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 nor ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, 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
Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...
, 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
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
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 a ...
, 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 (IO ...
, and a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
of rich
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
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''. Zoo ...
. 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 nat ...
, also are popular.
![Uludağ zirve](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Uluda%C4%9F_zirve.jpg)
Uludağ National Park Turkey
![View of Mount Uludag from the Asian side of Istanbul - 17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/View_of_Mount_Uludag_from_the_Asian_side_of_Istanbul_-_17.jpg)
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 re ...
, 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
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. 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](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Uludag_ski_rando.JPG)
Habitats of the park range from
maquis
Maquis may refer to:
Resistance groups
* Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance
* Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War
* The network ...
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, aft ...
woodland and
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
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 bird of p ...
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 thrush
The rock thrushes, ''Monticola'', are a genus of chats, medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous songbirds. All are Old World birds, and most are associated with mountainous regions.
Taxonomy
The genus was erected by the German naturali ...
es and
choughs
There are two species of passerine birds commonly called chough ( ) that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family of birds. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and the Alpine chough (or yellow- ...
. 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 ma ...
. 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
The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (''Aegolius funereus'') is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more ra ...
, 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
''Muscari racemosum'' is a perennial bulbous flowering plant in the asparagus family Asparagaceae. The members of the genus are commonly known as grape hyacinths. Originally from south-west Turkey where it grows in rocky places, it is sometimes ...
''). 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 u ...
packs roaming on the mountain.
International winter sports events hosted
The ski resort hosted
CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour
Snow volleyball
Volleyball competitions in Europe
2016 establishments in Europe
February sporting events
March sporting events
Recurring sporting events established in 2016 ...
events in 2017 and 2018.
See also
*
List of Ultras of West Asia
This is a list of all 101 of the ultra-prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in West Asia. It includes peaks on the islands of Cyprus and Socotra. It also includes the 10 ultras of the Caucasus (also listed under E ...
*
Bursa Uludağ Gondola
The Bursa Uludağ Gondola ( tr, Bursa Teleferik Hattı), or simply ''Teleferik'' as called locally, is an aerial lift line in Bursa Province connecting the city of Bursa with the nearby ski resort area and national park at Mt. Uludağ. Initiall ...
*
Battle of Mount Olympus
The Battle of Mount Olympus was fought in 189 BC between the Galatian Gauls of Asia Minor and an alliance consisting of the Roman Republic and Pergamum. The battle ended in a crushing allied victory.
Livy is the main source for this battle, and h ...
References
External links
*
Slope and elevation information for UludağUludağ 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