Page 15 - incirliovaweb

Preface

In many places of the world, many examples of festivals, festivities and local celebrations whose origins date back to the depths of
history are defeated by the impacts of the modern world and disappear. Especially in those unprotected places where the process of
globalization is rapidly affecting the social structure, it is getting harder and harder to carry the cultural wealth to the future. On the
other hand, it is another observed fact that those societies which are aware of this current process attach more importance to, and protect,
their cultural heritage assets. There is no doubt that the handing of the cultural heritage assets shared by a society or a community down
to future generations can, before all, be possible through knowing cultural wealth well and supporting it.

Turkey possesses very colorful cultural heritage assets which reflect its long-established and rich cultural past. The celebrations
celebrated almost everywhere in Turkey and even crossing the national boundaries such as Nevruz and Hıdrellez are the ones which
come to mind first among them. Besides, there are also quite colorful cultural heritage assets which are only observed in some sections
of Anatolia and which are not well known even nationwide. Likewise, the camel dealing culture and camel wrestling festivals also
represent a considerably interesting example in this wealth.

The Anatolian camel dealing culture is a heritage asset of thousands of years which originated within the interaction between its historical
and geographical connections and the temporal and spatial processes. Representing an almost cultural vein of the process of the Turkish
civilization extending from Central Asia to Anatolia, the camel dealing culture has acquired a unique character within the active past of
Anatolian camel dealing. Anatolia, where once upon a time the world trade flowed on camel caravans, became a space where the camel dealing
culture developed too. Although the conditions of the past disappeared over time, the Anatolian camel dealing culture, which took form in the
historical space and under the historical conditions, has succeeded in surviving up to the present time by holding onto time by means of camel
wrestling festivals. While the camel wrestles represent the survival of the Yuruk culture and the Anatolian camel dealing culture by not being
defeated by the current conditions, they virtually defy the culturally homogenizing impact of globalization from Anatolia too.