Istanbul Guide

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to many secular and left-leaning İstanbullus, as well as to former AKP supporters who had changed their political allegiance as a result of the government’s handling of the 2013 Gezi Park protests. These protests, which were staged in and around Taksim Meydanı, were initially a pub lic response to a plan to redevelop the park, on the northeastern edge of the square, but transformed into a much larger protest by İstanbullus against what they saw as an increasingly autocratic and undemocratic Turkish government. Called in to disperse the crowd, police used tear gas and water cannons, which led to violent clashes, 8000 injuries, at least four deaths and thousands of arrests. After Gezi, local authorities cracked down on any political demon strations that were seen as anti-government and made any large as semblies in or around Taksim Meydanı illegal. Local media outlets seen to be antigovernment were also targeted, with some being forceably closed or taken over by the government. Many İstanbul-based writers, journalists and editors were charged with serious crimes including membership of a terror organisation, espionage and revealing confiden tial documents. Charges under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which make it a punishable offence to insult Turkishness or various official Turkish institutions (including the president), were particularly prevalent. A coup d’état staged by a small faction of the military in July 2016 was defeated when members of the public took to the streets to de fend the democratically elected AKP government. The government and many Turks believed that the coup had been orchestrated by US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, a former close ally of Erdoğan. Official reprisals against anyone suspected of being a Gülenist, coup perpetra tor or coup supporter were draconian, with thousands arrested, media outlets closed down and universities and schools purged. Unsurprisingly, tourist arrivals to the country plunged as a result of these events and the local economy collapsed. This and the ongoing government assaults on civil rights led to many Turks revising their wholehearted support for the AKP and President Erdoğan. In the 2019 Turkish local elections the AKP’s grasp on power was considerably weakened, with the party losing both İstanbul and Ankara. However, the city’s newly elected mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu didn’t have an easy entry to office, with the validity of his initial electoral victory in March 2019 being questioned by the AKP. A reelection in June of that year saw his winning margin increase – a major setback for President Erdoğan, who was widely believed to have pushed for the reelection in a bid to retain the AKP’s power in the city.

History The Recent Past

İstanbul’s third bridge over the Bosphorus, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, opened in 2016. It is named after Sultan Selim I (r 1517–20), who acquired his nickname ‘Selim the Grim’ after dethroning his father Beyazıt II and ordering the deaths of his brothers and nephews to ensure his succession to the throne.

2011 The ruling soft

2013 Large demonstrations by İstanbullus protesting a plan to redevelop Gezi Park on the northeastern edge of Taksim Meydanı (Taksim Sq) are met with a violent response by the government.

2014 After a long stint as the country’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins Turkey’s presidential election and consolidates his position at the helm of both the AKP and the country.

2016 A small group of the military stage an unsuccessful coup d’état during which hundreds are killed; government reprisals against anyone thought to be a coup sympathiser are swift and severe.

Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by İstanbul born prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wins a third term in government.