Turkey— Tattoo scenes & cities

In south-eastern Turkey, around Mardin, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa, Kurdish women wear deq, a traditional tattoo often placed on the face. Its motifs, inspired by the sun, the moon or wheat, asked for protection, abundance or fertility. The ink mixed soot, herbs and often breast milk, pricked in with a needle.

Deq is becoming rare: it is seen mostly on older women, and temporary henna has often replaced it. As early as the 6th century, the physician Aëtius of Amida described a recipe for tattoo ink. Today, young Kurds are taking it up again as a mark of identity, and a studio opened in 2021 in Diyarbakır applies it with traditional ink.