Market Research Biz News: Photo: Jeweled camels fight for victory after a Turkish beauty pageant

The traditional camel wrestling festival in western Turkey, which attracts thousands of people each year, has been criticized by animal rights activists but is upheld by the former head of the national tourism bureau.

Selcuk (AP), Turkey — Black-eyed Nirvana and Isa are two male camels from western Aidin, Turkey, wearing colorful saddles and traveling around the site with their owners. Thousands fought fiercely with cheers.

They were competing as part of 80 pairs or 160 camels at the Efes Selcuk Camel Wrestling Festival, the largest and most prestigious festival of its kind, celebrating its 40th anniversary on Sunday. The wrestling ground is a few miles from the ancient Greek ruins of Ephesus. Small festivals are held throughout Turkey’s Aegean Sea and Mediterranean states.

The game is played during the camel mating season. During this time, the males are more aggressive, especially when they are about to mate, so they are ready to fight.

The scoring system is complicated for outsiders, but camels who scream, run away, fall, or push an embroidered saddle against the ground win.

Audiences and fans enjoyed cold and sunny day music, traditional dance, barbecue, camel sausages and meat while sipping Turkish anise-flavored spirit raki “Lions Milk”.

The day before, camels were paraded in a beauty pageant and adorned with colorful beaded muzzles, fabrics, pompoms, bells and the Turkish flag. The jury judged them when they ran through the town.

Camel culture and the Camel Wrestling Federation have stated that there is no exact date when the tradition began in Anatolia, but it is believed to date back to the 19th century among competing nomadic groups.

Animal rights groups have stated that camel wrestling should be banned and is equivalent to abuse. Turkish law on animal protection bans the fighting of animals, and last summer’s amendments introduced monetary punishment and imprisonment, which allows traditional folk shows without violence. The Istanbul Bar Association criticized the law for not banning camel wrestling, stating that they were violent and had no folk roots.

Photo: Jewel-studded camels fight for victory in Turkey

On Saturday, January 15, 2022, a wrestling camel with a finely decorated saddle will parade during a contest at Turkey’s largest camel wrestling festival in the town of the Aegean Sea in Selcuk, Turkey. Titled “The Most Glamorous Camel Contest” adorned with colorful beaded muzzles, fabrics, pompoms, bells and the Turkish flag. (AP Photo / Emraf Grel)

Emraf Grel