Only the Greasiest Man Wins: Kırkpınar Festival in Edirne, Turkey

Jordana Weiss | September 11, 2015

Modern History

The annual oil wrestling tournaments were held at Kırkpınar until 1924, when they were moved from the historical location to the island of Sarayiçi, near Edirne. After the end of the Ottoman Empire, many things about the Kırkpınar oil wrestling was changed to reflect more Western ideals- like changing the prizes from livestock to medals. People were unhappy with these changes, so the wrestling officials compromised by keeping the traditional prize of the Golden Belt. The belt is only awarded at the tournament in Edirne, although there are other large oil wrestling competitions held yearly in Turkey, and around Europe.

Flip Yavuz Sariyildiz / Shutterstock

The Tournament

Each year, the tournament is opened by the Kırkpınar Agha- an official who administrates the event. In earlier history, the agha acted as a private sponsor of the event, and was elected at the end of the tournament to serve for the upcoming year. Now, the mayor of Edirne serves as the chief organizer for the tournament on behalf of the local government.

The opening ceremonies are followed by a procession where the Golden Belt is paraded through the streets of the city, accompanied by drummers and pipers. The officials and wrestlers then take a break for prayer at the local mosque. Next, the master of ceremonies introduces the pehlivans to the crowd on the Men’s Field, making sure to extol their merits and skills, as well as note their previous victories. Bouts between pehlivans typically last 40 minutes, unless someone is pinned before that. If no victor is declared in 40 minutes, an overtime round of 15 minutes follows the first fight.

Submission Yavuz Sariyildiz / Shutterstock

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