Extreme Camel Wrestling

camels links to original article

(Doğan News Agency, 11 December 2011)

The 8th annual camel wrestling competition held this year in Mumcular
town in Muğla's Bodrum district was the scene of some colorful events.
With the income from the wrestling matches the town will buy an
ambulance and motorcycles for the police.

The camel wrestling matches were held at the Mumcular Town Football
Field and 145 camels from Izmir, Aydın, Denizli, Manisa, Çanakkale,
Muğla, Antalya and Balikesir participated. In beautiful weather, some
five thousand people watched the matches, including Bodrum District
Chief Mehmet Gödekmerdan, Bodrum Mayor Mehmet Kocadan of the
Democrat Party and Mumcular Mayor Birol Aydın of the Nationalist
Action Party. A few foreign tourists were noticed among the crowd.

Since the weather was nice some people decided to have a picnic while
watching the matches and cooked camel sausages. The fierce clashes
between the camels generated lots of excitement, with the judges and
camel owners having difficulty separating the camels from time to
time. There were some tense moments as some owners and judges
traded harsh words. Additionally, one of the camels broke through the
barbed wire surrounding the field and headed toward the spectators,
sparking a panic. One woman who was frightened by the prospect
of being crushed fainted and was taken by ambulance to the Mumcular
Health Office for treatment.

The District Chief''s Trophy was won by 'Kahraman Ege' (Hero of the
Aegean) and the Mayor's Trophy was shared by two camels, 'Çılgın
Deniz' (Rough Sea) and 'Eren' (Saint). The trophies were presented to
the owners by Bodrum District Chief Mehmet Gödekmerdan and
Mumcular Mayor Birol Aydın.

Tickets for the event were 20TL and the resulting income will be used
to buy an ambulance for the town and motorcycles for the police.
District Chief Gödekmerdan said in his remarks that 'I salute everyone
who works at these kinds of festivals, which bring people from seven
to seventy together. You let everyone who lives in the district enjoy
a beautiful weekend amidst a holiday atmosphere.'