At the 33rd annual Camel Wrestling Competition in Selcuk, Turkey, the man behind the grill indicates what happens to the losing camels by slowly drawing his finger across his neck and saying "Bitmiş," which is Turkish for "finished."
The tradition dates back 2,000 years and is celebrated in cities across the eastern Mediterranean during mating season, when the camels are more aggressive fighters. During the fight—which lasts several minutes—a camel must entangle its neck or trip them to hold the loser down.
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The winner is gifted with prize money and the loser becomes lunch.
The sausage, a combination of smoked meat with spices, is prepared during the year and then grilled at the event—along with tomatoes doused in olive oil—for hungry fans supporting their favorite ungulates.
At the end of the day, vendors sell off the smoked meats at increasingly low prices to avoid trucking them back. Men pick up shopping bags of sausage for 20 TL (about $8.50) each to tide them over until next year.
