The KTLN Guide to camel wrestling
by our camel wrestling correspondent, Roslyn Lockhart

Ten kilometres away from Kalkan, in the village of Çayköy, over a hundred camels gather each spring when the local camel wrestling championship is held. 

Just as the British have a fondness for horse racing – after all, it is described as ‘the sport of Kings’, the Turks in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions like nothing more than a family day out, watching this rather unusual sport which is truly a ‘sport of the people’. There may not be any Kings in the audience but the thousands of spectators, ranging from babes in arms to the most ancient of village elders certainly have fun.

Camel wrestling is not a sport which follows strict rules, from region to region, the rules change to suit local customs and tastes.  In many areas camel wrestling is organised by the local council or social welfare committees to raise money for good causes.

Although officially betting is not allowed, wagers are placed on the favourites and plenty of money changes hands.  

Camels are bred specifically for wrestling and only male camels can wrestle.  The championships are held in the winter months, between December and March because it is then that the female camels are in season and over-excited males will try and win favour with the glamorous lady camels by showing how strong they are, trying to subdue the competition in order to claim their rights to the female. All wrestling camels have names.  The name can signify the character and temperament of the camel  -  beware of any camel called ‘devil’.

All wrestling camels enter the wrestling ring (usually a cleared field) magnificently dressed. They are draped in embroidered cloths, have tassels around their ears, plaited and woven headbands and multi-coloured reins. They carry imposing wooden saddles, which make these already tall creatures tower over everyone around. Standing next to a camel in full regalia is quite an experience, they are very big, their feet are huge, they make very strange noises and when excited by the presence of nearby female camels, streams of white froth pour from their nose and mouth.

The owners of the camels are just as magnificently attired. The camel owners are easy to spot due to their distinctive dress: cornered caps, traditional scarves around the neck, jackets, special trousers and accordion-like leather boots. Some camel wrestling enthusiasts who don’t actually own camels also dress in similar outfits. Some fans sit around TV sets to watch earlier wrestling contests which were videotaped.

On the evening before the camel wresting contests, a “Hali Gecesi” (Rug Night) occasion is held with the attendance of camel owners and other guests. This is the sort of festivity where people make new friends and old acquaintances strengthen their bonds of friendship. They eat, drink, sing songs native to their particular region, dance, entertain their guests and also sell rugs at an auction.

On the day of the wrestling, the camels and their owners arrive early to claim the best spot in the nearby fields.  As dawn breaks, the sight of nearly a hundred camels disembarking from the backs of lorries is rather surreal. Even the dawn chorus is momentarily stilled as the birds are startled into silence by this parade of gaudily clad, gently swaying giants.

From eight o’clock onwards the crowds start to arrive. Some have travelled over 100 kilometres, others have come from just over the hill. There is a real fairground atmosphere. Stalls line the approaches to the showground.  A lively market brings sellers from as far afield as Izmir and Adana.

All around the wrestling ‘ring’ food sellers start their preparations, chickens are roasted on spits, meatballs grilled on open fires, delicate slices of lamb are fried with onions and spices, the smells waft tantalisingly over the crowds,  which by nine in the morning are already several hundred strong. Children walk past carrying candy floss almost as big as themselves or perhaps more appealing to their parents, unable to utter a word because their mouths are locked around an enormously sticky toffee apple.

The loudspeakers keep up a constant stream of announcements, sponsors are named and thanked, local dignitaries introduced, and the names, ages and pedigrees of all the competing camels with details of their past victories are read out, signalling that the wrestling is about to begin.

The more adventurous members of the crowd grab ringside seats right in the middle of the activity. Those who are older and perhaps wiser find a shady spot above the ring. Looking down on the action from a distance is a lot safer when, as frequently happens, two competing camels decide not to wrestle but to chase each other. As they rush at full speed straight into the ringside onlookers, the mad scramble of hundreds of males aged nine to ninety to get out of their way proves far more exciting than the actual wrestling.

For in truth, if you are a foreigner, you do not go to camel wrestling for the thrill of the sport. It is hard to judge what is going on. When the camels enter the ring in two’s, the commentator calls out a list of their virtues and past triumphs. Poems in their honour are read aloud, the crowd murmurs in appreciation. The camels are led in a lap of honour around the field. Those in the know can judge their finer points, strength of calf muscle, length of neck, sturdiness of chest, those not in the know admire the saddles and embroideries and gaze in envy at the wonderful leather boots of the owners.

The referees gather to make sure all is as it should be, they closely inspect the camels, pulling  back their lips to look at their teeth - camels have very big teeth -  walking all round the animal and discussing earnestly whatever it is camel referees talk about on these occasions. There is a person whose job title is ‘tier of camels’ mouths’ and he does just that, binding the jaw with a cloth  to ensure the camels do not bite each other. When the mouths have been tied, the referees do some more inspecting, then the wrestling begins

Each bout lasts just a few minutes and to the uninitiated onlooker, seems to mostly consist of fairly mild pushing and shoving.  The competing camels lock necks, take two steps forward, three back, perform a couple of sideways staggers.   There is some snorting and grunting, a lunge to the right, a parry to the left,  one camel may appear to decide to kneel down for a bit and then it is all over. A winner is declared, the crowds cheer, the band plays, announcements are made thanking the sponsors yet again and the winner is presented with a winner’s rug.

Afficionados of the sport will explain that each camel has its tricks, some specialise in nifty footwork to trip up their opponent, some lead from the right, some from the left. Some just concentrate on looking so fearsome that their poor rival beats a hasty retreat and automatically loses.  

The winning camel is led around the ring by its proud owner, both the camel and owner take the cheers of the crowd as their due, the camel smirks, the owner grin.  The defeated rival and his owner stand at the side looking rather embarrassed.

The day of camel wrestling brings together friends and families from villages all over the region. Tradition is kept alive through these events. They are not staged for the benefit of tourists, there were no more than a dozen foreigners in a crowd numbering nearly two thousand. They are part of a living culture, which flourishes in the hundreds of small villages untouched by tourism, less than an hour away from Kalkan.