The Wall Street Journal, one of America's leading business world newspapers, has published a long article on Istanbul, qualifying it as an important city of Turkey, which it points out is progressing fast on the road to being a regional power.
The article in the newspaper's week-end supplement is also accompanied by the photographs of various sections of Istanbul worth seeing.
The article penned by Suzy Hansen says that Turkey, with its powerful economy and courageous prime minister, is confidently making headway towards becoming a regional clout.
It also says that the 2010 European Capital of Culture Istanbul is also replete with this new self-confidence the country has earned.
The Wall Street Journal article says further that the Turks are happy in Istanbul of both the Ottoman nostalgia and the rapid transformation some neighbourhoods of the sprawling city are undergoing, such as Beyoğlu.
It notes that while Beyoglu and its environs boast a totally western face with their now renovated old buildings, swanky boutiques, plush restaurants, and new night clubs , the historical parts of Istanbul such as Eyüp, Balat, Fener and Sultanahmet reveal its more traditional texture.
The article qualifies Üsküdar as an alternative on the Asian side to Beyoglu catering to the middle-class segment of society.
It also says that Istanbul's most compelling problem is traffic, adding that those willing to escape from the traffic congestions can have a much better time aboard the ferries leisurely criss crossing the Bosphorus and enjoy the city looking at the unique panorama the Strait provides while tasting the culinary marvels of Turkish cuisine in the numerous restaurants dotting the shores of the waterway.