Uludağ

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Image:Uludag mountain.jpg

Mount Uludağ

Uludağ, the ancient Mysian Olympus, is a mountain in Bursa Province, Turkey, of altitude 2,543 m. It is a favourite center of winter sports, including skiing, and a national park of rich flora and fauna. Summer activities, such as trekking and camping, also are popular.

Turkish Uludağ means "Great Mountain", but in colloquial Turkish, the mountain is called Keşiş Dağı, "Mountain of Monks". It is said that Homeros used to refer to Mt. Uludağ as Olympos Misios or Bithynik Olymp .^{[citation needed]} According to the legends, it is said that Trojan wars used to have been watched by the Apollon and the other Greek Gods .^{[citation needed]} In the Roman Empire and Hellenic periods, Mt. Uludağ a place of seclusion for early Christian monks.^{[citation needed]}

Mt. Uludağ is the highest mountain of the Marmara region. Its highest peak is Kartaltepe 2543 meters high. To the north are high plateaus: Sarıalan, Kirazlıyayla, Kadıyayla, Sobra.

Image:Uludag wolfram mine.jpg

Abandoned wolfram mine near the summit

There is an abandoned wolfram mine near the summit. The mine and the integrated plant which were built in 1974 for 60 million dollars, were eventually closed in 1989 due to high production costs.

[edit] Uludağ National Park Turkey

The highest area in western Anatolia, Uludağ is easily ascended by car or cable-car. The park is about 22 km south of Bursa and is signposted from there. Bursa can be reached by road from Istanbul. The cable-car ascends from Bursa and has an intermediate stop in the alpine meadows of Kadiyayla at about 1000 m elevation. It ends at Sarialan at about 1630 m.

Habitats of the park range from maquis on the lower slopes, through deciduous woodland and beech and fir forest to alpine meadows at the highest levels. It is a refuge for mountain birds, such as Lammergeier and other vultures, Golden Eagle and more than 20 other raptor species. Other high-altitude species include Alpine Accentor, 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 and Krüper's Nuthatch. The dense fir forest holds Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Crossbill and Tengmalm's Owl, a rare and very local bird in Turkey. White-backed Woodpecker has been seen. 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 var sibthorpii; Leopard's-bane, Duronicum orientalis; crocuses: the purple Crocus siberi and yellow Crocus flavus; and grape hyacinths, Muscari racemosum.