Thousands gather to watch camels wrestle in a Mediterranean town

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ANTALYA

Thousands of people have gathered to watch a camel wrestling festival held after a 29-year hiatus in Turkey’s Mediterranean province of Antalya.

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Despite the freezing weather, more than 100 camels, their owners and spectators from neighboring provinces and cities attended the event.

The camels fought each other in short duels, trying to butt or bite each other, but the trainers separated them with long sticks whenever they came close to physically hurting each other.

Some camels, unwilling to struggle, fled the field during the event, which is held only as part of a tradition and not as a contest to pick a winner.

Speaking to Demirören News Agency, Antalya’s Elmalı Mayor Halil Öztürk said camel wrestling is part of Turkey’s nomadic culture.

“After 29 years, we have made our people witness this cultural activity which is on the verge of being forgotten and disappearing in Elmalı,” Öztürk said, promising that the events would take place at a time when the weather conditions would be more favourable.
Camels have been of crucial importance in Turkey for centuries past, but the animals are now largely intended for use in wrestling competitions or for tourist purposes.

The authorities allow organizations to organize such events on the condition that they are organized to preserve cultural values ​​and that the camels are not harmed.

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