All over Turkey: Ancient Sports in Turkey

Last year I was asked to go out to some local oil wrestling to take some photos. Well seeing as this is something I had never witnessed before, I was in! I posted a small comment about it on Facebook and my cousin immediately wrote back – there’s another blog post. So this one is for you cousin! You know who you are :)

Oil wrestling in Turkey is very popular and is said to be one of the oldest sports still running in the world. Dating back from Ottoman times, when the soldiers used to wrestle to keep their stamina and physic, it is still a sport that carries much prestige and attracts the crowds.

The men are dressed in leather shorts that usually go from their waist to below the knee, almost to their ankle. They are then covered in oil from head to toe. The “match” will start with the men being called out and announced before the crowd. They will then walk up and down the field in a marching style, kneel down, thank Allah and then hug their opponent. The men will then start to wrestle. To win the match, one of the men has to turn the opponents navel up to the sky and it only has to be for a spilt second. Blink and you may miss it, which I did a few times. It’s a match of patience, endurance, strength and determination. In ancient times there was no time limits to these duels, they could go on for days on end and men were known to have died from exhaustion. However, these days, there are time limits enforced on each match.

I love sport and can watch almost anything, although I’m not sure I would rush back to sit through a day of wrestling battles. One thing I really enjoyed about the sport is although these men are wrestling and battling it out, they will stop if one of them gets oil or water in his eye and needs to wipe it. They will give up their position, pause to wait till their opponent is ready and then start the wrestling again. They all show aggression and of course their aim is to win, but at the end of the match they will hug and even walk off the field arm in arm. It was also really fascinating to watch these men wrestle it out whilst covered in oil; I really have no idea how they do it with the leather pants that I’m sure would weigh a ton plus how they get any kind of grip when smothered in that oil beats me!

One thing I will tell you though is it totally beats the crap fake stuff you see on TV from America. Sorry to all you “wrestling” fans out there, but this is the real deal.

Whilst I was learning about this ancient sport I was also told about another sport that is popular in Turkey that I had never heard of before – Camel Wrestling. Now this, I’m sorry this just sounds as ridiculous as what it really is. It’s more for a bit of a laugh then a “sport”, however it’s still taken quite seriously in certain parts of Turkey.

Now camels are not aggressive by nature. So how do they get these two male camels to fight it out? Well they wait till its breeding time, then they get the two male camels ready for a fight and parade a female camel in front of them, who just so happens to be on heat. This obviously starts off a battle of who will be king. The camels will either smack one another with their necks, try to get the other down on its knees or some have been known to just sprint out after the female, leaving the deserted camel the victor. These “wrestle matches” can last for a few minutes, if that at times. The winner of the day is then paraded around town in colourful saddles and there is music being played and people dancing in the streets. I think by the sounds of things it’s more of a spectacle than a sport. I would still like to see it, as I’m sure it would be as amusing as it sounds.

So although the Turks are into their more modern day sports as well – basketball and they love, love, love football – soccer, these two ancient sports still manage to draw the crowds and competitors year in year out. Considering the history behind the oil wrestling, I would hope it is a tradition that is carried on and doesn’t die out.