The sport of yağlı güreş, or oil wrestling, is at the heart of Kırkpınar, a festival in the Turkish city of Edirne. Thousands of people will come to see these wrestlers—slick with olive oil—compete in ...

If we mention the northwestern Turkish city of Edirne, tucked up near the borders with Greece and Bulgaria, you may think, "Oh brother, not another story about olive oil wrestling." Yes, it's true ...

Some guys buy sports cars to cope with turning 40. Gökhan Mekik flew 5,500 miles, tugged on trousers of water buffalo hide, slathered his upper body in olive oil and went to battle in the Turkish ...

EDIRNE, Turkey—Turkish oil wrestling is all about the leather britches. For three days this weekend, some 1,500 men—from 11-year-old striplings to improbably muscled Goliaths—donned long, thick, black ...