I have always admired athletes, always tried to capture their strength and grace, dedication and striving. In 18 years as a photographer, I have shot every sport … except one. For years, I have been fascinated by Turkish oil wrestling. Historical pictures filled me with awe at its centuries of tradition and the power of its athletes. Finally, at the 652nd annual tournament held last summer 2013 in Edirne Turkey, I got to see and photograph the tournament myself. These athletes, I realized, are the gladiators of our era. Wrestlers – men and young men, some barely more than boys – compete in several age and weight classes. They douse themselves in olive oil so no one can hold down his opponent, which makes the matches incredibly challenging. Each athlete wears a traditional Kisbet, hand stitched pants made from the hide of the water buffalo, and wrestles without shoes.
They meet in a grassy stadium that opens just once a year in Erdine, a small city located between Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Although the sport is popular throughout Turkey, it is the Kirkpinar tournament in Edirne, which is oil wrestling’s World Cup. A near-legendary history surrounds the event. First staged in 1362, before the fall of Constantinople, the tournament is the world’s oldest continuously running sporting competition.
During the Ottoman Empire, oil wrestling was basic training for every soldier. Originally, matches had no set duration and would go on for a day or even two. Since 1975, matches have lasted for 40 minutes.
Over six magical days in Edirne, I was completely drawn into the competition, photographing everything that caught my eye through long 14-hour days, draining dozens of water bottles, sweating as much as if I had been covered in oil myself, stopping only to fall asleep, wake up and shoot more pictures. I was overwhelmed by the excitement, the competition, the human ethos of this extraordinary event.
Looking through the tens of thousands of images I took, I saw the entire experience of athletic competition. I was touched and moved by the camaraderie the athletes show one another, the congratulations and accolades they award to the winners, the warm sympathy with which they console the less fortunate. I saw friendship and rivalry, laughter and anger and unashamed tears; the vital dynamic of teacher and student and a tradition that reflects centuries of the highest standards of athletic performance and drive.
In fact, I believe, Turkish oil wrestling presents a dramatic and intensely emotional view of the entire human experience, filtered through one event that is both intriguingly timeless and vibrantly of this moment. I hope my photographs give honor to the men and boys who so passionately compete and they capture the beauty, pain, truth and heroism that is life itself.
I have always admired athletes, always tried to capture their strength and grace, dedication and striving. In 18 years as a photographer,
I have shot every sport … except one.
For years, I have been fascinated by Turkish oil wrestling. Historical pictures filled me with awe at its centuries of tradition and the power of its athletes. Finally, at the 652nd annual tournament held last summer 2013 in Edirne Turkey, I got to see and photograph the tournament myself.
These athletes, I realized, are the gladiators of our era. Wrestlers – men and young men, some barely more than boys – compete in several age and weight classes. They douse themselves in olive oil so no one can hold down his opponent, which makes the matches incredibly challenging. Each athlete wears a traditional Kisbet, hand stitched pants made from the hide of the water buffalo, and wrestles without shoes.
They meet in a grassy stadium that opens just once a year in Erdine, a small city located between Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Although the sport is popular throughout Turkey, it is the Kirkpinar tournament in Edirne, which is oil wrestling’s World Cup.
A near-legendary history surrounds the event. First staged in 1362, before the fall of Constantinople, the tournament is the world’s oldest continuously running sporting competition.
During the Ottoman Empire, oil wrestling was basic training for every soldier. Originally, matches had no set duration and would go on for a day or even two. Since 1975, matches have lasted for 40 minutes.
Over six magical days in Edirne, I was completely drawn into the competition, photographing everything that caught my eye through long 14-hour days, draining dozens of water bottles, sweating as much as if I had been covered in oil myself, stopping only to fall asleep, wake up and shoot more pictures. I was overwhelmed by
the excitement, the competition, the human ethos of this extraordinary event.
Looking through the tens of thousands of images I took, I saw the entire experience of athletic competition. I was touched and moved by the camaraderie the athletes show one another, the congratulations and accolades they award to the winners, the warm sympathy with which they console the less fortunate.
I saw friendship and rivalry, laughter and anger and unashamed tears; the vital dynamic of teacher and student and a tradition that reflects centuries of the highest standards of athletic performance and drive.
In fact, I believe, Turkish oil wrestling presents a dramatic and intensely emotional view of the entire human experience, filtered through one event that is both intriguingly timeless and vibrantly of this moment. I hope my photographs give honor to the men and boys who so passionately compete and they capture the beauty, pain, truth and heroism that is life itself.
