For this Turkish cultural post, I decide to talk about a rather unusual sport. I will focus on Yağlı güreş, which means oil wrestling. Oil wrestling is the Turkish national sport. Wrestlers will cover themselves with olive oil. The wrestlers are called pehlivan which means hero or champion. The wrestlers war a kisbet which is a hand-stitched leather trouser. Traditionally, the kisbet was made from the hides of water buffalo, but more recently, calfskin has been used to make these trousers. The leather pants have been said to weigh about 13 kilograms. Some men will place their hands inside of the opponent’s kisbet because it often provides the best control due to the lesser amount of olive oil.
The sport’s historic festival called Kirkpinar has been held since 1346 in Edirne. The wrestling in Kirkpinar is difficult because the men have to wrestle on grass, and it is very slippery with the presence of olive oil. The winner of the festival wins a golden belt and about 100,000 dollars. He is then known as the champion of Turkey, called Başpehlivan. The history of oil wrestling links back to the Persion Era from about 1065 BC. The tradition also dates back to the janissaries, who were the elite soldier class of the Ottoman Empire. The Janissaries were trained for combat, and wrestling was a part of their training. Some say that Janissaries used olive oil to keep their bodies cool or when mixed with herbs, to ward off mosquitoes during countless hours of training.
The goal of oil wrestling is to get your opponent in a position where his belly button is facing the sky. When the opponent’s belly button faces the sky, he loses the match. Oil wrestling can be won by simply effectively holding the kisbet. By effectively holding the kisbet, the wrestler controls his opponent. This signature oil wrestling move is called the paça kazik. The olive oil makes it very difficult to wrestle and evens out differences between the opponents, including size or strength. Many have said due to the disadvantage of the slipperiness of the oil, oil wrestling is about technique.
Previously, there had been no time limit for a match. However, in 1975, the rules changed and the match was limited to 40 minutes. “Overtime” consists of a 15 minute match.
I thought this sport was very interesting, yet familiar because there is a Korean form of wrestling that consists of a tied piece of clothing around one’s waist. While holding onto that rope or long piece of clothing, you have to get the opponent to the floor of sand. You are not allowed to let go during the match.
Although the rules differ a bit, I found it very interesting that the two countries have a similar sport that is unique to their countries. Another important concept in oil wrestling is the competitors’ sportsmanship. After a match, the wrestlers will commonly link arms and walk off the grass field. I think this is a great example of the kindness of the Turkish people and the respect they have for their national sport.
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