Pasalubong

Jay got back from Turkey yesterday. (Finally!) And he brought me, among other things, this lovely necklace with an eye pendant. I think it's called "nazar".

I guess I'm now free from all evil and harm :) If not, well, I will be quite fashionable and full of charm :P

Okay that was quite lame. Haha. Here's a short explanation of it instead:

Throughout the whole human history, in every culture and religion, the eye figure has been considered as a powerful talisman to defy evil forces. The blue evil eye beads of Turkey - Nazar Boncugu say "Mash Allah" -- meaning "God has willed it".

In Turkey, wherever you look, you'll meet plenty of eyes looking at you. Here it is a real evil eye bead paradise. People hang a small evil eye amulet from the rear view mirror of their car, keep several small evil eye beads or charms on hand to give to guests, and hang an evil eye near their door in the home or office. Glass evil eyes are worn, often in the form of jewelry: evil eye bracelets, evil eye necklaces, evil eye anklets, gold or silver evil eye charms and pendants, blue evil eye decorative talismans, evil eye earrings, rings and plenty of evil eye ethnic jewelry sets.

It is common in the Turkish culture to give a gift of a "Blue Glass Nazar Boncugu". The shiny bead gives protection and brings luck to all. With its warm blue, the shine it has derived from the fire and the smiling face that's a typical feature of the Anatolian people, it gives happiness to friends and beloved ones.

Teşekkürler! :)

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I have a new key chain. Radka, our Consul, just came back from a trip to Nauru. But no, the keychain's not from Nauru. It's from her short stopover in Australia.

I recently decided that if anyone gives me a key chain from any country, I would have to visit that place in my lifetime. So I guess that that's one more country on my list.

My list's still pretty short though: Malaysia, Italy, Japan, USA, Singapore, and Australia. I need more keychains! And from more exotic locations please... ;)