Today we hopped on a dolmush (shared mini bus 3 TL each adult and older child) and headed to Kumluca to watch the camel wrestling.
We knew that we had found the venue as there were many people milling about. Oh yes, and the camels. Luckily it was a bit of a breezy day so the smell was not terrible. We did a walk behind the arena to see what was going on before we entered.
Outside the arena were 20 or so elaborately decorated camels tied up waiting for their chance in the ring. On one side of the square were food vendors hawking their food items and on the other were the souvenirs.
We paid our entrance fee and were able to walk by all of the waiting camels. Several had foam coming out of their noses and mouths. After a little research, I found out that this is what happens when they get excited around a female.
We entered into the arena and found a place to sit. Males are brought together on the pitch and wrestle for 5-10 minutes. Each trying to use their necks and bodies to out position the other. While we were watching one of the groups, I saw a bubble of camel saliva float up into the sky...... Not something you see every day. It was a chilly and breezy day so we didn't last long sitting in the shade.
We headed back down and walked amongst the waiting competitors before walking back through Kumluca to grab lunch and a Dolmush back to Finike.
If you would like to know more about the sport here is a link to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_wrestling
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| the awaiting competitors |
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| a hairy camel |
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| the stadium |
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| awaiting his chance |
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| I really liked this camel |
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| prancing the female nearby to get the males excited |
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| wrestling match |
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| close up of two wrestling |
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| more action shots |
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| a camel waiting for his turn |
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| more wrestling |
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| post match |
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| food stalls |
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