Bursa
Bursa is cose to Istanbul, but normally skipped past entirely by backpackers. The only thing which lured me in is the presence of Uludg, apparently Turkey's best ski resort.
There are no hostels in Bursa, although cheap hotels can be found south / uphill of the Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque - it's hard to miss it if you're in town). I ended up at the Camibel, for 25 lira a night (bargain hard - the posted rate was 45).
The mountain itself is easy to get to. Simplest, and only a shade more expensive, is to take a dolmus (shared taxi) from the top. They leave from Heykel, the square along Ataturk Cadessi from Ulu Cami with a statue of Ataturk on a horse.
The only thing to bear in mind about the mountain is that tickets are per lift, so choose wisely! The best lifts are a little further away from where you'll be dropped off, look around carefully, they're out of site.
