crown

Subscribe Now

FOLLOW US

Sign in

Photos: In the arena at Turkey’s largest camel wrestling festival

Braveheart, Crazy Hasan, The Conqueror and Black Diamond were among the furry, hump-backed contestants in this year's annual sporting showdown in Turkey: camel wrestling. The pouty-lipped competitors weigh in at an average of 600 kilograms and are decorated with multicolored pompoms and ornate headdresses. With their humps hidden under embroidered saddles, the wrestlers strut into the arena two at a time and duke it out, generally within short distance of a female camel in heat.

Updated on: Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM IST

Share via

Copy link

1/10

A camel handler kisses his camel prior to a parade during a contest in Turkey’s largest camel wrestling festival in Selcuk. While smaller festivals are held across the country during the winter months --traditionally camel mating season --the one in Selcuk, just a few miles from the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, is the largest and most prestigious. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

A camel handler kisses his camel prior to a parade during a contest in Turkey’s largest camel wrestling festival in Selcuk. While smaller festivals are held across the country during the winter months --traditionally camel mating season --the one in Selcuk, just a few miles from the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, is the largest and most prestigious. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

2/10

Spectators feast on meat and sausage washed down by raki, Turkey’s traditional anise alcoholic beverage, overlooking the arena where camels wrestle during the largest camel wrestling festival. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

Spectators feast on meat and sausage washed down by raki, Turkey’s traditional anise alcoholic beverage, overlooking the arena where camels wrestle during the largest camel wrestling festival. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

3/10

Musicians perform traditional folk songs, as spectators enjoy on the hill overlooking the arena. Braveheart, Crazy Hasan, The Conqueror and Black Diamond were among the furry, hump-backed contestants in this year’s annual sporting showdown. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

Musicians perform traditional folk songs, as spectators enjoy on the hill overlooking the arena. Braveheart, Crazy Hasan, The Conqueror and Black Diamond were among the furry, hump-backed contestants in this year’s annual sporting showdown. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

4/10

Camels bearing elaborately decorated saddles, wrestle in Selcuk. The 37th instalment of the competition brought together about 120 camels and their proud owners, many of whom adorned their animals with the red-and-white Turkish flag. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

Camels bearing elaborately decorated saddles, wrestle in Selcuk. The 37th instalment of the competition brought together about 120 camels and their proud owners, many of whom adorned their animals with the red-and-white Turkish flag. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

5/10

A Turkish flag and a poster of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk are seen on a hill full of spectators overlooking the arena. Thousands of spectators had gathered in the Aegean town to watch the event, a tradition that dates back 2,400 years. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

A Turkish flag and a poster of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk are seen on a hill full of spectators overlooking the arena. Thousands of spectators had gathered in the Aegean town to watch the event, a tradition that dates back 2,400 years. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

6/10

A vendor offers sausages for sale to spectators during Turkey’s largest camel wrestling festival. The Selcuk festival, one of the most important, is held every year on the third weekend of January. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

A vendor offers sausages for sale to spectators during Turkey’s largest camel wrestling festival. The Selcuk festival, one of the most important, is held every year on the third weekend of January. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

7/10

A camel handler smiles as he arrives to the festival. The first day, owners parade their champions through the town for local people to see. The camels cross the market dressed in colourful fabrics with their names embroidered on, garlands of bells and the Turkish flag. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

A camel handler smiles as he arrives to the festival. The first day, owners parade their champions through the town for local people to see. The camels cross the market dressed in colourful fabrics with their names embroidered on, garlands of bells and the Turkish flag. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

8/10

A musician performs traditional folk songs, as spectators enjoy on the hill overlooking the arena. The fights, for which there are no prizes, last a few minutes. They end after one camel manages to topple the other, or forces them to run away. Many of the duels end in a tie, with neither camel able to make the other submit. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

A musician performs traditional folk songs, as spectators enjoy on the hill overlooking the arena. The fights, for which there are no prizes, last a few minutes. They end after one camel manages to topple the other, or forces them to run away. Many of the duels end in a tie, with neither camel able to make the other submit. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

9/10

Two large camels stand face to face, sizing each other up, before throwing themselves head-first at one another. Each animal struggles to bite its adversary’s feet, their long necks interlocking as the crowd cheers, spurring their favourite. There are boos too, for those owners down in the arena who intervene too much in the matches. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

Two large camels stand face to face, sizing each other up, before throwing themselves head-first at one another. Each animal struggles to bite its adversary’s feet, their long necks interlocking as the crowd cheers, spurring their favourite. There are boos too, for those owners down in the arena who intervene too much in the matches. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

10/10

Animal rights groups often call for the fights to end. But everyone at the arena insists that necessary measures are taken to protect the camels, including tying a cord around their mouths to limit the opening and biting. “For a cameleer, their camel is very precious... so the owners do all they can to ensure no harm comes to (their animal),” Devrim Erturk, an academic at Dokuz Eylul University told AFP. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jan 26, 2019 12:26 PM

Animal rights groups often call for the fights to end. But everyone at the arena insists that necessary measures are taken to protect the camels, including tying a cord around their mouths to limit the opening and biting. “For a cameleer, their camel is very precious... so the owners do all they can to ensure no harm comes to (their animal),” Devrim Erturk, an academic at Dokuz Eylul University told AFP. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Related Photos

Home/Photos/News/Photos: In The Arena At Turkey’s Largest Camel Wrestling Festival

© 2026 HindustanTimes