Lucky me...

Every culture has a good luck charm, whether it be a four-leafed clover, horseshoe, or wishbone, there's always some kind of tangible way to ward off evil. In Turkey, it's the color blue, specifically blue eyes. People buy beads and wall hangings with a pretty abstract-looking blue eye on them which is supposed to protect one from the influence of the evil eye. (People with natural blue eyes, like yours truly, are thought to be naturally protected. Awesome.) These days the blue beads seem to be more of a tourist attraction than anything, but you can still find them on busses, houses, even the occasional necklace. And I got one on a safety pin in Cappadocia for free, so of course I pinned it to my purse. After all, it can't hurt!

Here are some samples of the charms I saw in Cappadocia-- there were a couple of trees covered in them!