Today was a long traveling day. We hopped on a bus and drove from Istanbul to Ankara, the capitol of Turkey. We drove over mountains, through fields of melons, pumpkins, passed by fig orchards and rows of grape vines. Through all this scenery we had hours of conversation with our friends, new and old, friends of friends. There were stops for more
vişne suyu, but we had miles to cover, so driving was the order of business for the day.
We went to the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations late in the afternoon. This museum has a strong focus on paleolithic and Hittite culture with their goddess worship and their sun disc's. The former symbol of the city of Ankara was designed after one of the elaborate animal sun discs featuring a stag. The museum was organized chronologically in it's layout, we moved through Turkish history as we walked along. (more on this once photos are posted)
What doesn't seem to be explained in this cultural museum is the origin and phenomenon of the ever present
Nazar Boncuk, the Evil Eye Protectors. This symbol is everywhere, either painted on trucks or hanging from walls and windows, worn as jewelery, even our Turkish Airlines plane had a large one near the entrance.
The stone is an amalgamation of molten glass, iron, copper, water and salt. This particular combination of minerals and metals is believed to provide a shield from the forces of evil. It is believed that with the evil eye amulet you will be protected from evil forces, that all the bad energy will be directed to the amulet and it will brake. No bad energy will reach you if you have the Evil Eye protector with you.
There is an odd creation myth about it, involving an immovable stone and a man with a
nazar, but it still doesn't adequately explain anything for me. The evil eye is non-denominational but is particularly popular with Islamic cultures. Muslims claim the Qu'ran says "to seek refuge from mischief of the envious" but that hardly clarifies anything about the stone either. It's been a part of folk culture and mythology for thousands of years. I would have liked to see an explanation of this amulet in a museum of Anatolian cultures.