Yağlı Güreş (Kirkpinar Turkish Oil Wrestling)

Yağlı güreş is a kind of wrestling that the wrestlers drop oil on their bodies and slide over it. Therefore, to hold the body becomes very hard. In official, there are two kinds of styles. Free and greko-romen. Yağlı güreş is held in wedding ceremonies, for charity purposes to raise money for public establishments. Every year, in June, yağlı güreş competition is held for the honor of the troops who crossed the Çanakkale Strait to Gallipoli to participate the Rumelia wars, under the leadership of Süleyman Pasha. This takes place in Sarayiçi, in Edirne. Lord of competition is chosen for a session. The man who gives the most amount of money, becomes the Lord. If a heavy weight wrestler wins the competition three times without a fail, he gets the golden belt on him. It is a very hard thing, but some famous wrestlers have got it. Ordulu Mustafa, Ahmet Taşçı are some of them.

Wrestlers have very strong muscles. They are very good in shape. Turkish people like wrestlers. Wrestling is a traditional sport. In some districts, wrestling is more popular than the other regions.
This competition is very old organization. Its history goes back to 650 years ago. It is well-known both at home and in the World.

Besides oil wrestling in Edirne, some other activities take place at same time. Local and national folk-dancers perform dances to make the competition more attractive. I can easily say Oil Wrestling competitions are not just competitions, they are also local festivals.