Believed to protect people, good luck charms, superstitions and objects are among the oldest values of civilizations. With its thousands of years of history, Anatolia is also home to this great wealth of all these indispensable objects and traditions of the Turkish culture, in particular the nazar boncuğu (eye bead).
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Eye bead that protects against evil eye.
The notion that ill-minded people would reflect the evil in their heart through their eyes, and this evil would have an adverse effect on good people, causing them harm, is a broadly held belief that was also seen in the Egyptian, Babylonian, and Sumerian civilizations. From times immemorial, it has been believed that good, beautiful and successful people are vulnerable against being touched by evil eye. And to protect such individuals against the envious looks of the ill-minded people, which affect them, the idea of the eye bead has emerged based on the premise that an eye should be countered by another eye.
As they have been for millennia, the eye beads are still manufactured in the shape of an eye to ward off evil looks. No matter where you go in Anatolia, you will definitely encounter an object bearing an eye bead even in the most unexpected of places.
You are highly likely to see eye beads engraved on door entrances, hung on the doors homes, dangling on the rearview mirror of a car, painted on an airplane, on accessories, pinned on a baby’s dress, or attached on the collars of cats and dogs.
Regardless of their religious beliefs, everyone in Turkey believes in the good energy and protective powers of the eye beads this or that way. There are various theories concerning the eye bead’s blue color, which is believed to draw the evil looks to protect its wearer. Being an eye color rarely encountered in the Mediterranean rim, blue is believed to touch by evil eye, and therefore a blue eye bead must be used to counter it. Another presumption is that the old Turkish tribes admired the blue color because it was close to the Sky God “Tengri” and believed in its protective power. Eye beads, which have maintained for millennia their blue color and ocular form, were and are still being used to keep away the looks that gave off a bad energy.
Bringing luck, abundance and fortune.
Considered a talisman that is believed to bring luck and give patience and loyalty to its wearers for centuries, Fatima’s Hand is renowned in Turkey for its protection against evil eye. It is also used for decorative purposes on accessories and homes. Horseshoe, which is considered one of the oldest lucky charms in the world, is usually hung on the doors or entrances. Since its U-shape looks like a crescent, it is believed to represent abundance and fortune as well as protective power. Some people hang the horseshoe in their bedrooms against seeing nightmares. Considered a symbol of longevity and success, turtle is believed to activate positive energies while it is said that keeping a turtle figure at home would make a person a homeowner. Yet another object that is believed to make someone a homeowner is elephant. While this is a difficult one, 7 elephants gifted by 7 homeowners would make a person a homeowner. One of the oldest cleaning tools in the world, the broom is colorfully adorned in Edirne to become the mirrored broom. These mirrored brooms are believed to bring good luck and abundance to a household. Pomegranate also represents abundance and fertility as an object that also brings good luck at home and office.
In Turkey, anyone who leaves like water returns back like water.
An organic object that is thought to keep evil from homes is garlic. Garlic hung on the door to keep peace and positive energy at home is believed to neutralize negative energy. Furthermore, the ladybug is called uğur böceği (luck bug) in Turkey as it is thought to bring luck with its beauty, bringing peace and abundance to a home and making the wishes of the person on which it lands come true. And what’s more, don’t be surprised when someone splashes some water on the street right before it’s time to leave Turkey. In fact, this may be one of the most frequently actions you may encounter. Water is splashed behind the back of someone setting out on a journey as an expression of the wish to “go and return back as smoothly as water”.
About Turkey:
Located in the Mediterranean and connecting Asia and Europe continents that are separated by famous Bosphorus, Turkey is a unique destination that welcomed last year about 40 million tourists. The country that has always been a hub for cultural interaction and home to varying climates inspires the visitors today with its history, nature and gastronomy that reflect the diversity of civilizations for centuries. Located at the crossroads of cultures, Turkey has a distinctive understanding of art & fashion which is the synthesis of tradition and modernity and its extremely dynamic shopping & entertainment life also attracts the visitors from all over the world.
Photos and information provided by https://www.goturkey.com/. Visit the website to learn more about Turkey. If you have visited Turkey or plan on visiting leave a comment down below. Don’t forget to sign up for a weekly email from Ssouthernlifestyle to get all the new posts and as always have a blessed day!
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