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Kırkpınar, a Wrestling Field Six Centuries Old

Every year at the start of summer the sound of drums and shawms rises over Sarayiçi in the north of Edirne, and oiled wrestlers walk out onto the grassy field.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye19 Ekim 2026
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Kırkpınar, a Wrestling Field Six Centuries Old

Every year at the start of summer the sound of drums and shawms rises over Sarayiçi in the north of Edirne, and oiled wrestlers walk out onto the grassy field. In the words of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kırkpınar is Türkiye's longest-running cultural and sporting event, and in 2010 it was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This article covers the legend behind the wrestling, the changing location of its field, the elements of the tradition from the leather breeches to the golden belt, and what anyone hoping to see Kırkpınar today should know.

Forty warriors and a spring

The name Kırkpınar rests on a legend. According to the most common version, told in the ministry brochure, during Orhan Gazi's campaigns in Rumelia his son Süleyman Pasha captured Domuzhisar with forty soldiers. On the way back the vanguard stopped at Samona, which today lies in Greek territory, and the forty warriors began to wrestle there. Two brothers, said to be named Ali and Selim, could not defeat each other for hours.

According to the story, the same pair later wrestled again on a Hıdrellez day in the meadow of Ahıköy near Edirne. The match lasted all day and went on through the night by the light of candles and lanterns; in the end both wrestlers died of exhaustion where they stood. Their companions buried them under a fig tree. Years later, those who returned to the spot found an abundant spring where the graves lay, and the people named the place Kırkpınar, the forty springs. The date of the legend varies by source; the Wikipedia article gives 1346, while the Güreş article of the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam links the tradition to the reign of Orhan Bey and the forty warriors who crossed into Rumelia with Süleyman Pasha.

From fair to wrestling field

Kırkpınar was originally part of a fair. According to the TDV article on wrestling, in the Ottoman period wrestling outside the palace was mostly held at fairs, holidays and weddings, and the most important of the fair contests was the one at Kırkpınar. The Wikipedia article explains that the Kırkpınar fair lasted three days, that livestock and all kinds of goods were traded, and that horse races and foot races were held alongside the wrestling.

The original Kırkpınar meadow, as described on Wikipedia, was a grassy spot on the road linking Edirne to Ortaköy, between the villages of Simavina and Sarı Hızır. After the Balkan Wars this place ended up on the other side of the border, and for a time the wrestling was held in a meadow called Virantekke between Edirne and the Mustafapaşa road. In the war years there were periods when the contests could not take place. According to the Wikipedia article, the first Kırkpınar contests of the Republican era were held at Sarayiçi in the spring of 1924; the field has been at Sarayiçi ever since.

Sarayiçi is an island between two branches of the Tunca. According to Kültür Portalı, the New Palace of Edirne once stood here, begun under Murad II and completed in the reign of Mehmed II. Only ruins and a few buildings remain of the palace today, yet the island's meadows have hosted wrestling for a century. As Turkish Archaeological News reports, the island is still reached over stone bridges that remain in use; one of them is known as the Kanuni or Palace Bridge.

The aga, the lamb and the red-bottomed candle

The first element that sets Kırkpınar apart from other wrestling contests is the institution of the aga. According to the TDV account, the contests are organised by a patron called the Kırkpınar aga. On the last day of wrestling one of the field attendants walks in front of the spectators with a lamb in his arms; whoever offers the highest price for the lamb becomes the aga for the following year. From the beginning of March the aga sends invitations to the wrestlers, guests and spectators.

The Wikipedia article describes the duties of the old agas in more detail: calling the wrestlers to the contest, hosting the guests, providing food and lodging, making sure the wrestling followed custom and tradition, and handing out the prizes. Today most of the costs are covered by municipalities, but the tradition of the aga lives on. According to UNESCO, each festival is opened by the aga in a ceremony with forty bands of drums and shawms, and the golden belt is carried through the city in a procession.

The symbol of the Kırkpınar invitation is the red-bottomed candle. According to the Wikipedia article, these candles used to be hung in the coffee houses of towns and villages, and that was how people were invited to Kırkpınar.

