Uludağ (), the ancient Mysian or Bithynian Olympus (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Όλυμπος), is a mountain in

Bursa Province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, with an elevation of . In Turkish, ''Uludağ'' means "

great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

mountain". In ancient times the range of which it is a part, extending along the southern edge of Bithynia, was known as Olympos in Greek and Olympus in Latin, the western extremity being known as the Mysian Olympus and the eastern as the Bithynian Olympus, and the city of Bursa was known as Prusa ad Olympum from its position near the mountain. Throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, it contained hermitages and monasteries: "The rise of this monastic centre in the 8th c. and its prestige up to the 11th are linked to the resistance of numerous monks to the policy of the

iconoclast Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...

emperors and then to a latent opposition to the urban,

Constantinopolitan la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

monasticism of the

Studites The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( grc-gre, Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en to ...

."Andre Vauchez et al., ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages'', Routledge, 2000, p. 1046 One of the greatest monks of the Christian East, the wonder-working Byzantine monk Saint Joannicius the Great, lived as a hermit on this mountain. Mt. Uludağ is the highest mountain of the Marmara region. Its highest peak is Kartaltepe at . To the north are high plateaus: Sarıalan, Kirazlıyayla, Kadıyayla, and Sobra. There is an abandoned wolfram mine near the summit. The mine and the integrated plant, which were built in 1974 for US$60 million, were closed in 1989 due to high production costs. The area is a popular center for

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

such as

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

, and a national park of rich

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

. Summer activities, such as trekking and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

, also are popular. Uludağ zirve

Uludağ National Park Turkey

View of Mount Uludag from the Asian side of Istanbul - 17

The highest area in western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, Uludağ is easily ascended by car or cable-car. The park is about south of Bursa and is signposted from there. Bursa can be reached by road from

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. The cable-car ascends from Bursa and has an intermediate stop in the alpine meadows of Kadiyayla at about elevation. It ends at Sarialan at about . Uludag ski rando

Habitats of the park range from maquis on the lower slopes, through

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

woodland and beech and fir forest to alpine meadows at the highest levels. It is a refuge for mountain birds, such as

lammergeier The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate m ...

and other

vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

and more than 20 other

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...

species. Other high-altitude species include

alpine accentor The alpine accentor (''Prunella collaris'') is a small passerine bird in the family Prunellidae, which is native to Eurasia and North Africa. Taxonomy The Alpine accentor was described by the Austria naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 176 ...

, rock thrushes and choughs. The area is also good for eastern specialities such as isabelline wheatear, and, at almost the most westerly points of their range,

red-fronted serin The red-fronted serin or fire-fronted serin (''Serinus pusillus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It prefers high mountain regions and is 11–12 cm long. This bird breeds in the Caucasus and the higher mountai ...

and

Krüper's nuthatch Krüper's nuthatch (''Sitta krueperi'') is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is a small to medium-sized nuthatch, measuring in length. The are blue-gray, with the front half of the black in adults of both sexes, but with a less m ...

. The dense fir forest holds

short-toed treecreeper The short-toed treecreeper (''Certhia brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecr ...

common crossbill The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...

and Tengmalm's owl, a rare and very local bird in Turkey, as well as the

white-backed woodpecker The white-backed woodpecker (''Dendrocopos leucotos'') is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocopos''. Taxonomy The white-backed woodpecker was described by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802 under the ...

. The rare and local butterfly, '' Parnassius apollo graslini'', is found on Uludag and the area has much of interest to botanists, with colourful pink primroses (''

Primula vulgaris ''Primula vulgaris'', the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and parts of southwest Asia.''Flora Europaea'Primula vulgaris''/ref> The common name ...

'' var. ''sibthorpii''), leopard's bane (''

Doronicum orientale ''Doronicum orientale'', the leopard's bane, is a European plant species in the family Asteraceae. Description ''Doronicum orientale'' is a perennial herb that has daisy-like yellow flower heads on long, straight stems, which attract nectar ...

''), crocuses: the purple '' Crocus siberi'' and yellow ''

Crocus flavus ''Crocus flavus'', known as yellow crocus, Dutch yellow crocus or snow crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Crocus'' of the family Iridaceae. It grows wild on the slopes of Greece, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and northw ...

'', and grape hyacinths ('' Muscari racemosum''). There are also few

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

packs roaming on the mountain.

International winter sports events hosted

The ski resort hosted CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour events in 2017 and 2018.

References

External links

*
Slope and elevation information for Uludağ

Uludağ Photographs

"Uludag Tepe" on Peakbagger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uludag Mountains of Turkey Landforms of Bursa Province National parks of Turkey Ski areas and resorts in Turkey Tourist attractions in Bursa Province Two-thousanders of Turkey Important Bird Areas of Turkey Former Christian monasteries in Turkey Byzantine monasteries in Turkey Mountains associated with Byzantine monasticism

Uludağ National Park Turkey

International winter sports events hosted

See also

References

External links