Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

which were staged in and around Taksim Meydanı, were initially a public 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 demonstrations that were seen as anti-government and made any large assemblies 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 confidential 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. Great Reads Byzantium (Judith Herrin; 2007) Constantinople (Philip Mansel; 1995)

Inside the Seraglio (John Freely; 1999)

A Short History of Byzantium (John Julian Norwich; 1997)

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 defend 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 perpetrator or coup supporter