PodcastKurdish baseball becomes southeast Turkey's favorite snow sport
The Kurdish game of "topa garane," often compared to the American sport of baseball, is the favorite snow sport of the residents of the southeastern provinces of Van and Hakkari.
Traditionally played with bats and a horse-hair ball, the game includes two teams of six and includes players of all ages.
"We now use tennis balls," said Van resident Ercan Tubtemur. "Our village is the only settlement in the area which plays now, but we learned it from our grandparents."
The game's rules are similar to baseball, but there is no winner or loser, Tubtemur says. "There's no winning or losing. You play it for fun."
The game consists of a pitcher, a batter, and defensive positions, similar to baseball, but the defensive positions try to tackle the batter as they run the bases to prevent them from scoring.