The Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival is an annual competition conducted in Edirne in western Turkey. Seven-day wrestling tournaments are often performed at the end of June each year and include local food, dances, goods, and music.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest continually running athletic event is the Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival. The festival was also included on the Spokesperson List of the Indefinable Cultural Heritage of Humanity maintained by UNESCO in 2010.

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The event originates in the 1360s when Ottoman Sultan Orhan (1326–1362) wanted to keep his troops in peak physical shape and ready for battle. Today, Pehlivans, or master wrestlers, are trained in the sport and must have morally upstanding or good character attributes to be invited. The Kirkpinar Agasi (Kirkpinar Master) selects the pehlivans for the festival based on their unique attributes and skills. The Kirkpinar Agasi distribute invites in the same manner they have for centuries: by sending a candle with a red base to the selected pehlivans at the beginning of March. Entrance to the celebration is not something that should be taken lightly.

Once at the festival, the pehlivans and other attendees will first participate in Friday prayers while dressed in their leather pants, or “kispet.” The opening prayers are particularly significant since they signal the festival’s beginning and bless it and its participants.

After prayers, the festival travels to its traditional venue in Sarayiçi, one of Edirne’s most popular recreational areas and a landmark in the city. Around 2.000 men compete here for the title of Başpehlivan each year (Chief Wrestler). The golden belt, the most fantastic accolade, is given to the victor of three consecutive festivals.

The “yac” covers each wrestler in olive oil before the match starts (oiler). The two opponents then enter the “er meydani” (Field of Contest) as 20 zurna (folk oboes), and 20 davul (bass drums) play traditional music, where they witness the peşrev, the ceremonial start of the match. Each pehlivan moves three steps forward, three steps back then lowers his left knee to the ground, touches his right knee with his right hand, moves his lips three times, and moves his forehead three times.

The final action is to charge forward while shouting, “Hayda bre pehlivan!” (Go for it, wrestler!) the wrestlers take their grip position as they fall. To win the bout, you must pin your opponent to the ground, make him sit, take his pants down, or carry him three feet off the ground. The judges are closely monitored to ensure that the laws are followed or to determine whether the wrestlers successfully forced their opponents to submit.

This festival honours a very unusual tradition, and it comes highly recommended. Kirkpinar is a must-attend event for any visitor, featuring everything from traditional oil wrestling to singing, dancing, and feasting!

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