The female camel is fertile between December and February. The rest of the year the male wrestling camels are docile and uninterested in masculine supremacy. With their seemingly deliberate languor, camels can appear slow-witted beasts. They are known to kick and be quick-tempered -- one famously spat at former Turkish business tycoon Sakıp Sabancı. So, you might ask, why is camel wrestling such a big attraction?
Historically camels are about the most versatile and useful animals on record. Originally tamed by frankincense traders, their undulating gait saw them dubbed them “ships of the desert.” This seems somehow at odds with today’s more decorative sporting pursuit in which thoroughbred male camels vie to be wrestling champions. But camels are nobody’s fools and their stately, condescending disposition connects a utilitarian past with celebrity status today.
Seljuk and Ottoman sultans could spot a commercial niche when they saw one. They capitalized on lucrative trade opportunities by building safe, secure caravanserais along strategic supply routes. Most of these were built about 20 kilometers apart, the distance a camel could cover in a day. Reservations were not necessary: the hancı (inn keeper) judged his guest list by the size of the dust cloud that the camels churned up.
Camels were the trucks of the southern hemisphere in the pre-industrial age, moving men goods and camps across vast stretches of scorching, waterless deserts. They were hardier than horses and could carry much more. The female camel was especially prized by the traditional Bedouin. To desert-dwelling nomads, a camel was an essential and revered traveling companion, a mover of goods, provider of wool, milk, meat, shade and hides. Life itself frequently depended on these practical beasts.
Camels also went to war. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) forces had camel and bicycle battalions in World War I. The history of the ANZAC forces acknowledged the value of mounted camel units. Some camel corps had their own military insignia. In 1856 66 camels were transported to the United States to form a US Camel Corps. The venture was curtailed only because of the start of the American Civil War, and some of the camels were sold for a pittance. But years later many could still be found roaming the range in warmer states like Arizona.
Camels took their place on the stage in grand operas like “Aida” or “Rigoletto.” Or they knelt beside wise men in Christian nativity plays. If you thought the English town of Bakewell was known just for tasty jam and almond tarts, you’d be wrong. Bakewell uniquely hosted camel racing.
In Arab countries camel racing was a spectator sport. Bahrain in the 1960s immensely enjoyed camel racing, which was held on Sundays in Manama and was as much an opportunity for the then-local ruler, Sheik Isa, to mingle with his subjects as it was sport. Skinny boys, crouching close to the camel’s hump, would urge the grunting, slobbering animals around a short race course. It wasn’t the Derby or the Preakness Stakes but it never failed as a crowd pleaser and great afternoon out.
Albert Hourani, in his book “A History of the Arab Peoples,” wrote that wheeled transport did not make headway in much of the Middle East and Mesopotamia until the 1800s partly because, without adequate roads, camels moved goods more economically and because local tribesmen were reluctant to give up their lucrative interest in breeding them.
Hourani suggests that the coming of the railway made camels obsolete more than other vehicular traffic. The decline of nomadic life made working camels redundant. They are still found in the Gobi desert and in zoos, far from their desert habitat. But camels are still social, affectionate animals who make loyal, if bulky, companions.
The sport of camel wrestling is believed to have originated in nomadic times. A day out at a camel wrestling competition is a journey back in history. The protocol and pageantry are as important as the two alpha males slugging it out in the Aegean arenas.
The camels you see today in Turkey have been bred and trained for wrestling and their pedigree goes back to dueling relatives. Aydın and Selçuk are the best known venues, but other smaller towns along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, or inland towns like Denizli and Muğla, have camel wrestling pageants. Revenue from the competitions usually funds charitable or social activities.
Camels are the heroes and the spectators are the much more low-key props for this colorful activity. The animals have names, like Rambo, and these are emblazoned on decorative blankets and rugs draped over the four-legged stars. Parades, discussions, arguments and street parties fill up the evening before and the day of the wrestling. Eating, revelry and socializing are part and parcel of the fun. Whole towns are festooned with decorations and everybody is in a festive mood. Camel owners wear decorative traditional dress. Music is a continual accompaniment, usually from a high-pitched recorder (zurna) and a drum.
A wrestling camel is valuable, worth a minimum of $12,000. A full-grown male can weigh in at 700 kilograms (1,543 lbs), so feeding costs are high. Like horse racing, this is no poor man’s pursuit. Camels are matched evenly according to their weight range and their style of fighting and the type of competitive tricks they have learned from trainers.
An important person is the master of ceremonies, or cazgır, who recounts authentically and creatively on the match, the camels’ backgrounds, their owners and tactics. To understand camel wrestling tactics requires learning a whole new Turkish vocabulary. Referees and rope handlers, too, have important statuses.
The rules are simple: the winner is declared if he chases his rival off the field, outmaneuvers him with cunning leg or neck work, forcing him to surrender, or topples his opponent. Each round is over in about 12 or 15 minutes. There is no shame in losing or retiring to chew your cud.
Trainers hover on the sidelines and animals are quickly reined in by rope keepers if they look like they are injuring each other.
A travel writer colleague who knew one end of a camel from the other and wanted the complete camel experience once rode to a championship match cuddled up against the title holder’s rough wool coat in the transport van. Camel wrestling might lack paparazzi glamor, but everybody has a smashing day out. The animals don’t get hurt. True, there is no mega-prize money, champagne or Rolex sponsors, but the loser retires valiantly, a hero and champion all the way.
In sporting terms, no more dignified and chivalrous competition exists.
Aydın camel wrestling
January 2008
Jan. 6 -- İncirliova
Jan. 12-13 -- Germencilik
Jan. 27 -- Aydın city centre
February 2008
Feb. 2-3 -- Yenipazar
Feb. 10 -- Uyucak
Feb. 17 -- Çine
Feb. 24 -- Bozdoğan
Feb. 24 -- Haydarlıköyü
Selçuk camel wrestling
Jan. 19-20 -- Grand championship in Selçuk, near İzmir
Information about Camel Wrestling in Selçuk is available from the Selçuk Culture & Tourism Directorate
Tel.: (232) 892 6328
Camels online
The number of Web sites concerning camels underlines their image and prestige. These are some of the best sites to access information about camels on the Internet:
www.camels-camels.com
www.arab.net/camels
www.wildcamels.com
www.allcamels.com (Comprehensive: everything from buying your first camel to medical problems and answers to questions like “where can I ride camels?” -- worldwide)
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/history (Information on the US Army
Camel Corps)
