Camel wrestling is a sport in which two male dromedary camels wrestle in response to a female camel in heat being led before them. It is most common in the Aegean region of Turkey, but is also found in the Marmara and Mediterranean regions of that country. There are an estimated 1200 camel wrestlers (or Tulu) in Turkey, bred specially for the competitions.^[1] Binomial name Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758 The Dromedary, or Arabian Camel (Camelus dromedarius), is a large even-toed ungulate native to northern Africa and western Asia, and the best-known member of the camel family. ... Species Camelus bactrianus Camelus dromedarius A camel is either of the two species of large even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus, the Dromedary (single hump) and the Bactrian Camel (double hump). ... In physics, heat is defined as energy in transit. ... Greece and the Aegean Sea The Aegean sea in Greece as seen from the island of Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion Pelagos; Turkish: Ege denizi) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). ... The Sea of Marmara (Turkish: Marmara denizi, Modern Greek: Μαρμαρα̃ Θάλασσα or Προποντίδα) (also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea) is an inland sea that separates the Black Sea from the Aegean Sea (thus the Asian part of Turkey from its European part) by Bosporus and... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

A camel can win a wrestling match in three ways: By making the other camel retreat, scream, or fall. The owner of a camel may also throw a rope into the field to declare a forfeit if he is concerned for the safety of his animal.

Camels wrestle with other in their same weight class. Camels have different tricks, and contest organizers match camels with different skills. Some camels that wrestle from the right and some from the left; some trip the other with foot tricks ("çengelci"), and some trap their opponent's head under their chest and then try to sit ("bağci"); some push their rivals to make them retreat ("tekçi").

A camel wrestling event involves considerable pomp and ceremony. The camels get decked out, and participate in a march through town followed by musicians on the day before the event. The actual wrestling can be somewhat underwhelming to someone not familiar with the intricacies, although onlookers must often flee from an oncoming camel that is retreating in defeat from his opponent.

In the heat of the tournament, camels spew foamy saliva in their excitement. Additionally, camels are retromingent animals, and so spectators would be advised to beware not only of flying saliva but of flying unrine as well. Saliva, often informally known as spit, is the moist, clear, and usually somewhat frothy substance produced in the mouths of some animals, including humans. ...

Popularity of the sport is declining, as the relative costs of caring for such an animal raises,^[2] as well as due to concern for animal welfare.

Championship

Held in an ancient stadium at Ephesus, near the town of Selçuk, the camel wrestling championships have draw thousands of spectators annually. The festival highlights wrestling by 120 camels usually, but 2001 only featured 96 competitors.^[3] Ephesus ( Turkish: Efes, Greek: Έφεσσος; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ... Ceremonies at St. ...

The 1994 championships is recognised by the Guinness World Records as having the "Largest audience at a camel wrestling festival", having attracted 20,000 people.^[1] Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ...

References

1. ↑ ^a b "Guinness World Records 2005". London: Hit Entertainment, 2005. Page 99.
2. ↑ Burak H. Sansal, 2camels: Camel Wrestling Championships, 2005
3. ↑ SLAM! Sports: Camel wrestling: The next big thing?, 21 January 2001.

External links

• Article on camel wrestling by Turkish Department of Tourism
• Article on camel wrestling