Global Courant
ISTANBUL
Celebrating its 662nd anniversary, Turkey’s traditional Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling will start on Friday in Edirne.
Every year, thousands of fans from different age groups, cultures and regions visit here to see the wrestlers competing for the Golden Belt and Başpehlivan (chief wrestler) title.
Since 1362, wrestlers have reunited to fight for the title. Turkey’s deep-rooted traditional festival involves a physical and mental struggle without any equipment.
In Sarayiçi, one of the most important recreation areas of Edirne, approximately 2,500 wrestlers will fight on a field.
prize pool
The winner of the festival will receive an award of close to 1 million lira ($40 thousand), while the second prize will be awarded 250 thousand lira ($9,500).
The third-placed wrestlers will take home 125 thousand TL (4 thousand 800 dollars).
The festival will distribute 3 million lira (115 thousand dollars) together with the road and tour fees to the wrestlers who ranked in all categories.
since 1362
According to the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this festival originated in Rumelia (southeastern Europe) in the 14th century and is one of the oldest wrestling festivals in the world with its long famous history.
Oil wrestling is a type of wrestling in which wrestlers wear leather trousers tied with a rope at the waist and cuffs, and then wrestle on the grass after being covered in olive oil.
The three-day event was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 on behalf of Turkey.
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