Troy art teacher tours Turkey

A Troy art teacher spent two weeks in Turkey, seeing the sights and learning about the history of the country. She has come back and wishes to tell everyone about the country’s historical, cultural and economical significance in the world today.

Jeanie Palmer was selected to be one of 48 middle and high school social science teachers on a teacher study tour to Turkey from Jul. 22 to Aug. 4, organized and sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Foundation as part of their Spotlight on Turkey program.

Representatives of the Turkish Cultural Foundation selected the Montana chapter of the World Affairs Councils of America to send teachers to Turkey. Their goal was to inform people in the United States of Turkey’s importance.

The program was originally only meant for social studies and history teachers, but Palmer was selected due to her subject matter. As an art teacher, Palmer teaches the history, nationality and culture of many different art styles in addition to the techniques inherent in the styles. The council made an exception for her.

“They seemed to understand that art teachers are teachers of culture,” said Palmer.

In the end, Palmer got to go to Turkey with her colleague, Kelly Elder, who provided many of the photographs from the trip.

Palmer’s trip took her through multiple regions of Turkey, including Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, Cappadocia, Bursa and Turkey’s capital, Ankara. During the trip, Palmer saw many of Turkey’s historic sights, including the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.

Palmer also experienced a few of Turkey’s attractions. One morning, she got to go up in one of only 100 hot air balloons allowed to grace the skies of Cappadocia.

“Turkey is a fascinating, enchanting and incredibly complex place,” said Palmer. “The intricacy of the culture is amazing to see.”

Palmer cited some of the ruins that she had seen throughout the country. Many of the ruins in Turkey are as old as Gobeleki Tepi, one of the few sights that Palmer did not get to see.

Palmer teaches art at Troy High School to grades seven through 12.

Part of Palmer’s application for the trip required that she outline a lesson plan based on her trip. She plans to have a unit on glazing, Turkish shadow puppetry and a Turkish paper art style called “ebru,” or “marbling,” which involves painting on water.

Palmer took interest in visiting Turkey after being urged to go by another teacher named Nia Vestal. 

“If Turkey is not on your bucket list, it definitely should be,” said Palmer.

Palmer will give a presentation on her trip at the Northwest Music Coffee House in Troy, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.