Kırkpınar

What it is

The tournament takes its name from the Turkish words for forty springs. For three days each year, pehlivans wrestle near Edirne, and the Kırkpınar Festival runs alongside them. Bouts are grouped in categories, and on the closing day the first, second and third places in each are settled. Oil wrestling sits at the front of Turkey's traditional sports. In Ottoman times fairs across the empire staged wrestling, but only the man who won at Kırkpınar carried the chief's title, and he held it until the following year's meeting. That custom still shapes the contest.

Origins and history

Evidence for oiled wrestling reaches back far beyond Edirne. A small Babylonian bronze shows two athletes with oil vessels on their heads, and limestone from a tomb at Saqqara in Egypt, from about 2650 BC, records the practice. A painting roughly four thousand years old, in a tomb near Beni Hasan, follows a wrestler from greasing to triumph. Persian tradition tells of Rostam, hero of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, and of the zurkhane, the house of strength where the peshrev opening ceremony belongs. The organisers of the Edirne contest take 1360 as their starting point, when Ottoman soldiers are said to have begun wrestling there.

How it is kept

Modern bouts take place on Sarayiçi island near Edirne, where the contest has been held since 1924. Before a pairing begins, each wrestler coats himself in olive oil. The men wear kıspets, leather shorts reaching the knee, and nothing else. Competition runs through several categories across three days, and the finals fall on the last one. An agha, chosen before the event, acts as host: he greets guests, houses them, gives dinners and hands out the prizes. Younger wrestlers still kiss the hands of older ones they have beaten, a mark of respect kept today.

Dress and objects

The kıspet, a pair of knee-length leather shorts, is the wrestler's only clothing. Its shape is traced to a peace treaty signed in 1590 between Murat III and the Persian shah. Iranian wrestlers wear a similar garment, the pirpet, but theirs is silk while the Turkish one is leather. Olive oil is the other essential object: every competitor pours it over his whole body before a bout, and the gleaming skin is central to how people picture the sport. The old prize of the Edirne contest, the Altın Kemer or Golden Belt, weighs no more than 1450 grams of 14-carat gold.

Today and change

Kırkpınar has been reorganised more than once, and in 2010 Unesco added the festival to its Representative List of intangible heritage. After the Balkan War of 1912 the original site was lost, so the meeting moved to Virantekke, at what is now the Kapitan Andreevo crossing on the Bulgarian border, and in 1924 to Sarayiçi island. In the early Turkish Republic, Atatürk brought the wrestling organisations under his sponsorship and asked Selim Sırrı Tarcan to reshape them. The winner became Champion of Turkey rather than Başpehlivan of the Kırkpınar, and medals replaced animals and the Golden Belt. A compromise later restored the title Başpehlivan of the Year and animal prizes.

How Kırkpınar is kept

The event runs for three days and the bouts are organised by category. On the closing day the finals decide first, second and third place in each group. Before any pairing, both men strip to leather shorts and pour olive oil across their bodies. An agha leads the occasion. He receives guests, lodges them, holds dinners and presents awards. Before the final, the next year's agha is chosen at an auction, where bids are offered for a ram or a sheep, and the person who offers the most becomes host and chief sponsor of the following tournament.

When and where

Kırkpınar takes place once a year, over three days, usually in late June. The organisers date the tournament from 1360 and have kept it annual since. The finals close the meeting on the third day, and the winners of each category are decided then.

The tournament belongs to Turkey and is held outside Edirne, in the northwest of the country. Since 1924 the bouts have taken place on Sarayiçi island near the city. Before that the meeting moved to Virantekke, at today's Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, after the Balkan War of 1912.

What Kırkpınar means

The pehlivan stands for strength, honesty and generosity. Old stories call him stronger than other men, well built and clad in heavy leather, and describe him as a knightly hero who is free in spirit and true to his word. Because a bout can last until neither man can continue, wrestling also carries ideas of endurance and fair dealing. Winners and losers are bound by respect: younger wrestlers kiss the hands of older opponents they have defeated.

Questions people ask about Kırkpınar

See also

Eid al-FitrThe feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits homeRamadan in TurkeyA holy month of fasting, prayer, and community meals, observed across Turkey with unique local customs.Caffè sospesoAn anonymous gift of a paid cup of coffee for a stranger in needSamovarA heated urn that brews tea for a slow, sociable pour, from Russia to Iran and Kashmir

Good reading and sources

• Kırkpınar oil wrestling festivalUNESCO, Heritage listing
• Kırkpınar oil wrestling festivalUNESCO, Article

• Kırkpınar on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.