Traditions & everyday life
Nazar boncuğu
The blue glass eye bead hung everywhere to ward off the evil eye.
The Turkish name
Nazar boncuğu
Recording on its way.
The story
The nazar boncuğu is a bead of blue glass with a white and dark blue eye in its centre. It hangs at doorways, on babies' clothes, in cars and on key rings, meant to catch and turn away the envious glance called nazar.
The beads are still made by hand in glass furnaces near İzmir, in a village now called Nazarköy. When a bead cracks, tradition says it has done its job.
At a glance
- Made in
- Nazarköy, Kemalpaşa, İzmir
- Colour
- Cobalt blue glass