Leather breeches, oil and the warm-up

The best known garment of oil wrestling is the kıspet. The ministry brochure describes it as a craft unique to Edirne, made with special processes from water buffalo, cow and calf leather and requiring fine workmanship. The Wikipedia article lists its parts: the waist is thick and four fingers wide, a thick cord is threaded through it, and this section is called the kasnak. The part reaching below the knee is the paça; a felt lining called the paçabent is placed between the paça and the leg, the leather is pulled over the felt and tied tightly with string. After wrestling the kıspet is oiled and kept in a woven reed bag called the zembil. It is said that a wrestler who retires hangs his zembil on the wall.

Wrestlers are oiled so that they are hard to grip. As UNESCO describes it, the oil man oils the wrestlers with the help of the towel holder; the Wikipedia article writes that cauldrons filled with oil and water stand in a corner of the field, and that during the match wrestlers can ask the oil men for more oil and water.

The bout begins with the peşrev. It is as much a greeting shown to the crowd as a warm-up. The wrestlers walk out swinging their arms in rhythm, go forward three times and back three times, kneel and rise, then test each other's leg cuffs and lock necks to begin the bout. Meanwhile the drum and shawm bands play the tunes particular to the wrestling; the Wikipedia article stresses that the musicians adjust the rhythm to the course of the bout. The person who introduces the wrestlers on the field by name, title and skill is the cazgır. UNESCO notes that the cazgır does this in verse; according to TDV, cazgırs usually come from the ranks of former wrestlers.

Rules and weight classes

Traditionally oil wrestling has no time limit, and both shoulders touching the ground is not required for victory. The ways of winning listed by TDV are these: bringing the opponent's back to the ground, tearing or pulling off his kıspet, lifting his feet and holding him upside down like a nail, making him give up, lifting him off his feet and holding him in the air, forcing him to leave the field, or throwing him onto his side or backside so that his belly is exposed. The Wikipedia article adds lifting the opponent and walking at least three steps with him.

Wrestlers compete by class. TDV mentions five basic grades: deste, küçük orta, büyük orta, baş altı and baş. In crowded contests such as Kırkpınar all the pairs of the same class grapple on the field at the same time; the loser leaves the field and the winners are paired again. On the first days the smaller classes wrestle, and on the last day the büyük orta, baş altı and baş bouts are held. According to the Wikipedia article, there is now a more detailed list of classes from the youngest to the top, and prizes are also given to the wrestler with the best peşrev and the most sporting wrestler.

The golden belt and the title of chief wrestler

The wrestler who wins the top class is declared başpehlivan, chief wrestler, and receives the golden belt. According to TDV, a wrestler who wins the title three years in a row becomes the permanent owner of the belt; the Wikipedia article notes that otherwise the belt is held for one year. As Wikipedia relates, although oil wrestling was held in many places in the Ottoman period, the title of chief wrestler was given only to the winner of Kırkpınar.

UNESCO stresses that Kırkpınar is open to men of every age, culture and region without discrimination, that wrestlers are seen as models of generosity, honesty, respect and loyalty to tradition, and that all of them are trained in the master and apprentice relationship. That is what keeps the tradition alive: a wrestler grows up beside a master and learns from him the peşrev, how to tie the kıspet and the etiquette of the field.

Seeing Kırkpınar

The contests last three days at the start of every summer, in the first half of July according to TDV and between the end of June and the beginning of July according to Wikipedia; festival events across the city accompany the wrestling days. Since the exact dates are announced separately each year, check the current programme and admission conditions in the official announcements of Edirne Municipality. The city is very crowded at this time, so arrange accommodation early.

The wrestling field is at Sarayiçi and can be reached on foot from the city centre. The route that goes north from the Selimiye area to the bank of the Tunca and crosses to the island over the Kanuni Bridge is both short and pleasant. In the summer heat the bouts go on for a long time; plan for a hat, water and a shaded seat. The first tunes of the drum and shawm bands and the collective peşrev of the wrestlers are among the most striking moments of the day, so try to be there for the opening.

Visitors outside the festival can also explore Sarayiçi. Surrounded by branches of the Tunca, the island is a quiet place to walk, with the palace ruins and historic bridges. Standing in front of the empty stands and looking out over the grassy field is enough to imagine the sound that rises here at the start of summer. Kıspet making, meanwhile, continues as a craft unique to Edirne and is the face of the tradition that lives on all year round.

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