ORMER was founded in 2014 as Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Sakarya University and became an institute in June 2015 as Middle East Institute. The institute offers several graduate programs of study at the levels of MA and PhD. In addition, the institute offers a non-thesis distance education program that awards an MA degree in Middle Eastern Studies. The courses are taught in three languages ​​(Turkish, English and Arabic) by lecturers and researchers who are experts in their fields relating to the Middle East.

ORMER unites Middle East Studies in a more corporate structure. This structure has already become a centre of interest for many disciplines related to Middle East including Politics, Economy, International Relations, Sociology, Theology and History. This interdisciplinary mindset is able to provide a more viable and extensive analysis in both local and global scale. Additionally ORMER trains researchers and keeps the academic activity alive by MA/PhD programs and various events.

Middle East Institute advances both specialised knowledge and public understanding of the Middle East. We acknowledge the assets of carrying out inter-disciplinary and social science research, combined with real regional expertise. Our multidisciplinary nature is reinforced by close collaboration with departments and individuals in the region and therefore we recognise our outstanding potential to inform policy-makers and public alike.

The institute also aims to promote cooperation in the Middle East and between the Middle East and Turkey through:

• Language training activities;
• Publications on the problems of the region;
• Research collaborations;
• Conferences, seminars, roundtables and public events;
• Supporting researchers and students whose work is related to the Institute's activities; and
• The establishment of close ties with academic and research institutions in the Middle East and North Africa