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Kirkpinar Wrestlers
The wrestlers, known as "pehlivan", wear a type of hand-stitched lederhosen called "kisbet" (sometimes "kispet"), which were traditionally made of water buffalo hide, but now also of calf leather.
Unlike Olympic wrestling, oil wrestling matches may be won by achieving an effective hold of the kisbet. Thus, the pehlivan aims to control his opponent by putting his arm through the latter's kisbet. To win with this move is called "paca kazık".
If wrestling gets hot and one of the wrestlers demands water or to get greased in order to waste time, the opponent can object to it.  In the past, the wrestler’s wearing the kisbet used to be thought of very highly. The wrestlers who had not achieved the “Pehlivan” rank could not wear the wrestler’s tights.
 
Please visit www.kirkpinar.net/ for more info.
 
Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi
Come, come again, whoever you are, come!
Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come!
Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times,
Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are  Whirling Dervishes.
The "dance" of the Whirling Dervishes is called Sema. Sema is a part of the inspiration of Mevlana as well as part of Turkish custom, history, beliefs and culture.
 
 
 
Please visit www.mevlana.net/ for more info.

 
Turkish Kilim
The etymological root the word "kilim" is not known exactly but it has been seen in the Turkish language since the 13th century. The word "kilim" is only a name for a weaving technique. For centuries, these different designs were traditionally passed down from mother to daughter. Turkey is the only country in the world that has preserved all the different techniques.
The word "kilim" is misused in other languages to refer to all flat weaves other than rugs.
 
 
 
 
Otoman Mehter Music
Ottoman Mehter music, which for centuries accompanied the marching Ottoman army into battle, still a part of folk culture all over Turkey. Mehter music was a symbol of sovereignty and independence, and its ardent sounds instilled the soldiers with strength and courage. The rousing songs and crashing sound of the great kös drums were at the same time capable of unnerving the enemy on the brink of battle, and the Mehter music composers took pains to create works that produced this effect. The Mehter band was established in 1299.
 
 
Turkish Ceramics
Anatolian Turkey is one of the oldest civilisation to manufacture traditional fired earthenware in the world, stretching back almost ten thousand years towards the end of the last ice age. Traditional Turkish ceramics, or ‘çini’ as they are known in Turkish, are appreciated around the world for their strength, colour and design. These qualities persist throughout the evolution of civilisation in Turkey, from the Bronze Age, the rise and fall of the Hittites and later domination of mainland Turkey by the Greeks and the Romans, to the Byzantines and finally the Ottoman Turks themselves.