Oil wrestling

What is Yağlı Güreş?

Yağlı Güreş, also known as Turkish oil wrestling, is the traditional Turkish form of wrestling in which pehlivans coat their bodies and leather kıspet with olive oil. The oil makes a conventional grip difficult. As a result, the technique revolves around balance, strength, timing, control, and correctly using the kıspet as a grip point.

The sport is usually practiced on a grassy field and is closely linked to Turkish history, music, rituals, and hospitality. Yağlı Güreş is not the same as Olympic freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling, although the disciplines share throwing and control techniques.

• Pehlivan - the wrestler; the title refers to courage, skill, and championship.
• Kıspet - leather trousers reaching just below the knee, which form the most important grip point in many techniques.
• Olive oil - makes gripping the skin and clothing difficult and gives the sport its distinctive technical character.
• Kırkpınar - the annual Turkish highlight in Edirne, with the title of başpehlivan as the top prize.

Origins and historical development

Forms of oil wrestling are linked in various sources to ancient communities in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Thrace, the Balkans, Greece, and Rome. Related folk wrestling traditions also exist in other Turkic-speaking regions under names such as Köraş, Khuresh, and Kurash. These similarities indicate a broad wrestling history, but do not prove that every modern form has a single uninterrupted origin.

In Anatolia, Yağlı Güreş was influenced by Karakucak Güreşi, a traditional form of freestyle wrestling associated with Seljuk and later Ottoman history. In the Ottoman Empire, wrestlers trained in tekke, facilities that could serve both physical and spiritual functions.

Kırkpınar

Kırkpınar in Edirne is the best-known Yağlı Güreş festival. Sources cite different starting years, including 1346, 1361, and 1362, depending on whether the legendary tradition, the first contest, or the tournament’s continuity is taken as the starting point. Therefore, the careful wording is that Kırkpınar is an ancient Turkish wrestling festival that has been organized continuously for centuries.

The well-known origin legend tells of forty Ottoman warriors who wrestled one another during a campaign. The name Kırkpınar is often explained as kırk pınar, “forty springs.” The legend is culturally important, but should be distinguished from documented competition history.

Kırkpınar is often described as one of the oldest continuously organized sporting events in the world. Yağlı Güreş has been on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010.

Rules and competition system

A wrestler loses when their back touches the ground due to their opponent’s action, when they sit back on both hands, or when both elbows or one elbow and one hand touch the ground. A match can also be decided when a wrestler lifts their opponent, carries them for three steps, or spins them around.

The grip on the kıspet is distinctive. Inserting an arm through the opponent’s trousers and establishing control from there is called paça kazık. A kıspet that slips down far enough to expose the genitals can result in a loss under the rules. A good fit and respectful application of the rules are therefore important.

Historically, matches could last indefinitely and continue for hours or even longer. Modern formats use time limits, which vary by category and organization. The provided sources mention, among other things, thirty minutes for certain categories and forty minutes for the top division, with possible overtime or a decision on points. Always check the current regulations.

The winner of the main tournament receives the title başpehlivan, “chief or foremost wrestler,” and a cash prize. A pehlivan who wins three consecutive years may receive a golden belt. Lower placements and participation may also be rewarded.

Training in Yağlı Güreş

Training develops upper-body strength, grip strength, hip and core control, balance, and the ability to work from a slippery position. Pehlivans practise wearing the kıspet, train throws and control positions, and build their technical experience through years of competition.

Practising with oil is important because dry wrestling does not fully replicate the specific grip and balance challenges of Yağlı Güreş. The sport requires gradual development and expert guidance, especially when carrying, turning, and falling.

Tekke and the wrestling community

Historical tekke were more than ordinary training halls: they could serve as meeting places where physical training, discipline, spirituality, and social values came together. The ideal of the pehlivan encompasses not only technical skill but also respect, humility in victory, and dignity in defeat.

Ritual and meaning

The peşrev is the ceremonial opening of a Yağlı Güreş match. It is simultaneously a theatrical introduction, warm-up, and prayer ritual. The wrestlers line up, move rhythmically, greet one another, and listen to the cazgır, the master of ceremonies and announcer.

The hand contact during the ceremony symbolizes camaraderie and mutual respect. In Turkish tradition, a wrestler may also show respect to an older opponent after a victory or defeat by kissing their hand. Davul and zurna accompany the matches, connecting the sporting event with regional music and festival culture.

Clothing and equipment

The kıspet is a leather pair of trousers that reaches just below the knee and is custom-fitted. Older buffalo-hide kıspets could be much heavier than modern models. Calfskin kıspets are commonly used today; the weight varies depending on the material, model, and amount of oil.

The pehlivan typically wrestles barefoot and bare-chested. Olive oil is applied to the body and kıspet before and during the event. The oil has a technical effect, but it is also part of the ritual and the sport’s distinctive visual language.

