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A Traditional Turkish Sport "Archery"
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 Archery was for centuries Turkey’s
traditional sport, and also played a central role in Islamic culture. The use of the bow and arrow as a weapon by the Turkish
horsemen of Central Asia goes back far into the mists of time. Only after the invention of firearms did the bow and arrow gradually
lose its importance as a weapon, instead being practised increasingly as a sport.Research suggests that archery among the Turks goes
back to 5000 BC, but the first written rules for archery date from the Oğuz Turks around the 7th century. After the conversion of
the Oğuz to Islam archery developed still further, reaching its zenith under the Ottoman Empire. The importance of archery in early
warfare is reflected in the Traditions of the Prophet Muhammed, who was himself an archer. Among the references to archery in the
Traditions are, ‘Teach even the slave in your house to shoot arrows,’ and, ‘Just as they are our rights, so it is the right of
our children that we teach them to write and to shoot arrows, and leave them their rightful inheritance.’Although archery
competitions were held under earlier Ottoman rulers, it was Sultan Mehmet II (1451-1481) who set up detailed rules for archery as a
competitive sport and established special archery fields. Immediately after the conquest of Istanbul the Ok Meydanı (Archery
Field), of which only a small part remains today, was set up in the district of Kasımpaşa on the north shore of the Golden Horn.
Mehmet’s successors enlarged this field and added new facilities, as well as establishing similar archery fields in other cities.
Mehmet’s son Sultan Bayezit II (1481-1512) granted special privileges to archers and to the artisans who produced archery
equipment. He arranged for most of these craftsmen to settle in Istanbul and gave them workshops in the Archers Bazaar built behind
Bayezit Mosque. In the 15th and 16th centuries there were an estimated 500 makers of bows and arrows in Istanbul, and schools
specifically for training archers.Most of the Ottoman sultans and grand vezirs were noted archers, and grand vezir Kemankeş Kara
Mustafa Paşa (1592-1644) was a bow maker by trade, as the cognomen Kemankeş indicates. When he became grand vezir he issued an
imperial edict (ferman) on
the subject of archery, which is the first known law concerning a sport. This document has been preserved, and is in the archive of
Topkapı Palace Museum. Historical documents record the names of many famous archers, such as Tozkoparan İsmail and Bursalı Şüca.Traditional
Turkish bows were crossbows of the type known as composite, made of layers of horn, sinew and wood, which enabled them to shoot
arrows extraordinary distances. Even today authorities on archery around the world are astonished by the distances shot using the
old Turkish bows, whose records of 800 to 900 metres are still beyond the reach of modern crossbows.On the foundation laid by Mehmet
II and Bayezıt II, archery developed apace during the 16th century under Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) and his son Selim II
(1566-1574). Although archery continued to be practised as a sport through the 17th and 18th centuries, it enjoyed a brilliant
revival during the reigns of Selim III (1789-1807) and his nephew Mahmut II (1808 - 1839). With the death of Mahmut II, however,
archery went into decline, and during the last years of the Ottoman Empire most of the bowyers and other craftsmen were forced to
abandon their traditional trades for lack of custem. Only four or five craftsmen continued to make bows and arrows.
After the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, a handful of archers tried to keep the sport alive, encouraging young
people to join them and holding practice sessions in various districts os Istanbul. İbrahim and Bekir Özok - descendants of the legendary Turkish archer Tozkoparan,
Vakkas Okatan - grandson of Mustafa Kani, writer of the first book on Turkish archery during the reing of Mahmut II, Prof Necmettin
Okyay - who again came a family of archers, Hafiz Kemal Gürses, and Baki Kunter - chairman of the National Sports Federation,
founded an archery club in 1937 with the object of reviving thes national sport. Atatürk had beeen an enthusiastic supporter
of the project, and after watching a display by the country's first woman archer Betül Diker (Or) at the 19 May celebrations that
yearhad asked Halim Baki Kunter to train her himself. But after Atatürk's death in 1938 the club found itself without resources and
closed down. Archery in Turkey nearly died out completely over the next 15 years, until Fazıl Özak son of former archer Bahir Özok,
approached President Celal Bayar in 1953 about offical recognition for the sport by the Derectorate of Physical Training, and the
sport was attached to the Federation of Marksmanship. In 1955 Turkey became the 16th member of the International Archery Federation, which today has
121 members altogether. After archery was organised as a sparate federation in 1961 Turkish archers began to participate for
the first time in international competitions, although unfortunately with little success due to financial and organisational
difficulties. But today the sport is thriving, and from just 35 licensed archers on 1 January 1982 the number has grown to neraly
three thousand. What is more the quality of thair performance has risen rapidly.
* By Uğur Erdener
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Source: Sky Life |
