Let’s be honest: holiday souvenir shopping is a bizarre ritual. I’ve never understood the urge to spend precious vacation hours hunting down trinkets for people back home. Think about it. You sweat in a crowded market, buy a plastic gadget, and hand it over to someone who has no context for it whatsoever. Best case scenario? It collects dust. Worst case? It’s secretly binned before you’ve even unpacked your bags. It feels like a massive waste of both time and hard-earned cash

When I travel, my philosophy is different. I only buy one meaningful keepsake. It’s a win-win: I get a beautiful memento, and I get to inject a little money directly into the local economy

On our recent getaway to Physkos in Turunç, a stunningly secluded HPB resort tucked away on Turkey’s Bozburun Peninsula, I found the perfect exception to my no-nonsense rule. Wherever we looked, we kept spotting the nazar boncuğu, those mesmerizing blue, eye-shaped amulets. They were everywhere: hanging in doorways, dangling from car rearview mirrors, and worn as jewelry.

As it turns out, this isn't just aesthetic decor; it's ancient spiritual insurance. In Turkish and broader Mediterranean cultures, the nazar (or evil eye) is the belief that excessive praise or envious glances, even totally accidental ones, can jinx your good fortune and bring harm. To counter this, locals pair a verbal blessing with a quick physical ritual, like knocking on wood or gently pinching an earlobe. It is the cultural equivalent of our English “touch wood.”

Naturally, I couldn't resist. We came home with a nazar boncuğu of our own

One other cultural difference, often in western society if something breaks it brings you back luck, with the nazar boncuğu if it breaks there was clearly evil around and it breaking clears away that evil.  It's breakage means it did its job. 

The Verdict

I’m still not going to start buying generic keychains for my coworkers, but bringing home that iconic blue eye felt different. It’s not just a piece of glass; it’s a tiny, beautiful slice of Turkish tradition. Plus, protecting our home from bad vibes and envious glares seems like a pretty great return on investment!