EOCLong before major arenas and international championships, wrestling, horse riding games and archery were already bringing communities together across the lands that now make up Türkiye. Shaped by local traditions and Ottoman culture, these activities combined physical training, competition and popular celebrations. Today, yağlı güreş, cirit and traditional archery offer a way to explore that history through skills that remain familiar in modern sport.
On the grass in Edirne, yağlı güreş, or oil wrestling, turns strength and balance into a tactical challenge. Its wrestlers, known as pehlivans, wear leather trousers called kıspet and cover themselves in olive oil, making it harder to get a grip on their opponent. Its best-known festival, Kırkpınar, traditionally traces its origins to the 14th century and was recognised by UNESCO in 2010. Anyone who follows Olympic wrestling will recognise the importance of unsettling an opponent’s balance, controlling their movements and choosing the right moment to attack. Although each discipline has its own rules, both demand technique, stamina and the ability to make decisions in a split second.
Cirit takes the action onto horseback. The practice arrived in Anatolia with Turkic peoples migrating from Central Asia and became an important part of equestrian and military training during the Ottoman period. Two teams of riders chase and dodge one another while throwing short, blunt wooden javelins towards their opponents. The throwing might bring athletics to mind, but here accuracy and movement matter more than distance. Its clearest connection with modern sport lies in equestrian disciplines, where balance, speed control and coordination with the horse are essential. These are shared skills, rather than evidence that cirit gave rise to Olympic equestrian sport.
Traditional Turkish archery developed from a tool for hunting and warfare into a sporting pursuit, flourishing particularly during the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul, this history has a setting of its own: Okmeydanı, whose name means “field of arrows”, was home to an archery ground established under Sultan Mehmed II. Archers competed to shoot over great distances, and some commemorative stones still mark their achievements.
Türkiye, where sporting heritage lives on
Recognised by UNESCO in 2019, this tradition retains its own cultural identity while sharing Olympic archery’s emphasis on concentration, body control and a precise release of the bowstring. Materials and competition formats have changed, but coordination between body, mind and bow remains at the heart of the challenge.
These three practices show how sport can preserve a community’s history while remaining part of its everyday life. Across Türkiye, wrestling grounds, equestrian games and archery spaces connect generations through learning and competition. For visitors from elsewhere in Europe, they offer a mix of discovery and familiarity: different customs built around the balance, coordination, concentration and competitive spirit they recognise in their own sports.
With Istanbul hosting the European Games in 2027, this heritage offers another way to discover the host country. Beyond the competitions, exploring its traditional sports brings visitors closer to the skills and customs that Türkiye continues to pass from one generation to the next.