Turkish Oil Wrestling
Turkish oil wrestling, the national sport of Turkey, is extremely ancient. It is said that it was practiced 4500 years ago, and one tournament in Edirne, Turkey has been running since 1362, the oldest sporting competition in the world.
The first five photos were taken by LIFE photographer Stan Wayman in 1961. Above, competitors kiss before a match, a sign of respect.
The wrestlers wear only leather pants (no underwear) and are completely covered in olive oil to make it hard to get a grip on them. However, it's legal to stick your hand down your opponent's pants to get a grip.
This guy has gone elbow-deep.
Sticking your hand down your opponent's crotch is perfectly legal.
Here, the opponent's pants seem to be coming off, which is a winning move, as we'll see.
The remaining photos are not vintage, but the rules have not changed in over 600 years, except in 1975 a time limit was placed on matches. Before then, matches could go on for hours or even days.
Although it's legal to stick your hand down your opponent's ass or crotch, you're not allowed to stick a finger up his ass or grab his dick or balls.
Although who can tell what goes on inside those leather pants?
You lose if you land on your back, even for an instant (if your "belly sees the stars"). You also lose if your opponent lifts you up and takes 3 steps (or 5 steps, depending on the location of the match). You also lose if your pants are pulled down, exposing your "shameful parts." That happens very rarely, because the pants are so tight, but it may be happening above.
This looks like exposing "shameful parts", but it may not count if it's only momentary.
This short video shows what goes on. Note that it ends with a wrestler losing because he went down on his back (his "belly sees the stars").
With the athletes wearing leather pants and covered with oil, the sport is already homoerotic, and then adding the groping inside the opponent's pants, this has to be the most homoerotic sport on Earth.
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An addendum to yesterday's post on Arches National Park: although the park is best known for its rock arches, it has other rock formations, too. This formation is called the Phallus. There are other phallic rocks in the world, but I think this one takes the prize for best shape. It's visible from the main park road, but easily missed among miles of rocks and cliffs. They should have a turnout and sign to point it out. After all, how often do you see a 100-foot-tall penis?
7 comments:
Larry, are these matches performed in front of mixed audiences? In a lot of predominantly Muslim societies, women would not be allowed to see this.
Very surprising that the one view of “shameful parts” above the man is not circumcised, Turkey is a predominantly Islamic country, and circumcision is a rite of passage for young men.
One hundred foot phallus? I'll need both hands for that!
There are women in the audience. Turkey is not as conservative as its Arab neighbors.
Turkey has lots of phallic rocks in Cappadocia. The place where they predominate is called Love Valley — a bit more demure a name than Penis Valley. I, too, was surprised that the exposed man is uncut. How can that be? Also, I love how the ref at the end of the video holds up the champion’s arm grasping his wrist. The guy’s hand was just in his opponent’s ass, so maybe not a surprise that the ref doesn’t want to touch it.
I'm planning to do a post on phallic rock formations around the world, including the ones in Love Valley.
The 1964 comedy caper Topkapi was filmed on location in Turkey, and there is a scene of the Turkish wrestling festival in Edirne, Turkey. :)
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