The life of every Ottoman—from the poorest porter to the most noble pasha—was literally steeped in superstition. And although Islam strictly rejects any form of witchcraft, the people’s belief in the supernatural was stronger than any prohibition.
The Ottomans lived in constant proximity to the invisible world. Every shadow in a corner, every strange sound in the silence was perceived as the machinations of jinn. It was believed that these capricious and often malicious creatures adored stagnant water. The most dangerous places were considered to be hammams and, oddly enough, toilets. Upon entering, a person would whisper prayers, hoping not to disturb the invisible inhabitants of the damp twilight, for a single careless step could bring illness or madness upon the daredevil.
Protection Through Words
But the main phobia that united all the inhabitants of the empire was the “nazar”—the evil eye. The Ottomans believed that a single careless glance, filled with envy or even excessive admiration, could ruin a child, wither a fruit tree, or burn a shop to the ground.
How, then, did those who felt defenseless against this evil force protect themselves? Their main weapon was… the word. In those days, a book in Arabic was considered a sacred artifact in and of itself. Many peasants were illiterate, so any manuscript with cursive script seemed to them like a fragment of the Quran—a direct link to heavenly protection. Such books were carefully packed into embroidered pouches and carried over the shoulder as the most reliable talisman.
Those who were poorer turned to healers or literate calligraphers. For a modest fee, they would write verses from the Quran on narrow strips of paper. These notes became the most powerful amulets. They were sewn into adults’ clothing, tied to babies’ cradles, hidden in the headboard of a bed, and even attached to the forehead of a beloved horse or cow. An amulet in a shop was as essential as a set of scales: it was believed that without it, an envious competitor could ruin the entire business with a single glance.
Magic in the Kitchen
Interestingly, amulets were used not only for protection but also to actively influence fate. Medieval “magicians” promised the impossible: a properly composed scroll could bring back a runaway slave, find a gold ring lost in the dust, or cure a fever when doctors had already given up.
But the greatest passions revolved around love magic. If a lover’s heart was growing cold, love spells were brought into play. The technique was quite specific: paper with a magical text was rolled into a tight tube and inserted into a kerosene lamp in place of the wick. As long as the fire burned, passion was supposed to flare up in the beloved’s chest.
Another method: a magical scroll was placed inside an ordinary onion and sent into a red-hot oven. The logic was simple and clear to every woman of that time: just as the onion simmers and softens in the heat, so too would a man’s cold, hard heart melt and fill with love.
Dangerous compliments and “Franks” with their strange eyes
In the Ottoman Empire, there was a special “safety” etiquette. Openly praising something beautiful was considered bad form and even a threat. If you admired someone else’s child without saying the sacred word “Mashallah” (“as Allah wills”), people might look at you with suspicion. By uttering this phrase, a person was, as it were, acknowledging: this miracle was created by God, it is under His protection, and my gaze has no power over it.
Europeans, whom the Ottomans called “Franks,” inspired a special awe and quiet dread. The main reason for this fear lay… in their eyes. In the Ottoman world, blue or gray eyes were a great rarity, and anything rare seemed suspicious and dangerous. It was believed that blue-eyed people possessed the “heaviest” gaze, capable of piercing any protection.
To deflect this blow, a “reflector” was needed. This is how the famous blue amulet came to be, known to us as the “Eye of Fatima” and called “nazar bozuk” by the Turks themselves. According to ancient logic, like must be repelled by like: the glass blue eye “stared” at a potential ill-wisher, intercepting their evil energy and drawing it to itself.
This talisman was everywhere: around the necks of pregnant women, tucked into the folds of newborns’ clothes, above the entrances to wealthy homes. An important condition: the nazar only works when it is in plain sight. If you hide it in your pocket—there is no protection. To this day, this superstition lives on: you’ll see blue eyes in Turkish cafes, taxis, and even on the tails of modern airplanes. But only the “eye” handmade by a master in a special kiln possesses true power. According to experts, soulless mass-produced items are simply a piece of glass.
Fear of the faces of saints
Superstitious fear of the “evil eye” reached extremes. When the Ottomans entered old Byzantine churches, they didn’t just see a foreign faith there. They were frightened by the frescoes. The huge, stern eyes of the saints on the walls seemed alive and threatening to them.
It is not uncommon to come across ancient temples where the eyes of the saints’ images have been carefully scraped away. Many mistake this for religious vandalism or fanaticism, but for the average Ottoman of that time, it was an act of pure self-defense. They weren’t trying to insult someone else’s faith—they were simply terrified that the saint’s stony gaze might cast a spell on them or bring misfortune upon their family. They “blinded” the images so they couldn’t harm them.
Life in the shadow of jinn and the evil eye was no easy feat, but it was precisely this that created the unique atmosphere of Eastern mysticism that still draws us to the history of the great empire.