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Oil Wrestling Tournament in Edirne (TURKEY)
This is one of the most popular sports in Turkey. “Yagli gures” means literally oiled wrestling. The wrestlers wear tight short leather trousers called "Kispet", made of water buffalo leather weighing approximately 13 kilograms, and they cover themselves with olive oil.
Matches take place throughout the country but the most famous and most important tournament takes place in Edirne by the end of June-beginning of July. This is one of the most popular sports in Turkey..
It's a big fair as well with music and celebrations and it goes on until the morning. Usually lamb roast is a very popular food. In the entertainments, belly dancing is accompanied by Turkish traditional musical instruments 'davul' (drum) and 'zurna' (a type of flute) and singings. their travel expenditures. This is
Because oil wrestlings basic rules head back to 238 BC, many Europeans claim that they may not see the Roman gladiators in arenas anymore, but they still have a chance to see the Pehlivans (how wrestlers are called ) wrestle in the same ancient technique accompanied by the same ancient post-event celebrations.
Why the oil?
In the Ottoman Empire wrestlers were brought up in religious environments called "tekke" for seven hundred years. As in many other philosophies it was considered that man is not simply made of matter, the other half of the human equation is our spirit and spiritual being. Wrestling without the spiritual relationship has been accepted to be harmful for the improvement of the human character. The wrestlers oiling each-other is a signification of the importance of "balance" in such competitions.
The Legend
Turkish Oil wrestling style became established as a sport on its own during a campaign launched by Ottoman sultan Orhan Gazi to capture Rumeli (Thrace) - the European side of Turkey's Marmara region. In that time the sultan and his brother, Süleyman Pasha and 40 warriors captured forts in the region of what is now the Greek/Turkish/Bulgarian border. On the place they camped, they started wrestling for fun. Two of them wrestled for hours but neither managed to win. Süleyman Pasha promised the winner a leather pant (kispet) when they would continue their match during the annual Spring festival (May 6), held in Ahirköy. They wrestled from morning till midnight, became exhausted and both died. Their friends buried them under a fig tree and left. When the soldiers visited the burial site years later, they noticed that several springs had sprung up on the site and named the place Kirkpinar (Forty Springs).
It is very interesting to see that the Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling in Turkey has many fans from all over the world, visiting Edirne every year to attend these tournaments.