Bullfighting to be held for first time nationally in Turkey

Bahar Ünlü - ISTANBUL

Traditional bullfighting, which has been ongoing for 200 years in the eastern Black Sea province of Artvin, will be held for the first time nationally under name “Turkey’s Bullfighting Championship” on Aug. 13.

Some 44 bulls from the Aegean provinces of Aydın and Muğla, as well as the eastern province of Erzurum, will participate in the competition after ranking first and second in regional bull fighting categories.

The national bullfighting competition, organized by the Bull Breeders Sports Club, will feature five different categories and will be held in Artvin’s Kafkasör plateau.

The weight of the bulls that will participate range between 430 kilograms and 900 kilograms.  

Winning bull breeders will share total prize money of 100,000 Turkish Liras, while a number of special events and concerts will be held as part of the event.  

“The bulls that participate in bullfighting should be fighter bulls. These bulls are fed with a special diet and trained for fighting. Their physical characteristics, especially their horns, are very important but at the end of the day the most well-groomed bull always wins the fight,” said competition organizer Murat Gülseçgin.

“Animals are made to fight to the death in countries like Spain, China and India. But we do not do that. We blunt horns of the bulls before they step into the arena. Our only purpose is to revive this tradition,” he added.

Gülseçgin said they expect the number of participants to rise to at least 50,000 in future years.

“We would like to draw attention to Turkey with this competition. People from all over the world visit Spain just for bullfighting. We would also like to be visited by fans of bullfighting,” he said.