6 January 2009 | Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, was included in Frommer’s list of Top Destinations for 2009.

Straddling the European and Asian side of the Bosphorus, the metropolis is in the company of eleven other destinations, including Cartagena (Colombia), Cape Town (South Africa), Saqqara (Egypt), Washington, D.C. (United States), Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta (Canada), the Civil Rights Trail from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama (United States), Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (United States), Berlin (Germany), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Cambodia and Waiheke Island (New Zealand).

The list is composed by the editorial team at Frommer’s, a provider of candid and reliable travel information through its web site and various guidebooks and products. In their own words, the “list is neither ‘hot’ nor ‘on-the-verge’,” but rather presents a “a mix of value picks that'll still wow you, cities that are sprucing up for big events, smart alternatives to overrun spots nearby, and destinations that are justifiably hyped.”

Istanbul was included in the list as a city of contrasts, in line with its already established reputation. In addition to its usual attractions, the “Ottoman mosques and mammoth markets,” Istanbul now lures with a thriving art scene and as the European City of Culture 2010. According to the publication, boutique hotels in the city now present an alternative to its “flea-bitten hostels” and “sushi bars that would do Tokyo proud” offer an escape from Istanbul’s old image for “a kebab-laden diet.”

Despite these developments, the traditional landmarks and traces of Istanbul’s old glory should not be missed and the publications also mentions “the splendours of Ottoman mosques and frescoes in the Byzantine churches,” the Jewish Museum and the neighbourhoods of Balat and Fener, where the city’s Greek, Armenian, and Jewish history can be discovered among the old wooden houses.

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