Istanbul is developing and turning very cosmopolitan at a fast rate. A proof of this is the Istanbul Sapphire which is a 261-meter skyscraper. It will be completed in late 2009 and will then be the tallest residential building in all of Europe.

The skyscraper has been under construction for three years and recently reached full height. There will be 174 private residences divided between 64 floors. The other features of this towering building include a shopping center, fitness center and spa, restaurants and includes vertical gardens and a viewing terrace.

The total cost of the project is currently $200 million and around 40 percent of the whole project has been sold.

Visitors to Istanbul will soon have a chance to view the most spectacular ocean views on the planet. A seven floor, seven-star hotel is being built underwater on what was formerly a tobacco factory. There will be exhibition halls, and restaurants, and all rooms will be sea facing.

This isn’t the first such underwater hotel complex in the world. That honor goes to the $500 million Poseidon Hotel which is currently being built off Fiji. The Istanbul hotel differs in that it is being built under the city center, which should make for an interesting experience.

The hotel’s inauguration is set to coincide with the city’s taking over from Linz, Austria as the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2010.