Secret of the Evil Eye Bead

According to the beliefs in Anatolia, carrying a small blue bead on your person is an effective way to be protected from the evel eye. Small glass beads with this unique feature have spread from Anatolia, around the world. If your travels take you to the village of Gorece near İzmir, you can see them being made with your own eyes and get one to guard you against bad luck.The belief that various things are endowed with positive or negative powers is as old as the history of mankind. This belief directs people to escape or defend themselves against things that are considered harmful and dangerous. In the same way, this gave way to the thought that things that are considered helpful can be used to ensure health, happiness and success.

An eye for an eye

The belief in the evil eye originated in Sumer, Babylon and ancient Egypt. In these cultures, a blue bead resembling an eye in color and shape was used to ward off the striking power of bad thoughts, which are released through the eyes. In ancient Egypt, the Eye of Osirus or the Eye of Horus were accepted as the most famous symbols to protect against the evil eye. Among Turks, the belief in the evil eye stretches back to shamanism practices in Central Asia.Today in Turkey various things are used to protect against misfortune: horseshoes, garlic, eggshells, dried thorns, children's slippers, rag dolls, agate, tortoise shells, seashells, coral, black cumin, pebbles, date pits and of course blue charms...

From a folk belief to a handicraft

Small beads designed in the shape of an open hand or an eye are sewn onto children's clothing while adults place them on their key rings, wallets and belts. Larger beads are used for decoration. Today, to meet the rising demand, charms are made from plastic, ceramics or dried clay. But genuine blue charms made from glass are still produced in some villages in Anatolia, particularly in the Aegean region.

Where are genuine blue charms made?

In the Izmir area, five kilometers from the Menderes Airport, is the village of Görece, one of the places where very fine blue beads are made according to traditional methods. Making evil eye bead is a difficult business; even so the master craftsmen enjoy their work and produce four to five thousand beads per day fired at temperatures between 600-800 degrees. Traditionally, seads are made out of glass and colored with natural dyes obtained from cobalt, opal and zinc and fired in woodburning kilns.