Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival

Wearing nothing but traditional leather pants and olive oil, Turkey’s best pehlivans (wrestlers) vie for the Kirkpinar Golden Belt as champion of the annual oil wrestling festival. Oil wrestling has been practiced all over the Middle East, with the oldest evidence dating back to 2650 BC in Ancient Egypt and Assyria. Today, the Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival keeps the tradition alive with the yearly competition.

As stated by the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the oldest continuously sanctioned sporting event in the world, being in existence for almost 800 years. According to legend, there was a bout between two Ottoman soldiers that lasted through the night with no victor. In the morning, they were found dead, with their bodies still intertwined in combat, and were buried underneath a fig tree before the army went to conquer Edirne. Upon their return, the army discovered a spring had emerged around the tree, garnering the name Kirkpinar, meaning “40 sources.”

Today, pehlivans have become a popular fixture in Turkish culture, regarded for their generosity and honesty, and respected for their adherence to tradition. The matches are structured around sporting customs that have been around for centuries in Turkey. Victors still kiss their opponents at the end of a match, while traditional shawm bands play in the background.

To learn more about this unique sporting event, visit goturkey.com.