Enjoy!
Before I
left the United States, I bought Lonely Planet’s guide to Turkey. I’ve always
found Lonely Planet to be a good insider’s guide that allows you to act like a
local yet still be a tourist. Their suggestions about events, attractions, and
restaurants have always been worthy.
Lesley
happened to be flipping through my copy and happened upon page 122. The
highlighted blue box on this page reads “Slip-Sliding Away In Edirne.” She asked if I would be attending the slippery event. Probably not, as Edirne is in the extreme northwest region of
Turkey near Thrace and Marmara – bordering Greece. Places I had not heard of
nor have I explored since I’ve been here.
Yet, there
was also a picture of this event within the Top 18 Experiences in Turkey-- Number
15: Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling.
In late June/early July there is a festival in the city of Edirne where grown
men and boys slather on olive oil and then wrestle each other for top honors.
Honestly, it didn’t rank in my personal top ten.
However, last week (two months ago!) I was riding the bus headed to my tennis lesson (yes, I, too, see the discrepancy of me taking public transportation to tennis) when I noticed this poster.
Funny, not something that I would normally notice, but the picture is similar to that in my Lonely Planet guide. I quickly took a picture of the poster with my phone and asked my instructor to translate what I couldn’t figure out – where was this happening? and why was it being publicized in Tarsus? Just a quick geography lesson, Tarsus is in the southern part of Turkey – 30 minutes from the Mediterranean.
Turkish
wrestling was coming to Tarsus. I had to go. While many of the foreign staff traveled during the Bayram holiday, I was here with two Canadians. I asked if either
of the women wanted to go with me. Nope. Hmmm…apparently, they don’t value
Lonely Planet’s suggestions as much as I do.
C’mon. This was Lonely Planet’s number 15! Of all the things to do in Turkey! Number 15, people! 15!
So, I rode
my bike in search of the stadium. As I approached, it felt very roller derby-esque to me.
It was similar in the way that there is definitely a subculture within roller
derby. People in the stands were obvious fans, cheering on their favorite
wrestler as he was introduced. The crowed was smaller than I imagined,
but there was no lack of noise. People were there to watch their favorite oil clad wrestler.
Each wrestler had a warm-up ritual: some were out greeting fans,
others were stretching, some were behind the scenes, and some were mucking it
up with the refs. The crowd was well aware of the routine as well. Drums
blared, musical was added, the national anthem was played, the
mayor (at least I think it was the mayor or another governing figure) spoke,
and the ceremony commenced.
All the
wrestlers lined up and were introduced to varying degrees of applause. Each man
stepped forward when called, and once they were in a line again, they
crossed the soccer stadium in leaping jumps, waving with the opposite hand. I’m not
doing a very good job of describing this part, but there is an exercise like
this…kind of skipping and then getting more height by swinging your opposite
hand. As they made their way across the field to the drummers, the ended the path by going to one knee - almost bowing.
Once to the other side the group of 20 or so separated; eight men gathered in the center; the others made their way
to the opposite corner and waited. The eight men broke into four groups of two.
And before I knew it, the wrestling began. Again, roller derby came to mind
as parts seemed orchestrated, but once things got underway, it was obvious that
the men were having difficulty. This was hard work. Pig wrestling came to mind. Oil. Squirming. Grunting. No squealing allowed.
Participants
were slathered in olive oil. I mean slathered. Dripping off of them,
running into their eyes, grass sticking to them. A mess. The men only
wear leather pants – capri-like in style. Some have their names stitched into
the pants. Additionally, I noticed they were wearing what looked like a knee
brace of sorts, but it was just below the knee.My guess is that it was there
to hold the bottom of the pant leg in place so competitors wouldn't be able to get
an advantage of a loose article of clothing.
As the
matches continued simultaneously, referees monitored each pairing. Whistles
were blown to indicate a man out of bounds; hand signals were used, and the
winner’s hand was raised when a match was over. One interesting observation is that
competitors put their hands down the other’s pants. According to Lonely Planet,
this is the best way to get a good grip. I’m not sure I want to know what is
being gripped, but contestants who used this technique usually were successful
in taking down their opponent.
I stayed for about an hour and found the event to be entertaining at least. Once I got home, I had to do a bit more research. The sport has been going on since the Ottoman Empire –
that’s over 6 ½ centuries! No wonder
it’s Lonely Planet’s number 15. Not a bad way to spend some time in Tarsus.
Here are a few websites in case you’re planning your next vacation around oily men. www.kirkpinar.com
I was so enthralled that I took quite a few pictures. If you're interested, let me know, and I'll send you the link. ;)
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