The Evil Eye in Northern Cyprus: Why Blue Eyes Hang on Houses, Cars and Even in Walls

If you walk through the streets of Northern Cyprus and look around carefully, sooner or later you are bound to come across one unusual symbol — a small blue eye. It hangs above the doors of houses, decorates shops and restaurants, appears in cars, on bracelets and necklaces, and is sometimes built directly into the walls and arches of old buildings.

This amulet is called Nazar Boncuğu — literally, a «nazar bead». In Turkish and Turkish Cypriot tradition, it is believed to protect a person, home or property from the so-called «evil eye» — nazar.

Today, the blue eye is simultaneously part of folk culture, a decoration and a popular souvenir. But behind this simple symbol lies a much older idea — the belief that a person’s gaze can bring misfortune to someone else.

What is the «evil eye»?

The belief in the evil eye is widespread in many cultures of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and other regions. In traditional beliefs, it was thought that a particular gaze could cause illness, bad luck or another misfortune.

And it was not only the gaze of someone who felt open hostility that could be considered dangerous.

According to a description of the tradition published by Visit North Cyprus, hatred, envy and even excessive admiration could be considered causes of the evil eye. In other words, a person could be harmed unintentionally.

This is why the idea of a special protective symbol emerged — an eye that was meant to counter another eye.

Why does the amulet look like an eye?

Nazar Boncuğu is a glass bead with concentric coloured circles resembling a human eye.

In the traditional system of beliefs, it serves as a kind of protective amulet. Its meaning lies not in the glass having scientifically proven supernatural properties, but in the folk belief that such a symbol can ward off or neutralise the evil eye.

UNESCO describes Nazar Boncuğu as a handmade glass bead in the shape of an eye, used in Turkey specifically as protection against the «evil eye». Amulets may be used as jewellery or decorative elements.

Why is it blue?

The most recognisable version of the nazar bead is a blue eye with a white and black centre. However, traditional beads are not limited to these colours.

UNESCO documentation devoted to the Nazar Boncuğu tradition also lists white, yellow, blue, green, brown, red and other shades of glass. The main distinguishing feature is the characteristic pattern resembling an eye.

Modern souvenir versions can look very different: from small, simple beads to large decorative panels.

It is not just a souvenir

Today, nazar can be bought in practically any tourist area of Northern Cyprus. But its use is by no means limited to the tourist trade.

Visit North Cyprus notes that blue beads can be seen in homes, cars, shops and restaurants, as well as in jewellery. Cases in which a small eye is built directly into walls or arches look particularly unusual.

That is why, while walking through the old quarters of Kyrenia, Famagusta or Nicosia, it is worth paying attention to the details of the façades. Sometimes a small blue circle among the stonework is not an accidental decorative element, but part of a traditional belief in protecting the home.

What is nazar supposed to protect against?

In the traditional view, the amulet is meant to protect against nazar — the evil eye, and the troubles associated with it, including bad luck and illness. This is how the tradition is described by Visit North Cyprus.

At the same time, it is important to distinguish cultural tradition from scientific explanation.

There is no scientific evidence that a glass bead can physically reflect «negative energy», prevent illness or influence events in any other supernatural way.

Its significance is primarily cultural and symbolic.

Where did this custom originate?

This is where the most interesting part of the story begins.

The idea of the «evil eye» cannot be considered exclusively Turkish or Cypriot. Similar beliefs existed in various cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

However, Nazar Boncuğu in its modern form is particularly closely associated with Turkish culture and traditional glassmaking.

The Turkish cultural portal notes that the production of such beads traditionally developed, among other places, in the Izmir region. In the villages of Görece and Nazarköy, the traditional manufacture of glass nazars continues to this day.

Thus, it is more accurate to say not that «the blue eye appeared in Northern Cyprus thousands of years ago», but that a broader ancient tradition of belief in the evil eye developed particularly strongly in Turkish culture in the modern form of the nazar bead.

How is a genuine Nazar Boncuğu made?

A traditional nazar is not simply a piece of coloured glass.

UNESCO describes the craft as working with molten glass, which is heated in furnaces and shaped with metal tools. The artisan then applies layers of glass in different colours, creating the characteristic eye pattern.

This is why making nazars is considered a distinct traditional craft.

The tradition is passed down from master to apprentice. UNESCO notes that traditional production is particularly associated with western Turkey.

Is it true that nazar is on the UNESCO list?

There is an important nuance here.

You may sometimes come across the claim that Nazar Boncuğu is part of UNESCO’s intangible heritage. This is incorrect.

Turkey did submit an application to include «Craftsmanship, practices and beliefs of Nazar Boncuğu charms» on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. However, UNESCO states that the application was withdrawn by the submitting state.

Therefore, it cannot currently be written that the nazar bead has been officially included on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list.

At the same time, the tradition itself is well documented by UNESCO as part of Turkey’s cultural and craft heritage.

Why is nazar so popular in Northern Cyprus?

Northern Cyprus has historically been at the crossroads of various Mediterranean cultures. The modern culture of Turkish Cypriots includes many traditions associated with Turkish culture and the broader eastern Mediterranean cultural space.

That is why nazar has become a familiar part of everyday life here.

It can be seen:

• above the entrance to a home;
• in cars;
• in shops and restaurants;
• on jewellery;
• next to interior furnishings;
• in decorative elements of buildings;
• in tourist souvenirs.

This creates an interesting paradox: the same object can simultaneously be a family talisman, part of an interior and an ordinary tourist souvenir.

What does a broken eye mean?

In contemporary folk culture, you may encounter the belief that if a nazar breaks, it has supposedly «taken the evil eye upon itself» and fulfilled its function.

However, this is a belief, not a historically established fact.

Therefore, it cannot be claimed that a broken amulet really «absorbed negativity». But this explanation itself clearly shows how deeply the symbol has taken root in folk culture.

Why has the tradition survived into the 21st century?

Perhaps this is precisely what makes nazar so interesting.

Today, people live in modern homes, drive cars, use smartphones and work in the digital economy. Yet a small blue eye may still hang above the door of a new home.

For one person, it may be a genuine protective amulet.

For another, a family tradition.

For a third, a beautiful decorative element.

And for a tourist, an unusual souvenir.

All of these meanings can exist at the same time.

A small symbol with a long history

The blue eye of Northern Cyprus is a good example of how ancient ideas do not disappear with the arrival of modern science and technology.

Buildings, cars, clothing and lifestyles change, but the symbol remains.

It is a reminder of an old human fear of envy and ill will — and at the same time of the desire to protect one’s home, family and well-being.

So the next time you see a small blue eye on the door of a house in Kyrenia, on the wall of an old building in Famagusta or inside a local shop, do not dismiss it as merely a tourist trinket.

Behind it lies an entire cultural tradition — a belief in the power of the gaze and the desire to protect oneself from something people cannot control.

And perhaps that is precisely why one small glass eye has long been one of the most recognisable visual symbols of the Eastern Mediterranean.