WRESTLING LODGE CULTURE IN THE OTTOMAN STATE AND EDIRNE SHEIKH CEMALEDDİN WRESTLERS LODGE.

Wrestling is the national sport of the Turks and has maintained its importance from Central Asia to modern times. When the Turks came to Anatolia, they brought wrestling with them. Here, the Central Asian Turkish wrestling tradition took a new form by being influenced by the Persian wrestling tradition. In this way, the Turkish wrestling lodge culture came into being. As a result, wrestling huts were opened in the period of the Anatolian Seljuks and Principalities. The tradition of wrestling huts continued with the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans established wrestling lodges in Bursa, Edirne, Istanbul, Manisa and throughout the Ottoman territory. Professional wrestlers were trained in these lodges for centuries. Edirne Sheikh Cemaleddin Wrestlers Lodge is one of these institutions. According to Evliya Çelebi Seyehatnamesi and Ottoman archival documents, the lodge, which was an important institution for wrestling in Edirne, was still in operation for a long time. There are many official records of the lodge from the period in question. Detailed information about the lodge can be obtained from these records. In light of the analyzed primary philological sources, the importance of the lodge in the background of Edirne wrestling becomes understandable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]