Historic Rumkale hosts week of water sports, outdoor adventure

Rumkale, a centuries-old settlement above the Euphrates River in Gaziantep province, southeastern Türkiye, served as the backdrop for the seventh International Rumkale Water Sports Festival, organized by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.

Over several days, the historic site combined its river setting with a full program of sporting and cultural events, drawing thousands of participants and spectators to its shoreline and surrounding trails.

The festival opened with a nature walk along a marked trail surrounding Rumkale, where participants took in the site's natural surroundings before the week's athletic events began. 

Organizers scheduled additional walking sessions on several other days of the program, spacing outdoor activities across the full week rather than concentrating them at the start.

Later in the week, the shoreline area became a campsite as participants pitched tents and set up sleeping bags along the riverbank.

The camping period ran for several consecutive days, giving visitors the option to stay overnight near Rumkale rather than travel back and forth for each day's events.

A swimming competition took place in the Euphrates River on the festival's final day, with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Sahin and accompanying officials giving the starting signal. The race closed out the week's program of water-based competitions.

A cycling race held midweek sent competitors along a set route near Rumkale, while other visitors joined a boat tour on the river during the same session. 

The combination of racing and leisure activity reflected the festival's mix of competitive and recreational programming.

The Türkiye Dragon Boat Championship, held with the Turkish Canoe Federation, brought together 37 teams and 740 athletes racing on the Euphrates River, including 10 teams representing Gaziantep.

Aerial and water-sport exhibitions ran alongside the competitive events, including flyboard, jet ski, jetcar, paramotor and banana boat displays.

The festival concluded with a musical performance by Dogukan Manco, closing out a program that ran for a week and drew a reported 4,440 participants across its walking, swimming, cycling, camping, and dragon boat events.