Traditions & everyday life
Nazar boncuğu
The blue glass eye bead hung everywhere to ward off the evil eye.
The Turkish encyclopedia
Traditions & everyday life
The daily habits and old crafts that give Turkish life its shape — the evil-eye bead, the bath, the shadow play, the tea garden.
6 pages in this category.
Traditions & everyday life
Türk hamamı
The public bath house, a tradition of steam, scrubbing and conversation.
Traditions & everyday life
Karagöz ve Hacivat
The two heroes of Turkish shadow theatre, quarrelling behind a lit screen.
Traditions & everyday life
Ebru
Paper marbling: colours floated on water and lifted onto paper.
Traditions & everyday life
Mevlevî semâsı
The whirling ceremony of the followers of Rumi, turning in white robes.
Traditions & everyday life
Çay bahçesi
The tea garden: tables under trees, a samovar and an afternoon that lasts.
Questions
What is the nazar boncuğu for?
It is the blue glass bead worn against the evil eye, the harm a covetous look is said to do. You will see it pinned to a baby's clothes, hung over a doorway or a workshop and dangling from a rear-view mirror. The custom is far older than any one religion in the region.
Is the whirling of the semâ a dance?
No, it is a ceremony of the Mevlevi order, with a fixed structure and a musical form, and it is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. It is performed for visitors in several cities, but it began as worship rather than a show.
What actually happens in a hamam?
You warm up on a heated marble slab, then an attendant scrubs you with a coarse kese mitt and washes you down under a great deal of foam, and you cool off with tea afterwards. Baths have either separate sections or separate hours for men and women.