Uludag/Kartalkaya, Turkey The snow crunches auspiciously under the skis and the lift gives off a familiar hum. At this altitude, there's a wide view of the snow-capped peaks and ski slopes where snowboarders glide down the mountainside. This scene from Uludag National Park in winter is similar to anything you might find in the Alps if only it wasn't for the wind carrying the sound of oriental music from a loudspeaker.
The presence of the national drinks, Cay and Raki is another sign that the mountains of central Europe are far away. But despite the beauty of Turkey's mountains, very few foreign tourists make their way here.
Russians and a few Dutch people have found their way to Uludag which is 190 kilometres and three hours by car and a short trip by ferry from Istanbul.
Only about 10 per cent of visitors to Uludag come from abroad, according to regional hotel owners. Most of the people skiing in Uludag are from Istanbul on a weekend break.
The 2,500 metre high Uludag (Holy Mountain) is an extinct volcano. The ski season begins in December and lasts until April if the warm spring weather has not already started.
There are 16 ski lifts that take visitors to the ski station positioned at 2200 metres.
"Uludag is the main Turkish ski resort," says Serdar Oezger, the 33-year-old coach of Turkey's national snowboard team.
Oezger says Turkey still needs to invest more in infrastructure if it wants to meet international standards.
The main drawback are the ski lifts, which in Turkey, usually belong to hotels and are only at the disposal of the owning hotel's guests.
Other skiers have to buy individual tickets to use the lifts, which at 25 euros (39 dollars) each, can make skiing quite expensive.
Strictly speaking there are no winter sport resorts in Turkey, just ski hotels with infrastructure.
"We have been trying for the past 10 years to get a common ski pass up and running that would allow guests to use the entire ski area. But that's failed due to the interests of some hotel owners," says Kutlu Yurtsever, a junior manager at a hotel in Uludag.
Another factor is that Turkey does not yet have an image abroad as a ski destination. "I went to England 12 years ago and I was asked if I owned a camel. People don't think about snow when they think of Turkey."
Another ski region is Kartalkaya, about fours hours drive from Istanbul or three hours from the capital Ankara.
The last 30 kilometres of the trip are on roads that wind their way through snow covered pine forests.
There are three hotels located at 2,000 metres that advertise "skiing without having to wait in line".
The hotels live up to that slogan during the week as it's mainly at the weekends that people arrive from the big cities.
Ambitious skiers could, however, get easily bored here but for families looking for a more relaxed atmosphere it's perfect.
Internet: www.uludaghotels.com/ www.gototurkey.co.uk/
