The bungalow houses, which offer the warmth of a family atmosphere to their guests at Yıldız ("star" in Turkish) Mountain Winter Sports and Tourism Center in Sivas, are attracting a great deal of attention from within the country and abroad.

The ski resort, which is 58 kilometers (36.04 miles) from the city, welcomes visitors from the surrounding provinces with its location in the triangle of central Anatolia, the Black Sea and eastern Anatolia.

In the center, there are two chairlifts with lengths of 2,226 meters (7,303 feet) and 1,636 meters, a chairlift of 804 meters, ski tracks of different lengths, mechanical facilities such as a toboggan run, escalator and T-bar, as well as a hotel, cafe, restaurant and 25 bungalow houses.

Located on the slope of Yıldız Mountain, very close to the ski slopes, the bungalow houses serve to meet all the needs of a family with a central heating system, fireplace, kitchen, living room, separate bedrooms and bathrooms for children and parents.

The houses, which have recently attracted great interest from visitors from abroad and have an occupancy rate of 100%, offer their guests the warmth of a family atmosphere in the comfort of a hotel.

Guests who ski and do sports on the mountain's ice rinks recuperate from the tiredness of the day in the bungalow houses.

Mustafa Altun, general manager of Buruciye A.Ş., affiliated to the Sivas Special Provincial Administration that operates the center, stated that they continue their activities with the philosophy "Turkey's youngest, most modern and most economical ski resort."

"Our ski center, with its additional facilities, currently has a capacity of 300 beds. With its modern facilities and economic prices, it serves its visitors both socially and sportively. This season is very busy. The occupancy rate in our hotel is at 100%," Altun said.

'Bungalow village' with 200 houses to be established

Emphasizing that there is a high demand for bungalow houses, Altun further said: "We set out by planning 200 natural life houses. We are currently serving with 25 houses and there is very serious demand. Our houses serve as plateau and winter tourism spots for 12 months of the year. We will increase this number and realize our project of creating a 'village' of 200 bungalows."

They are well on track to reach that target, as they regularly add to the number of bungalows every year. Initially, they built 10 bungalows and then added another 15 because of the intense demand but even these aren't enough to meet the demand. "There is much more demand than the current number," he said.

Visitors mesmerized

Back Myoungsu, who came to Sivas with his wife from Seoul, the capital of South Korea, upon the invitation of his Turkish friend, said: "When we were offered to stay in the bungalows, it was very attractive. We really liked it, it was very different."

Çiğdem Budak, another guest, said she always stays in the bungalows with her husband and children on weekends. "It's more like a home environment than a hotel. It has underfloor heating, you can also light the fireplace if you want. Also, its rooms, architecture and interior design are very beautiful. We always envied the bungalow houses in the Black Sea plateaus. Finally, our city also has them," she proudly said.

"The bungalows are very close to the slopes. You can wear your ski gear and reach the slopes easily. This is a really big advantage," she added.