| This is an historical, descriptive analysis of sport in Turkiye from the earliest available records to the present day. In order to present a complete picture, the development of sport in Turkiye was divided into three periods: the pre-Islamic, Islamic and post-Islamic-Republican.;In the Pre-Islamic period, evidence suggests that the Turkish physical culture is immensely rich, and various forms of games and physical activities were essential and in many respects, a way of life. In an environment where often only the strongest and the fittest were able to survive, warlike forms of physical activities and games such as archery, horse-back-riding, polo, cirit and wrestling, were practiced by men and women alike. In the relaxed moral and social climate of the pre-Islamic period Turkish people were free to practice and express themselves through physical activities.;The nature and the development of sport in Turkiye in the Islamic period was influenced significantly by the religion of Islam. Under the moral codes of the Islamic religion only men were allowed to practice certain physical activities for leisure purposes. In general, during most of this Islamic period, sports became the privilege of the rich and famous who controlled politics. The most popular sports and physical activities were cirit, polo, archery, wrestling and horseback-riding. The institutionalization of sports and physical activities was initiated, and a few primitive forms of sport clubs were established.;Modern competitive sports were practiced and introduced to the Turks by the European diplomats in the 19th century. From the beginning, sport development in Turkiye has been problematic, and influenced by the national economic, political and social problems. This is typical of developing countries. Finally, on the academic level, very little research has been conducted to identify the needs and the problems of sport in Turkiye. There are no available data related to the mass sports. The Turkish sport authorities have yet to work on the problems related to competitive and a "sport-for-all" program. |
