European Capital of Culture 2010?

This morning I've been searching up travel videos on youTube and stumbled upon this one, the official video for Istanbul, as the European Capital of Culture for 2010! Did you know that in the past couple of years, Istanbul has been the 3rd most travelled-to city in Europe, just behind London and Paris? I'd say thats pretty impressive. Coming ahead of some big cities in Italy, Germany and even Greece, Turkey is well on it's way to becoming a widely known and frequented destination for international tourists.

I would LOVE to visit Istanbul, Turkey. It's been one of my top destinations to visit for awhile now. The first time I heard about it was actually quite a few years back, when the city just started to become more recognized internationally. A country that straddles two huge continents, Europe and Asia, is definitely somewhere I'd be interested in travelling. With both influences from East and West (think baazars, markets, Turkish coffee, mosques, etc vs. European shopping malls, fashion shows, top notch nightclubs) it would make it a perfect destination for me, someone who is greatly interested by both.

Note: Turkey has been trying to become part of the European Union for quite some time now, and I suspect that the reason they are trying to become more Westernized and cultured is to help with this. Over the past decade Istanbul has dramatically changed, from a city that is very associated with Eastern values, to a hotspot that Western travellers feel very comfortable visiting. I think that this has been a great move for them, as long as they don't lose their own countries culture and values along the way.

Now, all I need to do is save up some money, and decide when I'll be able to visit this city !!

Link to the YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-lh6zH74nQ