THE TURKISH WRESTLER
Film BY Richard Phibbs
I have always admired athletes, always tried to capture their strength and grace, dedication and striving. In 18 years as a photographer, I have shot every sport … except one. For years, I have been fascinated by Turkish oil wrestling. Historical pictures filled me with awe at its centuries of tradition and the power of its athletes. Finally, at the 652nd annual tournament held last summer 2013 in Edirne Turkey, I got to see and photograph the tournament myself. These athletes, I realized, are the gladiators of our era. Wrestlers – men and young men, some barely more than boys – compete in several age and weight classes. They douse themselves in olive oil so no one can hold down his opponent, which makes the matches incredibly challenging. Each athlete wears a traditional Kisbet, hand stitched pants made from the hide of the water buffalo, and wrestles without shoes.
They meet in a grassy stadium that opens just once a year in Erdine, a small city located between Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Although the sport is popular throughout Turkey, it is the Kirkpinar tournament in Edirne, which is oil wrestling’s World Cup. A near-legendary history surrounds the event. First staged in 1362, before the fall of Constantinople, the tournament is the world’s oldest continuously running sporting competition.
During the Ottoman Empire, oil wrestling was basic training for every soldier. Originally, matches had no set duration and would go on for a day or even two. Since 1975, matches have lasted for 40 minutes.
Over six magical days in Edirne, I was completely drawn into the competition, photographing everything that caught my eye through long 14-hour days, draining dozens of water bottles, sweating as much as if I had been covered in oil myself, stopping only to fall asleep, wake up and shoot more pictures. I was overwhelmed by the excitement, the competition, the human ethos of this extraordinary event.
Looking through the tens of thousands of images I took, I saw the entire experience of athletic competition. I was touched and moved by the camaraderie the athletes show one another, the congratulations and accolades they award to the winners, the warm sympathy with which they console the less fortunate. I saw friendship and rivalry, laughter and anger and unashamed tears; the vital dynamic of teacher and student and a tradition that reflects centuries of the highest standards of athletic performance and drive.
In fact, I believe, Turkish oil wrestling presents a dramatic and intensely emotional view of the entire human experience, filtered through one event that is both intriguingly timeless and vibrantly of this moment. I hope my photographs give honor to the men and boys who so passionately compete and they capture the beauty, pain, truth and heroism that is life itself.
-Richard Phibbs
THE TURKISH WRESTLER
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD PHIBBS
I have always admired athletes, always tried to capture their strength and grace, dedication and striving. In 18 years as a photographer,
I have shot every sport … except one.
For years, I have been fascinated by Turkish oil wrestling. Historical pictures filled me with awe at its centuries of tradition and the power of its athletes. Finally, at the 652nd annual tournament held last summer 2013 in Edirne Turkey, I got to see and photograph the tournament myself.
These athletes, I realized, are the gladiators of our era. Wrestlers – men and young men, some barely more than boys – compete in several age and weight classes. They douse themselves in olive oil so no one can hold down his opponent, which makes the matches incredibly challenging. Each athlete wears a traditional Kisbet, hand stitched pants made from the hide of the water buffalo, and wrestles without shoes.
They meet in a grassy stadium that opens just once a year in Erdine, a small city located between Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Although the sport is popular throughout Turkey, it is the Kirkpinar tournament in Edirne, which is oil wrestling’s World Cup.
A near-legendary history surrounds the event. First staged in 1362, before the fall of Constantinople, the tournament is the world’s oldest continuously running sporting competition.
During the Ottoman Empire, oil wrestling was basic training for every soldier. Originally, matches had no set duration and would go on for a day or even two. Since 1975, matches have lasted for 40 minutes.
Over six magical days in Edirne, I was completely drawn into the competition, photographing everything that caught my eye through long 14-hour days, draining dozens of water bottles, sweating as much as if I had been covered in oil myself, stopping only to fall asleep, wake up and shoot more pictures. I was overwhelmed by
the excitement, the competition, the human ethos of this extraordinary event.
Looking through the tens of thousands of images I took, I saw the entire experience of athletic competition. I was touched and moved by the camaraderie the athletes show one another, the congratulations and accolades they award to the winners, the warm sympathy with which they console the less fortunate.
I saw friendship and rivalry, laughter and anger and unashamed tears; the vital dynamic of teacher and student and a tradition that reflects centuries of the highest standards of athletic performance and drive.
In fact, I believe, Turkish oil wrestling presents a dramatic and intensely emotional view of the entire human experience, filtered through one event that is both intriguingly timeless and vibrantly of this moment. I hope my photographs give honor to the men and boys who so passionately compete and they capture the beauty, pain, truth and heroism that is life itself.
-Richard Phibbs
Categories:
2016 Best Documentary Short Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards
2016 Award of recognition Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival
2016 accepted in consideration International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema Nice
2016 accepted in consideration London International Film Festival
2016 accepted in consideration New York City Independent Film Festival
2016 accepted in consideration Oxford International Film Festival
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