3.000 Athletes to Attend World Nomad Games in Turkey

3.000 athletes from 102 countries will be meeting in Turkey for World Nomad Games to be held from the 29th of September to the 2nd of October 2022.

On the 27th of June 2022, Hakan Kazanci, the chairperson of the organizing committee indicated that the games will be held for the 4th time after a two-year break as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are World Nomad Games?

The World Nomad Games come to life in 2012 at the Council of Heads of States (CHS) in Bishkek, in 2012 in the bid to rehabilitate national sports disciplines and revive the spiritual consciousness and historical memory of all once nomadic people around the world. The games are played every even-numbered year and were first held in 2014, then in 2016, and in 2018.

The event also known as Olympics for nomads showcases nomadic sports, culture, and lifestyle. Some of the games played during the event include headless goat polo whereby two teams compete to throw a headless goat carcass into a goal.  There are different types of wrestling matches that competitors participate in such as Turkish, Turkmen, Tajik, and Azerbaijani.

Iznik district where the event is going to be held is a cultural hub in Turkey. "From the Hagia Sophia Orhan Mosque and the Archeology Museum to the Suleyman Pasa Madrassa and the Roman Theater, Iznik has been the cradle of culture throughout history. Now it will be the world's sports capital," said Kazanci.

40 different sports are going to be held at this event including horse riding archery and wrestling. Foreign heads of state including athletes will participate in these games which will be held under the auspices of the Turkish Presidency. The event is being organized by the World Ethnosport Confederation, with the leadership of its president, Bilal Erdogan.

"This year the games will be held around Lake Iznik. We are preparing a 500,000 square meter area for the event. It will have the capacity for 5,000 people” said Kuzanci.

“Turkey will take this as an opportunity to promote its local cuisines as well as the traditional Turkic oba culture to international visitors,” he added.