Use of Siper




In Ottoman era sportive archery existed as early as 15th century. In the earliest capital cities Bursa and Edirne there were special archery fields called “okmeydani”. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 Sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror” established an okmeydani for archers in the newly named city Istanbul. Flight archery has always been popular all the 623 years (1300-1923) in which the Empire survived. Bilek siperi or siper was an over-draw device that has been used by flight archers to draw shorter arrows beyond the bow grip. Here you can see how it is used.