Camel wrestling on Turkey's Aegean coast

The Aegean coast of Turkey is best known for the ruins of Ephesus and Troy, but camel wrestling is just as ancient, and much more colourfulImagine the crowd at a British music festival, happy despite the rain, cheering, eating overpriced hotdogs, dancing tipsily to the music and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Now imagine this scene taking place near an ancient temple on the coast of Turkey: the air is thick with the smoke of seared camel sausage, Efes beer flows instead of Carling, some wandering Gypsy minstrels have replaced Coldplay and everyone's attention is on the central arena, where two gaudily decorated Arab camels are shuffling around in a mutual headlock.Over the roar of the supporters, the boom of the commentator's megaphone and the tinkle of camel bells, everyone is listening out for the scream of defeat which will surely come from one of the struggling combatants any moment now. The two are well-matched. Puffs of spittle-foam fall from their lips over the crouching umpires, who are warily checking for illegal knee-biting within the melee.Suddenly, one of the lurching beasts gets a knee on the other's neck and it's all over. Whistles blow. Fans whoop. The owner of the victor literally dances with delight, beaming happily into the lens of a national television camera hovering nearby.Welcome to camel wrestling. The Aegean coast of Turkey is probably best-known for the ancient sites of Ephesus, Troy and the seaside resort of Bodrum; but this also happens to be the tour route of the annual Turkish camel wrestling competition, which snakes down the coast every winter, attracting legions of camel fanciers but few western tourists.I attended a day of wrestling midway through the tour, in Sel�uk, close to Ephesus, arriving the day before the wrestling for the obligatory pre-game camel beauty pageant.This contest is a traditional precursor to the main event, and is taken extremely seriously, with a panel of judges picked for their camel-related or academic backgrounds. The contestants are not beautiful. They are mighty wrestlers and do not display themselves to best advantage at close quarters ? in drizzly rain in a town square.However, their owners have spent a lot of time dressing them in glitzy banners and bells, and one old man in the crowd next to me notes that the animal who ends up taking first prize smells faintly of soap. Also, the arch of his neck is very fine.So much for the peripheral ceremonies: Miss Camel wins a new bell and the owners celebrate with a few drinks. Though a niche spectator sport, camel wrestling attracts a passionate fan base, particularly in this area. The tradition stretches back thousands of years among Turkic tribes, but is now pretty much confined to the Aegean area, and specifically to families of camel owners, who are proud to train the descendants of famous winners of bygone years.These camels and their owners are serious celebrities, whose photos are displayed in ceremonial tents near the ground. Several of this year's animals are household names, commanding vast sums from local municipalities for entering their competition because they raise the calibre of the event and attract big crowds.The Rocky equivalent of recent years is �ilgin �zer ("Crazy �zer") ? he is unbeatable, the darling of the carpet-betting punters, and has a magnificent, personalised trailer in which he arrives with great pomp and ceremony to each event, outshining the plebeian contestants in their dusty open lorries. He is worth 200,000TL (around �70,000), so that seems fair enough.The fees paid to the camel owners for entering their animals in a wrestling bout, which lasts up to five minutes, range from around �3,500 to just �120.The sport has always had a difficult relationship with the national government, which has considered it rather backward and embarrassing for Turkey's image ever since the formation of the Republic in the 1920s. I was at the Sel�uk event with filmmakers Sibel Samli and Gizem Selcuk, who are making a documentary about the wrestling scene. Despite the obvious financial potential of the sport as a tourist attraction, they are not hopeful of getting any money from the Department for Tourism, which is wary of backing anything that might glorify a rather rough and supposedly barbaric traditional sport.In fact, the reputation for barbarism is unfair ? the wrestling is much less violent these days. At one time a female camel would be tethered in view of the arena to galvanise the male camels into furious, sexually charged battle. Now, the contestants are merely bored virgin males who would probably pick a fight with each other anyway. Biting is forbidden, and the fight is broken up if the camels succumb to temptation ? most are well-trained. The other controversial element of the sport is that most camels are not bred in Turkey but smuggled over the border from Iran.As I left Sel�uk, spattered with mud and bleary-eyed from the sausage smoke, I wondered why the owner of �ilgin �zer doesn't sell his camel. At that moment, I came across a young man tenderly leading his charge into a carpet-covered old lorry outside the arena. These men love their camels and have big dreams for them ? �zer is a living legend.? The wrestling season runs from December to April. The Sel�uk event is on the second or third weekend of January. No official website but keep an eye on selcukephesus.com/what-to-do/camel-wrestling. Flights from Istanbul to Izmir cost about �25 with Pegasus (flypgs.com). Sel�uk is 40 minutes by train from Izmir airport, tickets �2.50.Rent a renovated house in beautiful Sirince, about 15 minutes from Sel�uk, through ephesushousessirince.com from ?150 a night for two peopleMORE TRADITIONAL SPECTACLESZenne belly dancingThink belly dancing and what probably comes to mind is a sexualised "oriental" version. Many a sadly overrated night out in the more touristy areas of Istanbul will feature scantily clad women and plenty of alcohol. But in a few venues around the city, a subtler and more artistically interesting form of the dance has survived: this is traditional zenne dancing, performed by male dancers who are truly masters of the craft. Relying on skill rather than ostentatious sexuality, these dancers are mesmerising performers, and well worth seeking out. ? In Istanbul, try Al Jamal Badawi, S�leyman Seba Caddesi 42-46, near Besiktas, or Nomads, Muallim Naci Caddesi 65 in Ortak�yOil wrestlingIn Edirne, north-west Turkey, the famed Kirkpinar festival has been held every summer since 1362. The spectacle of a thousand oil-covered, burly men thrashing about in leather shorts might well draw a snigger from your average Western tourist, but this is a hugely respected national sport. Expect Gypsy bands, belly dancing and extravagant roasts, all contributing to a truly medieval scene. ? Edirne is about two hours from Istanbul by bus. The official website (kirkpinar.com) is colourful, but out of date. Contact the Edirne Tourist Information Office (+90 284 213 9208, edirnetourisminformation@gmail.com) for details of the event. Tickets cost 60-90TL (�20-30), through Biletix (web03.biletix.com/anasayfa/TURKIYE/tr). The competition takes place in early July ? the 2012 date has yet to be fixedMilitary ceremonial marchesThe Turkish military has an extremely long and illustrious tradition, and the most spectacular relic of this is the Ottoman parade, still performed by select sections of the army on particular public holidays (bayram) and regularly at the Military Museum at Sisli, in central Istanbul. A complete performance features soldiers wearing full Ottoman regalia ? turbans, sashes, swords, sceptres and perfectly coiffed moustaches ? marching to brass bands and lusty singing. But if you are not around for a national day of celebration, the museum puts on a scaled-down version of the performance every day except Mondays and Tuesdays at 3pm. ? Military Museum (tinyurl.com/militarymuseum), open Wed-Sun 9am-5pm, entrance �1.50TurkeyFestivalsCultural tripsAdventure travelguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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