Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

The Turkish Grand National Assembly abolishes the Ottoman sultanate; the last sultan, Mehmet VI, leaves the country on a British warship. 1923 The Grand National Assembly relocates the nation’s capital from İstanbul to Ankara; shortly afterwards, it proclaims the Turkish Republic. 1925 The Republican government bans Dervish orders; many of the city’s historic tekkes (Dervish lodges) are demolished. 1934 Women are given the vote; by 1935 4.6% of the national parliament’s representatives are female. 1942 A wealth tax is introduced on affluent citizens. Ethnic minorities are taxed at a higher rate than Muslims; many are bankrupted and forced to leave the city. 2006 İstanbul successfully bids to become a European Capital of Culture for 2010, and launches a program of heritage restoration and cultural development that continues for the next decade. 2011 The ruling soft-Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by İstanbul-born prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wins a third term in government. 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