Wrestling is the oldest sport and has been around since 5000 years ago. Different places have different customs and unique cultures. Today I will introduce a Turkish game that you may never have heard of - olive oil wrestling. The most unusual thing about Turkish wrestling is that the players are slathered in olive oil, and if the oil dries out during the match, they have to reapply it, often consuming thousands of gallons of olive oil during a three-day match.

If you see two topless, oiled men contorting on a Turkish lawn, trying to get their hands into each other's leather pants, don't think you've strayed onto a gay movie set. This is actually a national traditional sport in Turkey, held once a year, called anointed wrestling, also known as ya rouggure in Turkish. Since it's called Turkish greased wrestling, as the name suggests, it requires participants to be covered in olive oil. This not only adds a bit of philosophy to the fighting picture, but also makes it difficult for the fighter to stand and grip, thus increasing the difficulty of the actual fight. This not only adds a bit of philosophy to the fighting picture, but also makes it difficult for the fighter to stand and grip, thus increasing the difficulty of the actual fight.

As for why olive oil? Because Turkey is rich, and it won't hurt to use that much.

The earliest greased wrestling was practiced in the Ottoman Empire in the early 14th century. According to legend, at that time, the army soldiers stationed in the vicinity of Edirne (Kri rkp Kri nar) would wrestle to exercise their body when they had nothing to do, and the prince saw that the imagination was rich, and ordered them to take off their clothes, change the leather breeche, and then cover the whole body with olive oil.

Turkish Wrestling is Turkey's oldest sporting event, second only to the Olympic Games, and is held annually in Kolpenar. Today, there are almost 300 wrestling tournaments a year in Turkey, and the highlight is the Traditional Kvery rkp Kvery nar Oil-Wrestling Festivities, held every June in Kirkepunar.

By 2013, the Turkish Olive Oil wrestling competition has been held 652 times, this event has become a Turkish festival, deeply loved by the Turkish people, in the Turkish people's view, more important than winning is the etiquette and mutual respect between the players.

Today, there are almost 300 wrestling tournaments a year in Turkey, and the highlight is the Traditional Kvery rkp Kvery nar Oil-Wrestling Festivities, held every June in Kirkepunar, starting in 1361. It has been held for 657 years.

The competition is not divided by weight, only by age and grades, simple and rough. Of course, the strangest thing was the game. At the beginning, the contestants, accompanied by a band, entered the arena in a strange dance posture in which they clapped their hands on their thighs and waved their arms forward. Coated with olive oil, there are a few small rituals before the formal opening: touching each other's leather pants, hugging the opponent, rubbing the back and shaking each other's arms, which is to show "friendship first, competition second" while also testing each other's strength.

During the tournament, thousands of wrestling fans from Turkey and even European countries come to participate or watch. Legend has it that the event commemorates two fierce Ottoman soldiers who died of physical exhaustion after a full day of wrestling. Since then, the two have been buried in Colpenar.

Another origin is that in the mid-14th century, the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II ordered his soldiers to wrestle with olive oil and only a pair of leather pants in order to boost the morale of the army.

The annual olive Oil wrestling tournament is a major event in the social life of the Turkish people, both the participants and the spectators are passionate about the competition. The stadium stands are filled with people from all walks of life, including invited guests from all over the world, and even the president will attend the scene.

With the intensity of the game, everyone from time to time let out loud cheers. From here you can see the love of Turkish men for their ancient sport, olive oil wrestling.

Each of the contestants had to be covered in olive oil before the competition, and the uniforms they wore were very different from those you would normally see in a wrestling match, with each one naked on the upper body and a pair of tight leather pants on the bottom. The criteria for determining the winner of the olive oil competition is very simple, as long as one side can make the other side's shoulders on the ground, or hold and carry the other side for three steps to win.

However, with both players covered in olive oil, it is difficult to find a point on each other during the game, which is not easy. Therefore, the olive oil wrestling competition has a special rule, if one side can tear or pull off the other side's leather pants can also win, so in the game often athletes desperately tear the other side's leather pants. In this wrestling match, the slightest mistake will be lost.


The winner of the contest is crowned "Chief Hercules" and is rewarded accordingly. There are five levels of wrestling, and if a participant wins the highest level three years in a row, he or she can keep a gold belt worth up to $40,000 forever. Turkey uses at least two tons of olive oil every year to host the event.

The oil is also used to prevent mosquito bites. Some people in the olive oil industry believe that it is important to choose high-quality olive oil, and poor olive oil can burn the skin of players. At the same time, the fragrance of olive oil from the field is used to "cover up" the sweat smell of the strongmen.

The Greased wrestling event in Turkey takes place every year for three days in late June or early July, when thousands of people from different age groups, cultures and regions flock here to watch or compete for the title of Golden belt and Grand Wrestler.

Because wrestling is in pairs, the players will get a prize for each win, and the more wins, the more lucrative the prize. In the past, livestock was the best reward, and depending on the number of wins, players might receive a sheep, a cow, or even a camel. The prizes are now, of course, gold, silver or cash, and the final champion gets a gold belt, but you only keep it for one year after winning it once, and the belt doesn't really belong to you until you've won it three times.

Turkish wrestlers love the sport, not only for the money, but also for the heritage and promotion of this traditional sport. According to reports, they begin to prepare and train for the competition in the winter, and generally have 7-8 months of preparation time, six days a week to practice lifting weights and running.

Today's grease wrestling is not only a sporting event, but also a national carnival festival, and has become a business card of Turkey, attracting tourists from all over the world, with the development of the local economy.