Gorece (Boncukköy)

It is known how important the evil eye phenomenon is in some societies. There is always a special tendency and interest in the phenomenon of evil eye in Anatolian lands. The evil eye talisman, which is a kind of belief figure used against the evil eye, has been used especially in this geography for three thousand years. Glass beads are also considered as an ornamentation tool throughout history. Glass beads become an art in Turkey today. Two Syrians who emigrated to Turkey are instrumental in the spread of this art. The first place that comes to mind in our country when it is called glass beads is of course Izmir relative, in other words Boncukköy. Boncukköy is an interesting region that produces evil eye talisman throughout the year both domestically and internationally. Many people in the village who continue and maintain a traditional art make a living from this endeavor. This feature of the village also adds a tourist value here. To reach Boncukköy, you must enter to the right of the Menderes-relative road while coming to Izmir via Özdere. A large number of chickens and roosters are found in the courtyard of the area, which offers the impression of a natural village. It is possible to see many evil eye beads factories here. When you enter this great place, a Nasrettin Hodja who rides his donkey backwards meets you. The place makes you feel like you're literally in fairy tales. Especially after the production of Chinese plastic beads, this sector takes a serious blow. In spite of this, the workshops that try to survive continue the tradition of the evil eye talisman ,which is extremely difficult to produce, even in difficult conditions. Boncukköy is now gradually included in the programs of tours in recent periods. In this special place, a wide variety of evil eye beads are produced from scrap glass or recyclable glassware in 800 degree quarries.