Most homo-erotic sport of all time:Turkish Oil Wrestling

 

Oil wrestling (Turkish:yağlı güreş), also called grease wrestling, is the Turkish national sport. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. The olive oil is applied to every inch of the body and is designed to prevent your opponent getting any sort of grip as you grapple. 

 

To win, you need to flip your opponent on to his back. The wrestlers, known as pehlivan (meaning “hero” or “champion”) wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen called a “kispet” (, which is traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently has been made of calfskin.

 

No wonder why the gays are so into this sport, greased masculine men are wrestling of course. But infact, oil-wrestling has nothing to do with “gay culture” whatsoever.  Turkish people have been usually remembered during thousands of years as a warrior nation on the lands which they conquered. 

 

The preparations for the war of Turkish army were mainly sports and wrestling. The origin of the Turkish wrestling is based on the era when the Hun Empire was established. At that time the wrestling was organized as “Karakucak”. After the Ottoman Empire passed to Rumelia, it started to be organized as greased wrestling without losing its self and soul and became an extant tradition.

 

Allthough, oil wrestling is not welcomed to be associated with the gay culture, it definetly attract gay audience. Especially the “bear lovers” come to Turkey  for Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling. Traditionally, the Kirkpinar Wrestling is organized at the last week of June each year in Edirne (Northwest of Turkey).

 

 The majority of these Turkish oil wrestlers are definitely heterosexual. The biggest mistake any Gay tourist can make is to assume these oil wrestlers are gay and make a move on them. It is a recipe to get punched in the face or worst, so please respect these men and do not make assumptions. 

 

In Turkey, and much of the Middle East, men have grown up being very physically close to each other (due to the cultural separation of the sexes), but that does not mean they are gay or open to gay contact. Always remember the golden rule to be safe in Turkey if you are gay: Unless they make a move and initiate a gay encounter, do NOT assume they are gay, and do NOT make the first move.

 

Turkish Oil Wrestling

 

Oil wrestling (Turkish:Yağlı güreş), also called grease wrestling,is the Turkish national sport.  It is so called because the wrestlers  douse themselves with olive oil. The term "Güreş" is shared with other forms of wrestling practiced by Turkish-speakers across Europe and Central Asia, such as the Uzbek kurash, Tuvan kurash,  and Tator koras. 

 

The wrestlers, known as pehlivan meaning "hero" or "champion" wear a type of hand-stitched leather trousers  called a kisbet (sometimes kispet), which is traditionally made of water buffalo hide, and most recently has been made of calfskin. 

 

 Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win by this move is called paça kazık. 

 

Originally, matches had no set duration and could go on for one or two days until one man was able to establish his superiority, but in 1975 the duration was capped at 40 minutes for the baspehlivan and 30 minutes for the pehlivan category. If there is no winner, play continues for another 15 minutes—10 minutes for the pehlivan category, wherein scores are kept to determine the victor.

 

The annual Kirkpinar tournament, held in Edirne in Turkish Thrace since 1362, is the oldest continuously running, sanctioned sporting competition in the world. Oil wrestling festivals also take place in northern Greece in the Eastern Macedonia (Serres region) and West Thrace (Rhodope Mountains).In recent years, this style of wrestling has also become popular in other countries, particularly the Netherlands and Japan.

 

Cognate forms of folk wrestling practiced by Turkic speakers    are found throughout Western Eurasia (i.e. Europe and Central Asia)  under the names Koras, Khuresh and Kurash, etc. 
Oil wrestling can be traced back to the ancient Sumer and Babylon. Greco-Roman traditions also point to the practice of oil wrestling.

 

Turkish wrestlers started covering themselves according to Islamic law (between the navel and the knees) after the 10th century.The Turkish word for wrestling can be traced back to the old Oghuz Turkic languages, which originate from the Eurasian steppes, where wrestling has also been practiced. 

 

After the conquest of Anatolia by Seljuk Turks, a form of traditional freestyle wrestling called Karakucak Guresi  (literally "Ground hug") was popularized, where special leather clothing was sanctioned and wrestlers commenced the activity by pouring olive oil on their bodies in order to make it harder for the wrestler grip one's opponent. 

