Turkish people are relying on the country's traditional cologne to fight COVID-19 — and it's flying off the shelves

• The popularity of kolonya, a fragrant Turkish cologne, has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic.
• Kolonya's high alcohol content makes it an effective hand sanitizer, and Turkey's health minister recommended its use during the height of the pandemic.
• COVID-19 cases appear to be on the rise in Turkey, so kolonya purchases will likely not slow down anytime soon.

A traditional fragrance has found new popularity in Turkey since the start of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Kolonya, a Turkish cologne that smells strongly of lemon or lavender, is an ethanol-based concoction that's been used for more than 200 years. It's high alcohol content can kill more than 80% of germs, so it acts as an effective hand sanitizer.

Although kolonya was ubiquitous in Turkey before the pandemic, available in stores, restaurants, and barbershops, the tradition of applying it was not so popular among young people.

But when Turkey's health minister recommended its use at the height of the pandemic in mid-March, stores began to run out. People lined up for hours to get their hands on the staple.

"When someone comes to the door the first thing you do after they sit down is offer them kolonya," said Engin Tuncer, CEO at Eyüp Sabri Tuncer, a well known kolonya producer. "This was the task of any home's youngest child — 'Come, give your uncles and aunties a sprinkle of kolonya.'"

The smell of kolonya is often described as Turkey's national scent. The sweet-scented aromas are made with fig blossoms, jasmine, rose, and all kinds of citrus ingredients.

Eyüp Sabri Tuncer has been mixing water, alcohol, and aromatic plants to make its recipe for many decades.

But long before vats upon vats of alcohol were being mixed to meet pandemic demand, traditional cologne took off during the Ottoman Empire. It was imported from Germany in the 19th century.

Sultan Abdülhamid II used it, and eventually adapted it by blending the tradition of rose water with the novelty of foreign alcohol-based fragrances to create kolonya.

Turks started using it mainly as a refresher and perfume. By 1923, Eyüp Sabri Tuncer started producing kolonya out of a small shop in Ankara. Customers got free sample bottles.

When the company figured out how to make it for a more affordable price, it became a household item. It can go for as cheap as 10 Turkish lira, which is around $1 a bottle.

"Kolonya is very important for the Turkish culture and it's unique to our culture actually. And it's a symbol of Turkish hospitality, uh, personal care, good health, Nuket Filiba, CEO of Atelier Rebul, said.

Atelier Rebul is one of the oldest kolonya brands, dating back to 1895. It has a pricier kolonya that can cost as much as $20 per bottle, but that has not stopped its steady stream of customers.

"After the pandemic our sales have increased at least five times compared to last year," Filiba said.

But in late March, factories went into lockdown, and even when they reopened, importing ethanol alcohol — the main ingredient — became almost impossible.

Black-market producers began releasing fake versions of kolonya made with methyl alcohol, which could have serious side effects like temporary blindness, skin irritation, and burns.

It got so bad that according to the state run news agency, the government freed up ethanol alcohol needed for making kolonya by easing the country's transportation fuel standards. This was a drastic step, but it ensured the perfume supply.

Kolonya has become much more than just a good smell in a country where over 10,000 people have died of COVID-19 so far, and where the virus looks to be rising once more.

"We've done everything in our power to help people, though" Erdem Kaya, a small shop owner, said. "We've kept our old prices the same. We've helped how we can, and have worked to ensure no one is without kolonya."