Yağlı güreş is the Turkish national sport. It is commonly known as Turkish oil wrestling, as the wrestlers douse  themselves with olive oil. This makes the athletes become extremely slippery and difficult to grab.
The wrestlers, known as Pehlivan (meaning "hero" or "champion") wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen called  kispet, which is traditionally made of buffalo leather and, most recently, it has been made of calfskin. The competitions  take place outdoors on a grass ground. Wins who puts the opponent's shoulder to the ground.
The more 'important' tournament is  Kirkpinar and it is held every year in Edirne, Thrace since 1362 and it is the oldest and sanctioned sporting competition in the world. Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kispet. Thus, the Pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kispet. To win by this move is called paça kazık.
The fight is preceded by a warm up that turns into a real ceremony, which is characterized by making great strides with the waving of arms and knees, gyrating to the sound of davul (drum) and zurna (oboe), the wrestlers advance and retreat for three times. Then, begin the rituals of greeting and prayer. Athletes, side by side and in front of the jury, bend their right knee on the ground, put the  left hand on belt and bend to kiss the earth with right hand, then bringing the hand to the heart, lips and forehead. So they get up, bowing with great solemnity. Pehlivans before the fight, crossing each other several times, touching each other calves, back and neck and holding hands several times. Then, starts the fight.
Originally, the games did not have a specified time, it went on for a day or two until one of the two wrestlers were able to establish his superiority, but in 1975 the duration was limited to 40 min. If there is no winner, the fight continues for another 15 minutes in which the scores are calculated to determine the winner.
In the Empire Ottoman Empire, wrestlers learned the art in special schools called Tekke, who were not only sports centers, but also spiritual centers where the wrestlers sprinkled oil each other before the fight as a demonstration of balance and mutual respect.
The fight is based on the strength and power of the wrestlers. The main causes of victory are: working with the head and the pressure of the forearms, the ability to disrupt the balance and the ability to resist heat, since the competitions are held in the summer during the hottest hours. If a man defeats an older opponent, he kisses the latter's hand (a sign of respect for elders in Turkey).