As you walk around Istanbul, there will always be eyes looking back at you. I wondered the streets with the popular American song, “Very Superstitious” by Stevie Wonder ringing through my head. Commonly known superstitions in America are if one breaks a mirror, or a black cat crosses their path they will get bad luck and need resolve the situation with different remedies. In Istanbul, Turkey as well as other countries, there is something called the “evil eye”. It is the belief that individuals can cause illness or harm to people and animals with evil if directed toward them. In order to protect people from this superstition, you will see a lot of blue circles with the shape of an eye in the middle of them.
This is to protect people against the potential evil by having an eye to face it back. In Turkish, these blue eyes are called Nazar Boncugu. They are usually found outside of homes, workplaces, on cars, or worn as beads. In Islam, however, it is believed that God is the sole protector against the evil eye. This belief within the religion may be fluid among different cultures, but I found this to be an interesting contradiction seeing that Turkey is a Muslim society. However there are other methods of warding off evil such as reciting different quotes from the Qu’ran or say phrases such as “Mash Allah” or “God has willed it”. No matter the superstition you believe in, friends do not let friends submit to evil. This blue eye is sold in shops all around, and it always makes for a nice gift as it brings protection and good luck to all.