Rob Rees brings us the most leftfield “city and ski” combo this side of the Urals. A few days in Istanbul mid-winter and three days skiing out east by the Armenian & Iranian border make for a truly unique ski trip.
You don’t think of Turkey as a snowy country but as you arrive here you’ll be mesmerised by dramatic views of the central Anatolian Plateau, Koroglu and Pontic mountains – about 60% of the country is mountainous. I started my trip in lofty Erzurum at 1,950m surrounded by the peaks of the Eastern Taurus not really knowing what to expect.
Erzurum was known as “The Rock” as the most southeasterly NATO airbase in the Cold War and it sits on the old Silk Route. This is the heart of Eastern Anatolia and it holds Turkey’s highest peak, the biblical 5,156m Mt Ararat. Erzurum has always been a major commercial and military centre and is now a vital rail station on the Ankara-Iran route.
Erzurum applied to host the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, which eventually went to Cortina d’Ampezzo. Turkey hasn’t given up on a Winter Olympics yet. They’ve already held the World University Games here in 2011 and there’s a massive modern ski jumping complex.
The best intermediate skiing is spread across the Palandöken mountain range just outside the city. I stayed half board at the Polāt Hotel right by Ejder 3200 (Dragon Mountain).
For après-ski, the Sway Hotel’s Lounge 2400 offered a glimpse into eastern ski fashion and Turkish House Music! It’s not St Anton’s Mooserwirt but the service is slick and you look down to the plains of historic Erzurum. Mountains ranges stretch south as far as the eye can see.
Both the Sway and Polāt hotels have private pistes and well appointed ski rooms. The quality of ski hire is sadly fairly average, so you’re better off bringing your own equipment.
© Pierre Teyssot / Agence String
It’s effectively ski-in-ski-out for the whole area. From the Polāt’s front door it’s possible to catch an ancient lift that accesses the main gondola. There’s a secondary smaller ski area 25km away at Konakli, on the flanks of Karakaya Hill at 3,170m.
Across the two areas, there are 19 ski lifts (2 gondolas and 17 chairs of various vintages) and 65km of skiing. The vertical is almost 1,000m and the longest combined run is around 10km. The skiing set-up is basic but the landscape is surreal. I loved the rudimentary huts to warm your hands by the woodfired stove, doubling as the oven for baking potatoes. You always get a big smile, a warm welcome and the shared ritual of the local sweet lemon tea kitlama for 20p. There’s always a brew on.
The skiing is exceptional value at 15 Euro a day with night skiing included. In many hotels, the holiday package price includes the ski pass. Two persons sharing a room is around 200 Euro per night, full board four star accommodation.
Half-board dining tends to be huge buffets of vegetarian and meze dishes. The particular local favourite is lamb Cağ kebab taking its name from the “cağ” skewers. The kebab is served on the cağ and eaten with lavash flatbread and onions, tomatoes or peppers, depending on the season.
You will ski both areas out in two to three days, so catch the morning flight back to Istanbul for uncrowded, winter sightseeing. Spanning both Europe and Asia, the capital city contains more than 15million people. Once home to the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, synagogues rub shoulders with churches and mosques.
I’ve visited Istanbul many times over the years but it’s still a city that delights and surprises me. Beyond the obvious sites of Taksim Square, Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace, I discovered Fener, a bustling area rapidly gentrifying with vintage-style cafes and brightly painted buildings. The narrow, cobbled streets tumbling down the hillside to the Golden Horn waterfront, were once the preserve of the city’s Jewish, Armenian and Greek communities. A ‘must see’ is the St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral but don’t miss the spooky Red School too. The red bricks came from Marseilles and the land was donated by the Prince of Moldova. Its official name is the Phanar Greek Orthodox College and is the oldest surviving and most prestigious Greek Orthodox school in Istanbul. Fener became the Greek district after 1453, near to the headquarters of the Orthodoxy, and most wealthy Greeks received their education at the school. It remains a striking legacy on the skyline of the Golden Horn.
It’s best to invest in a cultural guide to help you uncover and navigate what is a large, complex and hilly city. I breakfasted like a king with my guide Damla in the Karakoy district at her favourite breakfast spot, Namli Gurme. It has the most diverse breakfast table in Istanbul and an organic food market. The restaurant has been serving up delicious fare for over 40 years.
It’s not just a meal – it’s a whole experience. Designed to be social, shared, and savoured for two hours, Turkish breakfast consists of many small plates, both sweet and savoury, accompanied with hard bagel-like bread simit and endless cups of çay. Select from Namli Gurme’s heaving counters of any number of fresh dips (from hummus to muhammara), olives, roasted vegetables and regional cheeses. If that’s not enough, there are home-made jams, bal kaymak (clotted cream with honey), gözleme (flatbread with yoghurt), menemen (Turkish-style scrambled eggs), and börek, a flaky pastry that can be filled with cheese, spinach, or meat.
After taking all day to digest that feast, guide Damla finally succumbed to my fascination with Turkish baths! I just had to try a top notch hamam before flying home. Cleanliness is an integral part of Islamic culture and in the days before most homes had their own water supply, the hamam played a key role in the life of the city. Close to the Beşiktas football ground is Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamamı, constructed between 1578-1583 to serve the conquering sailors of the Ottoman Navy.
The Turkish bath is quite a ritual. Times are allocated for men and women separately. You need to book ahead and have spare change to tip. You don a peştamal (the classic cotton hamam wrap) and meet your tellak (hamam attendant) at the entrance to the hot room.
To relax and soften your skin, as well as helping your body to adjust to the heat, you lie down on the Göbektaşı, the hexagon heated marble slab in the middle, for at least 10 minutes.
Your tellak will next take you to the marble water basin the Kurna where he exfoliates your body with the kese, a special scrubbing mitten. After rinsing, the final step of the ritual is the Köpük where you get a bubble soap wash. You’re then rubbed very firmly with a loofah to create the feeling of purification and to rid you of all dead skin and muscle knots. This is a firm massage, no messing!
Alas, overheating just five minutes from the end of the ritual, I had to be doused in ice cold water and literally lifted out by two strong tellaks. Cooling down for half an hour in the camegah on comfortable sofas, I eventually reenergised with the traditional refreshing drink of quince sherbet. The whole hour-long event is to be recommended nonetheless!
It’s not your obvious ski trip but if you really want a fascinating cheap winter week away, you’ll be hard pressed to beat Turkey for variety, culture, new food discoveries and heartfelt hospitality, especially if you spend some time in one of the world’s most vibrant cities Istanbul.
- For skiing and accommodation, visit ejder3200.com
- Turkish Airlines fly from Heathrow to Erzurum via Istanbul, visit turkishairlines.com
- You can use a local Turkish ski operator to package your trip skiturkish.com/
- To hire the cultural guide Damla Arslan, you can WhatsApp her on +90 (532) 560 28 88
- For general information, visit goturkiye.com
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