駱駝摔跤，給狂歡一個理由

Camels and wrestling. I never thought I’d say those two words in the same sentence. Now you won’t see this in 1）Marrakesh， probably， not yet anyway， but camel wrestling is a thing in Turkey， where the animals are trained to square off in 2）bouts of strength and skill.

Camels are tall， 3）lumbering creatures. You don’t want to get in their way. They can move surprisingly quickly， especially when two are locking necks， almost like a double 4）helix， trying to overpower each other.

Turkey’s largest camel-wrestling tournament is held annually here in Sel？uk， a market town of about 20，000 people.

Camels are naturally pretty 5）docile creatures， but get more aggressive during mating season， so that’s when the competitions are held. Female camels aren’t welcome at the events. If they were here， things might get really serious. With about 130 male camels and tens of thousands of drunken spectators， these camels are 6）riled up enough. Ahmet Sarsilmaz has been training camels for 15 years. He says they’re intelligent， sensitive creatures， but he said， when things get tense， camels get aggressive， and then they’re ready to wrestle.

Camels have long been critical to the economic development of this area. They carry crops like olives and figs to nearby seaports. When the railroads came， about 150 years ago， camels had less practical use， so people who were fond of raising them had to find other reasons to keep them. Gokhan Sertcelik is a local attorney who grew up here and has been coming to camel bouts since he was about six. He says many people here revere camels almost like sports heroes.

Sertcelik： I have seen lots of people， when their favorite camel was beaten， they were crying. You know， it’s not about gambling. It’s about love.

The rules are simple. There’s no point system. If a camel is forced to his knees， he loses. If a camel runs away， the braver camel wins. Or， if a camel cries out in fright， that also ends the match.

For wealthy locals， owning a camel can be the ultimate status symbol. It costs around $10，000 a year to keep one， and there’s no cash prize for winning an event. Sogutcu says owning a wrestling camel is all about prestige and bragging rights.

Sogutcu： Like， my camel is stronger than your camel. My camel look [sic] more beautiful than your camel. It is like a social competition.

It’s also an excuse to throw a big party. There are probably 20，000 people at this event. 7）Booze venders are doing a roaring trade selling liquor by the bottle. Groups of men sit together on long tables grilling meats and toasting each other with“Raca，” Turkey’s most cherished hard alcohol. Most of the men are Muslim， by the way， and the 8）Koran forbids alcohol， but drink is still an integral part of Turkish culture. Ahmet Sogutcu said men from this region enjoy traveling the camel wrestling circuit. It gives them a chance to get out of their hometowns and cut loose.

There’s also a lot of meat being grilled here； camel meat. Tourists like Robert Lloyd， a Londoner who teaches English in Istanbul， was keen to try it.

Lloyd： I would say I was so excited about it. I ate some， and it’s delicious. It’s really good. It tastes like camels smell， which is kind of 9）off-putting， but they spice it really well， so it’s good. I’m a fan.

He bought a few extra pounds to take home with him as well.

Besides the wrestling and the drinking and the eating， there’s also a bit of 10）pageantry and music. Bands of mostly 11）Roma musicians entertain the crowds. People stuff cash in their clarinets as tips. The day before the wrestling match there was also a beauty contest for camels dressed in their best finery.

駱駝和摔跤，我從未想過會把這兩個詞放在同一句話里。你在摩洛哥的馬拉喀什大概見不到這場景，反正現(xiàn)在還沒有，但在土耳其，駱駝摔跤卻是一大盛事。那里的人們訓練駱駝進行角斗，讓它們進行力量和技能的較量。

駱駝是高大笨重的動物，你可不會想擋它們的道。它們移動的速度可以快得驚人，尤其是在兩頭駱駝的脖頸幾乎像雙螺旋般交錯在一起，使盡全力想要扳倒對方的時候。

賽爾丘克是一個約有兩萬人口的集鎮(zhèn)，土耳其最大的駱駝摔跤賽每年都要在這里舉行。

駱駝生性頗為溫順，但在交配季節(jié)會變得很好斗，所以，摔跤比賽就在這個時候舉行。母駱駝在賽場周圍是不受歡迎的，因為如果它們在場的話，事情可能會變得很嚴重。一百三十來頭公駱駝加上幾萬名醉醺醺的觀眾，賽場上的駱駝焦躁不安了。阿米特·薩斯爾馬茲訓練駱駝已有十五年的歷史，他說駱駝是一種聰明而敏感的動物，但他也說，一旦形勢變得緊張起來，它們會變得比平常好斗，這時就可以開始摔跤了。

長期以來，駱駝對該地區(qū)的經(jīng)濟發(fā)展起著關鍵作用。它們把橄欖和無花果等作物馱到鄰近的海港。大約一百五十年前，這里有了鐵路，駱駝的實際用途減少了，所以喜歡養(yǎng)駱駝的人們只好找些別的理由來繼續(xù)飼養(yǎng)它們。葛汗·塞特賽里克是當?shù)匾幻辽灵L的律師，從六歲左右一直到現(xiàn)在，他每年都會來觀看駱駝摔跤賽。他說很多當?shù)厝藥缀跸褡鸪邕\動健將一樣尊崇駱駝。……