Erdine Oil Wrestling Championships

Turkey plays host to a rather camp sporting event every summer, as traditional grappling bouts take place amongst the gypsy bands and dancing bears.

There may be Amsterdam’s Gay Pride or Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, but there are surely few festivals in the world that are quite as homoerotic as the Erdine Oil Wrestling Championships in Erdine, Turkey.

This uniquely Turkish event is meant to be showdown of manliness and virility, but to the neutral observer it appears as camp as a flamingo wearing a tutu and whistling along to In The Navy by the Village People.

So what happens in the Erdine Oil Wrestling Championships in July? Well, basically men from around the country get together in order grapple with each other whilst soaked head to foot in olive oil. They are naked apart from a pair of tight leather shorts, also known as a kisbet.

Before each fight, the two wrestlers are doused in specially-produced oil, and then they set about each other. The winner is the first fighter to pin his opponent’s shoulders down or illicit a submission from the oiled-up man they’ve got in a severe lock or hold.

The sport has been traditional in Turkey since the 14th century, but over time some of the more brutal manoeuvres have been outlawed. This doesn’t mean that it’s not proper fighting though – quite to the contrary; some of the moves used during the bouts can be painful to watch let alone be subjected to.

The real fun isn’t in the ring, though, but in the crowd. There’s a real carnival atmosphere as people cheer their favourite fighters on during this bizarre Turkish festival. There’s everything from gypsy bands playing traditional music to dancing bears as entertainment, and as the tickets cover all three days, then there’s no excuse not to kick back and get involved.

Just don’t mention that there may be something a little bit overly macho about near-nude wrestling between oiled-up men in leather though…