Tag Archives: camel wrestling

Explore the unique camel wrestling festival in Turkey

The Selcuk-Efes camel wrestling festival is a unique traditional Turkey festival dating back more than 2,400 years ago. It is an opportunity for two male camels to find a way to defeat the opponent to show off in front of the female camel.

Camels participate in wrestling at the Pamucak arena during the annual Selcuk-Efes camel wrestling festival in the town of Selcuk, Turkey. On the third Sunday of each January, the people of Selcuk in Turkey gather to experience the camel wrestling tournament according to the unique local tradition.

The Selcuk camel wrestling festival in Turkey dates back over 2400 years and originates from nomadic Turkic tribes. With the participation of dozens of camels and thousands of spectators, the festival takes place about 7 km from Selcuk in western Turkey and can last until March.

The male camel fights for the female camel and seeks to defeat the opponent to win.

Camel wrestling is a sport in which two male Tulu (hybrid camels) wrestle to separate the high and low before the female camel is led through their nose. 

Like boxing, camels of the same weight class will wrestle with each other. Camel wrestling is most common in the Aegean region of Turkey but can also be found in Marmara and the Mediterranean.

The day before the festival, the camels get dressed and march through town with the musicians. It is estimated that Turkey has about 1,200 camel wrestlers of the genus Tulu camel. They are bred specifically for competitions.

There are three ways to determine a winning camel when they cause the opponent to scream, retreat or fall.

Turkey’s camel wrestling tournament hosts more than 30 events across the country and lasts from November to March.

Camels also wrestle in the wild. Nomads were the first to organize camel wrestling. This sport has been criticized by animal protection organizations.

Selcuk City has asked the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to include camel wrestling on the World Heritage list because of its historical and cultural significance to the region.

Around the world there are many new and unique festivals, the Turkish camel wrestling festival is one of them. If you have the opportunity to travel to Turkey, do not miss this unique festival.

The sports that are involved by animals (Part 2)

Cow Fighting

Switzerland is famous for the traditional “bullfighting” event. Unlike the usual bullfighting that humans will fight bulls, there is actually a fight between two cows.

Each match can last up to 40 minutes. Similar events took place in Haute-Savoie (France), in the Aosta Valley of Italy and Artvin (Turkey).

Camel Wrestling

Turkey’s west coast has a tradition of camel wrestling. The tournament brings together champions from villages together in a dusty stadium.

This is a war, but it looks more like a comic because the interesting thing that camel athletes bring is that they are not born with a fight.

Very funny! Before the match, a female camel will be led across 2 “gladiators” to stimulate their fighting spirit. The appearance of “beautiful people” makes two male camels so attractive and seductive to the foam of the nose, mouth and perhaps the audience will watch the show of strength between them and the “dream man”.

Roller Pigeon Competition

The dove is a domesticated pigeon, which can roll upside down while in the air or on the ground. Some rolling pigeons can curl up at a fast rate so you look like a bird feather ball.

They are selected varieties with length, height and quality suitable to compete.

The team usually consists of 8 to 20 pigeons. During the competition, the winning birds were judged based on many factors, including sorting, simultaneous rolling, number of turns and roller quality.

Dog Fighting

Dog fighting is a violent fighting game, sometimes leading to the death of poor dogs. This game is banned in most developed countries, but still popular in some countries like Afghanistan, Kazakhstan to entertain and bring big profits to the scammers.

World Snail Racing Championships

The race between two or more “snail athletes” and the snails will have to “run” on a circle with a radius of about 35 centimeters. The serial number is painted on the cover or small stickers to mark the contestants. Every year, many snail events take place all over the world, but in the UK is the most popular.

Sport is often known as a way to keep people healthy, but animals are no exception. You can also find relaxing moments for yourself when watching them perform. But do not forget respect!