Every destination leaves clues about itself in plain view. On doorways, temple walls, street corners and building facades, symbols carry meanings that many travellers walk straight past. Some are there for protection, others for welcome, wisdom, luck or memory. Once you know what to look for, you start seeing them everywhere, and places begin to reveal themselves differently.
Here are eight symbols worth knowing.
The Evil Eye
That blue glass eye seen across Turkey, Greece and parts of the wider Mediterranean is there for protection. It is believed to guard against envy, ill will and the kind of bad energy nobody wants following them home. You’ll find it above doorways, inside shops, hanging from car mirrors and sewn onto children’s clothing.
The Hamsa Hand
An open palm, often with an eye at its centre, the hamsa appears on doorways, tiles and jewellery across the Middle East and North Africa. It is widely used as a symbol of protection, blessing and good fortune. The hand is the message: stop harm before it gets any closer.
The Lotus Flower
The lotus appears throughout Buddhist and Hindu temples, carved into stone, painted on ceilings and placed beneath the feet of deities. Its meaning comes from the way it grows: rooted in mud, rising through water and blooming clean above the surface. Purity, renewal and spiritual awakening, all in one flower.
The Pineapple
A carved pineapple above a doorway is rarely just decoration. In Europe and colonial-era architecture, the fruit became associated with welcome and hospitality, partly because pineapples were once rare, expensive and impressive to display. A small architectural flex, but a generous one.
The Labyrinth
Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one path. You follow it in, then back out again. Found in cathedrals, ancient carvings and garden designs, it often represents pilgrimage, reflection or the idea of a journey taken slowly. No wrong turns, just the long way to the centre.
The Barber’s Pole
That red-and-white pole outside a barber shop has a stranger history than most people realise. It is widely linked to a time when barbers also performed bloodletting and minor surgery, with red associated with blood and white with bandages. Not quite the clean-cut symbol it looks like today.
The Elephant Above a Doorway
Across parts of South and Southeast Asia, an elephant above an entrance often suggests welcome, wisdom and the removal of obstacles. In Hindu tradition, it is frequently linked to Ganesha, who is invoked at the start of new endeavours. A good figure to have waiting at the door.
Red Lanterns
In Chinese culture, red is associated with luck, prosperity and protection. Lanterns above a doorway or restaurant carry that intention, whether during a festival or an ordinary evening. During Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival, they appear in their thousands, but even one can suggest good fortune for what happens inside.
A little more reading on the cultures behind some of these symbols:
Ancient Patterns That Shape How We See the World |
10 Superstitions You Grow Up Listening to in Turkey |
A Guide to Henna Traditions in Morocco |
Speaking of symbols that stay with you long after the trip ends – this next state on our Route 66 route is built around one.
Crossing the Mississippi into Missouri, we arrive beneath the Gateway Arch, which has marked the threshold to the American West for over 60 years. From here, the Mother Road winds past old-fashioned gas stations, roadside diners and small towns that still wear their Route 66 history on their sleeve.
