It seemed appropriate to visit Gezi Park in Taksim Square towards the end of our trip. Back in June, as I was preparing for my trip, groups of predominately young people began protesting in the park. Upset with a variety of authoritarian measures, they were responding to one particular development...the removal of green space in order to make way for a shopping mall built in the form of historical military barracks. Police used aggressive measures to squelch the demonstrations...water cannons, tear gas, beatings and arrests. As these demonstrations played out on international media, CNN Turk was playing a documentary on penguins.
Demonstrators quickly reacted with unique and sometimes humorous methods of protest. See below...
The people standing closest to the monument are doing the Standing Man protest, in solidarity with an individual who was detained by the police for just standing and watching peacefully.
I was pleased to hear this week that the government decided to do away with the development plan and reopen the park. So the protests that started right before I arrived have simmered down and the park is once again accessible to visitors. My thoughts are with the protestors as I prepare to leave...I hope they can continue to share their political thoughts and have a voice in the future of Turkey.
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