665. Kırkpınar Yağlı Güreşleri

For this year’s Kırkpınar, I’ll try something different. As the entire competition is legend-wise connected to water [even ’Kırkpınar’ means ’forty springs’], I’ll discuss this year’s competition from this element’s perspective.

 

The beginning was hard, with unusually low temperatures and rain. See? A lot of water! Even though Bulgaria’s Ahtopol was charming and authentic and I loved its energy, its surroundings didn’t really appeal to me – not the Pearl Beach in Primorsko or Malko Tarnovo. Or maybe the weather was off, and I had no desire to swim [the Black Sea was very warm, though]. But Marcel did find Nero for me! 

 

When we got to Turkey, we understood yet again why Kırkpınar was held in Edirne, by the Tunca River, on old Sarayiçi. The heat is poignant even 7-8 degrees below its average temperature.

 

How was Kırkpınar in 2026?

• For this edition, we walked a lot, mainly because the lovely Milaroom has a perfect location for a walk to the centre of it all (10-15 minutes) and the Kırkpınar arena (7-10 minutes). This way, parking in Edirne is no longer an issue, and you can get to all the places you wish to see. Talk about seeing: we had breakfast with Selimiye Mosque watching over us. Plus, our walks to see the fights were as picturesque as they could be. We met kind people and cute cats.
• The sad part?

Ali not getting through the quarterfinals.

• Our highlights?

The people we met – Bahar and Yagmur, the sisters of champion Caner Arslan; the little champion we stumbled upon in the arena; the wonderful spectators who offered us cologne and almonds and made us feel at home one more time, or the kind gentleman selling us delicious sweets and talking about history!

Meeting başpehlivan Mehmet Yeşil-Yeşil while going out to shop for almond cookies [those evening Edirne walks are not only beautiful but fruitful, too].

It was a magical trip! I think it was my second-favourite all-time trip to Kırkpınar and one of our all-time favourite trips.

 

To go with a cup of cold water, lemonade, or a refreshing Mojito, I recommend:

• pistachio profiteroles from Ondo;
• pistachio and almond specialities from Keçecizade;
• Katmer from TatveTat;
• cold baklava (milk baklava) from Altin Oklava;
• dinner at Social Plate, my favourite restaurant in Edirne; they partly changed the menu, but it’s as delicious as always [this year, we got even closer to the lovely cats that are taken care of by the people at the restaurant; they melted my heart].
  
  
  

 

We (try to) never leave Edirne without

• a lingering shopping spree at a local spice and nut store [Aşinam is a great place for that!];
• a quick detour to a local store to get snacks, halva, and other products that we love;
• a visit to the bazaar [actually, the limited parking spaces made us skip visiting it for 3 years, but we loved going back];
• a stop by Edirne’s market (Pazar Yeri) [we always buy fruits and vegetables that we love; I was surprised to see strawberries this year, we bought okra, of course, and the white mulberries were a delight; plus, Euros are accepted, too];

 

We returned through Greece. I can’t be so close to Greece and not order a Greek salad. A very long wait at the Greek border made us choose something very close and open by the time we arrived. By crossing the Maritsa River, the road continued to Marasia. We didn’t know what to think about Τσιπουρα...δικο «ο Γιώργος». Then, we ordered and played with a dog and cat of the village until our lunch was ready. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in Greece! And the people were so welcoming we didn’t feel like strangers. We promised to return next year.

 

We’ve already made the arrangements in Edirne, too. We’re going back. How could we not?