Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Video

Festival Location: Edirne, Turkey

Festival Type(s): Strength Sports Events, Bizarre Sports Events, Combat Sports Events

Every summer since 1640 the city of Edirne plays host to an age old Turkish tradition - Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling.

Barefoot and stripped to the waist, oiled down and clad only in leather shorts, up to a thousand men and boys gather to compete in 11 divisions for up to three days in a field outside the former capital of the Ottoman Empire. Here they will fight until one man remains.

Despite the serious overtones in the title this great set of stills take from the Edirne event prove oil wrestling ain't for the faint hearted and certainly shouldn't be confused with the oil wrestling you had in mind when you clicked your way here - tut tut!