Fear & the Spiritual World in Central Asia

Fear of evil spirits permeates the lives of Central Asians. The "evil eye" is a talisman that they will often use to try to ward off bad luck and evil that they fear may befall them. It comes in a variety of forms, and I've tried to collect some sample pictures to show you what I'm talking about. This is the basic design, which is usually done in blue, but will sometimes include other colors:
These were outside the apartment doors in an building we visited. So, in this instance, this would be to protect those inside this apartment from those who would be jealous of or wish harm towards those living inside.

Here's another example, this time in the form of a doormat:

This bakery that I pass on my way to language lessons has a babydoll (not sure of the significance of that) holding a large evil eye in the front store window:

This is a fish restaurant that had the evil eye printed onto their sign:

This clothing store puts an evil eye charm or talisman in the corner window display:

This is the place one would go to buy a talisman. These sorts of stalls are found in markets, sales alleyways, and other small shops:

They would also sell very small beads printed with the evil eye emblem to be put onto safety pins, so that mothers can pin this talisman onto their newborn babies' clothes.

Superstitions like these are common among Central Asians, who fear what evil spirits might do. To us as Americans, this can seem so foreign, but this sort of fear of the spiritual world is a very real part of their lives.