved that their actions will help open up conversation and change, which could in turn lead to world peace.

“There’s a certain amount of faith required, as an educator, that you are producing some benefit,” Huey said. “Most of your influence plays out in the future.”

Much the same as this group from Turkey, holding out a lens and asking people to look through it.