Bullfighting (Kafkasör)

Artvin, with its unique Kafkasör bullfights which offer scenes of breathtaking excitement, as well as its other festivals and feasts, is a region that should on no account be missed.

The most interesting part of the festival held on the third week of June every year is the bullfighting. Bulls from all parts of the province are classified according to the thickness of their necks or weight, and pitted against one another.

Bullfights (2.2 MB)

Certain rules have been applied since the bullfights first began in order to protect bulls from injury and suffering. When the weaker bull withdraws from the arena, that defeat is accepted and it is taken out of the arena by the people in charge. In this way, Kafkasör bullfights have become an atmosphere of sports and entertainment with their own rules.

This type of bullfight is unique, and a defining characteristic of the whole region.

Many people from the neighborhood come to join in the festival, at which there are also Karakucak wrestling and folk dances as well as minstrel poets.
The book ARTVIN 2000 published by the Artvin Governorship of Artvin with the assistance of the Artvin Regional Development and Service Foundation was used in the preparation of this section.