 

This form continued to what is today known as Yağlı Güreş or Turkish oil wrestling. In the Ottoman Empire, wrestlers learned the art in special schools called tekke , which were not merely athletic centres, but also spiritual centres.
Wrestlers oil one another prior to matches as a demonstration of balance and mutual respect. If a man defeats an older opponent, he kisses the latter's hand (a sign of respect for elders in Turkey).

 

Matches are held all over Turkey throughout the year, but in early summer, around 1000 competitors gather in Kirkpinar for an annual three-day wrestling tournament to determine who will be the baspehlivan ("chief wrestler") of Turkey.

 

 Ottoman chroniclers and writers attest that the Kirkpinar Games  have been held every year since 1362, making them the world's oldest continually sanctioned sporting competition.

 

The games have been cancelled only about 70 times. The original site was some 35 kilometres (22 mi) distant. In 1924, they were moved to the present location after the Balkan War. 
There are some organized oil wrestling competitions outside Turkey, particularly by the Royal Dutch Power Sport Federation (KNKF Koninklijke Nederlandse Krachtsport en Fitnessfederatie) in the Netherlands.

 

 

Is Wrestling a Gay Sport?!

 

Sweat, muscles, adorable booties, and for God's sake, spandex. In ancient Greece they even went without the spandex. Try as we may to watch The Ultimate Fighter on Fox — a show which puts a busload of muscle-bound young guys in close quarters with lots of chicken breasts and protein drinks — the suspension bridge of disbelief is sinking into the bay of the homoerotic.

 

Artists and photographers have long paid homage to the martial arts: Thomas Eakins, George Bellows, Bruce Weber, and a bunch of guys painting plates in ancient times all were riveted by the sight of naked or nearly naked young guys entwined in combat. Then the '80s blew wide open with professional wrestling taking on a cult status. It was showbiz in spandex and a fake tan. And then there is Turkish oil wrestling.

 

 Hercules and Diomedes in the Palazzo Vecchio: Let's just get this right out there, OK? If you were a mid-century homosexual, you probably had a plaster version of this in your bookcase along with Michelangelo's David. It was a short cut to letting guests in your home know certain things about you. Like that you were an art lover, for example. 

 

Terra-cotta Painting From Greece: Really old. Please note smiles on faces of wrestling youths.

  

Groping for Meaning: Fast-forward to the early '80s. Most likely a magazine cover showing that a wrestling winner is not afraid to touch a wiener to win.

  

Strapped for a Bash: This 1890 image shows early jockstrap prototypes.

  

That One, That One, and Those Two There, Please: Navy wrestling team, 1930s. 

  

Babes at Sea: Bored on the big boat? No women in sight? 

Time for some rasslin'! 

  

Pros, Wrestling: Mid-century photographer and entrepreneur Bob Mizer published wonderful wrestling photos of young men he picked up off the streets.

  

Lincoln Licks: Watch those big mitts, Abe.  

Ice Dancers: College high jinks on the frozen pond in Reims. 

Show Us What You Got, Boys: The University of Oklahoma Wrestling Team, 1936.

  

Take One for the Team: National Collegiate Tournament, 1937  

It's Pat!: Recently out pro wrestler Pat Patterson (Pierre Clemont) in his salad days.

  

The Slippery Slope — Turkish Oil Wrestling: I mean, really. (Two athletes help another tie a knot in his leather wrestling shorts before competing in the Turkish oil wrestling event in the western German city of Kassel on June 28, 2009.)  

Sleight of Hand: Please note, the object is to jam your big paw into the leather shorts of your opponent.  

Oopsie-Daisy! Looks like someone scored. Once again, are there really any losers here? 

 

Buddy System: I can't. You have to do this one yourself. I have to go lie down for a bit.

  

At Ease. Obviously a certain amount of camaraderie

 is to be expected. 

  

Ready to Rassle: Meet your opponent. Do you feel like winning or losing? (A Turkish oil wrestler poses June 22, 2014, during the 653rd annual Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament in Sarayici, near Edirne, western Turkey.)

  

Dirty Boys: Then there is India, where the wrestling takes place in a pit of dirt, just to amp up the kink factor. (Indian wrestlers pose during a training session at Loknath Akhara [wrestling school) in Allahabad on April 19, 2010. Akhara is India's indigenous form of wrestling and was once a royal national sport.) 

  

Oink: Wallowing has its advantages for these Indian wrestlers. 

 

And so a fond farewell and a slight adjustment, 

then on to the next match.