The word for Turquoise is ‘Mefkat’ meaning joy or delight. This word dates back to the 1600’s. Turquoise actually means ‘Turkish’. Turquoise was first discovered over 3,000 years ago in ancient Egypt and then found in Persia, which is Iran today. The mines in Persia are over 4,000 years old. One of the first is Serabit el-Khadim in the Sanai peninsula, called the Country of Turquoise, and mined extensively by the Egyptians. It is still in production today and continued to be operated by the Bedouin tribes. Persian turquoise is typically matrix free, and a very specific robin’s egg blue. It is about 5.5 on the Moh’s scale so it could easily be cut and inlaid into jewelry, and art objects.
Turquoise was used in jewelry and in funerary objects by the Egyptians. The sky blue color was prized, and was even ground into powder for eye shadow. It represented fertility, the sky, and vegetation. Turquoise was also linked to the Goddess, Hathor who was a mother figure. Her title was ‘Lady of Turquoise Country’. This gemstone was believed to have protective powers and aided the deceased into their afterlife, which was also connected to the Goddess Hathor. Many scarabs were carved out of turquoise as they represented the sacred dung beetle that pushed the sun around the earth, and was the reason the sun rose in the Eastern sky every day.
Turquoise was not introduced into the European culture until the Middle Ages via the Ottoman Empire, hence the Turkish connection. Turquoise was found in the United States around 200 BCE and early mining took place between 1350 and 1600 AD.