Wrestler Kara Ahmet Buried Alive in the Ottoman Empire

in Eyüp district of Istanbul To the hill of Pierre Loti There is a sign on the wall at the beginning of the road, on the left side of the cemetery. This sign reads:

“Cihan Wrestler Kara Ahmet was born in Hezargrat in 1871, took lessons from Perverted İbrahim in Istanbul at the age of 21. He won the title of Cihan Wrestler in 1899, was in Paris in 1900, and died in Istanbul in 1902.” Maybe today his friends, “token of love” We would not have been able to find Black Ahmet’s grave if they had not built this tomb.

Kara Ahmet, height 180, weight 105 kilograms; He was a world wrestler with molded arms and thick wrists.

Black Ahmed, He was born in 1871 in the territory of Deliorman, which is located in today’s Bulgaria. Throughout history, Deliorman was such a wrestler’s mine that notorious wrestlers such as Koca Yusuf, Hergeleci İbrahim, Kurtdereli Mehmet, Filiz Nurullah and Kel Aliço always came from this region. Kara Ahmet was one of them.

Born into such a culture Black Ahmed, He was interested in wrestling from his childhood. When he turned 20, there was no wrestler left in the region who could challenge him; even those who were older than him had started to hit the ground on the back.

When he came to Istanbul at the age of 21, he received training under Hergeleci İbrahim, a well-known wrestler.

When he started his education, Kara Ahmet, While he was barely lifting a 43 kg cannonball, after a while he started playing like a ball in the air with a 75 kg cannonball. Alongside the scoundrel İbrahim, he increased his power many times over and began to broaden his horizons. He appeared in his first serious competition 2 years later, in 1894, as a means of entertainment at a wedding in Gallipoli. His opponent was Memiş from Kazandere, one of the well-known wrestlers of the period.

Kara Ahmet, who defeated KazandereliAs he began to get to know more and more, it also attracted the attention of foreign organizers.

Agreeing with a Greek organizer named Pierre, Kara Ahmet went to Europe and participated in competitions with famous wrestlers.

Oil wrestling was generally practiced in the Ottoman Empire, but mat wrestling was more common in Europe. Despite this, Kara Ahmet’s back, who participated in dozens of wrestling matches in Europe, never came to the ground. When he returned to Istanbul with a victory in 1896 on the other hand, he found himself more inclined to the mat wrestling style and wanted to learn more about this style.

Because of this request, the name of that period Galatasaray High School, Mekteb-i Sultaniye He took lessons from the physical education teacher Faik Bey. He was not satisfied with that and started training at Totonya İdman Club, which was founded by a non-Muslim in Istanbul, which provides training in the Greco-Roman wrestling style.

Dedicated to improving himself in every way, Kara Ahmet was also taking French lessons.

Greco-Roman (cushion) wrestling Although he was prone to oil wrestling, he did not give up completely. Kara Ahmet, who is remembered with the victories he won in Paris while in Europe, was invited to France for the World Wrestling Championship to be held in 1899 when they were tied with Adalı Halil, a toothy Turkish wrestler 10 cm taller and 30 kg heavier than himself. .

Wrestling with wrestlers from all over the world, Ahmet reached the final and became famous. French wrestler Laurent Le Beaucairois wrestled with.

The final match lasted exactly 1 hour 3 minutes 15 seconds.

In the final, he beat his rival Beaucairois and stepped into the world championship. After his victory, another challenge came from the French, this opponent, who has 3 world championships and also dominates different wrestling fields. It was Paul Pons.

There were no winners in their first wrestling; the second was postponed because Kara Ahmet’s eyebrow was opened, and the wrestling was left to the third round. Kara Ahmet, who also beat Paul Pons in their third match, is the world champion. He continued to hold his title.

Defeating all his rivals in Paris, the wrestler traveled the world and did not face defeat.

Wrestler in hand to Istanbul dozens of medals had returned with The sultan of the period II. Abdulhamid invited him to the palace and rewarded him with a badge of honor for proudly waving the Ottoman standard across Europe. However, the wrestler of the world, who became a source of pride for the people in the following days, collapsed to the ground unexpectedly, when the dates showed 1902, while sitting in a coffee house.

Black Ahmet, who lost consciousness as a result of a sudden heart attack, died at the age of 32.
or so it was thought!

After the funeral prayer performed with his loved ones on May 26, 1902 He was buried in the cemetery to the left of Pierre Loti. However, something rather frightening had happened that day; passers-by said that they heard strange noises and groans from the grave. In the morning, the wrestler’s tomb was reopened.

According to rumors, Black Ahmet was found bloodied with his shroud torn. According to estimates, he went into a coma as a result of a heart attack; He was buried alive, presumed dead, and later regained consciousness while in the grave. The hands and chest of the wrestler who struggled to get out of the tomb were damaged.He eventually died of suffocation by suffocation.

The following words are written at the head of the grave of Kara Ahmet, who was buried again in his grave after this tragic event:He is famous in Bahadırism, Black Ahmet is the wrestler of the world. History was recorded with sukût-i penç, the lion of the world has left the world…