Providing age-old cures from center of Anatolia

Melissa herb, walnut leaf, snuff and flax seed, are just a few of the useful herbs to be found at the 140-year-old herb house that serves as an alternative medicine center for residents in the central Anatolian city of Kütahya."Those who want to do this job should do it perfectly, because this is about health. None of us has the right to harm one’s health. One should do this job only if he knows how, otherwise he should keep away," said 80-year-old İsmail Kaçan, who has been an herbalist for around 70 years.Kaçan started learning about herbs in 1942 from his father, Sivrioğlu Mehmet Efendi, who was from his family’s second-generation of herbalists. All five generations of Kaçan’s family, from his grandfather to his grandchildren, have run the herb house. "To do this job, you should earn the countenance of people," said Kaçan, adding that seeing respect from people makes him so happy.

Well informed"In the past, there were two herb houses in Kütahya. One was my father’s, the other was Bahattin Germiyanoğlu’s. Later on other herb houses were opened, too." he said. However, Kaçan said that to do the job perfectly, an herbalist should work hard and be well informed. "My father accumulated that information from my grandfather. We have been doing this job through five generations. I represent the third generation," he said. Kaçan now works in the herb house with his grandson. Kaçan’s father was a gold dealer as well as an herbalist and ran the two shops together. However, Kaçan said he did not like dealing in gold and only continued the herb house. "My father said about being an herbalist, ’Look my son, this job will not make you rich, but will gain you respect and friends. This is my bequest to you, do not quit.’ And I continued the job and handed over it to my children and grandchildren," he said.Harmful herbs In Kaçan’s herb house there are 738 species of medicinal herb. Having learned how to look after herbs from his father, Kaçan said like chemical medicine, these herbs can be harmful for people too. "In the past they used to sell English salt. This has a poisonous effect if you use it longer than six months. One man who bought it from an herb house died. I absolutely do not sell harmful things," he said. Kaçan sells his herbs wrapped in paper after processing them separately. "We prepare our products by mixing herbs. These herbs heal if people believe in it. It is impossible to give health to someone by forcing him. People tell each other that this or that herb is beneficial. They come to us through others’ advice, buy the herb and prepare pastes on their own. They just learn the recipe from us," he said. Kaçan also has a mixture for losing weight. "We buy the necessary herbs and prepare it using special ratios. This requires information. We have it as we have spent our years," he said.