The giants covered in olive oil who have been fighting for thousands of years

Who loves this fight more today, however, are the Turks. So much so, that they call this discipline turkish struggle, to try to keep the property, although it was already practiced when the Turks did not even exist as a people. When the Turks began to create their empire, breaking the old Byzantine Empire, they were already practicing this sport. And so, in 1362, the most famous oil wrestling tournament, the Kirkpinar, was organized for the first time. The Turks like to say that it is the oldest continuously running sporting competition in the world, although the setting has changed a bit. First it used to be done in a village on the outskirts of Edirne, a city in the region of Thrace, in the European part of present-day Turkey. But in the 1920s, a new border was erected right between Edirne and the village, which became part of the Kingdom of Greece. Borders move, empires fall and governments change, but the fight over oil remains much the same as ever. And the Kirkpinar tournament continues to gather hundreds of fighters in Edirne.

When Western travelers discovered this struggle, it stimulated the fancy of more than one. There is a high erotic charge, even if many oil wrestling fans deny it. Basically, in this sport the athletes compete in only thick leather pants, which were previously made of buffalo hide. And before going out to fight, they smear their whole bodies with olive oil. They use a lot of liters to get completely covered. The idea is to prevent fighters from grabbing body parts where they could hurt themselves. With the oil, they slip, which means that the key to the sport is to knock the opponent down by grabbing him by the pants. Seeing two very strong men who sometimes put their hands inside their rivals’ pants, tightly embraced and with their bodies shining from the oil, has caused more than one erotic dream. For others it is just a great spectacle in which the track and strength of athletes who for centuries trained in centers called arosewhere they also received spiritual formation.

Now that’s not the case anymore. Fighters train in gyms and fight for both glory and a good sack full of money. There are tournaments halfway around the world, as oil wrestling is practiced wherever Turkish communities live, but the Kirkpinar tournament remains the most famous of all, drawing thousands of spectators at the end of June. Although the idea of ​​the combat is the same as in time immemorial, some key aspects have been modified, such as the duration of the combats. Before there was no limit, which is why fighters could spend days suffering until one knocked the other down or lifted him over his shoulders, the two moves with which he wins. Now they last 40 or 30 minutes, depending on the weight of the fighters, with referees adding points based on who is braver, in case no one is defeated at the end of the time. It was necessary to put some order, since we have documented fights of more than five days.