Carob and Usage Areas in Cyprus Turkish Folk Culture

Because the plants as natural beings have important functions such as nutrition and treatment, they are attributed holiness all over the world. Songs, hymns and poems are created for them. They are tabooed and taken to the centre of worship, beliefs, rituals and ceremonies. The tree is one of the natural beings in this context. The dedication of holiness to the tree, which began in the early ages, is seen in almost every part of the world. Belief systems and living conditions stemming from Central Asia within the Turkish culture have carried the holiness of the tree from the mystical universe to the epic works and to the practices of the daily life in the wide geographies in which culture has spread. The carob tree, which is proved to have a history of thousands of years in the countries of the Mediterranean region, has also gained a sacred value in that geography, which has been the source of a wide range of religions. It is interesting to see that Jewish, Christian and Muslim peoples attribute the same sacred value to the carob tree in the Mediterranean region. In particular, narratives related to John the Baptist (St. John) are more striking in this common belief. In the reflections of this common belief in Cyprus since the 16th century, new colours and textures of the locality have emerged in parallel with those in Anatolia. In this research, Descriptive-Case Study Research Design was used. In this research, Descriptive-Case Study Research Method was used. Data were collected by means of interview techniques, and then they were examined and interpreted. In addition to the written sources, the data were collected from the local people especially from those living in rural areas, which made this study original and updated. The universal features of global products and especially their effects on the local culture are outlined on the basis their resemblance rates; and the ethno-botanical, folkloric and industrial dimensions of the carob in the Turkish culture in Anatolia and Northern Cyprus are stated with examples.As a result of the study, it is proved that for centuries the carob, which exists in folk literature, in beliefs, in traditions, has always been an important source of love and sacredness and the source of culture that connects the past to the present.