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Kirkpinar (Turkish:Kırkpınar) is the name of a Turkish yağlı güreş wrestling tournament. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey (formerly known as Adrianople).
Historical "Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling" is the oldest wrestling festival in the world which has been continuing since the first contests in 1357 in Rumelia.
"Kirkpinar Oil Wresting", which has been bounded with a tradition of almost 650 years, hosts persevering contests for a week, with the active participation of media, folk-dance groups, millions of spectators, artists and statesmen both from Turkey and all over the world, and with a varying array of activities every year.
The enthusiasm, which is brought to life by headwrestling and other forms of wrestling contests, as well as the performances of the "Janissary Band" and local and foreign folk-dance groups throughout the contests, turns "Kirkpinar Oil Wresting" into a traditional festival.
Oil Wrestling (Yağlı Güreş) is the Turkish national sport. It is commonly known as oil wrestling (sometimes as grease wrestling) because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. It is related to Uzbek Kurash and to Tatar Köräş.
The wrestlers, known as pehlivan, meaning hero, wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen called kisbet (sometimes kispet), which were traditionally made of water buffalo hide, but now also of calf leather.
Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win by this move is called paça kazık. Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days, until one man was able to establish superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the baspehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If no winner is determined, another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category—of wrestling ensues, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor.
The annual Kırkpınar tournament, held in Edirne in Turkish Thrace since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world. In recent years this style of wrestling has also become popular in other countries, most notably the Netherlands and Japan.
The earliest depictions of wrestling are found in the Beni Hasan Temple in Egypt. The sport of oil wrestling dates back to 2650 BC in Egypt and Assyria. In the Ottoman Empire, wrestlers learned the art in special schools called tekke, which were not merely athletic centres, but also spiritual centres, similar to those attended by the Japanese Sumo wrestlers, where it was taught that man is not just matter, but also spirit. Since competition without the harmony of matter and spirit would be detrimental to the development of good character, wrestlers oil one another prior to matches as a demonstration of balance and mutual respect. Equally, if a younger man should defeat an older man, he kisses the latter's hand (A sign of respect for elders in Turkey, similar to a Japanese bow).
Oil wrestling is an old Turkish traditional sport practiced for centuries since the Turkic peoples' nomadic origins in the steppes of Central Asia, however some of the ancient related terms involving the sport that were Turkish have been replaced by Persian terms; it is unclear whether the present style was also shaped by neighbouring Iranians, who call their equivalent Pahlavani and in turn received it from India, where it is known by many names, including Pehalwani.
Matches are held all over Turkey throughout the year, but in early summer the wrestlers gather in Kırkpınar for the annual three-day wrestling tournament to determine who will be the baspehlivan (chief hero) of Turkey. Every year, around 1000 wrestlers attend the tournament. Ottoman chroniclers and writers attest that the Kırkpınar Games have been held every year since 1362, making them the world's oldest continually sanctioned sporting competition. Only about 70 times were the Games cancelled. The matches have been held there since 1924, where they were moved after the Balkan War. The original site had been some 35 kilometres distant.
Kırkpınar, on the outskirts of Edirne (the second capital of the Ottoman Empire until the fall of Constantinople in 1453), was once the site of the summer hunting palace of the Ottoman Sultan.
There are some organized competitions outside Turkey, prominent among which is the Royal Dutch Power Sport Federation (KNKF Koninklijke Nederlandse Krachtsport en Fitnessfederatie) in the Netherlands.
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