Oil Wrestling in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, Yağlı Güreş is not a widely organized competitive sport held on a daily basis. Here, the sport mainly takes the form of cultural demonstrations, occasional events, and small-scale workshops. This reflects the sport’s role as part of Turkish cultural heritage, but does not mean that there are no individual practitioners or organized initiatives.

Organizations such as Türkevi Amsterdam have organized events and editions in the past in which Yağlı Güreş was presented as a connection between the Turkish community and Dutch society. Cultural festivals in cities with a large Turkish-Dutch community may invite pehlivans for a demonstration or event.

There are also recreational entertainment activities that use the term oil wrestling. These are separate from the centuries-old Yağlı Güreş tradition, Turkish competitive culture, and pehlivan training. Those wishing to train or attend an event should therefore first check who the organizer is, which rules apply, and whether it concerns sport, a demonstration, or entertainment.

Competitions outside Turkey

Organized Yağlı Güreş competitions are held outside Turkey. In the Netherlands, competitions and initiatives are associated, among others, with the Royal Dutch Strength Sports and Fitness Federation, KNKF. The scale, schedule, and current status of events may change and should be verified with the organizer.

For the major traditional competitions, enthusiasts and wrestlers often travel to Turkey. The Türkiye Güreş Federasyonu and the organizers of Kırkpınar publish the official competition information and current schedule.

Yağlı Güreş in Turkish Wrestling Culture

Güreş means wrestling and in Turkey can refer to a much broader landscape than oil wrestling alone. Çayır güreşi is folk wrestling on grass; minder güreşi is Olympic wrestling on the mat. Karakucak Güreşi and Yağlı Güreş are rural folk-wrestling styles, while Aba Güreşi, Aşırtmalı Aba, Kısa Şalvar, Kuşak or Tatar Güreşi, and Şalvar Güreşi are regional variants.

The different styles use their own clothing, surfaces, holds, rituals, and competition rules. Yağlı Güreş should therefore not be described simply as Olympic wrestling with oil.

Sport wrestling in Turkey

In addition to folk wrestling, freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling are practiced in Turkey. Turkish teams have achieved international results at world championships. Tournaments such as Yaşar Doğu and Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan are examples of the organized sport-wrestling calendar.

Famous pehlivans

Historical and modern names associated with Yağlı Güreş include Kel Aliço, Koca Yusuf, Katrancı Mehmet Pehlivan, Adalı Halil, Hergeleci İbrahim, Kızılcıklı Mahmut, Kurtdereli Mehmet, Bandırmalı Kara Ali, Tekirdağlı Hüseyin, İbrahim Karabacak, Ahmet Taşçı, Recep Kara, Ali Gürbüz, İsmail Balaban, Orhan Okulu, Fatih Atlı, Mehmet Yeşilyeşil, and Osman Aynur.

Some names also appear in sources with regional designations, such as Kızılcıklı Mahmut of Silistra, Katrancı Mehmet of Shumen, Kara Ahmet of Razgrad, Başol Yağcı of Sındırgı, and İzzet of Silivri. Duplicate entries from the supplied list have been merged.

Ağas

The ağas play a supportive and ceremonial role around Kırkpınar. The named ağas are Süleyman Şahin, Gazanfer Bilge, Alper Yazoğlu, Hüseyin Şahin, and Seyfettin Selim. The golden sash awarded to some ağas should be distinguished from the golden sash that a pehlivan can earn through successive sporting victories.

Competitions and awards

The başpehlivan is the winner of the highest category in the main tournament. In addition to the title, cash prizes, awards, and travel reimbursements may be granted. In some formats, second- and third-place finishers also receive a prize.

The exact categories, time limits, scoring system, and conditions for a golden belt depend on the current regulations. Historical rules and modern tournament rules should not be conflated without explanation.

Explore or get acquainted with Yağlı Güreş

Those attending an event can observe the peşrev, the music, the kıspet, the application of oil, and the way pehlivans show respect. A demonstration often highlights the ritual and cultural significance, while a competition also follows a strict technical and physical system.

For those interested in the Netherlands, it is advisable to request up-to-date information directly from a cultural organization, wrestling federation, or organizer. Check whether the event is an actual Yağlı Güreş competition, a demonstration, a workshop, or an entertainment activity.

Yağlı Güreş in Focus

Images of Yağlı Güreş often show green grass fields, oiled pehlivans, shiny leather kıspets, davul and zurna music, and the ceremonial peşrev. Together, these images belong to a sport in which competition, ritual, history, and community life cannot be separated.

The oil makes the sport instantly recognizable, but at its core it remains wrestling: positioning, grip, balance, throwing, carrying, and respect for the opponent.