02.07.2026 17:50
The most rooted organization of Turkish wrestling, the 665th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling, will start tomorrow at Sarayiçi Er Meydanı. The great excitement will last for 3 days. In the organization where 40 chief wrestlers will compete, the chief wrestler matches will start on Saturday, and the champion will be determined on Sunday.
The 665th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival will start tomorrow with the mini-league wrestlers entering the field.
COUNTDOWN FOR KIRKPINAR
A total of 840 wrestlers, including 40 head wrestlers, will participate in the wrestling matches to be held at Kırkpınar Arena in Sarayiçi. In the Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival, wrestlers will compete in categories: mini 1, mini 2, mini 3, incentive, tozkoparan, foot, small group small size, small group medium size, small group large size, small middle small size, small middle large size, large middle, sub-head, and head.
AGA CEREMONY TO BE HELD
Tomorrow, cultural ceremonies of the wrestling will also take place.
Wrestling Aga Ufuk Özünlü, who won the aga tender with 40 million 664 thousand 665 Turkish liras, will be welcomed by Edirne Mayor Filiz Gencan at Selimiye Square, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Atatürk Monument.
The ceremony will continue at the Wrestlers Cemetery, where prayers will be offered at the graves of Adalı Halil and Kara Emin. At noon, a mevlid (religious recitation) will be held at Edirne Old Mosque.
The official opening program of the 665th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival will take place at 18:00 at the Sarayiçi Arena. After the national flag is raised by Orhan Okulu, the head wrestler of the 664th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival, protocol speeches will be made, and a parade will be organized.
HEAD WRESTLER MATCHES TO START ON SATURDAY
In the head wrestler category, the first 32 matches will be held tomorrow. The 4th pool, consisting of wrestlers ranked 25 to 32 in the league, will be paired with the 5th pool, which includes 8 additional head wrestlers. The 8 head wrestlers who defeat their opponents will qualify for the top 32 and receive a visa to participate in the first-round matches. The head wrestlers will hold the first round of the 665th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival starting at 13:30 on Saturday, July 4.
On Sunday, July 5, when the organization concludes, in addition to other category matches, head wrestler quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches, the aga tender, and the closing ceremony will take place.
TICKET PRICES
Tickets for the 665th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival are on sale ranging from 1,400 to 2,600 Turkish liras. The first day's matches can be watched for free. Ticket prices for the second day, which falls on Saturday, July 4, are set at 1,750 liras for the first tier and 1,400 liras for the second tier. Those wishing to watch the Sunday, July 5 event, which includes the final match, will pay 2,600 liras for the first tier and 1,750 liras for the second tier.
PERMANENT GOLDEN BELT
There is no head wrestler meeting the criteria for the permanent golden belt, which is given to those who become head wrestler three consecutive times.
However, according to the updated competition regulations this year, a wrestler who becomes head wrestler five times—without requiring consecutive wins—can also wear the golden belt. Therefore, if they achieve first place, either Recep Kara or Ali Gürbüz, who each hold the title of Türkiye's head wrestler four times, could become the belt owner. The last permanent holder of the golden belt was Ahmet Taşçı, one of the legends of the field, in 1997.
The head wrestlers who have been champions at the Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival in recent years are as follows:
- 2009: Mehmet Yeşil Yeşil
- 2010: Mehmet Yeşil Yeşil
- 2011: Ali Gürbüz
- 2012: Ali Gürbüz
- 2013: İsmail Balaban
- 2014: Fatih Atlı
- 2015: Orhan Okulu
- 2016: Recep Kara
- 2017: İsmail Balaban
- 2018: Orhan Okulu
- 2019: Ali Gürbüz
- 2020: Could not be held due to the pandemic.
- 2021: Ali Gürbüz
- 2022: Mustafa Taş
- 2023: Yusuf Can Zeybek
- 2024: Yusuf Can Zeybek
- 2025: Orhan Okulu
PRIZE OF 1 MILLION 655 THOUSAND LIRAS FOR HEAD WRESTLER
Edirne Municipality announced the prizes to be awarded to wrestlers who rank in the 665th Historical Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival.
According to the municipality's statement, the wrestler who comes first in the head wrestler category will receive a prize of 1 million 655 thousand liras. The second-place wrestler will receive 750 thousand liras, and the two wrestlers eliminated in the semifinals will each receive 380 thousand liras.
In the sub-head category, the first-place prize is 225 thousand liras; in the large middle category, 125 thousand liras; in the small middle large category, 82 thousand 500 liras; and in the small middle small category, 55 thousand liras. Wrestlers who rank in other categories will also receive various amounts of prizes. The best peşrev (warm-up performance) prize will be 16 thousand liras.
HISTORY OF KIRKPINAR
According to historical sources, the origin of the Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling Festival dates back to 40 renowned soldiers forming the advance forces of the raiders who conquered Rumelia. During breaks, they wrestled both for fun and to stay fit, considering it a form of exercise.
During a break in Simavna (now in Greek territory), two brothers named Ali and Selim wrestled for hours without defeating each other. In their persistent struggle to throw each other, both died on the spot.
The raiders buried the two brothers under a willow tree and continued on their way due to their duties. Years later, when the raiders visited their friends' graves, they found a spring at the site of the two wrestlers' graves, and this place has since been called "Kırkpınar."
After Murat I, who conquered Edirne, established a wrestlers' lodge, it became a tradition to hold wrestling matches every year in this city, which became the capital at the time.
The organization, which was interrupted during the Ottoman-Russian War, the Balkan War, and World War I, was historically organized by Kırkpınar agas and has been organized by Edirne Municipality since 1946.