I have always been fascinated with them. Hand-shaped door knockers. The first one I ever saw was in Prague, and ever since I’ve kept my eyes open for them, and not without results. They’re everywhere! There exist a multitude of stories about them, most are related to the muslim world. One of the stories is that the hand -symbolizing the Hand of Fatima- was not only a talisman to protect a house from evil but also a sign for other muslims in non-muslim countries that in a certain house lived people of their faith.
Other explanations are that there exist male and female hand-knockers, and that many doors had two knockers, one male and one female. It was inappropriate for a muslim woman to open the door to a man, and therefor visitors were expected to use the knocker according to gender. Both made different sounds, and so the woman of the house knew if it was appropriate to open the door from the sound of the knock.
I don’t know how much of these stories is true, but I do know that these door knockers can be seen in a multitude of places! Enjoy the photos… They’re taken in places all over the world, from France to Italy, Greece and Jordan. They’re not all taken by me, unfortunately…
If you love hand-shaped door-knockers as much as I do, you’re going to love the photographs of Arkeolog, who lives in Turkey and has collected hundreds of photos of hand-shaped door knockers in his homeland and neighboring countries…
We're All Mad Inhere 
Pingback: Just Look At These Knockers! | AlyZen Moonshadow Mobile Photography Art & Design