| Carnivals |
Open-air |
| Festivals |
Parades |
| Markets |
Fairs |
| Traditional Events |
Sport |
| Food & Beverage |
Ongoing attractions |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Turkish oil wrestling (kirkpinar) |
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
When:
Annually in late June - early July (2011 - TBA)
Where: Edrime's stadium, Turkey
|
The wrestling contest Yagli gures means oily wrestling. This is an historical tradition from the Persian period, 1065 B.C. According to it, a known Persian wrestler named ''Rostam'' succeeded in saving his people from the evil forces. The local name for the oily wrestling is kirkpinar and it known as one of the popular sport branches in Turkey. In the contests, the wrestlers are anointed with oil from foot to head; they wear pair of leather shorts called ''Kispet'' made of buffalo. The wrestlers have to be well trained to minimize the smoothing out when they grasp each other. The contests are held all over the country, but the important tournament is the one which is held, yearly, in end June - start July in Edrime's stadium. In addition to the contests the spectators can enjoy a festive fair with music, local food (mainly grilled lamb) and dances until morning. During the tournament , the city hotels are fully booked so it is recommended to make a room reservation in advance. This is really a genuine fiesta for sport and ancient tradition lovers.
|
|
Watch Video:
|
|
|
|
IMPORTANT:
Please note that the details of the event are subject to change.
We strongly recommended that you check with the organizers
before making any travel arrangements.
|
Event related information:
|
background and overview:
Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks." Under his authoritarian leadership, the country adopted wide-ranging social, legal, and political reforms. After a period of one-party rule, an experiment with multi-party politics led to the 1950 election victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the peaceful transfer of power. Since then, Turkish political parties have multiplied, but democracy has been fractured by periods of instability and intermittent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980), which in each case eventually resulted in a return of political power to civilians. In 1997, the military again helped engineer the ouster - popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" - of the then Islamic-oriented government. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island and has since acted as patron state to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which only Turkey recognizes. A separatist insurgency begun in 1984 by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - now known as the People's Congress of Kurdistan or Kongra-Gel (KGK) - has dominated the Turkish military's attention and claimed more than 30,000 lives. After the capture of the group's leader in 1999, the insurgents largely withdrew from Turkey, mainly to northern Iraq. In 2004, KGK announced an end to its ceasefire and attacks attributed to the KGK increased. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. In 1964, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; over the past decade, it has undertaken many reforms to strengthen its democracy and economy, enabling it to begin accession membership talks with the European Union.
[Courtesy of The World Factbook]
|
|
|
 Location: outheastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria. |
Languages:
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian. |
Climate:
Temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Capital:
Ankara |
Time Zone:
UTC+2 - (Summer UTC+3) |
Currency (code):
Turkish lira (YTL) |
Call Code:
+90 |
Electric Power:
230 V 50Hz |
Tourist office:
Turkish Culture and Tourism Office Atatürk Bulvarı No:29 06050 Opera Ankara – Turkey Phone: (+90.312) 309 08 50 Fax: (+90.312) 312 43 59 info@kulturturizm.gov.tr |
Tourist website:
Click Here |
|
