Uludag, Turkey
Uludag is located 150 km from Istanbul and 35 km from Bursa. Almost every hotel here has its own lifts, the cost of using which is included in the accommodation price (but it does not mean that the lifts are closed to visitors of other hotels: you can always buy ski pass for the lift of the other hotel at the lower station, it rises in few days or more). Snow cover (its maximum thickness - 3 meters) is stored in the second half of December till the end of March. Trails for skiing are located at the altitude of 1750-2543 m above sea level, wide and well maintained, and mostly held in the wood. The best time for skiing is the period between December and March.
Modern Uludag, but in antiquity the legendary Uludag Moesian, according to mythology was a place where the gods used to watch results of the Trojan War. "Uludag" means "Big Mountain" and is the highest mountain in Western Anatolia. In the Middle Age, this mountain was known as a place of solitude of Byzantine monks, as a result of it, Turkish name "Keshish-dag", which means "Monastic mountain" stuck to Uludag.
Not far from the top of Uludag is located an abandoned mine on the extraction of tungsten. The mine and plant for its processing built in 1974 for 60mln $ in 1989, were closed due to non-production of payback.
The resort is equipped with a cable car, 5-D chairlifts and 7-D rope tows. The total length of tracks is 20 km, of which 10 are "green", 8 "blue" 6 "red" and one "black". Uludag Mountain is suitable for families and for those who like soft quiet slopes. Beginners and intermediate level skiers will find a route for their taste.
For children, the resort creates wide, well-groomed trails with good popping out. There are long and steep slopes outside the forest area for experienced skiers. In the resort it is able to work out slalom, cross-country skiing and biathlon.
From natural attractions of Uludag can distinguish self-titled National Park, which owns several species of mountain birds, including a bearded, eagle, serpent eagle, Goshawk, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Yellow-of beads and other. In the park there are rare butterflies "Apollo", here are grown primroses, crocus and hyacinth mouse, and in the spruce forest inhabited by very rare boreal owl Short-Toed Treecreeper, red crossbill and white-backed woodpecker. The park can be reached by car or by cable car. The distance between the Uludag and National Park is about 12 km away. We organize excursions from Uludag to Bursa that is an ancient city with a mighty excursion program. Bursa is the fourth largest city in Turkey after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The former capital of the Great Ottoman Empire, Bursa still keeps the remains of the former power. Among the most remarkable monuments of Islamic architecture in Bursa can distinguish Green Mosque, built in 1419-1424 and represents a part of the large religious complex, consisting of a madrasah, minarets and mausoleum-tomb. The facade of the mosque is made of white marble, and the interior is decorated with tiles of green, blue, cyan, turquoise and azure colors and intricate Arabic script.