The second day of Turkey’s ancient Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling festival witnessed some fierce battles, between the country’s top oil wrestlers. At least 16 competitors won the preliminary games to qualify ...

ISTANBUL (AP) — It took nearly an hour of grappling with his opponent under the blazing Turkish sun for Cengizhan Simsek to win the tournament and join a long list of previous victors. A very long ...

Hotel keepers and shop owners in northwestern Turkey are having a field day as thousands of fans have flocked there to see the 658th Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival. Held annually in the Edirne ...

Thousands of wrestlers competed earlier this month to try to claim the golden belt in the Kirkpinar Festival in the Turkish city of Edirne. But this is wrestling with a twist. In a tradition spanning ...

Thousands of wrestlers from all over Turkey have gathered to take part in a century's old competition which sees them smothered with oil. The Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival, which has been held ...

EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) — After a year-long, pandemic-induced hiatus, the sounds of the zurna flute and beating drums again greeted thousands of Turkish wrestling fans who returned to the country’s ...

The Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival takes place in Edirne, Turkey. Thousands of people from different age groups, cultures and regions travel every year to see Pehlivan (wrestlers) fight for the ...

With wrestlers taking to the field to the beat of drums echoing through Turkiye’s northwestern border city of Edirne, the centuries-old oil wrestling festival once again draws enthusiastic crowds and ...

After an intense weekend of slippery competition one Turkish oil wrestler has been crowned the winner and won the right to wear a golden belt for a year. Ali Gürbüz, from the western province of ...

The sport of yağlı güreş, or oil wrestling, is at the heart of Kırkpınar, a festival in the Turkish city of Edirne. Thousands of people will come to see these wrestlers—slick with olive oil—compete in ...

Oil wrestling or grease wrestling is believed to be started some 4,500 years ago in Thrace and the Balkans. The most famous oil wrestling tournament is held in Turkey. Named Kirkpinar, it has its root ...

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world’s hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook and Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter. The Sultan, entertained by the tussle, offered a pair of leather pants to ...