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Turkish Olive Oil Wrestlers Don't Want the Bears Watching
Every year hundreds of Turkish wrestlers
cover themselves in olive oil and don their leather pants to hit the mats. They
are practitioners of what some consider to be the Turkish national
sport; Olive Oil Wrestling. The finals are held
annually in the historic town of Edrine. The wrestlers roll around in the
grass, sometimes with a hand down another's trousers to get a better grip.
This year a gay group called the "Bears of Turkey" are advertising a
tour to watch the event. Sports federation officials and
government leaders are aghast.
In overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey homosexuality
is considered morally offensive and harassment is frequent although it
is not officially banned. The internet has become a safe place for the
gay community to organize and share a common lifestyle. The tour was
first presented on the Bears of Turkey website. The town of Edrine has
responded by rolling out the "Not Welcome" mat. The
639th oil wrestling championship is to be held on July 1 and 2 on Kirkpinar
island, a forested area between the Meric and Tunca rivers. It
commemorates the day a group of Ottoman soldiers entered "Rumeli,"
-the European side of Turkey. As described on the official Edrine
website: "Forty brave men wrestled under the supervision of their
commander Suleiman Pacha. Refusing to stop, the wrestlers died wrestling as
they exhausted their life force in the match to win".
For Info: (0171) 235 5252 For the bears, click
here
California Olive Oil News, Mayıs 2000
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/olivenews3-5.htm
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